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This is kind of a generic question. How much truth is there to the theory that burning at slower speeds (no matter what your drive speed is) is better?

I belong to a group where we trade audio CDs and SVCDs regularly. Burning on the fly is looked down upon because there is a greater chance for errors. It also seems that burning at high speeds is looked down upon by some. Many suggest burning SVCDs at 4X and audio CDs at slower speeds too (never burning on the fly).

I have followed these ideas blindly for some time - usually burning SVCDs at 8X and audio CDs at 12X. When I burn them for myself I always burn at 24X (my drive's speed) and I've never had any problems. Is it all a myth?

I mean, I can imagine speed could make some difference in the number of errors, but if a drive can handle 24X why should I assume it can handle 8X better? Can anyone shed light on this concept or offer up opinions?

This has been discussed at length several times. There is no absolute answer, as every drive and media combination is different. In general, if you're using a high speed drive and high speed media, low speeds result in a lower quality burn. Have a look at this thread

Thanks! That link was very helpful. Just like everything else in burning... it all depends.