Newbie - Copying and Burning CDs

I have just invested a few thousand in my first 2-channel hi fi system. NAD C542 CD player, Primare 2-channel amp, Vienna Audio Mozart speakers.

I have seen a lot of references to burning CDs. I take this to mean that I can create CDs with only the music I want. But what is the source and what is the quality? And how do I do this? Do I do it all on my PC by reading the CD to the PC and then using the digital output to burn a new CD? Won't I lose some of the original quality? Do I need a CD to CD copying system?

Thanks

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Originally Posted by danrhiggins

I have just invested a few thousand in my first 2-channel hi fi system. NAD C542 CD player, Primare 2-channel amp, Vienna Audio Mozart speakers.

I have seen a lot of references to burning CDs. I take this to mean that I can create CDs with only the music I want. But what is the source and what is the quality? And how do I do this? Do I do it all on my PC by reading the CD to the PC and then using the digital output to burn a new CD? Won't I lose some of the original quality? Do I need a CD to CD copying system?

Thanks

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You got some top shelf gear there, I'm sure it's going to sound great.

Yes, you can copy and burn CD's on your computer to use in your stereo rig.
It's legal to do so as long as you own the music (fair use). Most computers have some form of software to do this, if yours dosn't there plenty of shareware on the web. A direct copy of a CD (lossless) should be exactly as good as the original.

Congrats on your new system! Looks like quality components.

I've burned cds several ways. I have a computer system with a cd rewritable drive and a playback drive. I've used the Windows burning feature to make copies of entire cds. I've used Windows Media, Real Player and Nero to take songs off several cds to burn to a single cd. As long as you have a cd writable or rewritable drive, you can transfer an entire cd or certain tracks from various cds to your computer and then copy/burn onto a cd-r or cd-rw depending on your drive. These digital transfers theoretically maintain quality. Some folks insist that the brand of blank media you use can effect sound quality. I haven't compared sound quality among brands of cd-rs but I have used some that didn't work well. With cd-rs, that's a wasted disc, so I've been using TDK music cd-rs. The problem with quality arises when you download mp3 music files to your computer then burn them to a disc.

I'm an old dude who didn't grow up with a computer. If I can do it, just about anybody can. But I still get a little confused sometimes when I'm trying to make compilations from several different cds and mp3s I've downloaded.

A stand-alone cd burner component is also an option, but it doesn't seem that practical with computers that burn cds and do so much more. Although, I have considered one for my audio system for copying vinyl to cd-r. My next project is to learn how to use my computer to do this.

Anyhow, there are a lot of folks here that are more technologically advanced than I and can add and explain quite a bit more.

All very encouraging! I really want to build up my own personalized CDs with selections from CDs I have purchased. Sounds like this is very doable and that I need not be concerned about the the quality of the burner.

I would be interested in converting my vinyl to CDs so if you find out how to do that let me know. That would be cool. (And by the way I'm not exactly young!)

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Originally Posted by danrhiggins

I would be interested in converting my vinyl to CDs so if you find out how to do that let me know. That would be cool. (And by the way I'm not exactly young!)

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I'll certainly let you know either by the private message feature which you can access through your profile or by posting to this thread. This topic has been discussed before. I ran a quick search in the rave recordings forum but didn't find much. I'm going out of town for the weekend. If I can remember when I get back, I'll run a couple more searches to see if there are any enlightening threads on the subject. I could use the help as well. Have fun with that new system.