Cambridge Audio CD4 SE- Upgrade ? CD-R Errors ?


I have a Cambridge CD 4 SE CDP, Adcom 535 amp, Parasound PHP 850 preamp, Spica TC-50 speakers, and a New Parasound Halo preamp still in the box, AR Pro series interconnects.

Any comments on the Cambridge - what is the next step up, or should I stick with it since I'm on a budget ?

It does not read CD-R's well. Any burned disks result in an Error message unless the disk is burned at 32X, and even then, it may not play. Does sound quality diminish when a disk is burned at a higher speed, and is there any remedy for this problem ?

Thank you for any suggetions.
fredman

Showing 2 responses by nikturner920

Weird, usually cd players do better with slower burn speeds (more burn time spent on each pit). I would first try a friend's burner then go buy a bunch of different cdr brands (mainly try different colors including 'black') and see if your player has a preference. I had a DVD player that would not read blue/green disks. Also make sure you are burning 'audio' discs and not 'data' discs with wav files, that would do the error message thing. You could try a software cd-rom in the cd4 and see if you get the same message.

If I were you I and on a budget, I would add a sub first then maybe go for a Halo amp down the road.

Cheers
It really depends on your player which will work best for you. It is my understanding that while there are many brands of cdr's there are only a few different plants that make the blanks, so one set of bulk disks could be the same as a branded jewel case type. I read an article that mentioned that the 'Black' type is easy to read for many players, but haven't tried them as they really do cost more and I have plenty of cheapos that work fine. I wouldn't worry about brand, but buy a few 3 packs of different dye colors and see what happens.

More info than you may want:
http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware/cdrom/cd_dye.shtml