Hi Sean,
Sorry to hear about your playback phenomenon. It doesn't happen on mine. My friend's Pioneer 839 locks up during finalization every 15-18 discs. One of life's/technologies little querks.
I have made about 200 cdR's and use mostly TDK, Maxell Gold (made in Japan) and Mitsui music cdRs. Recently, I tried some Memorex Black All USE cdRs and they appear equal in sound quality as the others. I also have some Maxell Pro's to try. They are the one's with the triple coated surface...I think they may just be re-labled Mitsui's by the discription. If so, I will probably use them as an alternative to the Mitsui's since they have to be special ordered.
OBTW, call TDK's service department to see what they say. I telephoned them before my 30-day trial period was up to see how fast they responded and answered questions and they were excellent. I talked to Rudy and then to the Manager - Dave.