do burnt CD copys sound as good as originals?

So how do you burn CD's "bit-for-bit" on a Windows system without compressing?

It will depend on the software and ensuring that the original file is not compressed. For example, iTunes has a setting in the preferences folder that is normally set to automatically compress any CD you stick in the PC and copy into iTunes (AAC format is the default, just like the iTunes music store)...obviously the setting needs to be changed so that there is no compression when copying an original CD.

...as for iTunes downloaded music=> there is NO solution it is already compressed - so what you burn it to a CD audio format from what was downloaded from iTunes on your hard drive then it will definitely be inferior to the original CD that you might purchase, for example, at Amazon.

If you normally rip your CDs with Apple Lossless, should you change that to a non-compressed format for the CDs (or tracks) you wish to burn to new CDs?

If you normally rip your CDs with Apple Lossless, should you change that to a non-compressed format for the CDs (or tracks) you wish to burn to new CDs?

Apple lossless should not lose any information - this is one of the few commonly used audio compression algorithms that is NOT lossy. When you burn an audio CD it should give you a perfect redbook CD by converting teh compressed file to redbook (provided the apple software and burner are working fine)

Thanks.

Does anyone know how to edit songs for burning, such as to clip just a portion
of a song? I want to make some CDs for component evaluations and don't need
entire selections in many cases. Not something you can do in iTunes, is it?

Drubin, is there any chance that your panasonic dual tray CDR actually copies via the DAC and ADC rather than making a bit perfect copy ? This would certainly explain degradation. It would be a ridiculous design, but we are talking consumer electronics, and sound quality likely plays much less of a part than the simplest, cheapest design.

If I copy a CD by using my PC and treating it as a data disc and having the computer do a simple "dupicate disc" I can hear absolutely no difference from the original.

I'm with shadorne ... it should make no difference, unless the CD is badly scratched, and the computer CD-rom drive has better error correction capabilities than the transport in your CD player.