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Computer made CDs sound bad


jbsl

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When ever I make a cd on my computer the sound quality is not the same as the original cd. I have the latest version of Window XP media to burn cds with and have set it up as best as I can with my meger computer skills. Is it possible to record from the computer onto a CDRW disc and get the same quality sound? If I have to go buy software that costs over $100 then it's not worth it.

My set up is a Luxman preamp, Cayin TA 30 tube amp, NAD C542 cd player, and 2004 La Scalas so if the cd recording is not the same quality as the original cd it sounds bad to me.

So I don't make them. I have a Nakamichi RX 202 cassette deck that I'm going to use for a comparision. If they still sell cassettes I'm going to record a tape and a cd with the same material and do a comparsion.

Now anyone who can help me make sure my computer windows media player is set up for the best way I would appreciate it so the test will be as objective as possible. I have not used the RX202 in a long time so if I cannot find a cleaning cassette what other ways are there to clean the recording and playback heads on the Nakamichi RX202 cassette deck?

Xman

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"well......

if you don't like the CD, the tape is gonna horrify you ....

use Exact Audio Copy ...it's free"

I don't know about the tape sounding worse the computer made cds sound pretty bad to me but that's why I'm doing this little experiment.

Would I get "Exact Audio Copy" from download.com?

Radio Shack might also have cassette tapes. Thanks for the input!!

Xman

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On 7/30/2005 6:42:54 AM jbsl wrote:

buy software that costs over $100 then it's not worth it.

Xman

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Hey, get some head, capstan and pinch-roller cleaner (Intraclean S-721H-2, 2oz @ $10) and a head de-magnetizer and do the dirty using a sponge type swab. Those cassettes will do some good, but a good cleaning will require a more hands on approach. De-natured alcohol can be used on the heads, but keep it off the rubber rollers. It's only fair, that you bring that Nak up to full potential for comparison.

As for burning, I'd go to regular CD-R's and burn at the slowest speed possible off of the hard drive. EAC is THE way to go, however, I've had good results using an older version of Roxio.

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JBSL,

Are you copying production CDs or are you making them from some other source material?

If they are from LPs, then you need to make sure you are not going from vinyl to mp3 to CD. You would need to go from vinyl straight to (at least) 16 bit/44.1K wav file. This is what a Redbook CD is.

If you are pulling mp3 files off the internet and making CDs, then they won't sound as good as regular CDs.

Bruce

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Went to EAC's website downloaded the file and how do you get it to run?

I have saved all my cds onto my harddrive and make a burnlist and burn it onto a Cd. I will try CDR.

"head, capstan and pinch-roller cleaner (Intraclean S-721H-2, 2oz @ $10)" where can I get this product at? Is the "head de-magnetizer" one of those cassettes you pop into the player? Also what is "De-natured alcohol" and where can I get it?

Xman

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Lots of unknown variables here!!!!!

First, the issue of cassettes vs CDs.... experiment all you want, but unless you have REALLY screwed up the CD transfer there is no way in Hades that the cassettes will impress you! Prove it to yourself, or simply look at their S/N specs and dynamic range! This is a no-brainer! But hey, your time evidently isn't as valuable as mine.2.gif2.gif

I am curious about your already having recorded them to your hard drive...I wonder if part of the problem isn't here! Did you bit copy the material? If not, I suspect you have used some kind of lossy transfer.

Making bit copy identical transfers of CDs to CDs is a defacto method, and hence why the recording industry's freaking out. As as far as $100 software!?!?!?!?! If you want a full suite, I would recommend NERO for about $45 if you shop around. I would recommend AVOIDING Roxio, as it hangs in so many places requiring a reboot with XP that , well, let's just say I wish I did not spend the money for it! But don't take my word for it - go to their online support discussion group! Even the user's group consistently trashes the product and Roxio's support sucks! It is simply a very buggy piece of software, ESPECIALLY if you are running XP!

Or, if you are in the market for a dual layer 16x DVD/CD recorder, NewEgg has the NEC ND-3520A, ND-3540A, etc, for ~$47 that included Nero OEM. So see, you can get a dual layer 16X DVD burner & Nero for the price of the discounted price of the software alone!

But in any case, this should be a simple process, and the problem is in 'the way you are doing something'!

I am very confused by your approach and reasoning in this situation, but hey, I'm easily confused. Ask anyone!2.gif9.gif9.gif

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On 7/30/2005 9:35:44 AM jbsl wrote:

Went to EAC's website downloaded the file and how do you get it to run?

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Create a directory somewhere on your harddrive (I put mine under the "C:/program files" directory, and named it "EAC".) Extract all the files from the downloaded ".zip" file into that directory. Next, while holding down the right mouse button, click and drag the "eac.exe" icon onto your desktop. A little menu will pop up. Select "create shortcut", then rename the short cut to "Exact Audio Copy" or "EAC" or whatever else you want that makes sense. Next (and this is purely optional), locate and download a copy of the LAME MP3 encoder. Create a directory under your EAC directory and name it something like "LAME" and extract the downloaded "lame.zip" file into that diretory. Insert an audio CD into both of your drive(s) and double click that icon. A "configuration wizard" will appear. At this point, pretty much follow the prompts, as it does a prett good job of setting everything up automatically. In your case, just stick with the defaults it finds, and begin with the "beginner" mode as suggested on the last page of the configuration wizard. Afterwords, Exact Audio Copy is ready for use. Don't be afraid to go and play around with the settings and such.

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I have saved all my cds onto my harddrive and make a burnlist and burn it onto a Cd. I will try CDR.

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What did you use to save your CDs onto your harddrive? Just the Media Player that came with Windows XPloit? If you did, it converted and compressed it all to .WMA (Windows Media Audio) format. When you go to create a copy from those files, you are basically "reconstituting" the compressed format back to full CD-DA (Redbook) format (at the 16bit/44khz sampling). Unfortunatly, some quality is lost during that whole process, thus you will never get as "good" as the original. The only "real" way to enure your copy is as good as the original is to make an exact copy of the disk, using any of the better disk copiers (unfortunatly, there is nothing built in Windows XPloit that will do a straight disk-to-disk copy). I just use my trusty'ol copy of Roxio that came with my PlexWriter burner to make direct copies of my CD for when I put them in the car and such. I do use EAC for making custome CD mixes as well as creating CDs from downloaded MP3 files.

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"head, capstan and pinch-roller cleaner (Intraclean S-721H-2, 2oz @ $10)" where can I get this product at?

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I don't know about that specific product, but I've seen "head cleaner" fluid at the local Rat Shack, such as this stuff for about $5. I don't know how good it is compared to that "Interclean" product mentioned, though, or if it is the same thing, but with a "Radio Shack" label on it.

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Is the "head de-magnetizer" one of those cassettes you pop into the player?

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Yes. Here is one from Rat Shack. They are asking about $13 for it.

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Also what is "De-natured alcohol" and where can I get it?

Xman

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It is more commonly known as "rubbing alcohol". You can get it at just about any Wally-World, K-Mart, supermarket, pharmacy, etc. Look in the "first-aid supplies" section, where you would typically find Band-Aids and that sort of product.

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Also what is "De-natured alcohol" and where can I get it?

Xman

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It is more commonly known as "rubbing alcohol". You can get it at just about any Wally-World, K-Mart, supermarket, pharmacy, etc.

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No! Rubbing alcohol is hydrated!

You want 90% isopropyl alcohol (it is non-hydrated)

(By the way, if you have problems with water in your gas, save your money and buy a bottle of 90% isopropyl alcohol and poor it in your gas tank! The alcohol will bind the water and it will be burned!)

But everything else is 'what he said'.9.gif

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On 7/30/2005 11:08:24 AM dragonfyr wrote:

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Also what is "De-natured alcohol" and where can I get it?

Xman

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It is more commonly known as "rubbing alcohol". You can get it at just about any Wally-World, K-Mart, supermarket, pharmacy, etc.

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No! Rubbing alcohol is hydrated!

You want 90% isopropyl alcohol (it is non-hydrated)

(By the way, if you have problems with water in your gas, save your money and buy a bottle of 90% isopropyl alcohol and poor it in your gas tank! The alcohol will bind the water and it will be burned!)

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Woops, my bad! Well, the simplist thing is to look on the bottle and if it says "de-natured", well, you found the right stuff.

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First, get burning software that actually works. I would highly suggest Nero from Ahead software. It's the computer industry standard.

Nero should copy CDs just fine. There is a check-box in the window where you specify the settings for your burn, just before you start, called "verify" or something along those lines. If you check it, the software will check the CD after it was copied, to ensure a perfect bit-for-bit transfer.

If it passes the check, and you still hear a difference, you might want to investigate whether your CD player doesn't like written CDs, or perhaps a tall glass of scotch and a visit to a therapist might be in order (I mean no disrespect by that, honestly).

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On 7/30/2005 11:16:27 AM meuge wrote:

First, get burning software that actually works. I would highly suggest Nero from Ahead software. It's the computer industry standard.

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The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them.

Your local drugstore should have the alchohol. You can get 99%, but you need to be careful as is is a bit more flammable. Rubbing alchohol is around 70%, and there is too much water to do your heads any good. Any that is 90% or higher will work well.

Bruce

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" I would recommend AVOIDING Roxio, as it hangs in so many places requiring a reboot with XP that , well, let's just say I wish I did not spend the money for it"

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I recently purchased Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.5 and I have had very good luck with it. No system hang ups and the copied CDs sound just like the ones being copied.

It has a $100 price tag, but I got it for $80 (CompUSA) plus a $30 rebate from Roxio so I paid only $50.

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I used Nero for some time and liked it, but started having issues that I could never resolve. It came with a CD/RW drive. The only problem with the copy that comes with a drive is that it will only work on that drive. If it dies and you get another model, it won't recognize it.

I started using Roxio, and it has worked flawlessly. I would like the more advanced features, but I assume that beyond the "Basic" version I have that those might be available.

... but I also still use Win2K 2.gif

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If your copy of Roxio works, congrats! You are a rarity!

The "Copy Audio CD" (copy an entire disk) is a known bug in Roxio 7 & 7.5 with XP. There is NO fix.

You must build the CD from track listings and then record at lower then optimal speed!!!

Please check out the Roxio site discussion board!!!!!!

And even when you do this, you will make alot of coasters!

Just getting the program to install correctly is a pain experienced by FAR too many!

Additionally, the bugs result in a hang, and a zombie process which cannot be killed, thus requiring a reboot!!!

No isolated claim this!!! Their site is FULL of this report with no solutions! And Roxio doesn't say a word. It is the epitomy of non support! There are so many problems that...well, don't take my word, as I am only someone who has encountered every known issue imaginable with the lousy software. And since Roxio was bought, support literally is near non-existent.

But as I say, DON'T listen to me! Go to Roxio's website and read the discussion groups!!!!!

http://www.roxio.com/en/support/discussions/discussion_menu.jhtml

Do yourself a favor, learn from all of us who have learned the hard way! Get Nero instead!

And verify this for yourself, search the web for roxio CD Creator 7 & 7.5 issues and opinions!

Seldom have I been so dissastisfied with a program!

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Thanks for all the info!! I'm afraid I don't have the computer skill you all have. You are right about the cds I burn on the windows media. I have Nero installed and I'll see if I can get it to work. If I can get Nero working like you say then the tape sould not compare.

Xman

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The version of Nero you have probably came with the burner and is very simple to operate. If you are just copying a disk use the "Copy Entire Disk" command, don't bother with the "Music" stuff unless you're coverting to MP3's or selecting different tracks from various cd's to make a "mix" disc. You may get a "splash" screen right when you start burning which is for making labels, hit cancel, but before you do, put a check mark in on a box on the screen that let's you opt out of having this particualr screen show up every time you go to burn a disc.

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Wow thanks for the info about the Roxio incompatability. I had a defective burner and had thought it was my nero software that was screwy with it, so I tried out roxio, turns out that my burner's laser was screwy. So I got it replaced and since roxio was what was left on it, its what I used, but had some problems with it hanging and other really weird problems. So I ended up using Alcohol 120% to copy cd to cd.

So if you guys say nero is better, I'll try reinstalling Nero 6. Is that version anygood? I have something like Nero 6 Ultimate? or Platinum or some such name.

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