How do I use computer CDR's in my CD recorder?

[seoman]

Originally posted by clem_o

ps: if you do copy an audio cd to the HDD, as long as you save it as a WAV it should be pretty much the same bit stream as the CD - not unless your software has 'automatic features' enabled - such as silence removal, etc - things that you can turn off.

What about a ripping an image of the disc. That way all bits (should) stay at the same location.

I definitly prefer recording onto the hdd.
You never run out of media.
You can easily edit the recording.
placing track marks
When it comes to crappy sources like radio i can store them into a compressed format.

Regards, Simon

[peufeu]

Jitter on the CD doesn't matter as long as your DAC properly reclocks with a low-jitter master clock. If you use standard SPDIF with a low jitter rejection PLL like in the standard CS841X receivers, of course you will hear the jitter effects. It is not a problem in the source ; it is just the result of incorrect implementation in the DAC. It is a tragedy that 99.99 etc % of the DACs in use work this way...

About ripping to the computer :

Ripping an image file extracts the entire contents of the CD including the errors and error correction codes, headers, and a whole lot of other information you don't really need. I think it is better to rip to WAV, or even better to a lossless codec like FLAC, because :

- It will use less space, but you still get everything interesting (ie. the music)
- Most audio players read FLAC ; few read ISOs
- Error correction will be performed on reading (if you use properly configured EAC or Plextools)

The last point is important : when ripping a CD to ISO, only one pass is made ; if there are read errors because of scratches, etc. they will get through. On the other hand, a specialized audio ripper like EAC or Plextools will understand audio and find read errors, then re-read until it gets the bits right. It will also tell you if uncorrectable errors occured so that you can polish your disk with a suitable product and recover your music.

Also, when copying a CD, if you go CD -> Wav -> CD-R, the errors are corrected on reading. If you copy by ISO or direct stream copy, the scratches are copied also.

I find Plextools better than EAC (it's faster and as accurate), but of course it only works with Plextor drives.