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CD RECORDING  21

Making recordings on the CDR 30 is simple and
easy once you become accustomed to the basics
of CD Recording. Before making your first record-
ing, please take a moment to review the CDR
Basics on page 14. In particular, you will need to
become familiar with the types of discs that may
or may not be used in the CDR 30. In addition,
some terms used in the following pages may be
new to you. The following definitions and infor-
mation will help you to make CD recordings
using the CDR 30’s many features:

In the following the terms "analog dubbing"

or "analog recording" will say only that the
signal fed to the CDR30 for recording is ana-
log. Of course, in the CDR30 all analog record
signals will be converted to digital (A/D con-
verter) and recorded on discs in digital form
only.

The CDR 30 accepts analog inputs and digital

coax or optical inputs. Before making a record-
ing, be certain that you have selected the cor-
rect input, using the Input Select Button ı.

After a disc is recorded, it must be finalized.

This process adds the final table of contents
data to the disc and makes it playable on other
machines. Until a disc is properly finalized, it
may not be played on standard CD players.

The CDR 30 may record on either CD-R or 

CD-RW discs, but they must be of the type
specifically designed for use in consumer-audio
CD recorders. These discs may be recognized by
looking for the words “Digital Audio” in the
compact disc logo on the blank disc or its pack-
aging. Discs with the logo reading only
“Compact Disc/Recordable” are designed for
computer data recording, and they may not be
recorded using the CDR 30.

CD-R discs may not be erased or have material

added to them once they have been finalized.

At least four (4) seconds of blank recording

time must remain on an unfinalized disc for
recording to take place.

• The maximum number of tracks that may be

recorded on a disc is 99.

• Note that some rare CD-R/CD-RW audio

recording discs may be used for single-speed
recordings only. If you use a disc with such a
warning, make certain not to dub at 2x or 4x
speed. However, the CDR 30 has been tested
for compatibility with a wide range of blank
discs from manufacturers throughout the
world. In most cases, blank discs will produce
high-quality recordings at any dub speed.

• In some rare cases, a CD player may not play

certain CD-R discs. If you find that a CD-R disc
plays in some players but not in others, the
fault is most likely with the player, not with the
recorded disc or the CDR 30. Remember that
CD-RW discs made in the CDR 30 will play only
in CD players that are specially designed to
accommodate CD-RW discs. Note that most
DVD players are compatible with finalized CD-

RW discs, but many are not with CD-R discs.

Some commercial CD discs may contain a copy

protection data bit that will prevent a digital
copy of the disc to be dubbed from external CD
players (analog copies always can be made
from external sources as well as internal dub-
bings, see next chapter). In that case, the Copy
Prohibit Indicator I will light to remind
you that the inability to record is intentional,
and not the result of a problem with the 
CDR 30.

• This product is equipped with the Serial Copy

Management System (SCMS) to protect the
rights of copyright owners. Although it is 
possible to make a copy of most CDs for 
your own personal use, it is not possible to
make a digital copy from another digital copy,
including CDP, although it is possible to make
an analog copy of a digital copy.

• The CDR 30 will not copy DVD discs, computer-

data discs, CD-based computer or video-game
discs, or digital audio discs with a sample rate
that is not compatible with the range of the
CDR 30s sample-rate converter.

• Discs containing MP3 data may only be copied

to the standard CD Audio format.

Recordings on the CDR 30 may be made in a
number of ways:

Discs may be dubbed using the playback deck

on the CDR 30 as a source. These copies may
be made in real time, at twice normal speed, or
at four times normal playback speed (from
MP3 discs only in real time). More information
on Disc Dubbing see next chapter.

Synchronized digital Recordings may be made

from an external CD or MD player or other digi-
tal source that is synchronized with the dub
being made in the CDR 30, see chapter "Sync
Recording" on page 23.

Analog or digital recordings may be made from

any compatible external digital source, see
chapter "Recording From an External Source"
on next page.

• Analog recordings may be made from any

external analog source, see chapter "Recording
From an External Source" on next page.

Disc Dubbing 
The easiest way to make a copy of an entire disc
is to use the CDR 30’s internal dub capability.

First, insert a blank CD-R/CD-RW or a disc with
sufficient blank space for recording in the
Record Drawer %. When the disc is inserted,
the CDR 30 will examine it to determine if it is a
CD-R or CD-RW disc, and optimize itself for the
best possible recording. This is indicated by OPC
message (Optical Processing Calibration) in the
Time/Message Display F.

Place the disc to be dubbed in the Play Drawer
3

and wait until the Table of Contents data is

read and the Time/Message Display F shows
the track and running time data for the disc.

Next, select a dub speed. The default speed is 4
times dubbing, where the recording takes only
1/4 of the actual running time of the disc.
However, with the CDR 30 you may also select
x1 (real time) dubbing or x2 dubbing. Press the
Speed button ! to select a speed as indicated
by the x2/x4 Indicators H. When no Speed
Indicator lights, the unit is set to real-time
recording. Note that the slower the record-dub
speed, the more tolerant the unit is of errors on
the blank or played disc. However, with most
high-quality blank discs, the 2x and 4x speeds
should not present a problem. Note also the 2x
and 4x speed dub is not possible with an MP3
disc.

Before beginning a dub, make certain that there
is sufficient blank space on the record disc. To do
this, select the total remaining time to be shown
in the record side Time/Message Display F
by pressing the Display button ˆ

 once in

stop mode. That number should be greater than
the total time of the disc to be dubbed, which is
shown in the play side Time/Message Display
F

.

If you wish to copy the entire disc, proceed to the
next step. However, if you wish to copy only one
track from a disc, first select that track by press-
ing the Next Button ˝

M until the track

number appears in the Time/Message Display
F

or enter the track number directly with the

E on the remote.

When you are ready to start the dub, press the
Dubbing Button ) if the entire disc (or all
tracks programmed, see Notes on page 22) is to
be copied, or the 1 Track Dub Button 9, if
you wish to copy only one track. During this
process the Dubbing Indicator J will light,
the Record Indicator O will flash, a BUSY
message will flash in the Record Deck’s Time/
Message Display F and all tracks on the disc
to be dubbed will be examined if copy prohibited
or not and their numbers will count up subse-
quently in the playback deck´s Information
Display ˜ (not with MP3 discs). When the
record side Information Display returns to nor-

22 CD RECORDING

mal, and both Play/Pause Indicators 

GB L

appear in the display, press any Play Button
9( to start the dub.
While the dub is in progress, you will see the
track numbers and running time increase as 
the disc is copied. The Level Indicators G will
also flash and the record levels may be adjusted
(up to +/-3dB) also during the dubbing process
(see chapter Record Levels on page 23). It is pos-
sible to listen to the source disc while it is being
dubbed by selecting the appropriate input (ana-
log or digital) for the Play Deck on your receiver,
preamp or processor.

Important Note: When a high-speed (x2 or x4)
dub is being made (not possible with an MP3
disc), you will hear the playback from the analog
CDP Outputs ¡ at the faster speed.
Fast speed playback increases the pitch of a
sound, and when played back at high volume
levels this may damage your speakers. DO NOT
use high volume levels when listening to high-
speed dubs while they are in progress.

The dub will stop automatically when the source
disc has played through to the end. After the dub
is finished, the Time/Message Display F will
show an UPDATE message, and then return to
normal operation. To manually stop a dubbing
operation, press the Stop button

KÓ for

either deck.

As with all recorded CD-R/CD-RW discs, the disc
must be finalized before it can be played in other
machines. See page 24 for instructions on disc
finalization.

If you wish to make a dub with selected tracks

or the tracks in a different order from the origi-
nal disc, omit tracks on a disc, or make a dub
that mixes tracks from different discs, create a
Program-Playback List before pressing the
Dubbing Button ). Instructions for creating
a program list may be found on page 19.

Dubs containing program lists may only be

made at the x1 or x2 speed. If you attempt to
make a Programmed Dub at the x4 speed, the
unit will automatically select the x2 speed.

The Pause buttons do not operate while a dub

is in progress.

Track numbers will be added automatically to

mirror the track structure of the original disc.

The Total Time indication of the recorded CD

may vary slightly from the original due to varia-
tions in the spin speed of each drive and a
pause added at the end of the recording, but
this is normal. No information has been lost in
the recording process.

If the original disc being dubbed is a digital

copy or if it contains copy-prohibit signals, the
unit will automatically make an analog copy.

When a dub is made from an external digital

source that has a sample rate other than 
44.1kHz, such as some modes of MiniDisc or
DAT, DVD players and DVB receivers, the CDR
30’s built-in sample rate converter will automati-
cally convert the digital signal to 44.1kHz for
proper recording of a standard CD Audio disc.
When the sample rate converter is in use, the
Sample Rate Converter Indicator R will
light.

Remember that MP3 discs may only be copied to

the conventional CD Audio format and only at
normal speed.

• So when dubbing an MP3 disc, the total run-

ning time of the material on the MP3 disc may
exceed the capacity of the record disc, since
the compressed file structure of the MP3 for-
mat allows over ten hours to be recorded on a
disc, while most CD-R discs have a time limit of
74 minutes.

Recording From an External Source
Digital recordings can be made only from a digi-
tal source, connected to eigther the Coaxial
§& or Optical ¶^ inputs on the CDR30,
while analog recordings can be made from any
source, connected to the Analog inputs £.

Recordings from external sources can be made in
three modes: Sync, Manual or Auto mode.

• The Sync mode (see next chapter) starts and

stops the recording automatically and increases
the track numbers syncronously with the tracks
on the source. This mode should be used with
digital recordings from external sources, pro-
viding CD standard conforming track informa-
tion (see below) like normal CD, many DVD
(with CDs only) and most MD players.

The Auto mode for either digital or analog

recordings must be started manually, but the
track number will be increased automatically
after the CDR 30 receives silence for 3 seconds
syncronously with the music starting. When the
source is paused or stopped, after 3 or 10 sec-
onds (depends on the source used) the record-
ing will stop. Also after 10 seconds of silence
(analog or digital sources) the recording will
stop. This mode is recommended for recordings
from digital sources, providing no CD standard
conforming track information (see below), like
some DVD and MD players, DAT, DVB receivers
and other digital sources with a sample rate
between 32kHz and 96kHz. To activate the
Auto mode, press the Auto/
Manual Track Increment Button

C once

and note that the Manual Track Increment
Indicator K goes out.

The default mode is Manual as indicated by

the Manual Track Increment Indicator K.
In that mode for either digital or analog record-
ings, the recording must be started and
stopped manually and you must add track
numbers manually by pressing the Track
Increment Button

D when you wish to

increase the track number. As the correct 
operating of the track increment in the Auto
mode (see above) depends on the length of
music pauses and the level of the residual
noise during these pauses, what may be critical
with analog sources, we recommend the
Manual mode for all recordings from analog
sources. To activate the Manual mode (unless
selected already by default), press the
Auto/Manual button 

C and note that the

Manual indicator K goes on.

As outlined above recordings from analog
sources should be made with the Manual mode.
But the recording mode for use with a digital
source depends on whether the source has CD
standard track information or not. To find out for
the first time, whether the source provides that
information, place an eraseable CD-RW audio
disc in the Record Deck %. Next, select the
digital input connected with that source by press-
ing the Input Select Button ı. Pressing the
button will cycle between the input choices,
which will be shown in the Time/Message
Display F as COAXIAL REAR,COAXI-
AL FRONT

, OPTICAL REAR, OPTI-

CAL FRONT

or ANALOG. In addition, an

Input Indicator YZ will light to show the
selected input.

Then press the Sync Record 8 button twice
until ALL will be shown in the Time/Message
Display F and examine whether the CDR30
starts the recording automatically when the
source is started. After min. 3 seconds skip the
source forward to the next track and examine if
the CDR30 increases the track number in its
Record Deck Display F under the Track
Indicator W. If both is the case your digital
source is CD standard conforming and you can
use the Sync mode with it, otherwise the Auto
mode should be used.

Now after you are informed about the source
type you´ll use, you can prepare for a recording
with the optimal record mode. Select the appro-
priate input for your source (if not already 
selected) and the appropriate mode Sync (see
next chapter), Auto or Manual as recommended
above.

CD RECORDING  23

To make Auto or Manual recordings, next press
the Record Button 7. The Record Indicator
O

will flash, and the word B U S Y and OPC

will appear in the Time/Message Display F.
When the Display returns to the track and run-
ning-time information, the unit is ready to record.

Now, particulary when you record from an ana-
log source, play any high level part of the source
repeatedly and adjust the CDR30´s input level
using the Analog Record-Level Control *
for analog recordings and, if desired, the Dig.
Rec. Level Controls  for digital recordings.
With analog recordings adjust the levels so that
the blue segments of the display are almost lit,
and the red segments flash only occasionally. See
the chapter Record Levels below for more
information on adjusting the record levels.

After you´ve adjusted the record level, start the
actual recording by pressing the Play/Select
Button (

9 and immediately also start the

source to be recorded. Note that the Record
Indicator O will stop flashing and the Time/
Message Display F will begin to show the
running time of the recording and the track data.
Depending on which mode of track increment
has been selected as described above, track num-
bers must be increased manually or they will be
added automatically. Regardless of which mode
has been selected, a track number may be added
at any time by pressing the Track Increment
Button

D.

Note: During recording from an external source
in the Auto mode, the unit will automatically go
into “Record/Pause“ when it senses 10 seconds
of silence. In both modes, Auto and Manual,
when the Pause button Ô

L is pressed dur-

ing a recording, the track number will increase by
one number and the recording will stop and
must be restarted by pressing the Play/Select
Button (

9.

To stop the recording, press the Stop Button
Ó

K, a BUSYmessage and an UPDATE

message will appear and the unit will return to
normal operation. Remember to finalize the disc
(see on page 24) after recording so that it may
be used in other players.

The recording will automatically stop if it takes
more space than is available on the CD-R/RW disc.,
and a D I S C F U L L message will appear to
remind you that a new disc is needed.

Sync Recording
Sync recording allows you to make an automatic
digital recording from an external CD or MD
player or any digital source, providing CD stan-
dard track information (see page 22 for more
information on how you can find out if or not
you can record from a source with the Sync
mode). During Sync Recording, the record unit
starts in sync with the source, and tracks are
added automatically.

To make a Sync recording: First, make certain
your playback source is prepared and tracks you
want to record from that source (if so) are pro-
grammed or selected. Next, select the appropri-
ate digital input by pressing the Input Button
ı

until the desired input indication appears in

the Time/Message Display F and Input
Indicator YZ. Sync recordings may not be
made from an analog input.

Next, make certain that there is a fresh disc in
the Record Drawer for the recording. Press the
Sync Record Button 8 as instructed below
and note that the Sync Indicator M will light
and the Record Indicator O will flash. Select
the type of recording to be made:

To record only one track from the source play-

er, press the Sync Record Button 8 ONCE
so that 1 T R K appears in the Time/
Message Display F.

To record the entire disc or tape, press the

Sync Record Button 8 TWICE so that ALL
appears in the Time/Message Display F.

When the desired mode has been selected, start
the playback from the source machine. The CDR
30 will automatically recognize the incoming dig-
ital data and begin recording and the track num-
bering from the original disc will be carried over
to the dub.

The recording will continue until the CDR 30
senses that the playback is finished when there is
no incoming signal for more than three seconds.
At that point the recording will stop. You may
also stop the recording at any time by pressing
the Record Deck Stop Button Ó

K. When

there is no more time remaining on a blank disc,
the unit automatically will stop the recording
process and a BUSY and UPDATE and then
a DISC FULL message will appear in the
Time/Message Display F. When a CD-R is
being recorded, insert a new blank disc or, when
a CD-RW is in use, either use a new disc or erase
the latest existing tracks following the instruc-
tions on page 24.

After the recording is stopped, first a BUSY and
then an UPDATE message will appear, and the
unit will then return to normal operation.
Remember to finalize the recorded disc so that it
may be used in other machines.

Important Note: With a few CD and DVD play-
ers the CDR30´s Sync mode recording will start
as the as the source player is set from Stop to
Pause. With those sources tracks to be recorded
should be started only from the Stop mode rather
than from Pause.
Note: With CD Sync track numbers cannot be
increased manually by pressing the Track
Increment button

D, this is possible with

the Auto and Manual mode only.

Record Levels
Particulary with analog recording, the setting of
record levels is important to the creation of a
copy disc that is correctly recorded so that it is
both free from noise (caused by too low a record
level) or distortion (caused by too high a record
level). Since the CDR 30 accepts both digital and
analog sources, a different procedure is required,
depending on the type of input used.

In general practice, and particularly for analog
recordings, a proper recording is made when the
individual left and right Level Indicators G
run in the left two-thirds of the display scale, and
the red OVER G indicators flash only briefly.

If the level is too high or too low during an ana-
log recording, simply adjust the Analog Record
Level Control * until the level is set properly.
(more information on adjusting the analog record
level see left on this page).

It is important to note that for digital recordings
the level indications will always run lower than
what you would expect for an analog recording.
This is due to the fact that, within limits, low level
for digital recordings is not a severe problem.
However, too high digital levels will cause audible
distortion as with analog recordings.

The default setting for level control is Manual
with the adjustment set at a 0 dB level, then the
Digital Record Level Status Indicator X
will not be lit. This setting is appropriate for most
recordings, and under normal circumstances you
will not need to make any changes. Increase digi-
tal levels may be needed only when the disc or
track to be recorded will deliver too low a signal
level to the CDR30. Decrease level only when
you wish to record the disc on the CDR30 with a
lower level than on the original.

To manually adjust the digital level, press the
appropriate 

⁄

or 

¤

Button  and note that the Digital Record
Level Status Indicator X lights as DRLC, but
make certain that the level shown in the Level
Indicators G does not exceed the red levels.
Digital levels may only be adjusted from –3dB 
to +3dB, as shown in the Time/Message
Display F.

24 CD RECORDING

When automatic control of digital level is
desired, press and hold both Digital Level
Control Buttons  and release them when
the Digital Record Level Status Indicator X
lights as A DRLC. In this mode, the system will
automatically limit digital record levels from the
moment an OVER Level Indicator G flashes
for the first time to prevent any audible distor-
tion. Note that with digital recordings an OVER
indication is possible only when sources recorded
with highest levels, are used and the Digital
Level Control  is turned up.

Finalizing CD-R and CD-RW Discs
Finalizing is a simple process that completes the
recording of a disc so that it may be used in
other players. Once that is done, a CD-R disc may
not be changed or added to. CD-RW discs are
“locked” once they are finalized, but they may be
unfinalized to permit additional recording or era-
sure.

To finalize a disc, place it in the Record Drawer
%

, if it is not already in that drawer. Once the

disc’s Table of Contents (TOC) information has
been read and the OPC process has been com-
pleted, press the Finalize Button # and note
that the word FINAL will begin to flash in the
Time/Message Display F. Within five sec-
onds, press the CDR Play/Select Button (

9.

The finalization process will take up to two min-
utes, depending on the length of the material
recorded on the disc. During finalization you will
see the number of seconds remaining in the
process count down in the Time/Message
Display F until the disc is finalized. During
finalization the CDR deck will not accept any
operating commands.

When the finalization process is complete, the
Time/Message display will return to its normal
messages, and the R/RW Indicator Q will go
out, with the CD indication Q remaining to indi-
cate that the disc is finalized and ready for play
on standard CD players (CD-R discs, CD-RW discs
only on CD-RW-compatible players).

Unfinalizing and Erasing CD-RW Discs
CD-RW discs are unique in that they are both
recordable and rewritable. This means that you
may use them over again like a cassette tape.
However, the process of reusing a CD-RW disc is
slightly different from that used with tapes.

Unfinalizing a CD-RW Disc
To keep the material that is already recorded on
a finalized CD-RW disc and to add an additional
track or to erase the last track or the complete
disc, you must first unfinalize the disc. To do that,
place the CD-RW disc in the Record Deck %
and wait until the Table of Contents data has
been read.

Press the Erase Button @ once and check to
make certain that the words UN- and FINAL
flash alternatingly in the Time/Message
Display F. Within three seconds, press the
CDR Play/Select Button (

9 to start the

process. Similar to the finalization process the
unfinalization will take up to two minutes. During
that time you will see the number of seconds
remaining in the process count down in the
Time/Message Display F, alternating with
the word UN-FIN.

When the UN-FIN message goes out and is
replaced with a normal display and the RW
Indicator Q has re-appeared, the disc has
been unfinalized and is ready to have single
tracks erased or new tracks added.

Erasing an Entire CD-RW Disc
Erasing the entire contents of a disc is simple,
and it does not matter if the disc has been final-
ized or not. To erase the disc, press the Erase
Button @ TWICE, so that the words ALL and
ERASE

appear alternatingly in the Time/

Message Display F. To start the erasure,
press the Play/Select Button (

9 and note

that the word ERASE will keep flashing. The
erasure process takes about a minute, and it is
complete when the Time/Message Display F
resets to 00 00:00 and ERASE goes out.
The disc is now totally erased and may be
reused.

Erasing a Single Track
The individual tracks on a CD-RW disc may be
erased one at a time, starting with the last track
on the disc, or you may erase more than one
track. Note that before individual tracks may be
erased the disc must be unfinalized. If the disc is
finalized, follow the instructions above for unfi-
nalizing before proceeding with these steps.

To erase only the last track, press the Erase
Button @. Note that the Time/Message
Display F will display 01TRKand ERASE
alternatingly. Press the Play/Select Button
(

9 within three seconds, now the last track

will be erased. When ERASE goes out, the
Time/Message Display F will show the total
number of tracks that now remain on the disc
(under the Track Indicator W) and the total
running time of all tracks.

Erasing Several Tracks
You may erase more than one track, counting
backwards from the last track. First, press the
Erase Button @. Note that the Time/Message
Display F will display 01TRKand ERASE
will flash. Within 3 seconds press the Next
Button

MÛ or Previous Button 8Ù

until the number of tracks to be erased appears in
the Time/Message Display F. For example,
when 06 TRK appears in the display a total of 

six tracks will be erased, counting back from the
last track on the disc. Next, press the Play/
Select Button (

9 within three seconds of

making the track selection. When all selected
tracks are erased, the Time/Message Display
F

will show the total number of tracks that now

remain on the disc (under the Track Indicator
W

) and the total running time of all tracks.

Important Note on Erasing Tracks: Tracks at
the beginning or in the middle of the disc may
not be erased until all of the tracks after them
have been erased.

Important Note on Erasure and
Finalization Times: Regardless of the speed at
which a disc was recorded, the CDR 30 will erase
and finalize discs at the x4 speed to minimize the
length of the process. However, in some cases, it
may be necessary for the unit to repeat the era-
sure or finalization due to the nature of an indi-
vidual disc. For that reason, it is normal for the
time required to complete these steps to vary
from one disc to another.