CDR Fidelity?


A recent thread about CD's that people use to evaluate changes in their system was interesting because some people are burning their own compilation of songs on CDR to test out new equipment. This would avoid bringing a stack of CD's to the dealers or wherever but...

My question is this: Is the quality of CDR's equal to that of your standard redbook disc? Shouldn't there be some loss of fidelity when copying CD's? I have always thought that my CDRs sounded worse than the store bought original. CDR's always seemed to be more compressed without as good dynamics and detail. This is of course even worse when the CDR is a converted MP3 disc.

What have you A'goners found?

I use a PC running Win XP, sound card is Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy. I use Clone CD to copy discs and Windows Media Player for MP3 ripping. CD burner is a standard Sony 8/4/32 CDRW.
128x128karl_desch

Showing 2 responses by dopogue

Listen to Ejlif. My Tascam also makes super copies, from CDs, vinyl, and tape. There is a clear (positive) difference between them and the ones my wife (the family computer maven) makes on her Mac. I don't know why.
My Tascam is a CD-RW700. It plays any kind of CDR, makes digital-to-digital dupes and has proven totally reliable. I had a Pioneer 555 before, and there's no comparison. It sells (last time I looked) for $450 from Oade Bros. I recommend it highly. Cheers, Dave