I wasn't referring to your failed CDs (actually, I wasn't referring to your post at all), I was just providing some general guidelines for anyone curious. It's obvious to us, but maybe not to others.

I doubt you'll contest that if you used a poor burner, bad CDs, and left them in a damp place, you'd be having a lot more failures.

As for Sony... egh. I used to work in an electronics repair shop, and we didn't have a high opinion of Sony at all. They've been coasting on their reputation for years. Brand name means diddle shit if they don't carry through.

Same applies for TDK. They only fab some of the CDs they sell, so the batches vary in quality. Some of them are made by Taiyo Yuden, others are by SKC, and some by TDK themselves. The only way to know is to check the CD with software.