CD-R color

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webstop

New member
I wonder, how does CD-R color effect its quality of sound?

Lately I purchased Verbatim "Vinyl cd-r". Reflective side of the disk was blue, and label side looked exactly as small vinyl record of 45 rpm size. They just looked so damn nice that I couldn't help buying a pack. So I burned one and started to listen expecting a miracle. To my dissappontment the disk sounded worse then a regular silver disk, especially in high frequencies.

I also tried green disks, which sounded similar to silver ones.

The best I had so far were old 8-speed golden TDK disks. They sounded smooth and transparent.

These days you can buy disks of all imaginable colors, including black, but how do they sound?

Whats your experience?
 
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webstop said:
I wonder, how does CD-R color effect its quality of sound?

Lately I purchased Verbatim "Vinyl cd-r". Reflective side of the disk was blue, and label side looked exactly as small vinyl record of 45 rpm size. They just looked so damn nice that I couldn't help buying a pack. So I burned one and started to listen expecting a miracle. To my dissappontment the disk sounded worse then a regular silver disk, especially in high frequencies.

I also tried green disks, which sounded similar to silver ones.

The best I had so far were old 8-speed golden TDK disks. They sounded smooth and transparent.

These days you can buy disks of all imaginable colors, including black, but how do they sound?

Whats your experince?
Click to expand...

Can you quantify your "disappointment" with, for example, a spectrum analysis screenshot of the same passage played back
through the same system from each disk?
 
Re: Re: CD-R color

drstawl said:
Can you quantify your "disappointment" with, for example, a spectrum analysis screenshot of the same passage played back
through the same system from each disk?
Click to expand...

Sorry doc, I can't. Besides what I felt was "dissappointment", which I think is a stronger feeling, then some little "disappointment". ;)
 
If there are differences, they could possibly be due to differences in jitter or the amount of error correction occuring when playing the CD.

I doubt anyone posting in a home recording forum has the equipment to measure jitter.

Most CD players / DACs dont indicate when they are applying error correction so measurement of that would also be difficult.
 
No, thats not about measurements.

I am asking about user's personal perception of whether color of the disk has effect on its sonic quality, and if yes, how would they be rated?.
 
webstop, I was replying to Drstawls post not yours. You got a post in while I was typing it out which makes it a bit confusing.
 
i have a few cdrs that are black, blue and red on the bottom... vs the avg memorex audio cdr's i use.. i don't notice a difference.. i guess i'll have to burn something and run it through some analyzers in wavelab
what brand are the cdr's that you have?
 
c9-2001 said:
i have a few cdrs that are black, blue and red on the bottom... vs the avg memorex audio cdr's i use.. i don't notice a difference.. i guess i'll have to burn something and run it through some analyzers in wavelab
what brand are the cdr's that you have?
Click to expand...

Now you're talking!

And I'm not even from Missouri!

(For all you foreigners, that's the "Show-Me" state)

Webstop was talking about the Verbatim "Vinyls" that are supposed to look like a modern version of a 45 RPM phonograph record vs. a typical Gold or Silver CDR.

And it should be easy to see if the error correction dropped high frequency information or if this is just a placebo effect.
 
alfalfa,
No problem. Actually I think that drstawl was simply teasing me for bad spelling. He knows that I make typos. ;)

c9- 2001,
I don't stick to any particular brand. I usually get the ones that are on sale with rebates every week. Memorex and Hi-val worked ok. Lately I was pretty pleased with Phillips CDR-80. At the same time I found reliability of Imation to be inferior. Whenever I backup data, I always have the drive to do an extra pass for "verification". One out every 20 - 30 Imation disks would fail verification. This very seldom happens to Memorex or Philips. Sonically though, I don't hear any difference between various silver brands. I use Yamaha 3200 and 2100 drives.
 
My daughter bought a stack of color-on-both-sides CDRs 'cos she thought they looked cool - but they won't play in a whole bunch of her friends' CD players, particularly older ones. Not surprising, since light is a key part of playback.

My only experience was with a freebie CD that looked like a 45 - it was old reggae, so pretty lo-fi anyhow. So no basis to judge, really.

Daf
 
drstawl,
To be exact, "Vinyl" cdrs were not short of high frequences, but those highs sounded more harsh.
The disk was recorded in "Audio Master" mode with longer than usual pits and lands, therefore if this was caused by jitter, then the disks were even worse then I initially thought.
 
webstop said:
alfalfa,
No problem. Actually I think that drstawl was simply teasing me for bad spelling. He knows that I make typos. ;)
Click to expand...

Truth to be told, I didn't even notice that.

Your English in general is so much better than some of these homegrown homies it's embarrassing that it is not your first language. :)

My emphasis on the word was to point out my skepticism over perceived artifacts versus measurable artifacts.

As in, "This black CD looks so cool it can't possibly sound as good as a real CD".
 
webstop said:
drstawl,
To be exact, "Vinyl" cdrs were not short of high frequences, but those highs sounded more harsh.
The disk was recorded in "Audio Master" mode with longer than usual pits and lands, therefore if this was caused by jitter, then the disks are even worse then I initially thought.
Click to expand...

"Harsh" or "missing", there should be a measurable difference even if there is no number associated with the "measurement". In other words the frequency spectrum should look different if it really *is* different.
 
In my experiance of using CDRs of every different color, they all sound the same.

There is another advantage (so I have read) to using the Verbatim "record" CDs. In addition to looking cool, the material they use is supposed to last longer that a generic CDR. I believe most CDRs are supposed to be good for about 10 years, then the chemical coating starts breaking down. I've been told the Verbatims are good for 50 years.
 
My (limited) knowledge on the subject is that the color variations on CD-R's are a result of the different dyes used in manufacturing.

The various different dyes have different properties, including the melting point. Depending on the strength of the laser in your CD burner you can get different results from burning different types of CD's.

However, I would not expect this to affect the sound quality. It can and will affect playback on various systems, since the pits might not be as deep, and therefore more difficult to read by some players. But I imagine the disc will either play or not play, and if it plays it should sound the same as any other.
 
However, I would not expect this to affect the sound quality. It can and will affect playback on various systems, since the pits might not be as deep, and therefore more difficult to read by some players. But I imagine the disc will either play or not play, and if it plays it should sound the same as any other.
Click to expand...

Dang Dachay, That's what I was going to say!

Well, almost!:rolleyes:
 
Jitter and the amount of error correction it causes the CD player to perform are two possible reasons why they might sound different (even if they do play).
 
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