AA Capitole MKII/ CD Burner to use with it

Twopippis: Are you saying that the CD-R's that would not play on the Capitole MKII are now working after the installation of the p3 chip?

Maybe that's the root of my problems.... I just played a TDK burned on a computer-based recorder from a friend and it plays fine. Then, I burned a CD-R on my computer (Roxio) using my huge supply of Maxell CD-R's and it will NOT play. Very frustrating, but I don't have the p4 chip yet.

Gerryn, didn't see your post. I have a Marantz CDR-500. No A-A Capitole. I wish :-(

Well, just to throw a snag into this thread, I just got my MKII back from getting the P-3 upgrade and all of my CD-R's play just fine where before they did not play at all. So much for my previous comments about discussions with Audio Aero! Not to say I don't love Audio Aero because they have been absolutely incredible to me. Their customer service is better than any I've ever experienced, bar none!

I have the new P3 chip installed and it corrects all but two of the problems listed above. The clicking (relay) sound on some CD's and the time problem where the player changes the ":" between minutes and seconds to a numeral. I too have noticed that the volume needs to be “cranked-up” to provide a normal listening volume, but I have yet to exhaust the limit of the player’s volume control. I run my MK II direct.

I’m surprised to see how many people are playing CD-R’s in a player that costs near $9000.00 US, but never the less, you peaked my curiosity. So, I burned CD-R’s and CD-RW’s on two different CD-RW computer drives (a Sony CRX-160E and an HP 9100 series). I used cheapo CD-R(W)’s (Imation and GQ), both of which are data grade CD-R(W)’s. I used Roxio CD Creator software. I’ve tried mixing songs from various CD’s onto one CD-R or CD-RW. I’ve used the CD copier function of Roxio to copy an entire CD. I’ve burned them at various speeds. And, I’ve played them all in my MK II without any issue.

Since I couldn’t replicate the problems mentioned in this discussion, I then tried leaving the CD-R(W)’s un-finalized or with the session open. These would NOT play in the Capitole.

A while ago, I read a discussion about the quality of CD-R’s period (data or music). I found some software that reads the manufacturing info off the CD. Maybe you guys should check out that avenue. Hope this helps some of you.

Cdc: What Marantz burner do you use and do the copies play on your Capitole?

Marantz recommends TDK or Sony on their newer CDB's. I have had the best luck with these brands. BAD luck with Maxell, Memorex, etc.
Marantz recommends Mitsui Gold for their older CDB. I was originaly using Mitsui but had some read erors and ruined discs because the Marantz would crash between tracks when burning CDR's.
This is because the Mitsui's have much tighter tolerances on their burning tracks (the concept is correct even if my explanation isn't) and unless you have a very accurate laser placement there can be problems.

TPG.Obviously you do not read things correctly.It is not the Marantz.in other words there is absolutley nothing wrong with it.It is the type of cdrs that are being played on the Captiole.Strnge how you are the only one to totaly misconstrue that statement.

I think I might know why some of the players are not playing the CD-Rs. You have to wait for the player to load and onces it show the total track time on the display then press play. If you put in a CD-R and press play right away it show a error messages, but if you wait till it shows the total disc time on the front, then press play it should be fine. At least that's how mine is. Hope I helped.

I do not know what Sattothestars means by not the Marantz. My Marantz has always played everything including CDRs, no exceptions. Bad rap!

Gerryn, my Capitole MK II reads Maxell 80m CDRs without any problem.

Aron, I agree with you that the volume level has to be raised substantially to be able to listen! Maybe I need more efficient speakers.

Twopippis, do you know why the need for P3 over P2 (if the P2 ever existed?).

Yes, I do run it direct. My CD-Rs are pretty cheap from Sony and Promedia, I burn it at 4x, and 16x on my Dell Computer and they all play find. Will burn-in change the sound of the player dramaticly? Right now am at around 20 hrs.

Let me precise Gerryn that i dont use the 'made for audio' TDKs like Twopippis, but the standard computer usable TDK CDRs. There might be a difference between the two.

Cheers

Interesting and confusing stuff, gentlemen....

Twopippis is using TDK and they DON'T work, but Badwisdom is using TDK and they work great.

Now it makes me wonder if it is the recorder and not the medium or if I have a bad chip or if I should just forget CD R's.

Aron,

are you running the Capitole direct ?

For CDR brands that work fine, 80m TDK work great, as well as 80m Verbatim.

Cheers

I received my Capitole MKII last week and it plays all of my CD-Rs perfectly find. Does anyone notice you have to turn the volume control (85 percent of the total volume) pretty high up to listen?

Gerryn, try the Mitsui golds - no problem with them (so far) on a Capitole II using a Marantz CDR 500, at least the 74 minute type.

Twopippis: Thanks for the information. I am using 80 minute Maxell CD-R's also "made for audio" and they are not working on my MKII either. So....as you put it, the problem may be the manufacturer of the blank CD-R's vs. the MKII itself. Guess its time to try another brand of blank CD-R's.

I have spoken directly with Jean-Paul at Audio Aero. He said it is strictly the CD-R's you use. He said that the P3 chip has nothing to do with reading the CD-R's nor does it relate to what type of CD burner you do the burning on. I have a NAD CD dubbing deck and am using "made for audio" TDK CD-R's and they are not working on the MKII.

I have had no problems with my scd-1 playing cdr's even my 11 year old philips cd-80 plays them with no prblem. I use what ever blanks are on sale and burn them on my dell computer. I second everyones concern about the audio aero I auditioned one before deciding to buy the scd-1 and thought for the money the build quality of the audio aero was not good.

I had the first generation chip, and it played almost all CDRs flawlessly. I had a few problems though, but it seemed to be random and not at all linked to a brand or certain type of CDs/CDRs. Multimedia Audio CDs with enhanced video practically never worked.

I use a plextor burner and all of the CDRs i used on it played perfectly (burned 1x).

Every problem cited above and that everyone has experienced should be solved with the new P3 chip, according to the manufacturer.

Cheers

Ejlif, I heard that there was a problem with the programming of the processor chip on some very early production units of the Mk. 2. (See their web site.) The problems that you are describing sounds exactly like the symptoms posted on their web page! Also, I have heard that there may be a problem with the fit of the guide rails for the CD door, which leads to improper or difficult closing. It's a shame that after the wonderful reviews of the original Capitol, and after raising the list price by 50%, that A.A. didn't get it 100% right before releasing the new model. It's also pretty poor that the dealer has not contacted you yet about this known problem! Good luck!

Ejlif:

I couldn't agree more with your assessment!

A CD player retailing for almost $ 9,000.00 should work flawlessly. It is one of the most expensive pieces of audio equipment I have ever owned (certainly the most expensive CD player I have ever owned) and it is also the most troublesome piece of audio equipment I have ever seen or heard.

Audio Aero has told me that the problem is not with the Capitole, but with my CD burner which, they say, is not recording to the Redbook standard.

But, as Sattothestars has said, I may have the old chip and not the P3.

My Capitole Mk 2 has been able to play TDK,Sony,Fuji,Mitsui, Gold and Apogee CDRs. These CDRs were burned with a Wadia source and a Tascam CDRW5000 recorder. It seems like a lot of the problems with CDRs being readable stem from ones that were burned using Computer burners.

One strange glitch I have encountered is that I get a sort of clicking sound periodically when I initially insert a disc. At first I thought it was only with CDRs, but I have also encountered it with regular CDs.

I have also had a situation where I am unable to track backwards on the remote, the only way to get to a lower track number than say 9 would be to enter the number from the keypad on the remote.

Also the time counter get confused very often, for instance saying that the remaining time for a track is 167 minutes.

It also seems rather odd the amount of wobble that is visible with the puck that rests on the disc.

Personally I think this is a bunch of crap, a 9k player should perform perfectly with no problems. My Wadia 860 is in a much higher league as far as build quality and electronic stability, however the Capitole sounds better than the Wadia.

I feel pretty uneasy about the amount of problems that are apparent with the Capitole Mk 2, it seems like they might have released it to soon before they worked out all the bugs.

Gerry- that's funny my sony sacd player won't play any cd/r's doesn't matter how they were burned. On the flip side of that coin the cap II plays everything I have thrown in its direction except for Shefield Labs test disk called "My disk" sort of a mystery to me!

It is not the Marantz,but the type of cdrs.The Captiole,will not read Fuji,I know for a fact.Also if the MKII is not reading any cdrs you have a old faulty chip.Contact your dealer.The chip that is suppose to be installed is a p3.