In most cases, the anomalies are erratic - track 5 jumps on this disc, track 7 won't play at all on another and some discs simply won't register their presence in a player. When we record a CD-R, the laser power output is increased in order to heat the transparent polycarbonate and dye layers in the discs structure. Jockeying back and forth like this the sound waveform is represented as a 16 bit string of 1's and 0's. However, if these 'pits' in the melted dyes are not formed accurately then the 16 bit string will produce a different waveform when decoded in the DAC, that is to say, a different sound is heard. For brevity though, we can appreciate from this simple description that it's not just 'a load of 1's and 0's' burnt into some shiny disc.
Opinions vary on what dyes and combinations of reflective layers produce the 'best' sound.
This is the crucial issue because if others can't actually play your discs it doesn't matter how good they sound on your machine. Even though opinions may vary slightly when it comes to quantifying the effects of record speed on sound, it remains a crucial issue when it comes to our most important consideration - that of playability. Utilising media such as this and limiting write speeds on duplication work to no more than 4x, one can be sure of the highest possible degree of compatibility. Accordingly, we need to be aware that problems may arise dependant on what hardware we are using and the quality of the disc itself. Drives showing problems include the Sony CRX100, HP8100 and Philips CDD3610 - all fine recorders in their own right but not compliant with the changing standards in media.