Do CD-R's sound the same as originals

For years I made CDR backups and copies, and didn't really notice anything different. Now that I have a more revealing system (having been shown the error of my lo-fi ways), the difference is quite aparent. While I'm not going to argue with anyone about "how" they sound different, I WILL say that CDR degradation is a fact, and I have witnessed it with some particular brands more than others. It starts with a pop here and there and gets progressively worse until most cd players won't play it. Not only is this a problem for music, but I've also lost data discs to the same fate. (Over an elapsed time of approx. 5 months) Granted, there could have been something terribly wrong with that set of CDRs, but... And lastly, copying a CD to hard disk, I can't help but notice the pops and clicks that are present even before it's burned to the CDR. (Using headphones and classical) Perhaps it's a problem within MY system. This makes me think that maybe some of the problem of CDRs lays not only in the medium itself, but also in the path which the data takes to that destination. While I haven't tried every method of improving the sound here, I have been writing at 1X, reading from source at 1X, copying disk images to HD 1st, etc. Sound still isn't up to snuff. Happy Listening

I recently began copying most of my collection onto CDRs using a recently purchased computer - in other words, recent hardware and recent software. I hear no difference and believe that the reason I hear no difference is because it's extremely easy to prove (repeatedly) that the CDRs are a bit-for-bit exact match to the original CD. If you're hearing a difference, I can think of no logical reason other than that the bits are different, which certainly has been the case with older hardware and software, but has no reason to be the case now. Degradation may also be a real phenomenon, but in that case it is again due to bits that are unreadable and therefore end up at the DAC differently.

I have had astounding results with a computer burner! Just perfect using acer cd-r's. I playback on a Wadia 830. Wanna buy my originals?

I have mastered over 2000 hours of live music in either the analog domain or digital. Since 1989, I have been exclusively recording digitally to DAT. Of course I would have rather used analog equipment, however, because all of my recordings are done on location I have to use the best possible portable gear, which has included very expensive mics, Neuman, B&K, Schoeps and AKG. I have also used the following DATs, Panasonic SV250 and 255, Sony D10 pro II and PCM 2600. I always use an outboard mic pre-amp, Aerco MP2, Lunatec, Byer, Schoeps ect. Also, I have used many A/D's, Sony's SBM, Apogee's AD 500 and 1000, ect. Why I am stating this is that I believe I have a good idea how the mastered DAT sounds. For archival purposes I have DAT back ups and recently CDR's. I can detect generational loss from DAT's. It comes across as a thinning of the sound, ect. On CDR, which I use a Marantz CDR 630, I haven't noticed a significant loss, at least not large enough to become dogmatic in my views. In summary, if you have the original, hey, play it and enjoy it. It should sound as good as it is. If you are making a copy for back up, well, that is why you are copying it, for back up. Buy original when possible and support the artists. However, at times a copy is all we have to listen to.

Hi there, The theory is simple - in bit-for-bit perfect copy there is no loss of information. Period. However, if there is an error during the copy process, the CDR or CDRW can still play and the error correction software in the player can mask it - hence the degradation in performance. Even a click or a skip in extreme cases - this is a due to a big error not corrected by the player. On the other hand, a copy can sound BETTER than the original. Simple explanation - the amount of jitter introduced during recording can be LESS than the amount of jitter on the original. The huge buffers in computer CDR burners can help exactly with this. They buffer the signal from the original CD, and use the computer own clock as a sync signal when writing to the copy. The clocks in computers run at 10-100 times higher rate of the synch signal of the clocks in ordinary players and DACs. Consumer players/recorders combos often don't have these big buffers, run at 10 to 50 Mhz (as opposed to up to a GHz or more in computers) and can introduce more jitter. Especially at high speeds. Hope you know how jitter translates into signal degradation during payback... To summarize: given the following: - bit-per-bit perfect copy - no errors during copying - the same or smaller amount of jitter in the copy - AND - your player can read wihout a hickup (e.g. reads 100% of all bits recorded) there is simply no way the copy can sound worse than the original. If anyone hears a degradation the reasons could be: - introduced more jitter in the copy - there are errors during the copy process or it is otherwise not bit-per-bit perfect copy - player can't read all bits properly so it has to "guess" and interpolate the signal - OR one's just hearing things... Hope this helps a bit. Please, visit http://www.digido.com/jitteressay.html for more info. I'm in no way affiliated with the folks there - I'm just an EE and signal processing major with a mid-fi system that supports the theory - in most cases there is no difference to my ears... Regards, Kocho