CDRs or AMC CD9?

[ScottW]

I recently redid my office system moving my original High School/college system
into the office. Original Large Advents driven by a Sansui AU6500. Sounds
great compared to the crap I had in the small room. I had a bunch of CDRs I had
burned for work (headphones on my PC) but my not so new anymore IBM desktop has
a nice disk drive sync'd buzz in the sound out so I never listen. Anyway the
stack of generic "Office Depot" CDRs sat on my desk for a couple of years seeing
nothing but office flourescent and cool AC. They're still yellowing just a tad.
I brought 'em home and tried in my office on an AMC CD9 player....sounds like
dirty vinyl. All scratchy etc. I went through half the stack and finally
toward the middle they started to be almost playable. Then I tossed one in my PC
DVD drive (PC is hooked up for net radio) and it plays fine. Now I know when I
burned these things 2 years ago they played on the AMC. I'm really losing
faith in CDRs and a bit in the AMC.

BTW, I dumped the AMC in my main system for a Panasonic RP-91 with the hotly
disputed (on RAHE anyway) remaster feature. I use it on 3, just sounds smoother
to me.

ScottW

[MiNe 109]

In article >,
"ScottW" > wrote:

<cdrs>

> BTW, I dumped the AMC in my main system for a Panasonic RP-91 with the hotly
> disputed (on RAHE anyway) remaster feature. I use it on 3, just sounds
> smoother
> to me.

Some dude a ways back reported on RAO that an AMC CD9 failed his CDR
test. Googling brought up a Soundstage review that found fault tracking
test discs and scratched cds.

I've never had a problem like that with my CD8, but I think it may be a
completely different mechanism.

That Panasonic sounds like fun. You used to have to spend big bucks on
high end Sony or Wadia for switchable filters.

Stephen

[John Atkinson]

On Jun 4, 10:00 pm, "ScottW" > wrote:
> I know when I burned these things 2 years ago they played on
> the AMC. I'm really losing faith in CDRs and a bit in the AMC.

Has the AMC had heavy use in the intervening time? It's possible
that the read laser has lost enough power to making tracking
marginal with the lower-reflectivity CD-Rs. Realignment of the
mechanism might make it perform properly again.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

[Arny Krueger]

"ScottW" > wrote in message


> I recently redid my office system moving my original High
> School/college system into the office. Original Large
> Advents driven by a Sansui AU6500. Sounds great compared
> to the crap I had in the small room. I had a bunch of
> CDRs I had burned for work (headphones on my PC) but my
> not so new anymore IBM desktop has a nice disk drive
> sync'd buzz in the sound out so I never listen. Anyway
> the stack of generic "Office Depot" CDRs sat on my desk
> for a couple of years seeing nothing but office
> flourescent and cool AC. They're still yellowing just a
> tad. I brought 'em home and tried in my office on an AMC
> CD9 player....sounds like dirty vinyl. All scratchy etc.

Moral of the story - the AMC that you have is not optimal for playing CDRs.
Given the current pricing of optical disc players, this is hardly a major
issue. Out with the old and in with the new!

> I went through half the stack and finally toward the
> middle they started to be almost playable. Then I tossed
> one in my PC DVD drive (PC is hooked up for net radio)
> and it plays fine. Now I know when I burned these things
> 2 years ago they played on the AMC. I'm really losing
> faith in CDRs and a bit in the AMC.

Either the CDRs degraded or the player degraded or both. Your storage
methodology for the CDRs is the pits. It is well-known that CDRs are
sensitive to light and should be stored in a dark, cool, dry place.

Here's a quick experiment. Take a regular pressed CD you can sacrifice and a
CDR with music on it that you can sacrifice, and put them outside, say on a
clothes line or something like it. Take 'em down in a week and try to play
them both. The CDR will probably be trash, and the pressed CD will probably
be fine.

> BTW, I dumped the AMC in my main system for a Panasonic
> RP-91 with the hotly disputed (on RAHE anyway) remaster
> feature. I use it on 3, just sounds smoother to me.

Newer players are designed to get the most that they can out of CDRs. It's a
survival issue for the manufacturers - any optical player that is in
warranty and can't do a good job with CDRs and DVDRs is going to have a lot
of returns in warranty. Those all come out of the manufacturer's pocket, and
tick off the retailers, not to mention the consumers.

[ScottW]

On Jun 5, 4:00 am, John Atkinson >
wrote:
> On Jun 4, 10:00 pm, "ScottW" > wrote:
>
> > I know when I burned these things 2 years ago they played on
> > the AMC. I'm really losing faith in CDRs and a bit in the AMC.
>
> Has the AMC had heavy use in the intervening time?

I wouldn't consider it heavy.. but hard to quantify.
2 to 3 hundred hours would be my guess.

> It's possible
> that the read laser has lost enough power to making tracking
> marginal with the lower-reflectivity CD-Rs. Realignment of the
> mechanism might make it perform properly again.

It works fine on CDs and brand new CDRs.
Its not worth putting any money into.
I've a Pioneer universal I can swap out if using the PC as a player
becomes annoying. 90% of the time when I'm in the office I'm on
the computer anyway.

thanks for your comments,

ScottW

[ScottW]

On Jun 5, 6:36 am, "Arny Krueger" > wrote:
> "ScottW" > wrote in message
>
>
>
> > I recently redid my office system moving my original High
> > School/college system into the office. Original Large
> > Advents driven by a Sansui AU6500. Sounds great compared
> > to the crap I had in the small room. I had a bunch of
> > CDRs I had burned for work (headphones on my PC) but my
> > not so new anymore IBM desktop has a nice disk drive
> > sync'd buzz in the sound out so I never listen. Anyway
> > the stack of generic "Office Depot" CDRs sat on my desk
> > for a couple of years seeing nothing but office
> > flourescent and cool AC. They're still yellowing just a
> > tad. I brought 'em home and tried in my office on an AMC
> > CD9 player....sounds like dirty vinyl. All scratchy etc.
>
> Moral of the story - the AMC that you have is not optimal for playing CDRs.
> Given the current pricing of optical disc players, this is hardly a major
> issue. Out with the old and in with the new!

I guess. I saw a big pallet of Panasonic S55s at Fryes for $89 ea.

>
> > I went through half the stack and finally toward the
> > middle they started to be almost playable. Then I tossed
> > one in my PC DVD drive (PC is hooked up for net radio)
> > and it plays fine. Now I know when I burned these things
> > 2 years ago they played on the AMC. I'm really losing
> > faith in CDRs and a bit in the AMC.
>
> Either the CDRs degraded or the player degraded or both.

I'm pretty sure the CDR

>Your storage
> methodology for the CDRs is the pits. It is well-known that CDRs are
> sensitive to light and should be stored in a dark, cool, dry place.

I know sunlight kills but Office flourescent?
Hmmm, you gave me a product idea. I need CD cases without
clear cases. I haven't seen any out there.

ScottW

[George M. Middius]

Witless barked:

> Office flourescent?

Pigsty wunderlast!




--

Krooscience: The antidote to education, experience, and excellence.

[Clyde Slick]

Mrs. Krueger a scris:

> Out with the old and in with the new!
>

>

>. It is well-known that CDRs are
> sensitive to light and should be stored in a dark, cool, dry place.
>

I store mine with my potatoes

[Arny Krueger]

"ScottW" > wrote in message
ups.com
> On Jun 5, 6:36 am, "Arny Krueger" > wrote:
>> "ScottW" > wrote in message
>>
>>
>>
>>> I recently redid my office system moving my original
>>> High School/college system into the office. Original
>>> Large Advents driven by a Sansui AU6500. Sounds great
>>> compared to the crap I had in the small room. I had a
>>> bunch of CDRs I had burned for work (headphones on my
>>> PC) but my not so new anymore IBM desktop has a nice
>>> disk drive sync'd buzz in the sound out so I never
>>> listen. Anyway the stack of generic "Office Depot"
>>> CDRs sat on my desk for a couple of years seeing
>>> nothing but office flourescent and cool AC. They're
>>> still yellowing just a tad. I brought 'em home and
>>> tried in my office on an AMC CD9 player....sounds like
>>> dirty vinyl. All scratchy etc.
>>
>> Moral of the story - the AMC that you have is not
>> optimal for playing CDRs. Given the current pricing of
>> optical disc players, this is hardly a major issue. Out
>> with the old and in with the new!
>
> I guess. I saw a big pallet of Panasonic S55s at Fryes
> for $89 ea.
>
>>
>>> I went through half the stack and finally toward the
>>> middle they started to be almost playable. Then I tossed
>>> one in my PC DVD drive (PC is hooked up for net radio)
>>> and it plays fine. Now I know when I burned these
>>> things 2 years ago they played on the AMC. I'm really
>>> losing faith in CDRs and a bit in the AMC.
>>
>> Either the CDRs degraded or the player degraded or both.
>
> I'm pretty sure the CDR
>
>> Your storage
>> methodology for the CDRs is the pits. It is well-known
>> that CDRs are sensitive to light and should be stored in
>> a dark, cool, dry place.
>
> I know sunlight kills but Office flourescent?

CDR s are known to be sensitive to UV light. Fluorescent lamps work by
means of a phosphor coating that converts UV to visible light. If the
phosphor coating is depleated, some UV may escape. Common phosphors don't
put out much UV, but they can put out quite a bit of light near the UV end
of the visible spectrum.

> Hmmm, you gave me a product idea. I need CD cases without
> clear cases. I haven't seen any out there.

Plastic usually absorbs UV quite well.

[ScottW]

On Jun 5, 1:15 pm, "Arny Krueger" > wrote:
> "ScottW" > wrote in message
>
> ups.com
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Jun 5, 6:36 am, "Arny Krueger" > wrote:
> >> "ScottW" > wrote in message
>
>
>
> >>> I recently redid my office system moving my original
> >>> High School/college system into the office. Original
> >>> Large Advents driven by a Sansui AU6500. Sounds great
> >>> compared to the crap I had in the small room. I had a
> >>> bunch of CDRs I had burned for work (headphones on my
> >>> PC) but my not so new anymore IBM desktop has a nice
> >>> disk drive sync'd buzz in the sound out so I never
> >>> listen. Anyway the stack of generic "Office Depot"
> >>> CDRs sat on my desk for a couple of years seeing
> >>> nothing but office flourescent and cool AC. They're
> >>> still yellowing just a tad. I brought 'em home and
> >>> tried in my office on an AMC CD9 player....sounds like
> >>> dirty vinyl. All scratchy etc.
>
> >> Moral of the story - the AMC that you have is not
> >> optimal for playing CDRs. Given the current pricing of
> >> optical disc players, this is hardly a major issue. Out
> >> with the old and in with the new!
>
> > I guess. I saw a big pallet of Panasonic S55s at Fryes
> > for $89 ea.
>
> >>> I went through half the stack and finally toward the
> >>> middle they started to be almost playable. Then I tossed
> >>> one in my PC DVD drive (PC is hooked up for net radio)
> >>> and it plays fine. Now I know when I burned these
> >>> things 2 years ago they played on the AMC. I'm really
> >>> losing faith in CDRs and a bit in the AMC.
>
> >> Either the CDRs degraded or the player degraded or both.
>
> > I'm pretty sure the CDR
>
> >> Your storage
> >> methodology for the CDRs is the pits. It is well-known
> >> that CDRs are sensitive to light and should be stored in
> >> a dark, cool, dry place.
>
> > I know sunlight kills but Office flourescent?
>
> CDR s are known to be sensitive to UV light. Fluorescent lamps work by
> means of a phosphor coating that converts UV to visible light. If the
> phosphor coating is depleated, some UV may escape. Common phosphors don't
> put out much UV, but they can put out quite a bit of light near the UV end
> of the visible spectrum.
>
> > Hmmm, you gave me a product idea. I need CD cases without
> > clear cases. I haven't seen any out there.
>
> Plastic usually absorbs UV quite well.

Well....my CDR which sat under flourescent light were in plastic
cases and still degraded.

ScottW

[ScottW]

"Soundhaspriority" > wrote in message
...
>
> "ScottW" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>> On Jun 5, 4:00 am, John Atkinson >
>> wrote:
>>> On Jun 4, 10:00 pm, "ScottW" > wrote:
>>>
>>> > I know when I burned these things 2 years ago they played on
>>> > the AMC. I'm really losing faith in CDRs and a bit in the AMC.
>>>
>>> Has the AMC had heavy use in the intervening time?
>>
> Scott,
> Years ago, Sony transports had the distinction of reading CD-RW, even those
> manufactured before the release of CD-RW blanks. In the intervening
> years,while other transports had trouble with "clear" CD-R blanks, and so
> forth, the Sonys read everything.
>
> What color is the dye of the problem CD-R's ?

Its a very light blue or turquoise.
Generic Office Depot brand.

ScottW

[ScottW]

"Soundhaspriority" > wrote in message
...
>
> "ScottW" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Soundhaspriority" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> "ScottW" > wrote in message
>>> ups.com...
>>>> On Jun 5, 4:00 am, John Atkinson >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> On Jun 4, 10:00 pm, "ScottW" > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> > I know when I burned these things 2 years ago they played on
>>>>> > the AMC. I'm really losing faith in CDRs and a bit in the AMC.
>>>>>
>>>>> Has the AMC had heavy use in the intervening time?
>>>>
>>> Scott,
>>> Years ago, Sony transports had the distinction of reading CD-RW, even
>>> those manufactured before the release of CD-RW blanks. In the intervening
>>> years,while other transports had trouble with "clear" CD-R blanks, and so
>>> forth, the Sonys read everything.
>>>
>>> What color is the dye of the problem CD-R's ?
>>
>> Its a very light blue or turquoise.
>> Generic Office Depot brand.
>>
>> ScottW
> They are easy to read. However, they are also the least stable, some extremely
> unstable. So it does sound like an age problem. Note, however, that the deep
> blue Verbatim disks use azo dye, are on the upper end of the stability
> spectrum, and are also easy for mediocre laser mechanisms.
>
> The colorless blanks, which are now the most common, also have highly stable
> chemistry. But you would need to run some tests to ensure that your player can
> handle them reliably.

Thanks for the info.
My current spindle is TDK, appear almost colorless, very slight hint of blue.
Hopefully they'll work. These CDs are all duplicates of stuff I own so
no real loss to me. I just hate having my collection scattered about the
house between 3 systems.

ScottW