cd lasers have different powers. even writing to different cd-r discs, has a different optimal power rating. you can find this information in the ATIP of the disc. granted, you can probably write at less than the optimal power, but i'm going to wager that reading the disc doesnt change the values held on it.
and as for safedisc 2 - do you know how it works? basically, it overloads the EFM decoder with a DSV (digital sum value) that is unacceptable. currently, to get around it, we use either cracks, or by reading/writing RAW with a writer that does not have a problem with it. AWS is another option - and
www.cdfreaks.com 's expert clonecd forum can explain, in depth, how that works - what values it fills in, etc.
also - yamaha's new writers are making it possible to write after finalizing
. check those out.
(isnt this much more readable than one big blob?)