Just for the sake of completeness, though the discussion seems to have gone elsewhere, here's why you want an interface rather than a CDR:
- The typical consumer-oriented CD recorder will only make 16-bit, 44.1k recordings. Even a modest interface will give you 24 bits. The sample rate probably doesn't matter that much, but you'll have the option of doing a 48k recording, if that's more compatible with something you want to do with it. You could theoretically use a 96k (or 88.2k) sample rate, though that might tax your computer and probably doesn't get you much.
- There are some machines that'll record "higher" formats (e.g. Alesis Masterlink), but they'd cost a good bit more than a basic interface.
- If you want to get the stereo master into Audacity for minor editing and processing, it would be a cumbersome multi-step process of recording to the CD, putting that into your computer's CD drive and then importing the track into Audacity.
- Consumer units typically require "music" CDRs and implement the SCMS copy-management protection system. That's not the most horrible handicap (if you're really just using the CDR as a step to import into the computer, it may not matter), but you do need to have special CDRs, and it can get in the way.
- If you're recording into the computer, you'll likely have more useful and flexible metering.
- Consumer units often include a compressor or limiter on the analog input that you would just as soon bypass.
- The analog path and the converters on a consumer CD recorder are likely to be worse than even a budget interface, though the difference may be subtle.
- A CD player, at least compared to an interface, is relatively full of things that can break or go wrong.
- The interface would also give you a bit more useful, flexible and higher-fidelity route for getting audio out of your computer than what you now have.
