CD-RW Music blanks - not easy to find

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by HGN2001, Sep 15, 2012.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member Thread Starter

    I've had about four CD-RW music blanks around here that have served me for years. Two of the cheapy no-name brand of these seem to have gone south and will no longer OPC on my standalone recorder. The Maxell still seems to work fine, as does one of the other of the cheapies.

    So I went out to the local shopping center figuring that one of the three stores there would have something. The stores are Staples, Target, and Best Buy.

    As it turned out, NONE of them had any CD-RW music blanks - not one. The guy at Best Buy told me that he'd seen one batch of them a couple of months ago, but they've since disappeared.

    OK, I figured I'm a dinosaur looking for old-hat technology, but I use these things all the time. I have a standalone Philips recorder that requires the "music" discs. That;s hooked up to my audio system where I typically will record vinyl to the CD-RW, load that into the computer and clean it up, then write it out to a CD-R.

    I don't want to get into moving the computer near the stereo nor vice versa, so this is the best solution right now. Someday when the Philips gives up the ghost, I'll have to figure out some other way, but for now, CD-RW music discs are what I need.

    So I looked online and it appears that these things are fading away fast. A reviewer on Amazon mentioned how hard these have become to find, so it's not just me. But Amazon had some TDK's that I've ordered. I got enough to probably outlast my recorder hopefully, but I guess the purpose of my story is just how quickly things change in the technology world.

    Harry
     
  2. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Indeed! But the best standalone next machine would be a good Tascam. Which allows using data discs full time.
     
  3. Jeff Edwards

    Jeff Edwards Senior Member

    I ran into the same thing about a year ago and got the TDKs you mentioned from Amazon. Those will probably do me until the recorder dies.
     
  4. jkauff

    jkauff Senior Member

    Location:
    Akron, OH
    fuse999 likes this.
  5. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member Thread Starter

    I don't believe any of those on that page are listed as "music" discs. Standalone recorders (consumer grade) were saddled with SCMS, with an attempt to make money for the music industry from all blank CD purchases. The ones specifically labeled "music" had some hard-coded internal flag pre-set to allow standalone recorders to use them. The theory was they'd cost more and that increased cost would go to the music industry to make up for the alleged lost revenue. Any disc not labeled "music" simply wouldn't work.

    So like everything else, the world adapted. Standalone recorders were essentially shunned, since computer CD-writers were considered professional units, and everyone went that way. Those of us who DID utilize the standalones have since been forced to use those blank CD-R discs (and -RW discs) that were coded in that specific way to allow their use.

    Now, since they don't sell tons of them (CD-RWs can be used over and over so there's no need for tons of them around), retailers have stopped stocking them, and manufacturers are abandoning their manufacture, or so I've discovered in recent days.

    Harry
     
  6. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    My opinion is that CD-RW is a very flawed format and not reliable. To me, since CD-R's are about 10 cents, it's a better idea just to use those and then throw them away when you're done. I never bought into the whole "Music CD" thing, because I felt it was just a unnecessary tax that did no real good, gave no new revenue to the artists, and just served as an obstacle to our right to record. Standalone CD recorders using normal blanks are still cheap and affordable, or you can make them even better on a computer.

    I do use Blu-ray Eraseable (BR-E) discs, but those are $20 each and actually quite reliable. I use those for cases where I need to temporarily back up HD video material, and you can erase those at least 50 times without problem.
     
    appledan likes this.
  7. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member Thread Starter

    This is now the option I'm going for.

    The TDK CD-RW's arrived, and while they did a proper OPC check, and seemed to record OK, the finalization procedure failed. The counter, which usually goes to 2:00 and counts down to zero would only get to about 1:45 and set itself to 4:00, count down to 3:33 and reset again to 2:00, get to 1:45, back to 4:00, and bounce around liked that for a few minutes before finally crapping out.

    I've tried finalizing instead on the computer, but that doesn't seem to work either.

    So, I'm going to get the Tascam. It looks like it's got great reviews, doesn't require the "Music" thing, and it should hold me for a while. At least I'll have a forever supply of CD-RW discs!

    Harry
     
  8. SamS

    SamS Forum Legend

    Location:
    Texas
    What is the purpose of using CD-RW? Isn't the cheapness ($0.10?) of a standard CD-R worth the hassle of a potential bad burn, or one full of errors?

    You can use tools like Nero Speed that tests the data integrity of discs you've burned. CD-RW always has horrible data integrity. It's just the nature of the dyes used. Get a decent CD-R blank, and you'll be fine. I realize you're going to be editing via PC, but if the integrity of the CD-RW data is bad to start with, then you're on a downhill slope before you even get started.
     
    nbakid2000 likes this.
  9. EddieVanHalen

    EddieVanHalen Forum Resident

    I think CD-RWs either for music or data (for use on computers) have no sense today. First, they are unreliable, second, regular CD-Rs are cheap enough not to use a media which in you can record, erase and re-record.
     
  10. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    I follow the same procedure as Harry....I use music CD-RWs for doing needledrops. I record the album on my standalone to the CD-RW and then rip that to the computer for editing, cue sheets, etc.... I've been using Fuji for the last 10 years, and I'm down to my last two. I also have a pack of TDKs for when these last Fuji discs die.
     
  11. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member Thread Starter

    Well at least *someone* can identify what I do with these things. Thanks Mike.

    As I said, four CD-RWs have been serving my purposes for a while now, as I use it as a temporary gathering ground from LPs and other analog sources.

    Then I rip that stuff as WAVs into the computer for editing and cleanup, and then write it out to a proper CD-R, uncompressed. I enjoy the process - I'm retired and have the time to do such things - so I'd like to continue in this fashion.

    The idea of using CD-Rs (which would have to be music CD-Rs, by the way, and they are a little pricier) and then tossing them seems wasteful to me.

    So I'm opting for a better recorder, hopefully. If I don't have to use the music blanks any more, so be it, but I'll still use CD-RWs as the starting point from vinyl, and re-use them until they're toast.

    Harry
     
  12. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    The flaw with this method is that you're using the CD-RW as an intermediary step, and your files can suffer from errors and other flaws during the transfer process.

    It would make much more sense to eliminate the CD-RW completely and just go directly from turntable to preamp to soundcard to computer. Don't use anything else inbetween. All that does is screw up the signal path, even digitally.

    There's tons of good software out there that's cheap and easy to use, and a halfway decent soundcard is not expensive. Heck, if you wanted to, you could use your CD Recorder as a soundcard: just feed the digital output of the recorder into your computer. It's kludgy, but I like that idea better than going from LP to CD-RW to digital file.
     
    nbakid2000 likes this.
  13. Jeff Edwards

    Jeff Edwards Senior Member

    This is exactly what I do.
     
  14. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member Thread Starter

    Not an option when the turntable/stereo is in one room and the computer's in another.

    Harry
     
  15. william shears

    william shears Senior Member

    Location:
    new zealand
    I appreciate Harry's concern about the wastefulness of just throwing away CD-R discs after use as data carrier. More plastic crap that's going to be around forever.
    I don't know how much the Tascams go for but it would probably be just as efficient to buy a laptop with a simple sound card and free audio software and just plug the TT into that. Then you can transfer the file and do you post-production on the 'big' computer?
    My Phillips died a few years ago. I recorded an awful lot of vinyl on it but it was sometimes a bugger to use. I threw away quite a few discs.
     
  16. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    That is pretty unlikely, assuming a decent CD-ROM drive and decent ripping software. CD ripping is pretty robust.
     
  17. SamS

    SamS Forum Legend

    Location:
    Texas
    It's the burning to CD-RW that's the problem, not the ripping.

    It's like trying to write a thank you letter with a ball point pen, on a piece of toilet paper.
     
    nbakid2000 likes this.
  18. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    What's the problem with burning?
     
  19. Amnesiac

    Amnesiac Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    If you have an OfficeMax near you, they sell a lot of them.
     
  20. SamS

    SamS Forum Legend

    Location:
    Texas
    CD-RW media always have more PI/PIF errors in the resulting burned copy, than traditional CD-R media.
     
  21. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Get a laptop, or get a second real cheap computer. There's ways to solve this problem very inexpensively. Anybody should be able to grasp why this is a very flawed workflow (as we say in the post-production business). Going from point A to point B to point C is not nearly as safe and robust as just going directly from Point A to point C.

    I also don't buy that CD-RW (or DVD-RW or BR-E) discs don't pick up more and more errors over time, the more you erase and reuse them.

    Given that people around here will debate the merits of a $500 AC cable and a $2000 interconnect cable, I think it's pretty clear that going from an analog signal through an A/D to a recordable optical disc, then ripping the optical disc and creating a WAV file out of that, is a fairly torturous path. Heck, I'd question the quality of the cheap A/D in a CD recorder, especially if it's at least 10 years old (which I'd assume it is).

    It would be relatively easy to measure the signals going direct vs. going through another digital transfer stage. To me, just the additional time necessary would be a deterrent.
     
  22. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    If the converters in the CD recorder are better than those in a laptop or a cheap desktop, the end result will likely be better using the CD recorder, unless there's some catastrophic problem with the CD-RW disc. In which case...use a different disc.
     
  23. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Torturous? Hardly. An extra step? Yes, but generally one that will yield bit identical results.
     
  24. Thurenity

    Thurenity Listening to some tunes

    I think the Tascam mentioned early in the thread is a good solution, and I believe several members here use it (I personally do not). Plus I believe it does 24/96 recording, at least one of their devices does. EDIT: the DR-05, which is actually solid state, not optical media.

    You could also use a laptop with a decent ADC for recording, as well. But the cost could be prohibitive versus the Tascam.
     
  25. Geoff Chandler

    Geoff Chandler Well-Known Member

    I use an old Pioneer PDR 509 Recorder Deck
    The TDK CDRW music disks seem to have disappeared and the Maxell's I used only lasted 4 or 5 recording s before starting to play up!
    Why use CD-RW? - well if you miss cue or make a mistake you don't have to start all over again - you can just erase the last track and then continue.
    So Do I have to use the Maxells again or can I get TDK, Sony or Verbatim somewhere???
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine