Basic Audio CD 12x or less?

I noticed that CD-R can only burn at 16x or greater. Am I correct to assume that this is not only in Wavelab7, but is, in general, the slowest that a CD-R or CD+R can burn as an audio cd (I noticed that in Roxio and in Windows that the burn speed is 16x for CD-Rs for those programs as well)? If this is the case, is it common place to burn the master audio cd as a CD-RW, which can burn 12x or less producing a cd with less errors than a CD-R at 16x?
WaveLAb7 lists the speed of various media by pressing the “!” button in the basic audio cd burn window (the window that opens after pressing the little disc icon above the tracks listed) . This is where I obtained the above information regarding speed times. Therefore, can one burn a master audio cd at 12x or less with a CD-R or must it always be a CD-RW to burn a more error free master disc at 12x or less?

Hey sarahA

Pretty sure that Wavelab will only list the writing speeds as made available by your CD writer. If you wanted to get a slower burn speed you’d need to change your CD-writer.

As far as burning a master CD as a CD-RW - don’t do it! Here’s a good, and short, thread on gearslutz about why CD-RW is bad choice as a master format.

Hi franciskimberley,

Thank you so much for your reply. I believe that you are 100% correct!