Hewlett Packard C4437A
Simply flawless! Not a single coaster out of hundreds copies. Perfect for audio, works with car jukeboxes perfectly. Manufacturer changed at some point but so far I haven't notice any difference in quality.
Writers: HP 7200e, HP 8100i, Plextor 4220
ATIP: 97m 27s 55f
Disc Manufacturer: Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Inc.
Assumed Dye type: Phthalocyanine (Type 5)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: 1x 2x 4x
nominal Capacity: 650.85MB (74m 05s 10f / LBA: 333235)
TDK CD-R74 'Reflex'
a.k.a. TDK CD-R74 'Reflex Metallic Disc'
Fujifilm Silver CD
These discs became my favourites after I found a dealer selling these really cheap. After couple of dozens burns these have been flawless. TDK's are also recommended by Plextor, the ultimate CD-RW/ROM drive manufacturer.
Writers: Plextor 4220, HP 8100i
ATIP: 97m 32s 00f
Disc Manufacturer:TDK Corp.
Assumed Dye type: Cyanine (Type 0)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: 1x 2x 4x 6x 8x
nominal Capacity: 652.29MB (74m 15s 00f / LBA: 333975)
Kodak Gold
Another 100% flawless hundreds of burns. Favorite of people who for some reason boycott HP products and refuse to use their discs. I haven't heard any problems with using Kodak's in any CD device.
Writers: Plextor 4220, HP 7200e, Yamaha CDR400tx
ATIP: 97m 27s 45f
Disc Manufacturer: Kodak Japan Ltd.
Assumed Dye type: Phthalocyanine (Type 5)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: unknown (4x works fine)
nominal Capacity: 650.83MB (74m 05s 01f / LBA: 333226)
Kodak Silver Plus
Kodak Silvers seem to be just as good as the goldies, but a little bit cheaper.
Writers: Plextor 4220
ATIP: 97m 27s 45f
Disc Manufacturer: Kodak Japan Ltd.
Assumed Dye type: Phthalocyanine (Type 5)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: unknown (4x works fine)
nominal Capacity: 650.83MB (74m 05s 01f / LBA: 333226)
BASF By Emtec CD-R Master
Ceramic plated - Digital Audio for Professionals
This is a very big suprise! The infamous BASF is distributing quality media made by the well known Taiyo Yuden. I have only used a few of these, but the this high quality manufacturer has a very good reputation among CD-R users.
Writers: Plextor 4220
ATIP: 97m 24s 01f
Disc Manufacturer: Taiyo Yuden Company Ltd.
Assumed Dye type: Cyanine (Type 1)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: 1x 2x 4x
nominal Capacity: 656.40MB (74m 43s 00f / LBA: 336075)
Mitsubishi CDR74S1
This is one very positive suprise, because at least in Finland these blanks are 0.5$ cheaper than HP's or Kodak's. I have made one mysterious data disc coaster with these. All audio's have worked fine, even in car jukeboxes.
Writers: Plextor 4220
ATIP: 97m 34s 20f
Disc Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Chemicals Corp.
Assumed Dye type: Cyanine (Type 0)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: unknown (4x works fine)
nominal Capacity: 654.49MB (74m 30s 00f / LBA: 335100)
CD-R media blacklist:
BASF By Emtec
Stay away from these! BASF's used to be OK discs but at some point the manufacturer changed (the 'By Emtec'-logo appeared), and since then these have been a pain in the ass for audio usage. Have failed to play correctly IN MOST AUDIO PLAYERS!
Writers: HP 7200e
ATIP: 97m 26s 60f
Disc Manufacturer: CMC Magnetics Corp.
Assumed Dye type: Cyanine (Type 0)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: 1x or 2x recommended!
nominal Capacity: 658.89MB (75m 00s 00f / LBA: 337350)
(noname blanks)
These are the infamous Ritek blanks, that I have heard many horror stories about. Fail to play correctly IN MOST AUDIO PLAYERS. Suprisingly, no problems at data. These are however cheap, unlike BASF's
Writers: HP 8100i
ATIP: 97m 31s 00f
Disc Manufacturer: Ritek Co.
Assumed Dye type: Cyanine (Type 0)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: 1x or 2x recommended
nominal Capacity: 656.69MB (74m 45s 00f / LBA: 336225)
MMORE CD-R
Oh boy...same than the two brands above. Unusable for audio. I think these should all be returned...These give same ATIP info than BASF's.
Writers: HP 8100i
ATIP: 97m 26s 60f
Disc Manufacturer: CMC Magnetics Corp.
Assumed Dye type: Cyanine (Type 0)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: 1x or 2x recommended
nominal Capacity: 658.89MB (75m 00s 00f / LBA: 337350)
Imation CD-R 4x
Aha! Caught another GMC product. One thing that really pisses me is the fact that Imation products are often distributed as 3M products (floppies, CD-Rs). You might think that huge company like 3M would represent quality media, but no... My friend bought a pack of these and had problems in audio players.
Writers: Plextor 4220, HP 8100i
ATIP: 97m 26s 60f
Disc Manufacturer: CMC Magnetics Corp.
Assumed Dye type: Cyanine (Type 0)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: 1x 2x 4x
nominal Capacity: 658.89MB (75m 00s 00f / LBA: 337350)
Maxell CD-R CD-R74PR(W)
I wouldn't say that these CD-Rs are bad, but certainly worse than the recommended media brands here. With Maxell my Plextor PTS32 doesn't get perfect audio extraction test results with Feurio!'s Test Device feature (Program Parameters / test device). With the recommended brands, or with an audio CD original the Plextor drive gets 100% results in the test. Suspicious...
Writers: Plextor 4220
ATIP: 97m 25s 22f
Disc Manufacturer: Hitachi Maxell, Ltd.
Assumed Dye type: Cyanine (Type 2)
Media type: CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds: 1x 2x 4x
nominal Capacity: 654.49MB (74m 30s 00f / LBA: 335100)