I am new to recording and mastering. I use Logic Pro and soon Logic Studio on my Mac with a Presonus Firestudio and a variety of good microphones.

I just discovered the concept of premastering and have some questions about DDP format. Is there a noticable difference between a regular Red Book CD-R versus a DDP CD-R when creating the glass master. What are the differences, and what do they mean to the final CD product?

I also discovered that Logic Studio cannot make a DDP format CD-R. I've been looking at Sonic Studio's PMCD but it costs $500. Is it worth the price to be able to make a PMCD?

Another question I have is whether there is a noticeable difference in sound quality between a CD-R recording and a CD-A recording. Disc Makers offers both, but it is not possible to do a short run of 100 CDs in CD-A format, they only offer them as CD-Rs. Are CD-Rs acceptable for resale, is Disc Makers a good company (they are telling me that I don't need to use DDP and that they prefer a simple Red Book CD-R), and is there a lower cost alternative to Sonic Studio's PMCD (that is still a quality product)?

Thanks!

You don't "need" a DDP file. A lot of plants will take them (no doubt) but most work (probably 90% or better) is submitted on RedBook compliant CD-R.

Even Sonic PMCD - at $500, won't actually write DDP without the ($500) DDP plugin.

And there isn't going to be (well, there darn well better not be) an audible difference (or even a data difference) between the premaster disc and the subsequent CD-ROM created from it.

Durability is another issue. But even that's hard to measure. Although generally speaking, it's suspected that the average quality CD-ROM with it's data molded into the polysubstrate and reflected off an aluminum sheet will outlive the data embedded into a photo-sensitive dye on a CD-R. But I've seen both go bad more times than I want to count.
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John Scrip - MASSIVE Mastering

DDP "tends" to be a more error-free delivery medium, but as John mentioned a properly QCed CD-R should yield the same result. One advantage in using DDP images is that you can FTP them directly to the plant (assuming they accept them).

Some other Mac programs that support DDP are the BIAS Peak DDP export extension and the beta version of Audiofile Engineering's WaveEditor (1.3).
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Tom Volpicelli
The Mastering House Inc.
http://www.masteringhouse.com
CD Mastering and Media Production Services

Thanks for your help with DDP files, I appreciate it. I think I'll stay with the Red Book format until the DDP capable software prices decrease.
I've emailed the company that makes Wave Editor 1.3 and they told me that their software is capable of making a DDP disc and that version 1.4 will be able to open DDP discs. Their price is $250.
I've also been reading that stand alone mastering software packages might not be necessary for a home studio. Is it better to use a DAW like Logic Studio and buy EQs, compressors, limiters, and other plugins from places like Universal Audio to use within Logic or Waverburner (Logic's mastering software)? Thanks again.