I would go for the Yamaha CRW-F1 44x burner, external or internal (+ADS Pyro)...You'll save money going with the internal version, but it won't be as pretty. Yamaha has a combo FireWire/USB 2.0 version as well.
It's more expensive than the various rebadged 52x Lite-Ons floating around, but it has Audio Master Q.R. and Disc T@2, which I actually use quite a bit. 44x vs 52x is a matter of seconds...
If you do get the CRW-F1, make sure you get the Mac version since the special features require the OEM packaged version of Toast.
EDIT: Nevermind... Saw your other thread. You'll probably faint after seeing the price of the Yamaha... I suggest getting an internal Lite-On 52x drive from NewEgg and an external FireWire enclosure.
I bought a LaCie firewire burner in the old blue plastic enclosure a couple years ago. It was pretty disappointing in terms of quality. The fan was horrendously noisy, the case was crappy, and there was some strange issue with the Firewire bridge that caused loud snapping noises at the end of burned audio CDs.
I'm not going to buy LaCie products anymore (also had a disappointing external HD).
A generic FW enclosure with a 911 bridge should be just as good, if not better (that's what i have now).. and you can easily upgrade when the 92x burners or whatever come out
<strong>A generic FW enclosure with a 911 bridge should be just as good, if not better (that's what i have now).. and you can easily upgrade when the 92x burners or whatever come out
-robo</strong><hr></blockquote>
They're saying that 52x is probably the real end of the line for CD-RW drives. Any faster and the discs will break into pieces. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
And some interesting breaking news...Yamaha is getting out of the CD-RW drive business completely, according to Slashdot! That's a shame, really, since Yamaha burners rock.
They're saying that 52x is probably the real end of the line for CD-RW drives. Any faster and the discs will break into pieces. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
And some interesting breaking news...Yamaha is getting out of the CD-RW drive business completely, according to Slashdot! That's a shame, really, since Yamaha burners rock.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yup, Yamaha burners kick serious butt, and I'd recommend them to anyone in the market for an external CD-RW. Pity they're leaving the market.
Doesn't diminishing returns kick in at some point? Anything over 24x is going to deliver between 2-3 minutes, even 24x will do the job in just 3 min 20 sec.
An intriguing feature of the Yamaha burner is the ability to burn deeper pits into the disc, more like a studio pressed disc than a burn. Only works at 4X and you lose a little capacity but that's great for archiving or making a long lasting music disc.
I'd say look for price or features, at these speeds the differences mean nothing, unless someone makes a burner that can produce a disc in 20 secs I don't think you're going to notice too much difference betweenn 24-52X
<strong>Doesn't diminishing returns kick in at some point? Anything over 24x is going to deliver between 2-3 minutes, even 24x will do the job in just 3 min 20 sec.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yes, it's probably not worth it to add another head to a CD-RW drive. Writing with multiple heads is harder than reading with multiple heads too.
I don't mean to hijack this thread but letr me hijack it...I have a Smart&Friendly 12x4x32 Mack 12 cdrw that I purchased in yr 2000. I paid $650.00. It was the fastest in the market and I need the drive that day. My "burn to disk" fee paid for it already but now I'm trying to prolong its life.
Since SAF tanked right after I bought it, there is no support. Though Roxio's Toast Ti. 5.2 is compatible, Apple's iTunes or Disk Burn doesn't support it. Knowing that the drive is actually a Sanyo CDR-BP2, is there a way to flash it to acknowledge it as a Sanyo drive? I did some research and there is a flashing method but they are all .exe file method. Is it pointless to follow suit?
Secondly, I saw a thread a year ago in AI in which someone mentioned how to convert SCSI drives and burners to Firewire connection. Currently, this SAF 12x4x32 is hooked up to my Cube via Microtech SCSI/Frewire adapter. It works fine but I still have to deal with a massive, fat SCSI cable and terminal. It also does not behave as a true plug and play.
Thirdly, since This is an external burner, can I buy an internal drive that is like 44x burn (or something like it) and expect it to work, remember, this is a scsi burner.
Is there a scuzzy freak out there that'll give you a 75USD or more for it? Seems like too many problems to me. Sell it and get a cheapy IDE/firewire-case job.
Comments
It's more expensive than the various rebadged 52x Lite-Ons floating around, but it has Audio Master Q.R. and Disc T@2, which I actually use quite a bit. 44x vs 52x is a matter of seconds...
If you do get the CRW-F1, make sure you get the Mac version since the special features require the OEM packaged version of Toast.
EDIT: Nevermind... Saw your other thread. You'll probably faint after seeing the price of the Yamaha... I suggest getting an internal Lite-On 52x drive from NewEgg and an external FireWire enclosure.
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=27-106-184"; target="_blank">$54.00</a> without Mac software...
Any Oxford 911 based enclosure should do. These start ~$70.
[ 02-13-2003: Message edited by: Eugene ]</p>
Thanks though.
This would probably be the functional equivalent of the LaCie. It's probably the exact drive mechanism.
I'm not going to buy LaCie products anymore (also had a disappointing external HD).
A generic FW enclosure with a 911 bridge should be just as good, if not better (that's what i have now).. and you can easily upgrade when the 92x burners or whatever come out
-robo
<strong>A generic FW enclosure with a 911 bridge should be just as good, if not better (that's what i have now).. and you can easily upgrade when the 92x burners or whatever come out
-robo</strong><hr></blockquote>
They're saying that 52x is probably the real end of the line for CD-RW drives. Any faster and the discs will break into pieces. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
And some interesting breaking news...Yamaha is getting out of the CD-RW drive business completely, according to Slashdot! That's a shame, really, since Yamaha burners rock.
<strong>
They're saying that 52x is probably the real end of the line for CD-RW drives. Any faster and the discs will break into pieces. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
And some interesting breaking news...Yamaha is getting out of the CD-RW drive business completely, according to Slashdot! That's a shame, really, since Yamaha burners rock.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yup, Yamaha burners kick serious butt, and I'd recommend them to anyone in the market for an external CD-RW. Pity they're leaving the market.
Oh, and regarding speeds over 52x, i wonder if multiple lasers will see a return. Kenwood should dig out their TrueX technology.
-robo
An intriguing feature of the Yamaha burner is the ability to burn deeper pits into the disc, more like a studio pressed disc than a burn. Only works at 4X and you lose a little capacity but that's great for archiving or making a long lasting music disc.
I'd say look for price or features, at these speeds the differences mean nothing, unless someone makes a burner that can produce a disc in 20 secs I don't think you're going to notice too much difference betweenn 24-52X
<strong>Doesn't diminishing returns kick in at some point? Anything over 24x is going to deliver between 2-3 minutes, even 24x will do the job in just 3 min 20 sec.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yes, it's probably not worth it to add another head to a CD-RW drive. Writing with multiple heads is harder than reading with multiple heads too.
Since SAF tanked right after I bought it, there is no support. Though Roxio's Toast Ti. 5.2 is compatible, Apple's iTunes or Disk Burn doesn't support it. Knowing that the drive is actually a Sanyo CDR-BP2, is there a way to flash it to acknowledge it as a Sanyo drive? I did some research and there is a flashing method but they are all .exe file method. Is it pointless to follow suit?
Secondly, I saw a thread a year ago in AI in which someone mentioned how to convert SCSI drives and burners to Firewire connection. Currently, this SAF 12x4x32 is hooked up to my Cube via Microtech SCSI/Frewire adapter. It works fine but I still have to deal with a massive, fat SCSI cable and terminal. It also does not behave as a true plug and play.
Thirdly, since This is an external burner, can I buy an internal drive that is like 44x burn (or something like it) and expect it to work, remember, this is a scsi burner.