When I record from a CD played in my computers cd/dvd player into powertracks, the quality when I play the recorded material in powertracks is degraded. Is this due to a setting in powertracks or is it the cd player, sound card or my computer. When I record via line in or mic I do not have this problem. I use windows 10 powertrack 2016 and have a audigy rx 5 soundcard. (Listening to the Cd directly sounds fine - so I do not think it is the player) Should I set the levels lower? The vu meter input in powertracks is below 0 db.

Why record the CD; why not rip it and then open the resulting WAV file?

O.K. I tried ripping the file with the same result the cd was mastered by a friend and is very Hot. Could that be the problem?

That could be the problem.