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I finally have just about used up all of the MIJ Fuji's and Verbatim DLP's that I stocked-up on when i discovered this site 4 years ago. I never thought I would use them all, but I did. Now I am in the need for some more CD-R media and it seems that the Maxell Pro's are considered good, so I bought a stack of 25. I also came across a sale on Sony Music/Audio CD-R's that are MIJ as well and as far as I can tell with CD Info and visual inspection, they are exactly the same... They are also 1/2 the price so I was wondering if anyone else can either confirm or deny my speculation? Or are they just TY's in general and perhaps of lesser quality. I am willing to do a comparative test if someone would lend me some advise as to what to do. Thanks!

Have you checked the manufacturer with CD Speed (www.cdspeed2000.com)? If you click on Disc Info, it should tell you the actual manufacturer.

Media Information from Maxell CD-R Pro's (Made in Japan):

Media Information

Format Capacity Blank Disc
Free Blocks 736962560
Free Capacity 702.82MB(736.96M
Media Type CD-R
ATIP Start Time of Lead In (Media Code) 97m24s 1f
ATIP Last Possible Start Time of Lead Out 79m59s72f
Manufacturer Name Taiyo Yuden Company Limited
HD-BURN Certified YES
Available Write Descriptor CAV 48.0x 7200KBps
Available Write Descriptor CAV 32.0x 4800KBps
Available Write Descriptor CAV 16.0x 2400KBps
Available Write Descriptor CAV 8.0x 1200KBps
Available Write Descriptor CAV 4.0x 600KBps

Maxell Pro

Nero CD-DVD Speed: Disc Info
Basic Information
Disc type: : CD-R
Manufacturer: : Taiyo Yuden
MID : 97m24s01f
Write speeds: : 4 X - 8 X - 12 X - 16 X - 24 X - 32 X - 40 X - 48 X - 52 X
Capacity: : 79:59.72
: 703 MB
Extended Information
Usage : General
Disc Status : Empty
Raw Data
ATIP
0000 - C0 00 98 00 61 18 01 00 4F 3B 48 00 00 00 80 00 - ....a...O;H.....
0010 - 00 80 00 00 00 80 80 00 - ........

Sony Audio:

Nero CD-DVD Speed: Disc Info
Basic Information
Disc type: : CD-R
Manufacturer: : Taiyo Yuden
MID : 97m24s01f
Write speeds: : 8 X - 16 X - 24 X - 32 X
Capacity: : 79:59.73
: 703 MB
Extended Information
Usage : Audio
Disc Status : Empty
Raw Data
ATIP
0000 - C0 40 98 00 61 18 01 00 4F 3B 49 00 00 00 80 00 - .@..a...O;I.....
0010 - 00 80 00 00 00 80 80 00 - ........

They appear to be identical in every way in regard to their writing surface from the outside.

Yeah, they are very similar. Looking at that info there, the Sony discs have a slightly larger capacity (79:59.73 vs 79:59.72) but work with your drive at a slower speed. As they are music CD-R's, they also have some extra code which allows them to be used with standalone CD recorders. Some people say you shouldn't use these discs with PC drives but from my experiences, they work fine.

General Information
Drive: ASUS DRW-1814BLT
Firmware: 1.04
Disc: Data CD (Taiyo Yuden)
Selected speed: Maximum
C1 errors
Maximum: 10
Average: 0.06
Total: 304
C2 errors
Maximum: 0
Average: 0.00
Total: 0
Jitter: n/a
Scanning Statistics
Elapsed time: 3:00
Number of samples: 4796
Average scanning interval: 4.00 sec
Glitches removed: 0

I created a disc with CD Speed at 16x with my new Asus 1814BLT with the Sony Audio TY to see what I would get. I have always burned my music at 16x and I used maximum speed for the write quality check. Compared to the Office Depot Ativa 52x CD-R (CMC) that had over 50,000 errors on my Lite-on 5238s at the same speed, I would say that this is a better combination for me. What would be the best test/setting I could run to compare CD-R media anyway?

Tut tut Ian, you need to do your homework

Here are the Sony Music's:
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSH ... RM80LS2KIT

And here are the Maxell CD-R Pro's:
http://www.maxellcanada.com/computer_pr ... CD%2DR+Pro

So what's the difference?

...Maxell CD-Rpro Disc is triple coated for maximum scratch resistance and longer life.

The Maxell CD-R Pro's have extra layers of protection compared to the Sony's. Out of all the CD-R products regularily available in North America, I think the Maxell CD-R Pro's are probably the best in terms of initial burn quality and long term storage. Although that opinion might change, as I know at least one company is working on a new gold CD-R that might do well. But currently, I'd say go with the Maxell CD-R Pro if you're looking for high quality data storage.

On top of the above, just because 2 discs share a similar ATIP, doesn't mean they're born equal.

Sorry.. I'm not up on my Maxell media like you.

On a semi related note.. I have yet to see any Maxell CD-R Pro's for sale down here.

I found them in all places a Wal-Mart store just south of the border from me... and since I work In IL, I pick them up on the way home... they have them in the Photo Department at the Wal-Mart in Northern IL. I would think most Wal-Marts are the same... Not the normal place I would consider when looking for quality media, but I found it there at a reasonable price.... and it is outstanding media for data and audio.

NM

If they're giving you great results and cost that little... I can't think of any reason not to use them.

SithTracy, thanks for the tip about Walmart. I'll have to give check my local store and see if they have them. I've been looking at the larger stores that normally carry Maxell media but none of them have the Pro stuff.

Is this tripple layerered scratch resistant coating on the label side, on the data side, or both sides?

DrageMester wrote:Is this tripple layerered scratch resistant coating on the label side, on the data side, or both sides?

I'm pretty sure it's just the label side.

DrageMester wrote:Is this tripple layerered scratch resistant coating on the label side, on the data side, or both sides?

The label side, which could be argued is ALSO the data side, since the data layer is closer to the top of the disc then the bottom

Very cool, I didn't realize the Maxell CD-R Pro's had the scratch proof coating. I just figured they were standard MIJ CD-R for high quality recording. Thanks for the info!

I see these at many stores in the Phoenix area, including Fry's Electronics.
I try not to shop at Wal-mart after I saw this video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... q=Wal-mart