CDR's Some General Questions

[hershon]

Will I get the same quality sound recording my CD's on a Maxell computer usage CDR or as opposed to a regular or music CDR?

Is there any difference in quality on CDR recordings by Brand- i.e., will a Maxell CDR sound better than a cheap no name CDR if you're recording the same CD?

Can anyone here, actually notice the difference in sound quality between playing a CDR & the original recording? Be honest.

[N. Abstentia]

There shouldn't be any difference in the sound quality of any CD-R. It's digital. Either it's on there or it's not. The difference in discs is compatability and reliability.

And yes, on my Marantz player I can sometimes pick out whether I'm playing a CD-R or the orignial. The CD-R is just a tad more fizzy in some cases. 9 out of 10 times I probably couldn't tell the difference though.

[Lensman]

Will I get the same quality sound recording my CD's on a Maxell computer usage CDR or as opposed to a regular or music CDR?

Yes. As long as you can write to the CD-R and your players can read the disk, the quality of the content is the same. In fact, though there are a couple hundred different brands of CD-Rs on the market, only about 19 companies actually manufacture them for everyone.

Is there any difference in quality on CDR recordings by Brand- i.e., will a Maxell CDR sound better than a cheap no name CDR if you're recording the same CD?

The sound quality will be no better or worse between them, but different CD-Rs are manufactured differently and this DOES affect the ability to read and write them and how long they last. But it's not brand you need to look for, it's color.

You can differentiate CD-Rs by the color of their writing side. Different CD-Rs use different dyes in their recording layer. This base dye color changes when the gold or silver reflective coating is added. The resulting combinations appear green, blue, gold or silver. For a laser looking at these at 780 nm, the differences in color are supposed to be irrelevant. However CD standards are fairly loose, so some CD writers and readers can have trouble with certain types of media.

Gold/silver CD-Rs use PhthaloCyanine and a gold or silver reflection layer. As the pigment is transparent, the gold/silver reflective layer shines through the bottom to give the disk its color. Compared to the other colored media, the reflection contrast of these disks is the highest and the durability said to be over 100 years. Because these disks have the best reflective properties, readers and writer generally have less problems reading and burning data on them.

Green CD-Rs are the cheapest to manufacture, using Cyanine for the pigment. This pigment is blue in color. With the gold reflective layer, they look green. Cyanine's ability to maintain reflectivity is poor and results in a lifespan of around 10 years. Green CD-Rs have the lowest reflection contrasts and thus are more prone to read and write errors.

Recently Cyanine formula was altered and the gold reflection layer was replaced by a silver one making the color of the recording side blue. These disks are supposed to have a longer lifespan of 20 to 50 years.

Blue CD-Rs are made with Azo pigments. Like cyanine, it's blue in color. Blue CD-Rs use a silver reflective layer which gives the blue color. Manufacturers claim blue CD-R's are as durable as golden ones.

So it's best to avoid the green ones. Blue ones are probably okay, but it's hard to tell Cyanine/silver and the better Azo/silver ones apart. So for best read/write ability and durability, look for silver or gold disks.

Can anyone here, actually notice the difference in sound quality between playing a CDR & the original recording? Be honest.

Not if they're burned with decent software. The best is this one (which is free):

http://exactaudiocopy.de/

[hershon]

Appreciate the input from you guys. Thanks

Yes. As long as you can write to the CD-R and your players can read the disk, the quality of the content is the same. In fact, though there are a couple hundred different brands of CD-Rs on the market, only about 19 companies actually manufacture them for everyone.



The sound quality will be no better or worse between them, but different CD-Rs are manufactured differently and this DOES affect the ability to read and write them and how long they last. But it's not brand you need to look for, it's color.

You can differentiate CD-Rs by the color of their writing side. Different CD-Rs use different dyes in their recording layer. This base dye color changes when the gold or silver reflective coating is added. The resulting combinations appear green, blue, gold or silver. For a laser looking at these at 780 nm, the differences in color are supposed to be irrelevant. However CD standards are fairly loose, so some CD writers and readers can have trouble with certain types of media.

Gold/silver CD-Rs use PhthaloCyanine and a gold or silver reflection layer. As the pigment is transparent, the gold/silver reflective layer shines through the bottom to give the disk its color. Compared to the other colored media, the reflection contrast of these disks is the highest and the durability said to be over 100 years. Because these disks have the best reflective properties, readers and writer generally have less problems reading and burning data on them.

Green CD-Rs are the cheapest to manufacture, using Cyanine for the pigment. This pigment is blue in color. With the gold reflective layer, they look green. Cyanine's ability to maintain reflectivity is poor and results in a lifespan of around 10 years. Green CD-Rs have the lowest reflection contrasts and thus are more prone to read and write errors.

Recently Cyanine formula was altered and the gold reflection layer was replaced by a silver one making the color of the recording side blue. These disks are supposed to have a longer lifespan of 20 to 50 years.

Blue CD-Rs are made with Azo pigments. Like cyanine, it's blue in color. Blue CD-Rs use a silver reflective layer which gives the blue color. Manufacturers claim blue CD-R's are as durable as golden ones.

So it's best to avoid the green ones. Blue ones are probably okay, but it's hard to tell Cyanine/silver and the better Azo/silver ones apart. So for best read/write ability and durability, look for silver or gold disks.



Not if they're burned with decent software. The best is this one (which is free):

http://exactaudiocopy.de/