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I'm trying to get the best sound out of my computer (I'm cleaning up my old 12"
records through my computer). Will upgrading to a better brand CD-RW drive
improve the sound quality at all? Or are they all pretty much the same?

Here's what's in the computer...

Sound card - just upgraded to M-Audio's Audiophile 2496
CD-RW drive - Lite-On 8 x 4 x 32 IDE drive (came with computer)
Software - Adaptec Create CD, vers. 4
Other Software - Cool Edit 2000

I only record on the slowest setting, fearing that the faster the speed I
record on will actually go against the sound quality on the burned CD. Maybe
this is wrong though. Also, I always use Memorex CD-R's.

Any help would be appreciated, as I'd rather not rely on the store sales
people.

On a related note, has anyone used these audio clean-up programs to clean up
the sound of your old records and how well do they work for you?

- Magix: Audio Cleaning Labs 2004 (I'm considering getting this)
- Pinnacle: Clean Plus 4.0 (costs more, but sounds like it has less to offer)

John

(JnAnthony) wrote in
news::

> I only record on the slowest setting, fearing that the faster the
> speed I record on will actually go against the sound quality on the
> burned CD. Maybe this is wrong though. Also, I always use Memorex
> CD-R's.

There should be no discernable audio difference between a disc burned at 2x
and a disc burned at 52x. There also should not be a difference between a
Memorex disc or an Imation disc or any other brands. Especially when the
original sound source is a record.

--
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>There should be no discernable audio difference between a disc burned at 2x
>and a disc burned at 52x. There also should not be a difference between a
>Memorex disc or an Imation disc or any other brands. Especially when the
>original sound source is a record.

Thanks, that takes care of one problem. No more waiting forever while the CD
burns at the slowest speed.

But I'm still not sure if upgrading to a better brand CD-RW drive will improve
the sound quality at all? Or are they all the same?

Some sales people insist that the Lite-On one is a generic one that needs to be
upgraded for better sound quality. Others say one is the same as another (some
can just record faster than others).

John

JnAnthony wrote:
>>There should be no discernable audio difference between a disc burned at 2x
>>and a disc burned at 52x. There also should not be a difference between a
>>Memorex disc or an Imation disc or any other brands. Especially when the
>>original sound source is a record.
>
>
> Thanks, that takes care of one problem. No more waiting forever while the CD
> burns at the slowest speed.
>
> But I'm still not sure if upgrading to a better brand CD-RW drive will improve
> the sound quality at all? Or are they all the same?
>
> Some sales people insist that the Lite-On one is a generic one that needs to be
> upgraded for better sound quality. Others say one is the same as another (some
> can just record faster than others).
>
> John
IMO the component that affects sound quality is the sound card which
captures the analog sound & converts it to digital. The only way in
which the CD burner could affect the quality would be if it dropped bits
when burning the digital file-and all of them that I know report errors
when they do that.

JnAnthony wrote:
>
DeMoN wrote:
>>
> >There should be no discernable audio difference between a disc burned at 2x
> >and a disc burned at 52x. There also should not be a difference between a
> >Memorex disc or an Imation disc or any other brands. Especially when the
> >original sound source is a record.
>
> Thanks, that takes care of one problem. No more waiting forever while the CD
> burns at the slowest speed.
>
The old computer adage, GIGO, (garbage in-garbage out), never applied more
than to digitizing music from records or tape.

If you want more than just a so-so copy in a digital format:

Use a good turntable with the correct equalization in the pre-amp. Make
sure the pick-up is good and the needle OK. Check the audio level at the
turntable to line input at the computer. Clean the record if needed.

You can edit digital content if you record to a .wav format first. You
can remove an occasional click or pop, but you can't remove turntable wow
or flutter or decrease the background noise. So make sure the analog
is OK before you digitize it. If you want compressed format convert
the .wav to MP3. There are many programs that go directly from analog
to WP3, but they don't leave you any chance of editing .

> But I'm still not sure if upgrading to a better brand CD-RW drive will improve
> the sound quality at all? Or are they all the same?

Music recording is more tolorant than copying digital programs. Any CD-RW
drive will either make a good digital record, or fail with an unreadable
"coaster". The output, however, will only be as good as the input!
>
> Some sales people insist that the Lite-On one is a generic one that needs to be
> upgraded for better sound quality. Others say one is the same as another (some
> can just record faster than others).

The Lite-On seems to be a good unit. I have a Lite-On DVD-ROM that works fine.

Virg Wall
--
A foolish consistency is the
hobgoblin of little minds,........
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(Microsoft programmer's manual.)

Here's a useful site for digitizing music. dadiOH hangs out in
alt.windows98, and has some useful information on his site.

Quote from his posts in alr.windows98:

"dadiOH's dandies v3.0...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
____________________________"

Well worth downloading.

Virg Wall
--
A foolish consistency is the
hobgoblin of little minds,........
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(Microsoft programmer's manual.)

JnAnthony wrote:
>> There should be no discernable audio difference between a disc
>> burned at 2x and a disc burned at 52x. There also should not be a
>> difference between a Memorex disc or an Imation disc or any other
>> brands. Especially when the original sound source is a record.
>
> Thanks, that takes care of one problem. No more waiting forever
> while the CD burns at the slowest speed.
>
> But I'm still not sure if upgrading to a better brand CD-RW drive
> will improve the sound quality at all? Or are they all the same?
>
> Some sales people insist that the Lite-On one is a generic one that
> needs to be upgraded for better sound quality. Others say one is the
> same as another (some can just record faster than others).
>
> John

No, no, no, I build systems and usually only use Lite-On drives for
burners, as the price/performance is excellent...stop talking to those
Best Buy sales people, they are usually dimwits when it comes to this
stuff, good thing you found this NG right . Anyways, the CD drive
will have no affect on sound quality (probably only speed), but the
program you use to rip CD's and your sound card will. Since you don't
rip CD's, and record old records, the biggest factor will be your sound
card, recording software, and editing software. If you ever get into
ripping CD's look into Exact Audio Copy, and if you ever get into
compressing to MP3's, I highly recommend compressing using the LAME
encoder.

--
Night_Seer

"JnAnthony" <> wrote in message
news:...
> >There should be no discernable audio difference between a disc burned at
2x
> >and a disc burned at 52x. There also should not be a difference between
a
> >Memorex disc or an Imation disc or any other brands. Especially when
the
> >original sound source is a record.
>
> Thanks, that takes care of one problem. No more waiting forever while the
CD
> burns at the slowest speed.
>
> But I'm still not sure if upgrading to a better brand CD-RW drive will
improve
> the sound quality at all? Or are they all the same?

If the drive is doing it's job, digital is digital, no matter what drive is
used.

(JnAnthony) wrote in
news::

> Some sales people insist that the Lite-On one is a generic one that
> needs to be upgraded for better sound quality. Others say one is the
> same as another (some can just record faster than others).
>

Lite-On is not a generic brand. They have a great price for the speed they
burn, and the only ill effect you would have from using a generic brand
CDRW would be coasters. When you burn a CD, there is no "Good", "Not as
good" and "Bad." There is simply "It burned" or "It had errors." It can't
burn partially correct.

--
AIM: FrznFoodClerk
email: de_on-lag@co_cast.net (_ = m)
website: under construction
Need a technician in the south Jersey area?
email/IM for rates/services

V W Wall wrote:

> JnAnthony wrote:
>
> DeMoN wrote:
>
>>>There should be no discernable audio difference between a disc burned at 2x
>>>and a disc burned at 52x. There also should not be a difference between a
>>>Memorex disc or an Imation disc or any other brands. Especially when the
>>>original sound source is a record.
>>
>>Thanks, that takes care of one problem. No more waiting forever while the CD
>>burns at the slowest speed.
>>
>
> The old computer adage, GIGO, (garbage in-garbage out), never applied more
> than to digitizing music from records or tape.
>
> If you want more than just a so-so copy in a digital format:
>
> Use a good turntable with the correct equalization in the pre-amp. Make
> sure the pick-up is good and the needle OK. Check the audio level at the
> turntable to line input at the computer. Clean the record if needed.
>
> You can edit digital content if you record to a .wav format first. You
> can remove an occasional click or pop, but you can't remove turntable wow
> or flutter or decrease the background noise. So make sure the analog
> is OK before you digitize it. If you want compressed format convert
> the .wav to MP3. There are many programs that go directly from analog
> to WP3, but they don't leave you any chance of editing .
>
>
>>But I'm still not sure if upgrading to a better brand CD-RW drive will improve
>>the sound quality at all? Or are they all the same?
>
>
> Music recording is more tolorant than copying digital programs. Any CD-RW
> drive will either make a good digital record, or fail with an unreadable
> "coaster". The output, however, will only be as good as the input!
>
>>Some sales people insist that the Lite-On one is a generic one that needs to be
>>upgraded for better sound quality. Others say one is the same as another (some
>>can just record faster than others).
>
>
> The Lite-On seems to be a good unit. I have a Lite-On DVD-ROM that works fine.
>
> Virg Wall

I generally agree with everything you said above Virg, except about
removing wow and flutter, turntable noise, and background noise. It
can not be elimated altogether, but can be reduced to a level which is
virtually unnoticable.

I have had great success with Dart Pro a couple of years ago, by
basically recording a section of the vinyl source with the noise, and
then subtracting those frequencies from the recording of the particular
track. It does tend to "muffle" the sound, so I then have to brighten
up the track again. It is very time consuming, but I found it
worthwhile when trying to get some very old 33, 45 and 78 records onto
CD before they were completely unplayable.

I agree with your comments on Lite-On. I have one of their DVD-ROMs
and two of their burners, and they are totally reliable.

--
Cheers
Oldus Fartus