Frustrated Audio CR Recorder Owner

[artcal]

Don't know if this is right place to post this thread or not but here goes----

I’m a very frustrated audio cd recorder. I have an old Marantz compact disc recorder, Model DR6050. (I’m an old timer but I still record audio CD music onto blank discs.) I play the recorded cd's on my Yamaha disc changer (Model CDM-900) and in my car cd changer (Alpine 5630) as well as the Marantz.


Trying to find blank audio cd discs that work has been an ongoing frustration. I’ve tried almost every brand and never know what I’m going to get. Some will read and record, some won’t. Some will record and play but after some continue play will no longer read or then skip, stick, etc.


Many years ago, I found Fujifilm 80 minute CD-R Audio blank discs that worked. They were made in Japan. At the time, I bought 200 blank discs and over time I used them up. Now Fujifilm audio blanks are no longer made in Japan. I bought the non-Japanese Fuji audio blanks (made in Taiwan) and they don’t work. So here I go again. I contacted several online internet blank CDR media stores and surprislngly no can give me any answers. I did my own research and found Taiyo Yuden CDR audio blank discs. Everyone raves about them and the descriptor states that their blanks are compatible with all CD Recorders. I bought them (Taiyo Yuden CDR80WPP600SK CDR 52X) and they don’t work - message reads not audio cd - ugh!


I’m looking for 74 to 80-minute cd-r and/or cd-rw audio blank discs that are guaranteed to work. I’d prefer cd-rw because they can be erased if I mess up a recording. (Unfortunately recorded cd-rw's don't play on my Yamaha disc changer.) I’m looking for quality so willing to pay a little extra for something that is guaranteed to read, record and last and work on the for mentioned equipment. My concern is I don’t record frequently so I can’t test every disc to ensure they work. Two or three months from now, if one or several blank discs don’t work, I’m screwed.


I’m retired on a fixed income and this is my enjoyment. I don’t record everyday but when I do, they need to record and last. I can know longer afford to throw money down the toilet.


Any help or guidance is greatly appreciated.


Artcal

 

[slipperybidness]

Don't know if this is right place to post this thread or not but here goes----

I’m a very frustrated audio cd recorder. I have an old Marantz compact disc recorder, Model DR6050. (I’m an old timer but I still record audio CD music onto blank discs.) I play the recorded cd's on my Yamaha disc changer (Model CDM-900) and in my car cd changer (Alpine 5630) as well as the Marantz.


Trying to find blank audio cd discs that work has been an ongoing frustration. I’ve tried almost every brand and never know what I’m going to get. Some will read and record, some won’t. Some will record and play but after some continue play will no longer read or then skip, stick, etc.


Many years ago, I found Fujifilm 80 minute CD-R Audio blank discs that worked. They were made in Japan. At the time, I bought 200 blank discs and over time I used them up. Now Fujifilm audio blanks are no longer made in Japan. I bought the non-Japanese Fuji audio blanks (made in Taiwan) and they don’t work. So here I go again. I contacted several online internet blank CDR media stores and surprislngly no can give me any answers. I did my own research and found Taiyo Yuden CDR audio blank discs. Everyone raves about them and the descriptor states that their blanks are compatible with all CD Recorders. I bought them (Taiyo Yuden CDR80WPP600SK CDR 52X) and they don’t work - message reads not audio cd - ugh!


I’m looking for 74 to 80-minute cd-r and/or cd-rw audio blank discs that are guaranteed to work. I’d prefer cd-rw because they can be erased if I mess up a recording. (Unfortunately recorded cd-rw's don't play on my Yamaha disc changer.) I’m looking for quality so willing to pay a little extra for something that is guaranteed to read, record and last and work on the for mentioned equipment. My concern is I don’t record frequently so I can’t test every disc to ensure they work. Two or three months from now, if one or several blank discs don’t work, I’m screwed.


I’m retired on a fixed income and this is my enjoyment. I don’t record everyday but when I do, they need to record and last. I can know longer afford to throw money down the toilet.


Any help or guidance is greatly appreciated.


Artcal

Well, I am absolutely not surprised that your attempts to ask and get customer service failed.

I can't guarantee that they will work for you, but when I need blank CDRs (or DVDs), I only buy Maxell or TDK.

I absolutely will not buy any Memorex discs, bottom of the barrel. And I don't like Sony either.

 

[jotham]

I'm not sure I fully understand the issue but my best guess would be that the problem has less to do with the disks and more to do with your audio cd burner. The most reliable way that I've made audio cds is using a computer cd burner by a decently reviewed company such as Lite-On and software such as Nero (or maybe DBPoweramp). The point I'm slowly getting to is that most commodity computer cd burner drives seem to do a better job then older standalone components such as your Marantz. Plus, you can control the burning speed and do validation after the burn.

Plus, you won't be restricted to using some sort of special Audio CD-R but can use any CD-R.

 

[slipperybidness]

I'm not sure I fully understand the issue but my best guess would be that the problem has less to do with the disks and more to do with your audio cd burner. The most reliable way that I've made audio cds is using a computer cd burner by a decently reviewed company such as Lite-On and software such as Nero (or maybe DBPoweramp). The point I'm slowly getting to is that most commodity computer cd burner drives seem to do a better job then older standalone components such as your Marantz. Plus, you can control the burning speed and do validation after the burn.

Plus, you won't be restricted to using some sort of special Audio CD-R but can use any CD-R.

You may be correct. But there are absolutely differences between discs (CD-R or RW). I have certain players that will not play certain brands, even though the disk wont play in player A, it will play in player B.

 

[jotham]

You may be correct. But there are absolutely differences between discs (CD-R or RW). I have certain players that will not play certain brands, even though the disk wont play in player A, it will play in player B.

Sure. There are definitely issues with reflectivity and different brands. That said, the quality of the burn itself can make a difference especially when a laser is more sensitive to one brand or another. I am stating that a modern computer CD burner probably does a better quality burn then the Marantz. The only real way to prove/disprove this assertion is to take one of the CD-Rs that is sketchy and burn an audio CD using a computer.

But you are totally correct, there are lots of older components out there that are just not that compatible with different types of CD-Rs. My old alpine head unit was sensitive to certain burned CDs but the newer head units seem to be less sensitive. Probably because they are more standardized nowadays on a certain laser pickup.

good luck,

Jotham

 

[jotham]

I should add one last thing that I just remembered. The burn speed matters. Even though my computer burners could theoretically burn at 52X, I would usually restrict them to 8X max so that they were more reliable in different CD transports.

 

[artcal]

Just wanted to thank everyone for responding to my post.

Just for your info. Basically all of my audio equipment is now considered outdated. I do have a computer that burns cdrs but I'm sort of in a catch 22. Any cds I burn with the computer will not play in the audio recorder or multi-changer (the multi-changer is my prime music source); but if I can burn them in my audio recorder, they will play in everything I have. I'm old school. I'm an album guy with a high end turnable and other audio components. I burn cds from the albums to create my own personal music montage. To get everything computer compatible audio-wise will be a major investment. And as a retiree, I don't have the funds. So finding the right blank cdr is the most cost effective approach for me. But maybe this is a wake up call. I may not have any other choice but to update my equipment. Nevertheless, I will try other blank cdr media and see if I can get lucky. But again I want to thank everyone for their input.

Sincerely,
artcal

 

[slipperybidness]

Well, out-dated equipment is the peril for all of us in this hobby.

It will get you eventually, just gotta deal with it and minimize the $ if that is a concern. On the other hand, if you can get past the $, then upgrades are nice!

 

[Grador]

How old is your multi-changer? I've run into very few CD players that had trouble with CDr's so I would be quite surprised if this one wouldn't work. Just to make sure, were you burning the CDs as .wav files or as an audio CD?

 

[artcal]

Grador,

In response to your question, I've been burning CDs as an audio CD. I’m by no means a computer whiz. I’m average at best. So I fumble my way through best I can. Anyway, my equipment is ancient but mostly does the job. My cd recorder and multi-changer are both at least 15 years old. I’ve downloaded and burned some mp3 files to cdr’s but they won’t play in either machine. Probably because these machines were made before mp3 files became popular. Thanks for asking.