How to Buy an Audio CD Recorder

Music CD recording (for a stereo system, not off a computer) is still fairly new technology, and it can be expensive to purchase a consumer unit. Make sure you research carefully, and try to actually record a track and listen to it before you buy.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• CD Recorders
• Blank Audio CDs

1. Surf the Internet for product reviews and information about features.

2. Visit your local consumer electronics and high-fidelity audio specialty stores to learn which products are currently available and what they cost.

3. Review available digital outputs. If you want high-fidelity sound quality, get a unit with RCA-jack digital outputs (as opposed to Toslink, the optical connector).

4. Consider a unit with a high-quality, digital-to-analog converter if you plan to listen to CDs played back on your recorder.

5. Take a familiar CD to the store.

6. Buy a blank disc.

7. Record a song onto the blank disc on each of the decks that meet your feature and price requirements.

8. Compare the copies to the originals.

9. Buy the deck that makes the closest copy.

Tips & Warnings

• Manufacturers have been slow to produce consumer-model CD recorders. Philips, the first manufacturer to do so, and Pioneer offer the widest selection of products.
• Some companies make a dual-well CD recorder, enabling you to dub from one CD to another without jitter-inducing cabling.
• If you find trade-offs between different models, buy the deck that makes the copy that "adds" least to the music. When purchasing audio components, products that subtract from the music (or take away sound that was there) always provide more pleasant listening than those that add to it (or inject noise or other interference).
• Avoid buying a computer CD writer for recording music CDs. You will not be satisfied with the sound quality.

[johnbs]

on 6/24/2009 My Sony quit recording. I go from my keyboard to a DAK unit - mixer and soundcard. Then to my Toshiba laptop I have tried many programs, etc. The tech service stinks. Not so with DAK. Usually e-mail is within four hours or so. The DAK unit costs about $118. The tutorials are outstanding. I will never have another all in one unit. Eventually they crap. Two friends have also bough and love it. You cannot believe what you can do with this unit and all the programs.

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[malford]

on 12/18/2006 You left out the Marantz CDR510 and the Denon DN-C550R both excellent pieces!

on 11/22/2005 Avoid buying a CD recorder that utilizes a cartridge type CD changer. Although it is handy to have more than one deck for copying CDs, the cartridge type is very complicated and breaks down often. Choose a dual deck or flat CD changer instead.

on 11/22/2005 You will not notice a difference between a professional audio CD recorder such as Phillips and a CD recorder from a computer. In actuality, there is no difference since they are both digitally recorded. In addition, computer CDR media is cheaper.