Problem playing CD-R's

I've got an Alpine cda-9815 head unit. It's supposed to be able to play audio cd-r/rw's, but it doesn't. So far, i've tried many different brands of cd-r, and none of them seem to work, even though they should according to the owners manual. If i have an mp3 cd-r, it will play just fine. It's only audio cd-r's that seem to be a problem, and it's driving me nuts.
I'll be contacting customer service in the morning to see if they have any suggestions, but i wanted to check here first and see if anyone else may have the same problem i do, or if they by any chance have a solution. Thanks in advance if anyone can help me out.

What software are you using to create the Audio CD's? Also, what speed were you burning the CD at? If you are burning at the fastest possible speed, that may be your problem, try burning at 4x or lower.

I use either Roxio Easy CD Creator 5, or Easy Media Creator 7 when i burn discs. I've tried burning at every speed possible, from 4x to 12x and nothing helps. I usually burn at 4x or 8x, but i tried 12x just to rule out all options. Same thing with brands of cd-r's, i've tried using them all (except for Sony, i'm trying them next) and nothing works. The funny/sad thing is that the factory cd player in my car played everything just fine.
The only cd-rs i can get to play are some older ones i made on my previous computer, with slightly different software (Roxio Easy CD Creator 5 Basic). Is there a chance that the burner itself may be the culprit? I can play these discs everywhere except in my car, which is where i listen to the most music, and why i am so frustrated.

Just for the 411, what burner are you using? It COULD be the answer to your problem.

I usually don't trust the Roxio Easy CD Creator suite... they just have never done anything well for me. If you want to do MP3 Cd's, WMA Cd's, and Audio Cd's, I would suggest Microsoft's very own Windows Media Player 9. It's free, it's easy, and plays CD-TEXT fine, trust me, I used it on my Alpine CDA-9827, and they play perfectly. If you want CD-TEXT make sure you find all the information about the song/album using the Search function that they have in it.

I'll have to give the Windows Media Player 9 a whirl and see what happens. I've got my fingers crossed that it'll help, but if not, then i'm really hoping it's not my burner. If WMP9 doesn't work, i'll try using Roxio on my mom's computer and see if i have any better luck. I want to exhaust every possibility before i assume it's my burner. Who knows, it could even be a defective headunit, though i doubt it seeing as how it plays regular cds, and mp3 cd-r's. So damn frustrating. :banghead:

Thanks for the help though, i really appreciate it. :biggrin:

i dunno about that burning speed issue, i burn all my cd's at 52x and i have never had a problem, nero is probably my favorite burning program

It depends on the player you use. The faster you burn a disc, the shallower the pits are that the laser burns into the disc. Some players have no problems playing discs that are recorded at high speeds like 52x, while some can't handle discs over 8x or 12x. Also, you are more prone to having errors occur when burning at such high speeds.

i dunno about that burning speed issue, i burn all my cd's at 52x and i have never had a problem, nero is probably my favorite burning program

Yah, some burners have no problem with it, but we're just trying to test out all the variables. I think it has to depend on the Buffer UnderRun Protection. And yes, NERO, CloneCD, and CDRWIN are my favorite, but it's harder to do CD-TEXT with them IMO, WMP9 just does it like that *snaps finger*.