I'm burning Verbatim 700 MB CD-Rs for a refurbished 2003 Honda Civic using CDBurnerXP. I'm creating standard Audio CDs and have tried FLAC, WAV, and MP3 source files. In the car stereo, the first 10 tracks repeatedly start and pause, while the later tracks play normally. The stereo plays commercial CDs without any trouble, and my computer reads the burned discs correctly. The software is automatically choosing 24x speed, even though the discs are rated for up to 52x. What could be causing this, and how can I make the discs work reliably in the car?
3 Answers
Burn the disc as a standard Red Book Audio CD, which is the format older standalone players expect. Don’t use a data disc, multisession disc, or rewritable media. The source format usually shouldn’t matter once the software converts everything to Audio CD tracks.
Older car stereos can be picky about the brand and type of CD-R, even when a computer reads the disc perfectly. Try a different, reputable batch of standard CD-Rs, and avoid CD-RWs. Audio-oriented discs from brands such as TDK were often more compatible with older players.
Try lowering the burn speed instead of letting the program use 24x. Something around 4x to 16x is often more reliable for older car stereos, despite the disc being rated for a much higher maximum speed. A slower burn can produce a disc that has fewer read errors and tracks more consistently.
The software was automatically selecting 24x, so I’ll manually choose a slower speed for the next disc.
I’ll try a different type of disc and make sure they aren’t rewritable.