S
shmaller
Member
On the other hand, it is a demographic that can afford a CD haha
Order CDs vs. burn my own CD-Rs - a problem of CD player compatibility
Scott Baxendale
Well-known member
USB drives are a good alternative to CDs for the car. We still listen to CDs at work but often the other folks in the shop are listening to something else in their earbuds from their phones. It’s kind of a problem when everyone in the shop is listening to their own private feeds rather than speakers in the room. It causes a disconnect between everyone that slows down communication. Many times tech moving forward puts our general well being in the back seat.
Scott Baxendale
Well-known member
Or a demographic that values intellectual property and is willing to pay for it?
R
R D Smith
It's as good as it is, for as long as it lasts.
Flip a coin and you will have the answer.
rob aylestone
Moderator
I’m struggling to find music to listen to. My 50 year old favourites I have overplayed, and so little produced in the last 20 years I like. Spotify does a great job of finding music similar to my short playlists, but I wish there was a history function to tell me what I heard at 3am but was too sleepy to wake up and look at the title.
E
ecc83
Well-known member
Radio 3? Then Freeview ch 65 runs '80s music most of the day. (got Mahler Symp One on atmo!)
Dave.
Farview
Well-known member
Welcome to getting old. We've been expecting you.
DM60
Well-known member
I found the 90's has some jewels. Yes, you have to kiss a lot of frogs, but there are some princesses in that decade.
TalismanRich
Well-known member
I don't buy CDs like I used to, but there are some that I've bought in the last several years. Gov't Mule, Nataly Dawn, Marcus King and Tommy Emmanuel are the most recent ones. I've got hundreds of CDs and albums, so I can always find something that I haven't heard in a while. Recently I pulled out Mike Bloomfield, Moody Blues and Rory Gallagher CDs that I haven't heard in years.
Scott Baxendale
Well-known member
What I can’t do is scroll through digital playlists to find something to listen to. I can thumb through vinyl records or CDs or cassette tapes a pull out several things I want to listen to but if I’m on a screen and the song titles are in a spreadsheet list form I immediately lose interest and can’t ever find what I want to hear. Because of that I have never owned a IPod or downloaded a song from ITunes or Spotify.
In some ways getting old sucks but when it comes to listening to or experiencing live music I really feel sorry for the youngsters who are only getting a facsimile of the music experience we grew up with. It’s sad. We need a lot more new underground live music scenes, but everyone is too stuck in their influencer generation mindset and their self centered devices for any real new music scene to gain a foothold and take off.
Old Music Guy
Well-known member
This is good advice.
Also, your screen shot of the .cda files shows that each file is 1kB. That ain't right.
Moreover, the CUE/BIN format is not a recognized format for playing. Here's a link that explains that:
CUE/BIN
TalismanRich
Well-known member
The .cda files are 1 K, they are just pointers.
This is the directory of a commercial album (Mike Kennealley's Wine and Pickles.
This is the directory of a commercial album (Mike Kennealley's Wine and Pickles.
N
noah330
Active member
I get printed blank CD-Rs from Disk Makers. They have my company logo on them, and they're not that expensive. Usually, I order 100, and they cost about $120.
It's more than buying a spindle; they look good and always seem to work. I have an old HHB CD recorder that I bypass the converters on and a Disc Makers tower (6 bays) that I picked up for $100 on eBay a few years ago.
If you need a short run of an album, I would do cover art and order one of the jacket/CD combos. You can have them for years if you don't sell the whole run.
If I'm burning an album, I'll make a DDP file.
It's more than buying a spindle; they look good and always seem to work. I have an old HHB CD recorder that I bypass the converters on and a Disc Makers tower (6 bays) that I picked up for $100 on eBay a few years ago.
If you need a short run of an album, I would do cover art and order one of the jacket/CD combos. You can have them for years if you don't sell the whole run.
If I'm burning an album, I'll make a DDP file.
S
shmaller
Member
Here's an interesting datapoint: I just tried a friend's band's CD in my player, which they had professionally made, and that didn't work either.
I'm starting to suspect that this player (Technics SL-PD845) doesn't like anything that doesn't fit some 90s conception of how a CD should be made. Everything from a really "big" artist works fine, but indie productions seem to struggle. (my player is a sellout!)
I'm starting to suspect that this player (Technics SL-PD845) doesn't like anything that doesn't fit some 90s conception of how a CD should be made. Everything from a really "big" artist works fine, but indie productions seem to struggle. (my player is a sellout!)
Steenamaroo
...
- Get good quality media from a reputable brand (verbatim, for example).
- Aim for 650MB rather than 700, if possible.
- Burn at the slowest speed possible.
- Make sure disc is finalised after burn process.
- Make sure Disc-at-once burning is ticked.
- Use reputable software like Toast or Nero for burning.
If you've done all that and it's no good then, most likely, your 90s CD player just isn't happy with burned media.
It's possible your machine has issues or the laser could do with a clean but 90s players not playing burned CD-Rs wasn't uncommon.
Quite often it comes down to how reflective the media is and modern gear is more forgiving.
Add "high reflective" when searching for a good brand of CD-R and see what comes up.
Remember how you used to be able to tell at a glance (of the data side) which discs were commercial and which were burned?
That's mostly why.
Whether or not it's worth pursuing CD audio depends on who your target audience is and what gear they have.
If it's people with computers, modern DVD players, TVs with cd/dvd drives built in etc it'll probably be fine.
If it's Hi-Fi enthusiasts with 90s or early 2000s setups it's going to be a gamble.
Last edited:
DM60
Well-known member
If you really want a CD like the old days, they only way to go is by pressing. I was just looking on CD Baby, I think their CD packages still press. I also learned, not cheap, they will press vinyl. That is pretty interesting.
I would check that it is a pressing and not a burn, but the whole package for 100 less than $300, that is with printed CD and a printed jacket (you design the jacket). I think that is a pretty good way to go.
I would check that it is a pressing and not a burn, but the whole package for 100 less than $300, that is with printed CD and a printed jacket (you design the jacket). I think that is a pretty good way to go.
bouldersoundguy
Well-known member
The slowest speed isn't necessarily the best speed. As dyes got tuned for higher maximum speeds, the optimum speed increased. I would go two or three steps below the maximum.
Steenamaroo
...
Sure but if you're troubleshooting going to the lowest speed isn't going to make anything worse.
Farview
Well-known member
It can make things worse. The more sensitive they made the stuff, the more "bleed" you would get burning at slower speeds. The dots (pits) wouldn't be as crisp, which would cause read errors.
For the most part, I think trying to optimise your product for people who still use a 30 year old (or older) cd player probably isn't a good use of time and resources.
Steenamaroo
...
Fair enough. Thanks for the info, Farview.