The days of the cassette heralded the practice of making mix tapes: Consumers would customize cassettes by recording on a double-headed cassette deck songs that they picked from different audio recordings. The audio CD recorder has taken this activity into the digital age, allowing for more durable copies and latitude in editing sound recordings.
Function
An audio CD recorder is a stand-alone deck that lets you record music to a CD from a tape, another CD or vinyl. To make the recordings, audio-only CDRs (compact disc recordables) must be used instead of multimedia CDRs.
Features
The features of an audio CD recorder extend beyond recording music. You can add or edit different effects, like making the sound fade in and out or amplifying certain instruments. Voice-activation features permit recording only when someone speaks. Recordings can be directly burned to a CD, or they can be saved to your hard drive.
Significance
This equipment gives people the ability to replicate music that is protected by copyright. This practice was illegal under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. However, in 1998, the act was amended by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which made limited replication of copyrighted recordings legal per its "fair use" doctrine.
Misconceptions
A CD burner and an audio CD recorder are different pieces of equipment. The average recorder is attached to your stereo system, and isn't meant for mass replication of CDs--although such recorders do exist, like the Philips CDD 522 and the Sony CDW-900E. A burner is part of your computer system and is designed to make multiple CD copies.
Price
Audio CD recorders run the gamut in terms of cost, depending on the extent of their features, but are now affordable for the average buyer. Brand-new ones by companies like Sony, Tascam, TEAC and Alesis can start around $200 and run as high as $800.
History
According to an article published by the Syracuse Newspapers, Denon introduced the first consumer audio CD recorder in 1991. It cost $20,000. At the time, blank discs cost $40 apiece, and could only be recorded on once.
Durability
Recorders last for a couple of years, but their durability is primarily measured by their mean time between failures, or MTBF. This estimates the failure rate of the drive during the product's expected lifetime. Audio recorders can function for approximately 50,000 to 100,000 hours, and are backed with a limited-time warranty.
Tags: audio recorder, Audio recorders