What Blank CD media should I buy?
01-07-2002, 10:37 AM
#1
Admin Alumni
Thread Starter
What Blank CD media should I buy?
We just got a read/write CD drive for X-mas, and need to know what brand of CD media to buy for best music reproduction. I understand some CD stock produces tinny sound. But there was one brand on a thread several months ago that everyone really liked. (The search engine on this forum and I are not bonding well)
01-07-2002, 10:42 AM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Gaithersburg, MD
Posts: 1,230
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2002 C240 6-spd (ret)
Don't know what's best as I haven't gotten into CD recording, but I do have a question. How can some brands result in a "tinny" sound? CD's are "burned" with digital info which represents the musical info. The data "pits" are either there or not, so I'm not sure how the media itself can make a difference. Seems like it would be more a function of the playback device, but even then, unless there's a problem with the D/A (digital/analog) converter, there shouldn't be a reduction in sound quality.
Maybe I'm in need of some enlightenment!
Maybe I'm in need of some enlightenment!
01-07-2002, 11:20 AM
#3
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Sitting behind thing freakin desk of mine. Dreaming I was playing my Taylors, and driving my Benz. Long Live The VRAA!!!!!!
Posts: 2,924
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
C230 Sports Coupe
Memorex or imation. they have always worked well for me. There are others out there for more $ but imo most are the same.
01-07-2002, 11:22 AM
#4
Almost a Member!
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Texas - U.S.A.
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
camper shoes
cd-mp3 player
Come on, MB. Show BMW what's up. Make that CDplayer that takes up space in the glove box compatible with MP3 CDs. You have the technology. Make it happen.
01-07-2002, 11:25 AM
#5
Out Of Control!!
I've always used Sony discs. I'm no expert, but I can't tell the difference from the original. You can get a pack of 50 discs for about 20 bucks. You can get the Jewel Cases seperate if needed.
01-07-2002, 12:37 PM
#6
MBWorld Fanatic!
They are hard to find but the best CD-Rs out there are the Kodak Ultima Silver+Gold. They last, never got a dud, and have a great reputation. You can always get them at the Kodak website or I usually get them from buy.com.
The cheap silver ones that you get 50 for $10 are usually junk. The songs drop off after a while and usually go bad in less than a year. The problems with cheapies is that you have to slow down the recording to 1x or 2x in order to burn them enough so that they last a bit.
Music sounds the same on any CD-R but not all CD-R will play in some CD or DVD players.
The cheap silver ones that you get 50 for $10 are usually junk. The songs drop off after a while and usually go bad in less than a year. The problems with cheapies is that you have to slow down the recording to 1x or 2x in order to burn them enough so that they last a bit.
Music sounds the same on any CD-R but not all CD-R will play in some CD or DVD players.
01-07-2002, 12:57 PM
#7
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Calgary, AB, Canada
Posts: 552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2002 C230K, Silver, 6-speed, Evo, Roof, Leather, CD, Staggered C7 Wheels
Hi MB-BOB
What blank CD media you buy should not influence the music reproduction quality. Like MarkL said, the music is recorded digitally and the data-bits are either there or not.
I wouldn't buy the cheapest available simply because there is a higher risk of running into problems while burning the CD. Ocasionally the lowest cost CDR disks exibit some manufacturing defects.
Personally I've been mostly using the Maxell 80min CDRs from Costco with basically no problems.
Hope this helps.
What blank CD media you buy should not influence the music reproduction quality. Like MarkL said, the music is recorded digitally and the data-bits are either there or not.
I wouldn't buy the cheapest available simply because there is a higher risk of running into problems while burning the CD. Ocasionally the lowest cost CDR disks exibit some manufacturing defects.
Personally I've been mostly using the Maxell 80min CDRs from Costco with basically no problems.
Hope this helps.
Trending Topics
01-07-2002, 12:59 PM
#8
MBWorld Fanatic!
i've used pretty much any brand and haven't had troubles. i think the 100pack/50pack deals are great. 50 for $10 is a great deal.
sony, tdk, maxell, imation, 3m, basf, verbatim, etc. but i'v never gotten cds that do not have a label on them.
as long as you don't have them in the sun, the cds should last. that is, i haven't had any of my burned cds fail (should i add 'yet'?) and i've been burning for years.
i tend to get silver/gold cds also as they work better in more cd players/dvd players/etc. but many of my cds are blue/green. don't get black.
there are also 2 sizes, 80min and 74min.
also, the cds that i burned that are blue/green work fine in my car's cd changer
mb-bob, now you just need a digital camera
sony, tdk, maxell, imation, 3m, basf, verbatim, etc. but i'v never gotten cds that do not have a label on them.
as long as you don't have them in the sun, the cds should last. that is, i haven't had any of my burned cds fail (should i add 'yet'?) and i've been burning for years.
i tend to get silver/gold cds also as they work better in more cd players/dvd players/etc. but many of my cds are blue/green. don't get black.
there are also 2 sizes, 80min and 74min.
also, the cds that i burned that are blue/green work fine in my car's cd changer
mb-bob, now you just need a digital camera
Last edited by young; 01-07-2002 at 03:34 PM.
01-07-2002, 02:10 PM
#9
Admin Alumni
Thread Starter
Originally posted by young
mb-bob, now you just need a digital camera
mb-bob, now you just need a digital camera
01-07-2002, 03:16 PM
#10
MBWorld Fanatic!
Digital cameras can be cheap you just have to know how to buy them correctly. For example, last month I bought a Canon S300 for $500 from 800.com with free shipping, no sales tax using MSN Passport and Amex Blue (Amex Gold works too). 800.com gave me a $50 GC for buying from them, MSN gave me $100 rebate for using passport, Amex Blue price matched to an unreputable online dealer for $309 and sent me a check for $191. All in all I paid $159 delivered for a camera that sells for $500 even at CostCo. You can do stuff like this for any camera. The popular one people do is the Nikon 995 and they get that for under $400. I like my Canon S300 because it's small and takes great pictures and love the 3x zoom.
01-07-2002, 03:31 PM
#11
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Orlando, FL
Posts: 644
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2002 Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor Sports Coupe
It has a lot to do with the type of media used to create the CD. Look at the bottom and the color will tell you. The cheapest (worse) for music are blue. Green is a close second from the bottom. Silver is pretty good (best you will find in local store) and Gold is fantastic.
I agree that Kodak Gold are the best, they work in just about every player, even non-CDR ready ones.
I agree that Kodak Gold are the best, they work in just about every player, even non-CDR ready ones.
01-07-2002, 07:43 PM
#13
Almost a Member!
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
MB Bob:
Using Memorex CDR's, I had clicking/popping during playback when burned with my Sony software, but none when I started burning with Real Player Jukebox. I'm not saying that is the best way to go, but it was a night and day difference to me. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than I will elaborate on software choices.
Good Luck
Using Memorex CDR's, I had clicking/popping during playback when burned with my Sony software, but none when I started burning with Real Player Jukebox. I'm not saying that is the best way to go, but it was a night and day difference to me. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than I will elaborate on software choices.
Good Luck
01-07-2002, 07:44 PM
#14
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Posts: 2,309
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
C200 Kompressor
Originally posted by Buellwinkle
They are hard to find but the best CD-Rs out there are the Kodak Ultima Silver+Gold. They last, never got a dud, and have a great reputation. You can always get them at the Kodak website or I usually get them from buy.com.
The cheap silver ones that you get 50 for $10 are usually junk. The songs drop off after a while and usually go bad in less than a year. The problems with cheapies is that you have to slow down the recording to 1x or 2x in order to burn them enough so that they last a bit.
Music sounds the same on any CD-R but not all CD-R will play in some CD or DVD players.
They are hard to find but the best CD-Rs out there are the Kodak Ultima Silver+Gold. They last, never got a dud, and have a great reputation. You can always get them at the Kodak website or I usually get them from buy.com.
The cheap silver ones that you get 50 for $10 are usually junk. The songs drop off after a while and usually go bad in less than a year. The problems with cheapies is that you have to slow down the recording to 1x or 2x in order to burn them enough so that they last a bit.
Music sounds the same on any CD-R but not all CD-R will play in some CD or DVD players.
01-08-2002, 02:15 PM
#15
MBWorld Fanatic!
Quality of the CD is determined by write speed and media defects, not color. Modern CD burners test the blank CD for optimum speed and write accordingly. You should be buying CDs that have at least the maximum write capability as your burner, unless you are not interested in copy/write speed.
Scratches, fingerprints, hair, dirt, etc. on the CD or player can effect sound quality and play ability. CDs are dirt cheap today if bought in bulk (50 spindle). Go for speed and cost balance
that suites you. My last two spindles of CDs were Maxell (black!) and I have had no rejects on my HP 8X burner.
Scratches, fingerprints, hair, dirt, etc. on the CD or player can effect sound quality and play ability. CDs are dirt cheap today if bought in bulk (50 spindle). Go for speed and cost balance
that suites you. My last two spindles of CDs were Maxell (black!) and I have had no rejects on my HP 8X burner.
01-08-2002, 02:46 PM
#16
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Sunny South Florida
Posts: 1,783
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
1995 Jaguar XJS Convertible
Originally posted by mleskovar
Quality of the CD is determined by write speed and media defects, not color. Modern CD burners test the blank CD for optimum speed and write accordingly. You should be buying CDs that have at least the maximum write capability as your burner, unless you are not interested in copy/write speed.
Scratches, fingerprints, hair, dirt, etc. on the CD or player can effect sound quality and play ability. CDs are dirt cheap today if bought in bulk (50 spindle). Go for speed and cost balance
that suites you. My last two spindles of CDs were Maxell (black!) and I have had no rejects on my HP 8X burner.
Quality of the CD is determined by write speed and media defects, not color. Modern CD burners test the blank CD for optimum speed and write accordingly. You should be buying CDs that have at least the maximum write capability as your burner, unless you are not interested in copy/write speed.
Scratches, fingerprints, hair, dirt, etc. on the CD or player can effect sound quality and play ability. CDs are dirt cheap today if bought in bulk (50 spindle). Go for speed and cost balance
that suites you. My last two spindles of CDs were Maxell (black!) and I have had no rejects on my HP 8X burner.
When we switched to the Kodak brand gold CD's we experienced zero issues. We were also using a production CD burner (i.e., one that copies 50 in a row. All blanks are on a spindle on the left, and when they are written they are moved to the spindle on the right).
