A few general recording questions:

1) Will Jam 6 automatically convert Apple Lossless tracks to AIFF tracks upon burning them to disc? If not, am I better off importing the tracks directly from the CD to Jam 6 rather than dragging them from iTunes in their current Apple Lossless format? Or is there a third alternative, such as a file conversion option in Jam 6, that I should perform prior to burning (assuming that I import the tracks from iTunes rather than rip them from CD directly to Jam)?

2) The above question of file conversion aside, is it better to import tracks directly from CD rather than iTunes, esp. in terms of including CD-Text capability, i.e., making sure that the track titles are correct?

3) Is there anything else I need to know to be sure that CD-Text includes all album and track info? (I have read enough other forum posts to understand that I should not expect to see any of this information on my Mac. However, I am hoping that enabling the CD-Text option in Jam will allow the track info to be displayed in a car CD player which can display text information.)

4) Assuming that, in this case, I will not be manipulating the tracks themselves in any way (other than possibly their format, as previously mentioned), what are the pros and cons to using Jam 6 vs. Toast 6 Titanium to burn, and perhaps rip, the usual CD?

Thanks for any and all assistance!

You wouldn't be copying music from commercial CDs to give to someone else, would you? Say no and edit out the part of your post that suggests otherwise.

The easiest thing to do is use the Toast Copy window to duplicate an existing audio CD (presuming it already has CD Text info)

Jam can convert the Apple Lossless files and retain the track info from iTunes which it then will burn as CD Text (Toast does the same). If you insert a CD and iTunes downloads the track info from CDDB, you also can drag that CD directly to the Jam window which will cause Jam to extract AIFF files from the CD. The track names will be transferred and can be burned as CD Text.

In your case I don't see any advantage of using Jam instead of Toast nor an advantage of ripping first to iTunes unless you want to do that anyway. Where Jam can make a big difference is if you have some live concert music and want to create crossfades so nobody can hear where you've deleted the talky parts or some track you don't like. Unless the track trimming or cross fading is a plus to you, just use Toast.

No, and thanks for pointing out that faux pas.


Would performing a simple Toast Copy also provide me with the most faithful reproduction of the original audio?

Also, in the absence of quick access to a CD player which displays CD Text info, is there a way to determine if the original CD contains CD Text info? If not, is my best bet to perform one of the two methods you describe in the first paragraph below to ensure the inclusion of CD Text info in the copy (understanding that I could use either Toast or Jam for these methods)?


Thanks for the comprehensive info. Much appreciated.

Yes, and it's the fastest way to do it, too. If you like you can choose Save as Disc Image rather than clicking the burn button (in the Copy window) and then burn the new CD from the disc using the Copy window's image file setting. That way if something goes wrong with the burn you don't have to copy from the disc again.


Insert the disc and open either Toast 6 or Toast 7. Then choose Disc Info from the Recorder menu. A window opens that lists the track information including the CD Text info if present.

Thanks for the continuing tips, tsantee. I'm almost home free...

I'm running into trouble here. I created a disc image of the CD by dragging the (iTunes-identified-CD-Text-filled) CD to the Toast Audio window and then selecting Save As Disc Image, which gave me a [CDTitle].disc file. (I then ejected the original CD.) If I understand you correctly, having that disc image file enables me to copy the CD from that image file more than once in case, as you say, the burn doesn't work our for some reason the first time. But I become lost when I try to follow your suggestion to "burn the new CD from the disc using the Copy window's image file setting." When I select the "Image File" setting from the settings tray of the Copy window, then (as the window now suggests) drag the disc image of the CD into the window area, the Copy window switches to the Audio window. But don't I want the Copy window to remain so that I can just copy the disc image onto a blank CD? Am I missing or misunderstanding some steps here, or is that switch from the Copy to the Audio window supposed to occur after I drag the image file to it, after which I perform some additional steps to copy the CD (perhaps clicking the Burn button in the (now) Audio window)? Thanks in advance for your additional assistance with this.

Thanks for that. No CD Text info appeared so, as alluded to above, I just dragged the iTunes identified CD to the Toast Audio window, as you previously suggested.

I goofed. I forgot that the disc image of audio CDs is an Sd2f file. In that case it is appropriate for it to open in the Audio window the same as when you drag tracks to that window. The [CDTitle].disc file is what you get when you choose Save with Toast. It only says the track list but still requires the original tracks to be where they were when you chose Save. Save as Disc Image saves an [CDTitle].Sd2f file which has the actual tracks in the file itself.

In hindsight and based on this latest response from you, I realize I skipped a step or two in my previous narration. (Sorry, my bad.) After I performed the "Save As Disc Image" step, I then globally changed the pauses of varying lengths in front of the tracks to a uniform 2 seconds before each track. After I did that, I must have saved the changes; hence, I ended up with a [CDTitle].disc file instead of a [CDTitle].Sd2f file. The Sd2f file was obviously always there before I changed it, but either I didn't notice it or it was behind the Toast window on my desktop when I saved it as a .disc file.

Anyway, just to be on the safe side, I trashed that file and started all over, this time noticing that the saved disc image was an Sd2f file. Also, this time I did not play around with changing the pauses or anything else about the file (to ensure that the file remained an Sd2f file). I just dragged the file to the Audio Window, burned it onto a CD, and then verified that the burn was successful. Many thanks again for your help!

This does, however, bring up another question for me: Because the Sd2f file "has the actual tracks in the file itself," is it better not to mess with the Sd2f file, such as by changing the pause lengths, so that I do not end up replacing the file with a Toast-saved .disc file?

It doesn't matter if you change the pauses after loading the Sd2f file into the Audio window. You even could rearrange the tracks or delete some. It makes more sense to do that before creating the image file so those become the default, but you can do it afterwards as well.

By the way, if you import a Sd2f file into iTunes it will be a single playable track of the entire CD. It's up to you to figure out a reason why you'd want this.

Thanks again, tsantee, for your ongoing help with my questions as well as the additional helpful tips. As a relative newbie, I really appreciate it. If you ever write "Toast with Jam 6: The Missing Manual," I'll be right in line to purchase it.