Playing burned CD's in a Bose

[tominoc]

I have a 97 Q45 with the factory Bose. it works fine but will not play my CD Rs i have burned at home. Store bought CD's work great. Does anyone else here have that problem? Is there a type of media that may work? I have been using Memorex 700MB at 48X.

[DAEDALUS]

I had that problem too till I started using TDK CD-R's. Not sure if the burn speed makes a difference, but I think mine are burning at around 20x.

[PalmerWMD]

Many systems dont run burned CD's at all.

Fred..

[maxnix]

Might check them in other players to ensure they are finalized correctly. I use several brands besides TDK. Some burns do give problems, and the disc has to be immaculate. Even problem discs will only skip on a track, not refuse to play.

[szh]

They work fine on my 1995 Q with the Sony 10 disk changer in the trunk.

I record at 4X and use HP CDR's.

Z

[Jesda]

Verbatim CD-Rs have been good to me, and have been the most reliable. CompUSA store-brand CD-Rs have been among the worst, and frequently dont play or dont burn, or even worse play at first then over time (even with no scratches) stop playing.

-J.

[RobHakari]

The Clarion 6Disc i have in the trunk works with every CD i've tried so far in my '94Q

[sultan]

i've also got the clarion six disc, plays everything, even several different brands of CD-R's. Well, not everything, the Drowning Pool CD wouldn't work so i had to burn a copy. burnt one works, original store bought cd doesn't.

[forecast]

There is a difference in the way CDR and made and pressed store bought CD's are made. The CDR color is difficult for older lasers used in early CD players.

The same problem is true in early DVD players. Today all DVD players have dual lasers for this very reason.

Many car stereos (especially from 90 - 98ish) are made with lasers that can't always read CDR.

Experiment with different CDR brands, you may find a type that works in your player.

The burn speed will have nothing to do with this problem

Dan

[elwesso]

I have the clarion 6cd changer in my 94 Q, and about every nameable brand of CDR..... anywhere from office depot to memorex........ all my CDs are burned (i have 2 CD cassettes full, and then some), and I only have 1 or 2 disks that skip (but their almost 2 years old)

[Jason B]

I just use cheap Verbatim CD-R's.



You can get a 100 pack from Sam's Club for $22.

[forecast]

basically as the 90's progressed car audio makes made cost choices about the laser they used. Seems like Bose aimed for proft margin and scoffed the coming CDR revolution. (this was before Napster, many of these systems were designed before the Internet became a household word, even in 95 CD burners were for only the uber-geek)

To certain light wavelengths, CDR media always looks blank or there is lower contrast between what is supposed to be lands and pits. If the unit gets a good shaking, the laser can be knocked mircometers off focus and still work for pressed CD's but now be blind to CDR. Changing the laser would require at least partial redesign few companies seemed willing to take.

[1qckser]

I have the factory cd player in my 92 SE-R and it plays theme no problem, I use either verbatims or tdk.

[tominoc]

Thanks for the responses....I was not altogether clear. The ones i burn SOMETIMES play and sometimes don't. I agree that the key here is experimenting with the media. Thanks to all.

[Jesda]

Recently a friend of mine bought a 94 Chrysler LHS that didnt play CDs. Put the CD in and it would say "ERR". Last night he took it out, took it apart, wiped the laser with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol.

Good as new!

-J.

[elwesso]

Or you could just get one of those cd cleaners..... the ones that are CDs with those little brushes on them........ they work really good..... worth the $5

[szh]

wiped the laser with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol.

Good as new!

-J.

Please use 70%+ pure isopropyl alcohol (available at all drug stores)- and not rubbing alcohol! "Rubbing alcohol" often has glycerine in it. This is likely to cause "rebound" problems - dirt and dust will stick more to the laser optics and then not be removable with the brush cleaners also mentioned above.

If you still want to use liquid, another good item is tape/head cleaners from Radio Shack. These are formulated to be non-damaging to rubber materials, etc.

Z