Mastering/Burning advice

[zaabway]

My goal is to produce a limited number of CD's doing everything myself. I'm recording mostly acoustic music on an Alesis ADAT with a Behringer board - the only equipment I currently own. What are my options (as far as equipment/pricing goes) for mastering and burning disc's? I do have a decent laptop - should I get a sound card and burner or maybe buy a DAT to master on and a stand alone burner? I'm looking for pros/cons, other options and cost advice. Thanks in advance.

[dobro]

I'm unfamiliar with the latest generation of burners, but it's my experience (and others here) that standalones are more reliable burners than internal burners.

Does the ADAT convert to 16-bit 44.1 KHz for CD burning? If it doesn't, you'll need something to do that, because ADATs record at 20-bit, don't they?

You probably know more about this than me.

[zaabway]

Yes, the ADAT records at 20bit and yes, it can convert to 16bit (I have the newer model). With that said, what are some options for mastering? Do I need a DAT or can I master on my laptop and burn disc's from there. I'm looking for pro's/con's of different approaches. I also want to burn between 20-50 copies of different projects. Is there any issue with different burners as far as usage goes?