I've read a lot about these media lately, and have a better idea of what's good and what's not, but it is a lot of information to process and I'd like to post my own specific question(s) to clarify. I've been burning CDs for several months now, using Nero with a Sony CRX700E (firmware ver 1.4u) modular CD-RW (8X/4X/24X) in a Dell Inspiron 8000 running XP. So far, I've burned approximately 30 Audio CDs without any coasters, or any definite problems whatsoever. Of course, there may be quality issues that I'm not aware of. These are the two media I've used thus far: Maxell CD-R 650mb (40X) ---------------------- ATIP: 97m 31s 07f Disc Manufacturer: Ritek Co. Reflective layer: Dye (Short strategy; e.g. Phthalocyanine) Media type: CD-Recordable Recording Speeds: min. unknown - max. unknown nominal Capacity: 656.69MB (74m 45s 01f / LBA: 336226) Sony CDQ-74CN: -------------- ATIP: 97m 24s 11f Disc Manufacturer: Sony Corp. Reflective layer: Dye (Long strategy; e.g. Cyanine, Azo etc.) Media type: CD-Recordable Recording Speeds: min. unknown - max. unknown nominal Capacity: 656.40MB (74m 43s 00f / LBA: 336075) I only have an interest in burning audio CDs from mp3s, and I wish to be able to play them in the widest possible number of devices, but primarily in car CD players, home stereos, and portable CD players. Based on what I've read, manufacturers like Taiyo Yuden, Ritek, Mitsubishi, etc...are good, but of course one needs brand names and models when going to the store. So, what are the best brands to consider given the above information? I often shop at places like Best-Buy out of habit, and because of convenience, so brands which are found in those stores would be most relevant. But, really, does audio quality differ from one choice to the next? I don't suppose there's a significant difference in the audio playback from one brand to another, but what do I know. If I'm wrong, please tell me. But another equally important criterion is longevity...I don't want CDs dying in a short period of time (if at all). Most of the ones I've burned so far are the above-mentioned Sonys, and I've read that they can go bad quickly...is that something I've got to worry about here, and should I bother copying to a higher quality medium? All I have now are a large number of those Maxell/Ritek CDRs, so I'll be using them for a while...I hope these are adequate for my needs (I've heard almost only good things about Ritek), if not please let me know. Thank you
Ritek is generally a good quality manufacturer. Reports from Sony are both positive and negative. You can easily find a bunch of manufacturer & brand information by using the search function of this message board. All CD-R media reports include the BRAND and the MANUFACTURER reported by the ATIP reader software.
