Best Sounding Recordable CD...

[DZ]

Do all blank CDs sound the same?

Are gold/purple discs better than silver (colored) discs?
Will sound improve if the bottom/top (of the disc) is black?

If so, which of the following would (in theory) sound best?

MOBILE FIDELITY GOLD- Ultradisc™ 24 KT Gold CD-R (each) 650 mb - Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Inc.

MAM/MITSUI GOLD- MAM-A Mitsui Medical Grade Gold Archival CD-R-100 disc spindle at Discount Prices

MEMOREX BLACK- CD-R Memorex audio (Pack de 30). chez Pany

DOUBLE-SIDED BLACK- 500-Pak =DOUBLE-SIDED BLACK/BLACK= PRODISC 80-Min CDRs! - eBay (item 300262112437 end time Jan-19-10 23:45:07 PST)

VINYL CD- Digital Vinyl CD-Râ„¢ 80MIN 700MB 52X 10pk Jewel Cases

[frundle]

I usually use a well known brand..simply because if something goes wrong in the final burn it should be my fault..write speed to high for processor that sort of thing. I do sometimes us a cheaper not well known brand for mp3 and so far they have been ok. Difficult ..not the answer you were looking for but trial may be the only answer. Regards

[DZ]

Frundle- Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Three reasons for my original post:
1. Many audiophiles believe darker (i.e. black/gold/purple) cds sound better
2. Some believe a dark top will improve a lasers ability to read/track info
3. Some believe dark cds can cause (some) lasers to misread information

Voodoo science?
Improved laser tracker?
Reduction in scattered light?
I have no idea

Thought a few people would have "chimed-in" by now...

[kaos]

Other than having some defective disks with a high bit error rate I can’t say that I’ve actually noticed any difference in sound character between different types.

[star882]

Read back the data after writing to make sure it was written correctly. It does not guarantee that another drive will read it correctly, however. Back when I repaired computers a lot, I often had to swap the CD drive with one I kept for that purpose because the one already in the system would not read CD-RWs.

At least modern motherboards can boot from USB...

[wwenze]

Jitter and C1 values can be measured, but there's always the question of -

1. At how much does it matter
2. How does it translate into sound quality (since non-perfect reproduction of sound does sound good, as some members here have demostrated)
3. If it can be detected, measure, and error-corrected, does it still count as an error?

I won't say my opinion on this, because I only understand this till the bit level, and at this level all properly-burnt/pressed discs are the same as shown by matching EAC checksums across the internet. So obviously anything different happens below being bit-accurate. (It's the same with SPDIF isn't it?)

[sendler]

CDR blanks sound different. I like the Mitsui Gold and gold audio. even those two are quite different and the advantages come down to flavors. Neither one better than the other. I like the Gold. Mitsui silver are more reasonably priced and still a cut above a Staples or Memorex. I have never tried any dark discs. A good digital out from a hard drive is better still.

[mightydub]

Assuming the recordable CD is written correctly - i.e. no bit errors and correct CIRC, and the player is capable of reading the recordable media with a low enough bit error rate that can be dealt with by the CIRC, one disc is going to sound like another. There's nothing special about an audio CD vs. a data CD - it is all just data with error check / correction codes. If you believe otherwise, then I have some special green pens to sell you - just run the green pen around the edge of the CD to experience dramatically improved air and space between instruments and greater transparency. Smoother treble too. Only $99.99 each.

[kimbo]

I had a couple of spindles of TDK gold from a well know melbourne chain a couple of years ago - one day I noticed a hole in the silvered reflective layer. I then held a few up to the light and they all had multiple pin holes. I was most suprised as I believed that TDK would be a reputable brand. Counterfeit? Don't know.

So I swapped to the Sony silver ones as I figured that they'd have to be OK. However I did check out some TDK gold's a month or so ago at work and they seemed OK.
Note that I could not hear any problems with the TDKs...... I just didn't want to take any chances.
I suggest that you occasionally hold a blank up to the light and check them out.

[wwenze]

Actually... TDK isn't really reputable, in the recordable optical media market. Decent, maybe.

If you have a compatible drive you should download CDSpeed and run some tests. Wonder how a disc with holes would fare.

I think it'd be dead for data but if you can't hear any difference... this deserves a scan. Back to my previous post above.