CD Chatter

[ronin]

Hey guys, i'm having a problem i'm hoping someone here might be able to help with.
I've downloaded some music into MP3 format and have then burnt them to an audio disc to listen on my CD player which i run through my home stereo.
The problem is that i get a bit of chatter (into about the 2nd song) which gets progressively worse as i continue to run through the tracks, it sounds like a radio station not tuned in properly with a chattering type of tempo and gets to the point that you can hardly hear the music above the racket.
I've played the same CD on another player and the chatter is not evident so i figure i've isolated the problem to the suspect player, it's odd though as i can play regular CD's without the chatter, so what gives?
So if anyone can shine some light that would great, cheers.

[mrfloopy]

I'd suggest that it's just that the CD player in question doesn't "like" that combination of CD-R, method of burning, accuracy of your burner, etc. It probably results in read errors that other CD players can correct adequately, but which the CD player in question can't.

[ronin]

Bugger, thanks for the quick reply, i guess there's no way around it except to go through a process of elimination, or invest in another player, but then i could still end up with the same problem, bugger!

[BusinessEvolution]

Sounds like the media (CD-R) and the burn speed. That used to happen with buffer under-runs, are you using a good program that isn't affected by running out buffer eg Nero.

Lower the burn speed, it actually has an influence on audio CDs, the faster you burn the more you are making the player rely on its error correction. However some burner media combo's don't work well at all speeds which is fun. Older/cheaper cd players have old error correction tolerances so occasionally it can be an issue.

Also if you don't have a multi core processor with plenty of ram, leave the computer alone whilst you burn. In the 'old days' on single core computers, even listening to Mp3s in the background could mess up an audio cd burn rofl.

[ronin]

Ok, this is going to sound really poor as my knowledge of things technical are quite bad but i'll explain as best i can.
I use uTorrent to obtain the music to my laptop and then use a CDR-80 disc which i then burn running the windows media tool, i'm wondering whether i can adjust the burn rate?
My disc player is a few years old also, so as you mention it may have trouble coping with a higher speed, i'll see if that works. Thanks.

[dion]

Not that I'm aware of. The stripped down OEM version of Nero is a few bucks at computer shops, there may be some freeware out there as well, no idea which one is best for audio CDs, I just use them to rip ISOs at work.

[BusinessEvolution]

I use uTorrent to obtain the music

Mp3 is a lossy format, there is no reason these days to download files less than 256kbps, 320kbps is better for mp3s. Lossless formats are the best such as flac. Lossless formats are better especally if you want a higher quality music cd.

to my laptop

Laptops usually have worse burners due to power/size constraints.

and then use a CDR-80 disc

CDR-80 disks, are worse because there is higher compression of the bits, as a result the disk is more prone to errors when burnt and over time. The extra 50mb was originally allocated to allow for manufacturing quality margins, so unless you are using good quality 700mb disks, there could be issues before even burning. Even good quality disks are cheap these days, the best quality consumer disks, Mam-a Pro Audio Master Gold only cost $2.20 a disk (Retail stores sometimes charge more than this for cheap disks). They are rated to last 100-300 years, but will probably go out of production in ten years because the price of gold is rising.

windows media tool

aka Coaster Creater tool Pro.
Windows media tool for burning is based on the roxio burning, which ten years ago, was better than nero... Microsoft licenced their older software to include standard on windows, the cost being the problems with media compatitibility and the lack of solid buffer under run protection. This software is highly suceptible to buffer under run. Even ancient versions of Nero version 6+ are far better.

[ronin]

Hey thanks for the help, sooo, knowing what i have, what would you suggest i do (without changing the laptop please) to improve my chances of improving the sound quality?
As much as i appreciate your help, is there any chance you could dumb it down so a muppet like me can understand

Cheers