What CD Burner to buy?...?...

[cbuchach]

OK, my AOpen 32x10x12 CD writer keeps working worse and worse. It has been "failing" for some time. It is now giving errors and making coasters on roughly three out of every four burns with many various kinds of media.

So I am in the market for a new CD burner. I want at least a 40x write burner with preferably a 24x re-write capabilities. I have looked at the Lite-on model and the Plextor models. Is the Plextor really worth it? I have had bad luck with burners dying on me in the past and do want a quality burner. But I figure the Lite-on is 1/2 the price of the Plextor and if it dies early just buy a new one.

Also, I am of course open to other suggestions besides Plextor and Lite-on. I would like a drive that isn't too noisy and has little vibration.

So any suggestions or good online reviews of late model CD burners?

 

[Wolfsraider]

the liteon gets my vote for price and performance

it will burn everything i have thrown at it and is very quick

no problems out of mine yet(4+months) plus it is a really great drive

 

[Yzzim]

Keep an eye out in the Hot Deals section and get whatever is cheaper/faster

I got an Cendyne 40x12x48x (which I flashed to 48x12x48x) for $30 or so after a rebate and coupon a couple months ago.

I believe the Cendyne is a rebaged Lite-On, btw. I haven't had any problems with it. Only thing is that it does work in CDRwin. Oh, which is another think you might want to keep an eye on. Make sure to find out that the burner you buy is supported by the programs you're use to burning with. I use to burn with CDRwin all the time but can't now. Had to switch to Fireburner, which isn't really a big deal, just kind of annoying at first.

 

[cbuchach]

Is the Lite-on at all loud?

 

[rb56]

I have had both and the lite-on was noisy compared to the Plextor (a 12A which I am still using in my backup machine), I currently have one of the new Yamahas that I really like. I'm sure that either would work well.

rb56

 

[Wolfsraider]

mine is quiet but it wasn't sold as liteon

i believe it was a cyberdrive or Cendyne edit it was the latter the cyberdrive is my dvd

 

[BaboonGuy]

get one of those new yamaha disct@2 drive's, if you can afford it.

the technology is amazing, being able to burn on labels directly on the cd..how cool is that

 

[cbuchach]

Originally posted by: BaboonGuy
get one of those new yamaha disct@2 drive's, if you can afford it.

the technology is amazing, being able to burn on labels directly on the cd..how cool is that

Yeah, those drives are quite amazing, but I am looking for something a bit cheaper.

 

[JavaMomma]

Another vote for liteon

 

[cbuchach]

Actually, I just checked the price of the Yamaha drive and its not bad at $108 at Newegg! I remember reading about those recorders at Toms. Does anyone have experience with these drives? It would be nice to be able to write a small label on the back of the disk to keep track of everything--and this functionality is built into Nero! This may be a possibility.

 

[magomago]

I think you have to use the Yamaha program to burn on the underside (which is pretty cool)

but then again a 48x LiteOn is like 50 bucks (I got mine for 37.99 @ newegg during Christmas ) so you are baying around 50-60 dollars more for that.

So it comes down to opinion - though I must say if I was put in that position I'd get a Liteon and a Felt Tip Marker

 

[rb56]

Yeah, I have the Yamaha CRWF1ZE which I got from newegg. The disc@2 fuction works best with the darker dies. Be advised that once it is tattoed that no further writing is possible. One of the nicest features is it's ability to rip CD etc. at up to 44x. A couple of min. in EAC to do a full CD.

rb56

 

[Yzzim]

Originally posted by: cbuchach
Actually, I just checked the price of the Yamaha drive and its not bad at $108 at Newegg! I remember reading about those recorders at Toms. Does anyone have experience with these drives? It would be nice to be able to write a small label on the back of the disk to keep track of everything--and this functionality is built into Nero! This may be a possibility.

for another $50 (after rebates, of course) you could get a DVD burner.

 

[Challenger]

My vote is for the Lite-on.

I do want to know what kind of graphics you can put on a disc with the Yamaha and if you can do it on a disc that was recorded on another burner.

 

[cbuchach]

Originally posted by: rb56
Yeah, I have the Yamaha CRWF1ZE which I got from newegg. The disc@2 fuction works best with the darker dies. Be advised that once it is tattoed that no further writing is possible. One of the nicest features is it's ability to rip CD etc. at up to 44x. A couple of min. in EAC to do a full CD.

rb56

Wow 44x audio CD ripping!! Since you have some experience I am also wondering about the Advanced Audiomaster Quality recording mode. Have you used this? Why I am wondering is because my car CD player is getting older and is having problems reading some CD's. You may have no idea, but have you noticed this functionality to improve audio CD reading?

 

[rb56]

You can put anything that you want on the disk as far as graphics go. You are limited to the space that isn't used by files though. As far as using disks recorded by another burner I would think that it would be possible as long there is space. (I've never tried it) The disk has to be finialized before you can use the disk@2 function, so any free space should be available for the disk@2.

I wouldn't buy the Yamaha for just for disk@2 although it's a nice feature. I personally like it for the ability to rip at higher speeds (up to 44X and the "advanced audio feature"

rb56

 

[rb56]

Originally posted by: cbuchach

Wow 44x audio CD ripping!! Since you have some experience I am also wondering about the Advanced Audiomaster Quality recording mode. Have you used this? Why I am wondering is because my car CD player is getting older and is having problems reading some CD's. You may have no idea, but have you noticed this functionality to improve audio CD reading?

I can't speak to your problem with older players personally but this is what is stated on the Yamaha site:
A CD recorded using Audio Master Quality Recording is noticeably better sounding than one recorded using conventional methods. In fact, the quality of audio is nearly equivalent to that of a pressed audio CD. In addition, it is easier for CD-players, including older CD-players and car hi-fi systems, to read music that was recorded using Yamaha's Audio Master Quality Recording mode, resulting in greater compatiblity and fewer skips.

rb56