Consumer Versus Pro CD-R’s

We’ve had quite a few inquiries about blank CD discs and what the difference between “pro” can “consumer” discs are.There are two different grades of CD-R’s and CD-RW’s: Consumer and General Purpose. The difference between the two is a subcode on the disk that distinguishes between the consumer media and general purpose media (professional). The reason for the subcode is to limit the record-ability of copyrighted material onto consumer grade disks. This is a form of copy protection that is endorsed by our friends at the RIAA who, I might add, get a portion of the extra proceeds.Consumer grade disks tend to be much more expensive on average than professional grade discs with street prices several dollars higher per disc. Most “consumer” CD recorders will not work with general purpose CD media. They require the more expensive consumer discs. All of the machines currently sold at Sweetwater are pro machines that can use the inexpensive general-purpose media.Keep in mind that most manufacturers (of both consumer and pro machines) will recommend specific brands and types of media for use. We have found this to be an important issue. Just sticking any old disc in a machine produces unreliable results. Stay with what they recommend.

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