I have a mid 2007 Shaker 500 that has started giving me consistent problems in reading the last MP3 song on a MP3 CD-RW disc. It has worked fine for about a month and only started giving me problems recently. I made about 3-4 different CD-RW discs and the Skipper 500 spit out the CD when trying to read the last MP3 song.

I have a Pioneer DVR-109 DVD+/- R/RW burner that I use on the PC along with Nero. My PCs have no problems reading the song.

 

I used CD-R's and have had no problems so far.

 

Maybe try a different brand of CD-R? I use Samsung, and they work real well.

 

Do discs that worked previously still work, or do they now give you trouble? If they're OK it's an issue with your burner, the CDs, or your files. If they don't work either then take it in for service.

 

I'm using Memorex CD-RWs and recording at 4x. The only time it gives me trouble is trying to read the last song on the disc. It never used to do this, because I could cycle through the entire disc without any problems.

 

Some car stereos do not read CD-RWs. You should use CD-R discs. That's assuming you don't want to erase anything of course.

 

This Shaker 500 has read my CD-RWs without any problems for quite some time. I'd get an occasional "BAD DISC" but it was almost random. Now, it's consistently spitting out the disc at the last song.

Why does an optical drive in a $500+ audio package have the quality of a $5 optical drive? I never understood this. I can buy a PC DVD+/- R/RW burner drive for $30 that will read anything you put in, including a disc that you tossed in the mud and was licked clean by a pig. Yet, these OEMs sell you a $200+ audio unit that only reads pressed discs 100% of the time while giving you less than perfect results with something as simple as CD-RWs.

 

I think it comes down to the manufacturers forcing their suppliers to provide a product that does everything for little cost to them. That way they make big profit on all the options they supply for you to buy. Only thing is I feel all you get is a slightly better than cheap product that blends nicely with the car interior/exterior.

 

I give up. The Skipper 500 throws a hissy fit as soon as it reaches the last MP3 song on the CD, but plays the other songs without any problems. If you avoid the last song, the Skipper 500 continues to operate properly.

I tried the same disc in my home-theater DVD player and in a 6 year old portable MP3/CD discman and it played all the songs properly.

At this point, there should be no reason for the Skipper 500 to spit out the disc when it reaches the last song, to display "No Title", and end with "Bad Disc" other than the fact the Skipper 500 is a POS. I really like the speakers and can't complain, but the cheap POS optical drive is absurd. I didn't want to deal with an aftermarket audio system or lug around an iPod in my daily driver.

 

You're kidding right? Sounds like you need to eat your Wheaties if an Ipod is too much for you! Are you closing the CD properly? If the only issue is the last song that would likely be the issue. Also, you failed to answer my original question about this being a new issue with old discs.

 

I have an iPod shuffle that I use for jogging, but I do not carry it around with me all day long. It's so small that I'd probably lose it.

I'm using Nero to burn the CD-RWs and since they work in every other optical drive (standalone DVD player below my TV, 6 year old MP3/CD discman, every PC optical drive), it should work in the Skipper 500.

I thought I did answer your previous question? I re-use my CD-RWs because I frequently change my playlist. If I had been using CD-Rs, I'd have a stack of 5+ coasters each month. My Aiwa MP3 player in the other car seems to play the entire disc without any problems. So again, this is an issue with the Skipper 500 from where I am standing. The "fix" is probably to bring it back to the dealer and get another Skipper 500 with the same problem.

 

I decided to use the XP Pro integrated CD burning tool and found that it "solved" the problem.

 

What you are burning WITH can also often be the issue, as you have discovered. Different applications handle rewriteable discs slightly differently. The standard is not as tight as we might like it to be. THe somewhat lower reflectivity is often an issue with many players, but if that is the primary issue the disc ususally will not play at all.

Glad you were able to resolve it!

 

I've never seen a integrated 6-CD changer for a PC that doesn't miss a beat hitting pavement joints at 100mph Yup, 90% of issues with them are the disc or the software not 'finishing' the burn where anything other then a pc drive will read it.

 

With my Shaker 500 the only disk it couldn't read was a generic CD-RW. So I've stuck with using name brand CD-Rs and Nero and haven't had any problems at all. Oh yeah, I also "finalize" all my burned CDs... I've had no skipping, or any other problems...

 

I've had some issues with it not playing when it's really hot or cold. But, it plays later on after I turn it on and off, and the temp gets more even. Not that big of a deal.........

 

Use these Memorex CDs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817131834

Stay away from CD-RWs in your MP3 player. I've actually used over a dozen different CD-R brands, and 3 different programs, burning at 5 different bit rates, and the ONLY thing that made a difference was the CD I was using.
Once I started using the above CD-Rs, I've made about 20 MP3 CDs, most full to the end, and all of them work perfectly fine. I use Nero 7 (latest edition), and leave all the settings at default. Everything works great.

 

I used Nero 7 with my CD-RWs and ran into this problem. Using the same CD-RWs with XP's built-in burning tool worked fine. I don't use CD-Rs because I'd have a huge stack of them.

 

I have found that if I use Windows XP's built in burning program, it works great on any CD-R's I choose. I run into problems when I try and add a second (or third or fourth) session onto an existing CD that wasn't full. Sometimes it will spit out the disc after that. As long as I only burn it once, no problems.

 

So are you going to go out and hug your shaker 500 now that you know it wasn't her fault??