standalone vs masterlink
hey gemsbok
just a thought - i have an HHB CDR830 and it's fantastic, (and i'm not being sarcastic here) until it isn't.
the problem is, with no pre-storage, if you get a problem with writing the TOC at the end, or any problem on finalising, then you are stuffed.
mine is fantastically handy in the studio (though i do also burn out of Roxio Jam) for quick and dirty mixes when i don't need red-book, but i have had a few instances recently where i've recorded 6 or seven tracks only for the disc to not finalise properly. you then have no option but to start again.
a more minor point is that some cd-r media is now rated at up to 52x write speed - according to HHBthemselves, discs rated over 48x will not handle the 1x write speed that the HHB obviously has to write at. this caused a problem recently when all the inkjet printable stock i had wouldn't run in the HHB asit was 52x and i had to buy a separate stock of printable verbatim 48x stock - which works fine now.
for anything critical, i have to admit that i now run my live mixes into both the HHB and a sony minidisc recorder as a belt-and-braces approach. i work on the principle that they can't POSSIBLY both go wrong! (aaaargh - why did i say that?). if the band then want a disc at the end of the night, i cn usually spend 40 mins while the rest of the gear is packed down / band are in the bar, bouncing from the minidisc to the HHB on a replacement disc.
i've always liked the concept of the masterdisc - good way of keeping four or five mixes of some tracks before committing. it was always a little out of my allocated budget for that sort of thing.
have fun