[BobM]

I had Roxio installed on my PC and used this to burn disks (after extracting with EAC). But I had to rebuild my PC recently and I don't know where I originally loaded Roxio from in the first place. It must have come as one of those extras in some other software package.

Anyway, is there a better free CD burner package out there that anyone has used and likes? Or do you know where I can download a free version of Roxio? I don't need all the extra movie or DVD or any other crap - just good qualoty CD burning where I can control the speed of the burn and a few other things.

Thanks,
Bob

[JEaton]

just good qualoty CD burning where I can control the speed of the burn and a few other things.

What "other things"?

The only software I've used for music CD burning the past few years is Burrn.  My library is all in FLAC, and Burrrn will first decode the FLAC files to WAV (in a temp folder - it doesn't touch the originals) burn the CD from the WAVs, then delete them.  It's just a nice convenience.

What Burrrn doesn't do, that some other software can, is use a correct write offset for your drive.  If I want to make a CD that's identical to the original then I just use EAC itself and expand the FLACs to WAV myself first (usually using Flac Frontend).  EAC will use the correct write offset if you've set it in the drive's options.

[satfrat]

I always used Nero software that came withmy HTPC but when I got hooked up with J. River Media Center, I've since been using it's internal burner which I actually like better than Nero as it's directly tied into my library and makes loading up a 80 minute CD-R super easy. I need easy.

Cheers,
Robin

[Imperial]

I use Ashampoo Burning Studio I think I paid like $30 for it.
I've used Roxio and Nero for many years and years.
But Ashampoo is simply more... it's a smarter program I think.
I like it.

The version you want is called Ashampoo Burning Studio 9 (9.03, 2009/05/27)



Imp.

[mcgsxr]

I have been using MediaMonkey recently, to transfer FLAC to WAV and then burn.

Free, and works fine for me.

[BobM]

Thanks for those suggestions. Any other freebies that anyone has used and liked. I'm really only looking to burn CD's using a rate I can set myself. I rip using EAC.

So I'm not able to justify paying $50+ for Roxio or Nero to do this unless I must.

Thanks for the suggestions so far,
Bob

[MerlinWerks]

I don't burn many cd's these days, but when I do I use JRMC.

Image Burn started out primarily as a DVD burning program, but evolved to include CD burning as well. A highly regarded program. The author really knows the ins and outs of optical discs. This is what I use to burn DVD's...

CDBurner Xp is another popular program.

[satfrat]

Bob, J.River Media Jukebox 12 is both free and rips/burns. It was good enough for me to have bought their Media Center as it's got the best user interface of any player I've tried.

Oh yeah, J.River was an AudioCircle recommendation to me a little over a year ago when I first got into PC Audio using USB transports. It's definitely worth a free spin.

Cheers,
Robin

[dweekie]

Image Burn started out primarily as a DVD burning program, but evolved to include CD burning as well. A highly regarded program. The author really knows the ins and outs of optical discs. This is what I use to burn DVD's...

That is absolutely the best burning program.  Unfortunately, the interface is not intuitive for beginners.  Few people know that you can burn audio, data, video, etc with this program instead of just image files as it seems to imply.  Some user guides are located here http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showforum=4

Otherwise, cdburner xp pro and ashampoo free edition are ones I would use.  All the paid programs like Nero and Roxio have gotten way too bloated and slow; there are absolutely no benefits that I can see over what you can do with free software.  It's easy to try a few free programs and see what you are most comfortable with (http://download.cnet.com/windows/cd-burners/?&filter=licenseName=%22Free%22|&tag=ltcol;narrow). 

[PLMONROE]

Roxio produces good software but heaven help you if you have a problem and need to speak with a human. Its more difficult than trying to land a man on the moon!

Paul

[*Scotty*]

I have to vote with Robin here. I am using the J River Media Jukebox 12 program which is free and does not do anything but audio.
If you are burning CD-R for casual listening or use in the car I think its about perfect as you can burn tracks from your library in any sequence you desire. For more critical applications I use dbpoweramp cd writer.
Scotty