recording to CD

[[email protected]]

One of my tape decks went south again and needs another repair. I
can't complain too much as it has thousands of hours on it. But rather
than fix it I'm thinking of burning CDs instead of tapes.

I have some questions:

1. What is better: a good quality PC sound board or a CD recorder? I
like the PC sound board idea but it could be inconvenient as my
desktop machines are not near my stereo.

2. How do you set the level on the CD when recording? Do they have VU
meters showing how many bits you're using?

3. Is there any sonic benefit to HDCD encoding a recorded CD?

4. Will I be able to play the CDs I burn in any player?

Anything else I should know?

Thanks,

[Arny Krueger]

> wrote in message
news:gY35b.255084$Oz4.65927@rwcrnsc54
> One of my tape decks went south again and needs another repair. I
> can't complain too much as it has thousands of hours on it. But rather
> than fix it I'm thinking of burning CDs instead of tapes.
>
> I have some questions:
>
> 1. What is better: a good quality PC sound board or a CD recorder? I
> like the PC sound board idea but it could be inconvenient as my
> desktop machines are not near my stereo.

If you want the best results you use a PC. PC's support useful things like
level-resetting, declicking, and resetting of track start and stop.

> 2. How do you set the level on the CD when recording? Do they have VU
> meters showing how many bits you're using?

CD recorders do have level indicators. On a PC you generally record all
records at a setting that handles the loudest LPs without clipping and
adjust levels after you record the LP, but before you burn the CD.

> 3. Is there any sonic benefit to HDCD encoding a recorded CD?

No particularly not from a limited-dynamic-range media like LP.

> 4. Will I be able to play the CDs I burn in any player?

Not necessarily. Some Audio CD players don't play burned CDs very well.
Sometimes you have to experiment with brands and types of media, and burning
speeds to get a certain player to play well.

> Anything else I should know?

[Norbert Hahn]

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 16:55:40 GMT, wrote:

>One of my tape decks went south again and needs another repair. I
>can't complain too much as it has thousands of hours on it. But rather
>than fix it I'm thinking of burning CDs instead of tapes.

This question arises from time to time for myself but the answer
changes. So over the years I migrated from RR tape to DAT
to hifi CD recorder to hard disk recorder.

>I have some questions:
>
>1. What is better: a good quality PC sound board or a CD recorder? I
>like the PC sound board idea but it could be inconvenient as my
>desktop machines are not near my stereo.

The quality for a hifi CD recorder is fixed by the CD standard:
sampling frequency and word length. A good PC recording card
can be better. However, you would need excellent equipment
and a good recording location to get benefits from higher sampling
rates and/or word length.
>
>2. How do you set the level on the CD when recording? Do they have VU
>meters showing how many bits you're using?

Most decks have peak level meters rather than VU meters and some of
them have a separate margin indicator that shows how close you are
to clipping. OTOH, there are some hifi CD recorders with lousy level
indicators, i.e. my Philips CDR-770. All hifi CD recorders have a
recording level control and a balance control just as tape deck.

Both my PC recording card (Echo Audio's MIA 24) and my hard disk
recorder (Alesis ML-9600) do not have any recording volume controls.
Thus the recording volume must be set at the source (mixing console).
>
>3. Is there any sonic benefit to HDCD encoding a recorded CD?

I don't know of any HDCD capable hifi CD recorders.
>
>4. Will I be able to play the CDs I burn in any player?

That depends on the combination of burner/blanks/player you use.
Mostly it works but there may be still some audio players around that
do not handle burned CDs well, no matter if recorded in a PC or in
a hifi recorder.
>
>Anything else I should know?

More critical for play back is the use of blanks that can hold more
than 74 minutes - and even more important, filling the CD to more
than 95% can cause play back problems with older audio decks.
This is a maintenance problem with the deck rather than a problem
with differing standards. Using blanks that can record longer than
80 minutes are way of the standard.

Norbert

[[email protected]]

Any recommendations for particular CD recorder units? I'm looking for
a "pro" model that can record on standard CD rather than the
"consumer" models that only record on RIAA taxed CDs.

Since I already have another CD player, the recorder is only for
recording not for playback. It needs only a single tray. But it needs
to have a high quality A/D converter since some of my recording will
be from LP.

I would assume that all well engineered recorders using off the shelf
op amps for A/D converters are pretty much all the same in terms of
sound quality. Is there any reason for this NOT to be the case?

The Marantz CDR-631 came up in a quick search, looks pretty decent to
me. Any comments or other suggestions?

Do rack mountable chassis also have feet on them, so they can put on a
shelf like any normal component? Or MUST they be in a rack?

Thanks,

[Norbert Hahn]

wrote:

>Any recommendations for particular CD recorder units? I'm looking for
>a "pro" model that can record on standard CD rather than the
>"consumer" models that only record on RIAA taxed CDs.
>
>Since I already have another CD player, the recorder is only for
>recording not for playback. It needs only a single tray. But it needs
>to have a high quality A/D converter since some of my recording will
>be from LP.

All CD recorders I know of have decent A/D converters. But some
of them have poor level indicators, at least my Philips CDR-770
and a Marantz of my friend (I don't know the model).
>
>I would assume that all well engineered recorders using off the shelf
>op amps for A/D converters are pretty much all the same in terms of
>sound quality. Is there any reason for this NOT to be the case?
>
>The Marantz CDR-631 came up in a quick search, looks pretty decent to
>me. Any comments or other suggestions?

You may look for a TASCAM CD recorder. I was about to buy the CD-RW700
last sprint but then went for a hard disk recorder as I do (mostly)
live music recordings.
>
>Do rack mountable chassis also have feet on them, so they can put on a
>shelf like any normal component? Or MUST they be in a rack?

Rack mounts (usually) are detachable and can be operated on a table.
The CD-RW700 comes with both detachabel rack mounts and feet.

Some CD recorders (at least those made by Philips/Marantz) have a
record cancel function that allows to ignore a recording within the
first 3 seconds. This is quite usefull for recording LPs. In case
you miss the begin of a track you press stop on the recorder and
the contents of the buffer will not get written on the CD.

The CD-RW700 can start and stop recording by synchronizing to
a level that can be set. It has a rehearsal function to check the
setting of the level. However, a load pop between LP tracks may
start recording.

Norbert

[J. C. O'Connell]

By all means, connect your stereo to your computer.
Then you can use pro quality recording/editing software
which a stand-alone cd record wont offer.

I ran a 25 ft cable from my stereo to my PC. It was worth the
effort.

JCO

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 16:55:40 GMT, wrote:

>One of my tape decks went south again and needs another repair. I
>can't complain too much as it has thousands of hours on it. But rather
>than fix it I'm thinking of burning CDs instead of tapes.
>
>I have some questions:
>
>1. What is better: a good quality PC sound board or a CD recorder? I
>like the PC sound board idea but it could be inconvenient as my
>desktop machines are not near my stereo.
>
>2. How do you set the level on the CD when recording? Do they have VU
>meters showing how many bits you're using?
>
>3. Is there any sonic benefit to HDCD encoding a recorded CD?
>
>4. Will I be able to play the CDs I burn in any player?
>
>Anything else I should know?
>
>Thanks,
>

[Pierre]

The quality of your PC sound cart is very impotant. Many less expensive
ones have analog stages that are
far below even mid fi quality. A good PC sound card runs well above 200
dollars at street prices.
"J. C. O'Connell" > wrote in message
news:Zytbb.539980$Ho3.93872@sccrnsc03...
> By all means, connect your stereo to your computer.
> Then you can use pro quality recording/editing software
> which a stand-alone cd record wont offer.
>
> I ran a 25 ft cable from my stereo to my PC. It was worth the
> effort.
>
> JCO
>
> On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 16:55:40 GMT, wrote:
>
> >One of my tape decks went south again and needs another repair. I
> >can't complain too much as it has thousands of hours on it. But rather
> >than fix it I'm thinking of burning CDs instead of tapes.
> >
> >I have some questions:
> >
> >1. What is better: a good quality PC sound board or a CD recorder? I
> >like the PC sound board idea but it could be inconvenient as my
> >desktop machines are not near my stereo.
> >
> >2. How do you set the level on the CD when recording? Do they have VU
> >meters showing how many bits you're using?
> >
> >3. Is there any sonic benefit to HDCD encoding a recorded CD?
> >
> >4. Will I be able to play the CDs I burn in any player?
> >
> >Anything else I should know?
> >
> >Thanks,
> >
>

[ludovic mirabel]

wrote in message >...
> Any recommendations for particular CD recorder units? I'm looking for
> a "pro" model that can record on standard CD rather than the
> "consumer" models that only record on RIAA taxed CDs.
>
> Since I already have another CD player, the recorder is only for
> recording not for playback. It needs only a single tray. But it needs
> to have a high quality A/D converter since some of my recording will
> be from LP.
>
> I would assume that all well engineered recorders using off the shelf
> op amps for A/D converters are pretty much all the same in terms of
> sound quality. Is there any reason for this NOT to be the case?
>
> The Marantz CDR-631 came up in a quick search, looks pretty decent to
> me. Any comments or other suggestions?
>
> Do rack mountable chassis also have feet on them, so they can put on a
> shelf like any normal component? Or MUST they be in a rack?
>
> Thanks,

I think you may find the advice so far a bit confusing. I tried a
stand-alone recorder and it was more trouble and worse quality than
going through a pc. disk burner. If you do that your sound card is not
involved.
For what it is worth Plextor extractor(ripper)/burner has high
reputation.
For full information go to www.radified.com . They recommend Exact
Audio Copy software (free- donation welcome). I found it very
satisfactory- can not tell classical music copies from the original.
Radified give you an excellent tutorial (free- why people do it I
don't know- must love humanity)
Ludovic Mirabel

[J. C. O'Connell]

I have found that even the budget soundcards that come
with most PCs are excellent for RECORDING. That is that
the A/D sections are fine. The better sound cards do have
much improved D/A sections though they arent needed if
you are just going to create CDs to be played in another system,
NOT the PC.
JCO

On 23 Sep 2003 00:50:04 GMT, "Pierre" > wrote:

>The quality of your PC sound cart is very impotant. Many less expensive
>ones have analog stages that are
>far below even mid fi quality. A good PC sound card runs well above 200
>dollars at street prices.
>"J. C. O'Connell" > wrote in message
>news:Zytbb.539980$Ho3.93872@sccrnsc03...
>> By all means, connect your stereo to your computer.
>> Then you can use pro quality recording/editing software
>> which a stand-alone cd record wont offer.
>>
>> I ran a 25 ft cable from my stereo to my PC. It was worth the
>> effort.
>>
>> JCO
>>
>> On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 16:55:40 GMT, wrote:
>>
>> >One of my tape decks went south again and needs another repair. I
>> >can't complain too much as it has thousands of hours on it. But rather
>> >than fix it I'm thinking of burning CDs instead of tapes.
>> >
>> >I have some questions:
>> >
>> >1. What is better: a good quality PC sound board or a CD recorder? I
>> >like the PC sound board idea but it could be inconvenient as my
>> >desktop machines are not near my stereo.
>> >
>> >2. How do you set the level on the CD when recording? Do they have VU
>> >meters showing how many bits you're using?
>> >
>> >3. Is there any sonic benefit to HDCD encoding a recorded CD?
>> >
>> >4. Will I be able to play the CDs I burn in any player?
>> >
>> >Anything else I should know?
>> >
>> >Thanks,
>> >
>>