Fuzzy CDs

Fret

New member
Anyone have a guess as to why I end up with fuzzy sounding tracks if I burn my CDs from a .wav file? I export my mixed down track from Cakewalk to a 16 bit .wav file and then burn that onto a CD using Adaptec Easy CD Creator and end up with some pretty poor quality (distortion maybe). On the other side of it though if I convert the .wav file into an MP3 and then burn that it comes across great. That seems backwards to me since it is another step and another conversion.
 
I have noticed some other post with similar problems but I still haven't found a fix so I thought I would cycle this one around again in hopes that someone would have an idea.

I have found that the .wav files sound fine when played with Media Player and most of the time they even sound ok when previewed in the Easy CD Creator browse window but once I select them and move them down into the layout window they are fuzzy. (Even when played from the hard drive.)

I have creating the wav file at different volume levels and I am also having this problem on two different computers. I believe both of them are using Easy CD Creator ver 4.05.

Still the same thing that if I convert them to an MP3 and then burn them they come out fine.

It might make since to upgrade to the latest version but I don’t want to have to buy that if it still isn’t going to work. If no one has an idea of a fix can someone recommend a better software to burn with?


Thanks
 
You took a green marker to the CD, didn't you? ;) :) :D

Sorry, I was just looking at older threads...

What kind of burner do you have? Maybe upgrade the firmware (if possible) for it. What speed are you burning at? A slower one might help. Are you still working on the machine when it is burning? If so, don't do that!

If none of that works Nero (www.nero.com) is a great little program.

hth.
 
Of course I used a green marker. I just have to have that warmer sound. LOL

I believe my drive is a Plextor but the crazy thing is that I don't even have to burn it to CD. After I move the file in to the layout view I can play it from there and It is still fuzzy.?????
 
Do you use some type of stereo/2-track wav editor afterwords? How does the file play in something like soundforge, wavelab, goldwave?

If you don't use a 2-track editor. Download www.goldwave.com and open and play your file there.

BTW what's the rest of your setup.. soundcard etc, operating system etc. Also, what are you playing the final CD-ROM back on, computer, consumer CD-Player etc.
 
If I play the wav file with media player it is always ok. If I play it with the preview player (whatever that is) within the Adaptec browse window it is usually ok. If I play it with the preview player in the layout window it is usually fuzzy.

My system is a Pentium III 733, 640 MBs of RAM, Two 40 GB SCSI HDs W2k and a Delta 66.

I have played the CDs in both my CD-RW and my car stereo. I have noticed the same problem in both places.

I have not tried goldwave but I will look into it latter tonight.
 
Update...

I tried to create a CD with MusicMatch and it gives me an error
"Unable to add the following file to CD. Only WAV and MP3 stereo files (not streamed) with a sampling frequency of 44.1 khz and 16 per sample can be added."

The files I am using are 16 bit (dithered down on export from Sonar) which I recorded at 48 khz. Could the 48khz be the problem??? If so how do I convert that to 44.1 or would I want to before burning?
 
Still playing

I downloaded Goldwave and I have been playing with that. I have found that if I resample down to 44.1 I can create a clean CD. Ok, this might be good news.?? What is the correct way to do this. Should I not be able to export my project recorded at 48khz and 24 bit to a 16 bit file and then just burn that to a cd? Do I have to resample? Do I want to resample? Is this better then just converting it to an mp3 and then burning? Oh so many questions?

I guess the real question is what does everyone do when exporting from Sonar (or whatever else) and before or when buring it to a CD. Always looking for a new mastering tip but mostly I'm asking on the techie side of converting the file from the original format into the correct one for burning.
 
To be playable on any regular CD player, the files need to be 16 bit, with a 44.1kHz sampling rate. I recommend you record all your tracks at 44.1 from the beginning. I've heard the re-sampling can cause alot of problems (more so than converting 24 bit to 16 bit). I use N-Track, and I always record my original tracks at 24/44.1. When I'm ready for the CD, I use Waves L1 to dither it down to 16 bits.
Good luck!
-Evan

PS - apologies if you know this already, but bit depth (or word length) refers to how big each sample (or snapshot of the sound) is. I.e. a 16 bit sample contains less info than a 24 bit sample. Sample Rate (or Sampling Frequency) is how many times a second the sound is "sampled". So one second of CD audio contains 44,100 snaphots, with each snapshot containing 16-bits of information. Hope that helps!
 
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I have nine or ten almost finished projects all recorded at 48khz. Any sugestions?????
 
Don't sweat it, you can keep working on your old stuff at 48, you just have to re-sample the final 2-track wav to 44.1 before burning. You might not even think that the resampling causes a problem (how much degradation occurs is probably very subjective). But for new projects, it may be benificial to track at 44.1 (no re-sampling, file sizes are smaller, less strain on your system)
Good luck!


Fret said:
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I have nine or ten almost finished projects all recorded at 48khz. Any sugestions?????
 
Only having done it once Goldwave seems to do a good job at resampling. Is there a better program? Of course there is, let me rephrase that. Is there a better program that is still affordable?
 
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