Heres a few basics that will get you going in the right direction when choosing a CD-R and the software to fit your desired application. Although stand alone CD Recorders are available and very efficient, the higher end CDR's can be expensive and limited in expandable capability.If your finding CDR's under 500.00, I would take a long hard look at what you're buying.With computer peripheral CD-Rs, expanding functionality is just a matter of loading or downloading the correct software and these drives can be purchased for less than $500.00 as opposed to over a thousand.It is also highly recommended that you confine your search to SCSI devices as they provide specific advantages over IDE . SCSI is not only faster in regards to transfer rates but also provides system expansion capability by implementing the chaining of other external SCSI devices (CD ROM drives, hard drives, up to 7 on a narrow SCSI bus).If you can get the cover off of your computer , it’s just a matter of snapping this PCI card in your available PCI slot and then hooking up the appropriate external cable to your CD recorder.
I would recommend using a SCSI CDR that has been thouroughly tested for audio.Some computer based and stand alone CDR's may have unwanted noise from internal workings that may effect the transfer of the digital audio.You dont want any unwanted noise in your CD burn.Although the noise may not be clearly audible, if your like me, you dont take any chances.There are companies in the audio biz that test computer based CDR's to ensure maximum performance in an audio application. Also be sure that the CDR and the software you choose will comply with redbook standards in case you want to duplicate professionally.Redbook standard is a very essential requirement for professional duplication. This is usually more dependant on the software installed on your PC to do your CD burning.Im not sure if stand alone units somehow indicate whether you are within redbook standards or not, but going SCSI with a computer based CDR with the right software is the best way to go in my opinion.
Bill L&M
[This message has been edited by LMSTUDIO (edited 08-27-1999).]