What brand CD's do you use for masters?

[j-madd]

Title says it all. Curious as to which brands are perferred.

Justin

[Cellotron]

Taiyo Yuden silver/blue - 52x compatible ink-jet printables. Nearly always get BLER averaging lower than 1/second burned at 16x using Plextor Premium's and 760A's. I usually go to DVD-R, DVD R Media, DVD Cases, Flash Memory, Ink Toner Cartridges, Hardware, Electronics, Home & Décor, Accessories & More to buy them in bulk.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[MASSIVE Master]

I'd suggest the search function...

But then you'll find various TY's are more or less the defacto standard (TY WaterShields here).

[j-madd]

Well, I had read about a year or two back that there were shortages of TY CDs. Guess that is not true?

Justin

[mastertone]

Taiyo Yuden´s here as well.

Did an extensive test on several disc brands couple of years back and the outcome was almost frightening.

And, when the disc plant play frisbee with your master you want the best!

[Table Of Tone]

MAM-A Golds (if I can get em) or Taiyo Yuden's.

[camerondye]

Originally Posted by mastertone

Taiyo Yuden´s here as well.

Did an extensive test on several disc brands couple of years back and the outcome was almost frightening.

And, when the disc plant play frisbee with your master you want the best!

Frightening in what way...sounds better...lasts longer...etc. It seems like these are pretty common best and just wanted to understand why.
Thanks,
cam

[mastertone]

Originally Posted by camerondye

Frightening in what way...sounds better...lasts longer...etc. It seems like these are pretty common best and just wanted to understand why.
Thanks,
cam

Sorry for not being clear about that:
In the way of high C1´s and even C2´s, sometimes extreme amounts.

Here is a nice resource regarding this and more :
Media FAQ - Club CDFreaks / MyCE - Knowledge is Power

[jamesp]

I'm using plain Taiyo Yuden's for critical masters and inkjet printables when the client requires print on them. I've found that the plain discs give lower error rates than the printables. I occasionally try other brands but find them very hit and miss.

Cheers

James.

[Crash]

How can a CD have a sound? It is a medium for which to carry digital data is it not? Not trying to be an ass, I just don't understand why any one brand would be better than another in terms of audio quality. I have taken projects to mastering places on all sorts of odd el cheapo brands and never had issue, what am I missing? Enlighten me.

Are you guys talking about what you send to a replicator?

[Alécio Costa]

TDK, Emtec, Mitsui ( hard to find now).

[Waltz Mastering]

Originally Posted by Crash

I just don't understand why any one brand would be better than another.

Reliability on a day to day basis. Low error rates. Not so much audio quality, but media quality.

Originally Posted by Crash

Are you guys talking about what you send to a replicator?

Yes

[Table Of Tone]

Originally Posted by Crash

How can a CD have a sound? It is a medium for which to carry digital data is it not? Not trying to be an ass, I just don't understand why any one brand would be better than another in terms of audio quality. I have taken projects to mastering places on all sorts of odd el cheapo brands and never had issue, what am I missing? Enlighten me.

Are you guys talking about what you send to a replicator?

There are many things digital that, by definition, cannot sound different, but sometimes things are just not what they seem!

If errors are bad enough?
There's a good chance that they could affect the audio.

I always check a CD master with headphones, before it goes anywhere!

[Crash]

I see. Thanks gents.

[jayfrigo]

Taiyo here as well.

Some variables with media include dye formulation, robustness of dye layer, protective coatings, quality control etc. Some discs are more likely to have longer-lasting data integrity, some may be more resistant to sunlight or heat, some may have broader compatibility in a wider range of consumer players, and some pairings of discs and burners seem to perform better than others.

In other words, a Pioneer burner may do well with one brand while a Sony burner won't do as well with that brand, but may do better with a different disc that the Pioneer measures worse with. Taiyo Yuden discs with Plextor burners (older 7XX series especially) seem to be a great combo, and favored by many mastering engineers, myself included. Pioneer has some good burners as well, and they seem to be very happy with Taiyos as well.

[soloan]

HHB printable 1x-12x

i prefer HHB Gold actually

Nobody uses HHB here?

[Table Of Tone]

Originally Posted by soloan

HHB printable 1x-12x

i prefer HHB Gold actually

Nobody uses HHB here?

I have had good results with HHB Golds but not as good as the MAM-A golds or the TY's.
The HHB will yield more coasters!

The TY's I get the best results with, are the golds and the non-printable silver/blue.
I was using a Lite-on burner but now I'm using Plextor premium 2's.

The Lite-on is still pretty good!

[lerone]

Originally Posted by Table Of Tone

The HHB will yield more coasters!

[luiztornaghi]

MAM-A archive gold and sometimes Taiyo.
Call me crazy but they sound diferent.
Plextor Premium II @ 2X

[Table Of Tone]

Originally Posted by luiztornaghi

MAM-A archive gold and sometimes Taiyo.
Call me crazy but they sound diferent.
Plextor Premium II @ 2X

You ain't crazy!

[Brad Blackwood]

Berson stole my answer.

[WBM]

Verbatim Blue like it better than Taiyo Yuden printable, but years ago I have a plain batch from Rima Amazing, I still have few left for special friends clients c1 errors on 300 on a 60 minutes cd.

[Kayo]

Originally Posted by Crash

How can a CD have a sound? It is a medium for which to carry digital data is it not? Not trying to be an ass, I just don't understand why any one brand would be better than another in terms of audio quality. I have taken projects to mastering places on all sorts of odd el cheapo brands and never had issue, what am I missing? Enlighten me.

Are you guys talking about what you send to a replicator?

I too was very starteled to hear, the brand makes a big difference to the sound etc.. I have always used the semi expensive types, TDK CD-R 52X GOLD Series

Especially, when I started to learn, that it makes a big difference to the sound of the masters and how long they’d last etc..

This article, though not directly related, nonetheless, still offers an insight.
Have a read… Do CD-R's sound better than CD's ?


Ciao’
KAyo

[Crash]

Thanks Kayo, I will check out the article. I am on the other end, as the mix guy giving you guys a master, it never occurred to me that the brand mattered much as long as it played back correctly without any audible glitching. I understand some recorders and players do better with some brands over others, I have experienced it with one of my decks. My Masterlink seems to take anything I throw at it and spit out something that works.

It appears to me though, that you guys are talking about a post mastering/pre-replicating thing, which may be more important in the chain than what I am talking about.

Thanks again for setting me straight.

[Jerry Tubb]

Originally Posted by jayfrigo

Taiyo Yuden discs with Plextor burners (older 7XX series especially) seem to be a great combo, and favored by many mastering engineers, myself included. Pioneer has some good burners as well, and they seem to be very happy with Taiyos as well.

Exactly. TY with Plextor 716 here (also a Pioneer 112D) with excellent results.

There's absolutely no reason NOT to use Taiyo Yuden discs from a reliable supplier.

TY White Inkjet Printable CD-Rs cost about $40/spindle of 100 ...plus shipping.

IMO guys are just wasting their money on all this gold stuff in expensive packaging.

Believe me, burning discs daily over the last 15 years, we've tried everything.

Before TY, we used Verbatim Blue AZO for many years,

Before that Mitsui Gold, til we read the famous Glenn Meadows/Katz study,

Before that 3M discs with the green dye.

These other "audiofile" brands are just marketing hype, another form of snake oil.

Most spindles you buy at retail stores are just crap, resulting in high error rates.

Different brands, burned at various speeds, sounding different in various players doesn't matter, as the bits are the same, error correction works, null testing proves it.

I thought we cleared all this up on Brad's forum a few years ago, but I see all the myths resurfacing with a newer generation, and the audiofiles propagating them.

The choice is really a balance between:

A. Cost
B. Availability
C. Burn/Dye/Manufacturing Quality for Low Errors
D. Shelf Life for Archiving
E. Printability

TY is the clear winner on all these points.

Best Regards - JT

[Crash]

OK Jerry, since you mastered our last project (Bob Charles Band), do you care what you get from us mix guys? Does it matter as much on that end? I am just trying to get smarter on this. I never knew it mattered that much, at least not on my end.

[Jerry Tubb]

Originally Posted by Crash

OK Jerry, since you mastered our last project (Bob Charles Band), do you care what you get from us mix guys? Does it matter as much on that end? I am just trying to get smarter on this. I never knew it mattered that much, at least not on my end.

Hey there, nice avatar!

Yes it does matter which discs you use to burn audio mixes or data with.

First rule is: avoid the cheapo 5-10 dollar per 100 spindles.

If we have a problem reading a mix disc at our studio, it's usually one of the cheapos, and the error analysis is off the chart.

If you're buying retail, stick with a name brand.

When I was buying retail, had great results with Maxell PRO, which are rebranded Taiyo.
(it's got to say PRO on the label, or it may be junk, see the attached pic)

If you're just burning a few discs, then the expensive Apogee/Mitsui Gold discs are OK.

Here's a link to a great Texas TY supplier:

Taiyo Yuden White Inkjet Printable CD-R Disks S-10004 - Uline

Or if you're bringing in a project to master, I'll send you a free spindle of 25 discs : - )

Or as you know, you can transport mixes on a thumb drive.

A pleasure working with you guys - JT

[aleatoric]

I make my own.

Just kidding, I use TY's.

[aoxoa]

Originally Posted by Table Of Tone

MAM-A Golds (if I can get em) or Taiyo Yuden's.

Same here...

I get my MAM-A's here...
Mitsui Gold Thermal Color Printable CD-R Media

[Jerry Tubb]

Originally Posted by aoxoa

Same here...

I get my MAM-A's here...
Mitsui Gold Thermal Color Printable CD-R Media

A couple years ago on a whim, bought a pack of Memorex "Pro Gold Archival" CD-Rs that "last up to 300 years".

Burned an audio disc to test with Plextools, checked the disc (which is actually a Mitsui type 8 ),
and got 10x the C1 errors of a normal TY disc, and 6 C2 errors, which I never see on Taiyos.

So if they do last up to 300 years, it'll be up to 300 years of substandard data ; - )

Must be just marketing spin to unload an overstock of gold discs.

Perhaps I got a bad batch of Golds, I'd be willing to try it again, but until then I'm stickin' with TY.

Peace - JT