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Also good info and thx for the update. Lately what I've been using when I want to use dither is to apply it to the final files using Waves plugs or using the native dither options inside Adobe Audition. Then I take the processed files back into M/edit and make the image file etc using that, then burn with CDRWIN, or MicroCD if the recorder on the burn machine is supported in it.
More often than not, I don't use dither, but sometimes do find it helpful for
projects that have a lot of fades at the ends of sections,etc. Like you, I found one basic dither combo that seems to work OK when I need it. With some stuff, dither def. seems to help.
Many of the long programs we do use a lot of CD tracks, usually 70 to 90 per CD, so the ability to add them (and move if necessary easily) by just putting in the flags is still a big plus there.
Ironically, though we use the newer burners for high speed refs, I still seem to get the best results for masters by doing them at 2x or 4x on the old Yamahas-- including the very first one (2x) bought from MTU a real long time ago-- which uses a caddy, rare these days. Also ironically, Win XP seems to have a very hard time working OK with those real old SCSI drives, so quite often I do final burns on an old, barebones Win98 system. Less seems to be more -- no surprise there. Those old burners don't support things like CD Text though -- and with the real old 2x Yamaha, that doesn't support 80 minute media either--goes nuts if you try it.
All that moving stuff around is what led me to look into the CDRWIN thing.
We have one of those expensive Clover QC systems and based on analysis using that, approach above still seems to produce least errors. A few of the newer drives, notably some Sony OEM units (which are actually Lite On, surprisingly) seem to dependably give few errors at higher speeds, but many others don't, though the error rates are fine for use as refs done high speed.
But, it's case by case. I have two identical model Sony OEM drives and one is very dependable while the other one isn't-- when swapped into same system.
Both run fine, but time and again, one produces higher error rates on discs than the other one. And that's at just about ANY speed, too. Many newer drives actually can do worse at very slow speeds than mid-range ones like about 8x. Each seems to have its own favorite sweet spot in the limited try and see testing I've done.
Also the Mitsui (now MAM-A) QC is just not what it used to be, I seem too often to have to reject burned masters for too many errors. Not willing to send them to a plant unless I can verify in 2 sep test passes that the error rates are very low. With the old burners especially, I run the gold media, seems to give best results and still have only ever had one master rejected by a plant for too many errors -- long ago, before we got the QC system.
Tried the Wavelab demo and liked it, might go with that in a few months. Adobe has a major new version of Audition, supposedly way different than the old Cool Edit Pro, so at some point will probably try both that and Wavelab and see which works better for typical needs here.
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