CDR Fidelity?

If you're burning on a computer use the program "Exact Audio Copy". I tried this program and got better results than with the standard Nero or Roxio, but the copies were still worse than the originals. I have to agree that burning on a computer system makes for bad copies for use in hi-rez systems. If you have a hi-rez system, spend the $$$ on a high end recorder like the Burmeister. Apparently the best burners create copies that are superior to the originals. Apparently when the disk is being copied the data is reclocked and the jitter is removed from the disk. There are other forums on Audiogon about this phenomenon.

According to some people the copies sound better because jitter is reduced when copying. I personally do not know how this is possible but in general, my copies sound as good as the originals unless I copy an HDCD disc. The disc will copy but it will not copy the HDCD encoding and the CDs sound thin and in some cases distorted.

Like most things, your tools and your approach will make all the difference. First, always use an application designed to create bit for bit copies (EAC is a good suggestion). Second, invest in a high-quality (pro) burner. Without getting mired in the details, Plextor makes the highest quality, most reliable PC based burners out there. Standalone burners by HHB and Tascam are worth the investment as well. If you're not going to do any digital editing, the standalone units are pretty goof-proof.

I've been doing digital transfer for many years now (mostly DAT > CD) and once you get your groove down (no pun intended) it works like it's supposed to. BTW, HDCD disks should cause you no additional problems - they should copy and sound exactly like the originals.

Good luck!

Alan

Hi,I have no logical explanation,but,in some cases,CDR copies that I make with a JISCO jitter decorrelator,actually sound better than the originals.
Quite a few people to whom I have played originals and copies have preferred the copies over the originals.
Raanan

I agree with Ejlif and Dopogue. And use a Marantz CDR500 Professional recorder (dubbing). I either cannot tell the copies from originals, or sometimes even think that the CDRs are better, ie smoother. But in a blind test, I'm sure I couldn't tell them apart. I've owned 4-5 CD recorders, and found that the Pioneer units (W739 and W37 Elite) also make excellent copies.

Also, I've had no problem copying HDCD discs, ie HDCD shows up on my ML 360S DAC when playing the copy, just like it does when playing the original, and the HDCD copies sound just as good. The default recording speed of the Marantz is 2X and I've used it a lot with excellent results, ie I can't tell CDs made at 1X from those made at 2X-- but I don't consider 2X to be "high speed".

A year or two ago, M. Fremer of Stereophile compared CDRs made by 3 consumer grade CD Recorders to originals and could not reliably tell the difference between the originals and the copies, and he was impressed with them. But for copying LPs to CD, the most expensive CD Recorder (a $1000-$1500. Denon I think), was clearly superior to the cheaper recorders, ie the Denon had a much better AD converter. Cheers. Craig