Picking a CD Player and Software

You can spend as much on a CD recorder as you'd like. The trick is finding out what you really need and only buying that much. There are a couple of features that, although they should be standard on just about any CD recorder, you need to verify if you want to make audio CDs. First off, you need to make sure that the drive can both read and write digital audio data (apparently there are some CD recorders made that can't return audio tracks read off an existing disc to the computer in digital form, only write them, although I've never actually seen such a dud). You'll also need a drive that supports Track at Once and Disc at Once. Being able to lay down a track of audio at one time should be supported by every CD-R drive capable of audio recording. The Disc at Once ability let's you write with an entire CD without pausing, and is necessary for properly recording audio CDs without gaps in the sound. You also might have problems getting CDs duplicated by a production facility if they aren't written in disc at once mode. More on the distinction between these two modes later.

Even if a CD-R drive has all these features, you may still be limited if you don't get the software that properly makes it jump through the right hoops. The two most popular CD mastering software packages for PCs are both released by Adaptec. Originally they were referred to as Incat's Easy CD Pro and Corel's CD Creator, but now both are listed under the Adaptec name. Which is a better package seems to be a version- to-version distinction, they run neck and neck. I ended up getting Easy CD Pro based on its support for more formats, and because it supported the Disc at Once feature (CD Creator doesn’t). Another candidate you might want to check out is the software from GEAR, which seems to own the Macintosh market in this area; their PC offering didn't quite seem competitive yet when I was checking it out, but who knows what they've got going by now.

What I found to be a very useful resource for both drives, software, and what functions depend on each was the April 9, 1996 (Vol. 15 No. 7) issue of PC Magazine. There is an excellent CD-R article there that reviews many of the common drives available and the software packages that communicate with them. Now that a few months have gone by, the pricing information there is totally obsolete, but the technical details are still sound. Based on the information there (along with some other reading), it seemed obvious that, while you could get drives in today's market that may only cost $600, the best value was the Yamaha CDR-100 drive, available from many sources closer to the $1000 mark. This drive supports all the mastering modes I've ever tried and can write accurately at 4X regular speed. Yamaha has been making their CD-R drives for much longer then most of the other manufacturers out there, so I'm hoping long term reliability is better as well (buying a first generation anything from a new manufacturer can result in some very expensive and painful lessons on how important this is). The drive is available in both internal and external versions, either as a bare drive (which is how I bought it) or in various bundles from companies like Smart & Friendly (their CD-R 4000/Pro includes the external version of the drive, Easy CD Pro software, and SCSI card; the whole works, ready to drop in a computer and run with, for under $1000). I have a separate section for discussing the problems I have ended up dealing with

I've been able to make everything work with only a minor amount of hassle for me, but some of the things involved were not at all simple. Assuming you've read up some on the topic, have a sufficiently powerful computer, and enough technical knowledge that discussions of things like data transfer rates and SCSI chain termination don't scare you off, a CD-R can be an excellent purchase. Recognize, however, that none of these products are really ready for mass consumption yet, and the technical details can get hairy. One thing that I recommend is buying your drive from someone who can help you out with any problems you run into. I purchased a bundle with Yamaha drive and CD-R software from specialty reseller CD-R Solutions (602- 396-3616 or 1-800-278-3480). The people I've talked with there all seem to have the level of expertise you only get from actually working with the products, well beyond what I normally expect from those selling computer products. They answered the remaining questions I had after finishing my own research accurately (no getting handed off to some spec sheet for details), sent me everything quickly (into my grubby hands in two days) and their prices were competitive; slightly more then the best I had found at the rock-bottom large-volume mail-order discounters, but the help they gave me was easily worth the measly extra few dollars. My experience with the company since the purchase has been less flattering. When my drive developed a problem and needed to be repaired, I had to hound them constantly in order to get the proper paperwork filled out to return it to them. They’ve been sitting on my drive for over two months now, and any attempts I’ve made to contact them and find out what is going on have failed. CD-R Solutions gets a good grade for the initial purchase, but their support for my post-purchase problems has been extremely bad.

Other concerns before you buy a CD-R drive you should have are your CD blank budget (you are not going to believe how many uses you can find for one of these recorders once you get one, the blanks get chewed up at an alarming rate) and making sure you have enough time to devote to learning how everything works; it took me a good week before I was confidently burning CDs without any troubles, and I'm somebody who doesn't normally even blink when dealing your typical hardware or software problems.