Accurate or 'hip wader' time?

[Tizeye]

Last weekend auditioning B&W 602's and Paradigm MiniMonitors and Studio 20's (nicely displayed next to each other - on purpose to upsell). The two were at different retailers, so no direct, but used the same music source.

Since I live in Florida, I don't carry originals - burn copies to carry in a hot car. B&W retailer seen first didn't say anything about it, but Paradigm retailer emphatically stated that the cd-r copy doesn't have to dynamics of the original. He could tell by listing to the cymbals not being as crisp - obviously inferring that what I was hearing now would sound even better in the event I found something inferior in the speakers. (He could also tell it was a cd-r because he loaded it in the player and it had nothing to do with his ears. )

When I got home, tested his statement with the original and cd-r, specifically listing to the cymbals. I couldn't hear any difference, but of course they were 30 y/o speakers (EPI100's) which were noted for their tweeter capability. I tested 2 ways, listing to the track individually in the cd player, then time sync'* with one in the cd player and the other in the dvd player and changing source on the receiver.

I guess my question is - is there anything to his statement or just sales technique? Should I only audition with originals, or is cd-r fine?

Incidently, using track 1 of Yanni Live at the Acropolis. Great dynamic range as the bass kicks in and roll all the way up to the treble - with his showmanship overemphasis in each area. B&W took the time to remove from retail shelf and set up in demo room, great sound staging with the piano in particular sounding squarely between the two speakers. Wasn't as apparent with the Paradigm's which remained on the retail shelf, but the difference between the mini-monitor and Studio 20 was noticable, particurally in the tweeter response.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

That salesman is full if it, digital is digital and if your program made an exact copy of the original cd without errors then you would never be able to hear the difference. If however, you converted the original cd to mp3 then back to cd, that would be different. He is an audiophool, golden eared snob, ignorant about cd burning or all of the above

 

[Rob Babcock]

There are possible circumstances where a CD-R could be inferior (say if you used the analog inputs of a standalone recorder), but any bit accurate copy done on a PC should sound at least as good as the original. I say "at least" because there's some discussion as to whether a burned CD-R could potentially sound better than a disc pressed from a glass master (ie normal CD).

I agree that the salesman is either misinformed or trying to cover his arse in the event you didn't like the speakers.

 

[Tizeye]

Thanks for reconfirming.

The copy was made on a PC direct from the original - not an mp3 or multi-component line copy/conversion.

 

[nobody special]

my two cents

Unfortunately I have recently discovered that with at least one commonly-used computer CD copying package (Nero Express), it's possible to "copy" a CD with no reported errors and have the copy sound quite different from and inferior to the original. Apparently there's a whole world of sloppy copying going on around us that we weren't aware of. Now I'm suspicious of other copies I've made.

Wish it weren't so. I guess I was lucky to try to copy an especially sketchy CD and got utterly incontrovertible results. The degradation is not minor, and there's no possibility it's just "in my head." So I know it's a real issue.

Now I'm trying to research the issue, find out how to make a REAL digital copy, like so the copy is the same as the original (I thought that was the point in the first place!), and I ran into this forum page. So I thought I'd throw my bit in.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Unfortunately, you have to know what you're doing with Nero. It does use some default settings that can compromise sound quality. But the good thing is, you can set it up to make great copies.

If you need a real "bonehead proof" burner that's bit accurate, check into EAC (Exact Audio Copy). It's the tool of choice for bit-perfect copies and is totally free. You can google for it, and there's several sites you can download it from.

 

[JoeE SP9]

Nero Express came with my CD burner and my DVD burner. I don't use it. I have been using Exact Audio Copy. This is a freeware CD copy program. I heard about it through J. A. of Stereophile. I have passed it on to several audio buddies and they are using it. It does audio copying much better than Nero. Direct a search engine to Exact Audio Copy and download a copy and give it a try. It's only a couple of meg so even a dial up connection should do it quickly.