Problem playing burnt CDs and I'm beat

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Pastafarian, Sep 12, 2018.

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  1. Pastafarian

    Pastafarian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Recently my Meridian CDP has just stopped when trying play burnt CDs. Initially I thought my 15 year old player had reached the end of it's life, however a second player plays but the music's breaking up.

    I'm using Taiyo Yuden CD-Rs and Nero confirms OK via verify data & Securedata Scan after burning. Now I've just tried using Cdcheck and I'm finding it not to be intuitive.

    I've managed to get a hash file (CRC-32) in the folder the CD was burnt from but I'm getting error code 48 " 2 files were incomliante with selected ISO standard". Then if I try and check for errors I'm immediately getting "error code 60 SRc file/directory missing.

    Testing the offending tracks using EAC, in secure mode and it's showing "Track quality 100%.

    It's probably me as I'm not very literate when it comes to computers.

    Any suggestion with what may be going wrong with replay problems, or were I'm going wrong with CDcheck much appreciated.

    Don't forget this is "Computing for Dummies" and I hope the above makes sense to you:confused:.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2018
  2. Tim Lookingbill

    Tim Lookingbill Alfalfa Male

    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Try burning to a another brand of CDR. I use Philips or Sony both inventors of the CD player and disc technology.

    Also make sure the music file is aiff or WAV format file with no other files included and burn from iTunes AS MUSIC NOT DATA. That's how I do it on my 2010 Mac Mini. My CDR's play on my 1998 Walmart Pioneer car audio and home Technics CD player.

    Every once and a while I do have to clean the laser head using a disc with tiny brushes on my home and car CD player . GE brand is the one I use and works like a miracle.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2018
  3. classicrocker

    classicrocker Life is good!

    Location:
    Worcester, MA, USA
    Exact Audio Copy (EAC) freeware has a utility to look for errors. I don't trade CDR's anymore so have not used it in years bu that may help

    Exact Audio Copy
     
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  4. Pastafarian

    Pastafarian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I'm currently waiting for the arrival of some Verbatim Azo discs but I'm thinking given the EAC reported CD OK, it's not the Taiyo discs, which I've used for many years without any problems.
     
  5. Pastafarian

    Pastafarian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    As I edited to show EAC use, I apologies for being negligent with my initial attempt
     
  6. classicrocker

    classicrocker Life is good!

    Location:
    Worcester, MA, USA
    I might have missed this in your OP post so might be my mistake
     
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  7. Tim Lookingbill

    Tim Lookingbill Alfalfa Male

    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Just to let you know before you go down a rabbit hole troubleshooting this what you are experiencing is extremely rare so it most likely is something simple or self evident.

    Try burning using a different burner. I would not put much faith into freebee software such as EAC especially with this quote...

    "It works with a technology, which reads audio CDs almost perfectly."

    When writing 1's & 0's ALMOST doesn't cut it. With EAC you don't know exactly what and how and how well what it is doing. It's kinda' like antivirus software. Some piece of software is telling you something you can't prove. Can you see the virus? No! You just trust it without question.

    Good luck fixing your CDR situation.
     
  8. Pastafarian

    Pastafarian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Perhaps the Verbatim disk will prove OK, I'm guessing there's a difference between reading a CD for music, with error correction and a DVD drive reading the data.

    I bought a new DVD drive, as I thought my previous must be faulty :shake:.
     
  9. jkauff

    jkauff Senior Member

    Location:
    Akron, OH
    Are these CD-R discs ones that you burned years ago, or ones you burned recently? Or both? If both, how old were the blanks you used?

    Taiyo Yuden blanks were the best when they were made in Japan, but they've been made in Taiwan for several years now. I've never used anything but the Japan discs, but perhaps the newer ones aren't as reliable.

    Also, the dyes in CD-R discs deteriorate over time. After 15 years or so, even high-quality burned discs and blanks are near the end of their lifespan. Cheap discs can become unreadable much sooner.

    Having said that, though, I think the read problem is most likely the fault of your players' lasers. They could be dirty, or even out of alignment if they've been bumped too often. A DVD drive in good shape should play Redbook discs just fine, no concerns there.

    Perhaps you know someone with a newer, good quality CD player that could test a few of your problem discs for you.
     
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  10. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Yeah, test the burned discs in a few more players.

    Also test someone else's burned discs in those two players.

    I think you are getting bad burns, but it might be the reading of the originals which is where the errors are originally coming from, not the burned copy.
     
  11. Pastafarian

    Pastafarian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    OK, the disc were purchased 3 years ago when the news about Taiyo plants being sold, therefore pretty sure they're Japanese discs, they were stored in a dry warm room. The ones causing problems are from a different box, 300 had been burned with no problems. These previously burned discs all seem to play OK, all the problems seem to have started when I began using the new box of discs

    Finding someone close who has a CDP isn't easy, hence buying different discs I have considered my second CDP may also be faulty, it's been unused and stored in it's original box for a number of years.

    I'm just desperately hoping it's not my Meridian as replacing it isn't financially viable and I've read on this site that repairing often doesn't work. The lens on the Meridian was cleaned periodically and I also cleaned the lens of my second CDP when I unboxed it.

    Fingers crossed that the Verbatim discs work OK, I'll feed back when the new discs play perfectly:cool:
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2018
  12. Thoughtships

    Thoughtships Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    My 10 year old Sony CD player suddenly stopped reading CDRs properly a couple years ago. The lasers get weaker over the years... So it only reads CDs now. I bought a new player.

    But a lot of cd players that were made over a decade ago had difficulties with some CDRs... (According to my 3 and my mate's 2)

    Modern players seem to me much better at reading them.
     
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  13. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    In some cases, players' laser can be adjusted with a small screw which controls the intensity of the beam. Following that adjustment, discs which couldn't be read can occasionally then be read again. I remember performing that exact procedure on my old PlayStation console when it suddenly stopped reading DVDs ; it only read CDs. After some trial & error, everything went back to normal.

    Having said that, I don't believe that is what is occurring here. Either the burner drive in the PC is defective or Nero is playing tricks. Both easy to troubleshoot.

    Does the CD player read previously burned discs or has it stopped reading those as well? If it has stopped reading all burned discs no matter whether they're newly burned or old ones from months/years past, it's an issue with the CD player you're struggling with. Again, adjusting the laser might be what is needed.

    If it only refuses to read newly burned CDs, it's an issue with either your burner or Nero. Again, easy to test. Try another burning application. Same result? Try another drive. They're thankfully very cheap ($20 or so) should you need a new one.

    The only other possibility is a bad batch of discs which again can be tested easily.
     
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  14. MrRom92

    MrRom92 Forum Supermodel

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    If the CRC EAC spits out matches the original then the burner did its job and you can count that as a successful burn. Some players just really don’t like burned discs.
     
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  15. Pastafarian

    Pastafarian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    It's still playing old disc BUT I'd have to listen to every track on many CDs to be sure, I can't remember any discs my CDP couldn't play, skipping etc.

    Too many variables , it feels like I want to bang my head on the table, I'll buy a lottery ticket this weekend & roll on the dcs Verdi, although more chance with a screwdiver & hammer me thinks.
     
  16. Sevoflurane

    Sevoflurane Forum Resident

    I’d have to respectfully dispute this. With EAC you do know exactly what this doing from the logs it generates, and if it pronounces a rip from a CD-R 100% secure then the CD-R is fine. Secure ripping is just that, secure.

    It reads to me like an ageing CD player is struggling with CD-Rs. It may respond to lens cleaning etc. but if the CD-R checks out on EAC it is fine, period.

    CD-Rs are less reflective than normal CDs and the earliest CD players would not play them. My guess is that as the laser in a player ages the first discs to fail to play will be CD-Rs. The CD-R itself might be ageing too, though is still readable on a computer.

    If you have logs from EAC it may show how difficult it was for it to read the disc. If EAC is having to repeatedly read parts of the disc in order to get an accurate result that might be indicative of a disc problem.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2018
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  17. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    You're understandably frustrated but it's not a complicated matter. Just listen to an old burned CD from start to finish. If it works without any problems, your list of culprits is short ; Nero, the burner, the discs. Try a different burning application if that is the case, first. Some are free. If that still causes issues, try another brand of discs. If that still fails, it's your burner.

    Troubleshooting is all about eliminating possibilities going from most probable to least. Follow these steps in chronological order and report back.
     
  18. Pastafarian

    Pastafarian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Sounds good but sometimes my Meridian plays the full CD and then cuts out on a particular track the next time, so I thought I'd resolved it before. The second player produces the awful sounds on the same track(s).
     
  19. Thoughtships

    Thoughtships Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    When I opened up my sony to clean the lens, I found the reason my cd player was skipping/sticking sometimes...
    It wasn't the lens, it was the guide rails underneath the whole transport clogged with crap... Obviously grease and stuff off my fingers had been flung off inside and over a decade had congealed on the runners... It's not always the lens...
     
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  20. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    This has always been my experience, both of own CD players and customers CD players taken in for repair in my retail days. CD-R s nearly always give problems first.

    Sometimes a laser and rail clean clears the problem.....
     
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  21. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    Beat me to it, I remember talking this over with the Hi-Fi repair guy, and dirt on the rails is common place.
     
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  22. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    On older or recently burned CDs? That's the part we need to concentrate on. :)
     
  23. Tim Lookingbill

    Tim Lookingbill Alfalfa Male

    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Would your guess apply to my burning over 50 CDR's through iTunes without EAC and playing all of them flawlessly on a 20 year old Pioneer car audio head unit? How old in age are you talking about before you can attribute that as the problem. Your answers to this thread aren't any more helpful than what myself and others have put forth.

    What really needs to be answered is the reason why anyone with a modern computer and DVD burner needs EAC in the first place. I've never needed to use any such software burning CDR's for over 10 years with my 2000 Pismo MacBook and 2010 Mac Mini.

    Is this just with Windows?
     
  24. Pastafarian

    Pastafarian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    My original post says I'm no expert but I only use EAC to rip, it's cue sheet requirements are OTT to my mind but if you want peace of mind about a good rip EAC seems to be the one you can trust the most.

    For burning I've used Nero for a long time and it has none of the quirks other programs have to some degree, very user friendly.

    Still not ruled out it's a disc/burn problem but I think my denial about my Meridian's R.I.P, may be receeding. Of course I'm now grasping at the clean rail and other possible fix straw, I'm not sure I should thank you for more denial techniques.

    I'm expecting that the new disc will arrive soon fingers crossed
     
  25. Sevoflurane

    Sevoflurane Forum Resident

    I am happy to cease and desist from contributing if that is the consensus. I was trying to contribute constructively and I think your response is unnecessarily combative. I have plenty more useful things to do with my time than argue with strangers on the internet. I stand by my response however, and have many years of experience of ripping and burning CDs under my belt. I guess folks can choose to take it or leave it, and you choosing to leave it isn’t going to turn me into an insomniac.

    EAC is a very well established and well supported program with a proven record of being able to identify errors on CDs and CDRs. Just because you can’t see the usefulness of it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a use. Both the dBPoweramp and EAC developer websites have a wealth of useful information on CD ripping and error correction. If you have the time to browse either of them you may learn something useful. Up to you.

    Going back to the OP’s issue, if the CD-R that isn’t playing on his Meridian CDP shows as having no errors on EAC then it is 100% error free on that drive. Even a CD with multiple errors when ripped on EAC may well play without audible skips as the error correction on a CD player is pretty good at masking errors. This is why ripping the disc with EAC can generate useful information if you look at the logs. If the CD rips securely without generating any errors it is in excellent condition; if EAC has to rip portions of the disc multiple times in order to get a consistent and accurate result then maybe there is a disc problem. There are definitely shades of grey here!

    If an error free (as proven using EAC) disc is skipping on a CD player then I would suspect the CD player first as I have stated previously. I think my suggestion of a failing laser in an old CD player a reasonable one. Equally, I have a Marantz CD player from 1990 that still plays perfectly well (though has never been able to play CD-R discs) so it isn’t inevitable that an old player will die.

    Is this just with Windows? EAC is Windows only. XLD is a very capable ripper with secure ripping and AccurateRip for the Mac, and dBPoweramp has similar capabilities and has a Mac version available.
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2018
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