Best Recorder?

[mag046]

No prob...most of my purchases come from Newegg. I know that I pay a little more, but their customer support, tracking, and user reviews are very important to my purchasing habits. It is nice to have a site with pictures, and extensive product information all on one page...

I use pricewatch as the search engine for prices and availability of products. Then I compare that to Newegg to make my decision. You also never know, a few times I have found some gems on PriceWatch. Just depends on how much risk you a willing to accept for a lower bottom line on cost.

It is also interesting to find that one site may have a product for 25$ cheaper, but they charge you 29$ for "shipping and handling"...lol...

Yep...PriceWatch is a priceless resource for info to compare purchases to.

later...

 

[shadoe_phantom]

PC-GUY
Firstly Plextor is not crap. It has been the CD-RW drive king for many years.
If you ask the long standing members here or elsewhere you will see that they are not crap at all.
They might not be the fastest/cheapest but are probably the most consistent and come in the top 3 for everything else (always).
Ofcourse you can buy other brands that are also very good (just as good or even better for some things) eg: Lite-On, Yamaha, Asus (some), Teac... but never known anyone to say Plex are crap lol.
I don't see many refurbished Lite-Ons, but I see plenty of dead ones.
In anycase, best burner/cdrw drive?
All depends on your needs. Audio ripping, etc... Yamaha or Plextor... Games, etc... Lite-On, Teac, Asus (some), Plextor (some),
Data, etc... most will do.

Well at least that's my opinion lol (my 4 cents)

 

[treepeter]

For me it is my Asus CRW-3212!
He burns all with copy protection, and i think the quality is also very good!
so on,
Greetz to all !

 

[soundforbjt]

I had a Lite-On 163 dvd drive die on me and I had a replacement in my rig in 5 days. My 40x burner has never failed me and I paid after rebates and coupons $9.95 US + sales tax for it!!

 

[roadworker]

For me it is my Asus CRW-3212!
He burns all with copy protection, and i think the quality is also very good!
so on,
Greetz to all !

I have an Asus 40X and uninstalled it in favor of my LiteOn 40125S.....Better performance,and copies protected audio,unlike my Asus...

 

[The-poacher]

yep liteon for me

 

[weboneando]

When the money is an issue the best option is a Lite-on but when you want the best general solution for me the Plextor is above everything

 

[treepeter]

maybe Plextor had the best quality but you cannot copy Safdisk2.xx , or can you copy this disc protection ??

 

[Sorondil]

maybe Plextor had the best quality but you cannot copy Safdisk2.xx , or can you copy this disc protection ??

Yes you can. I just did a test tonight with a 2410A. I had no problems with BlindeWrite, CloneCd Alcohol120% making a working back-up copy of MOH:AA Sprearhead which is SD2.80.10.

 

[Phil K]

Had both Plex and Lite-on. Lite-on shades it. Less problems. Better back up with Plextor though. Thats what you pay for. Quite superb their back-up is.

 

[JohnnyRock]

I'd like to add my 2 ¢ to this discussion.

I listen to cdr's at work every night for hours, with about 4 people bringing music in. We've used various music sources (that is, MP3's / original copies / compilation from either) and various equipment. One buddy uses a 40x Lite On, another a 48x TDK, a third a Teac 8x and myself a new Yamaha CRWF1.

The music brought in by the first guy (Lite on) always has mistracking problems (he claims to always burn at 4x), the TDK sometimes has problems and the Teac and Yamaha have never had a problem. The ghetto blaster is a JVC and the cdr's are various (basically, whatever's on sale). I have used both the Teac (I sold it to my buddy actually) and always overburn my compilation cds' (nearly always from original material but occasionally from mp3's if necessary) to over 82 min on some selections.

I have no real experience with the Lite on or TDK other than what I've reported but I've blackballed both of those names based on this problem. Also, although I can't do safedisc 2.5x safedisc as well as lite on, all the games I have ever backed up have worked on my hardware using the same burner. This renders even the safedisc arguement moot. I believe you get what you pay for and I did pay more for the Yamaha than either the Lite on or TDK (though not much more). Also note I havent used the Audio Master Quality (least not for "work" cds), and that I do most of my burning at 8x and up.

Since my biggest application is audio cds, I think I own the best burner. Feel free to take this information as gospel, because it is accurate......

 

[dx]

Feel free to take this information as gospel, because it is accurate......

Although I may agree that the Yamaha F1 is probably the best burner currently out there, I would be careful in saying, "feel free to take this information as gospel, because it is accurate...... " When you say this, you are saying that there is really no other truth. That your experience is the only one?! It sounds a wee bit arrogant bud.

Your gospel also assumes that Yamaha consistantly make the best drives and this is certainly not true.

Now I have heard of the same scenario with other burners like the Yamaha, Plextor, and LiteOn having issues with CD players. To do a true test with your friend's JVC ghetto blaster, you must use the same blanks, the same burning proggy, the same source music, burn at the same speeds. etc. Even the person burning the CDR is a big factor (some peeps really don't know what the hell they are doing ). Plus, you must try these burned discs on more that just a JVC ghetto blaster (who is to say that it works 100% properly?! ).

One of the biggest things I have personally noticed with CD player incompatibilities is the CDR/W die layer. Some lasers have reading issues with those layers. For example, my friend has a Nakamichi CD changer in his Mercedes. It is one of the most picky players I have ever seen. We tried different recorders Yamaha, Plextor, Mitsui, LiteOn and it make no difference. It wasn't until we switched to TDK Taiyo Yuden CDR media that his Nakamichi tracking problems went away.

There are lots of peeps here that have great experience with LiteOn (this is but one of many threads), Plextor, and Yamaha. Each has its pluses and minuses, but if you purchase any one of these burners you should be fine. And if you look at the professional reviews out there, all three of these drives manufacturers are at the tops of the lists. But at the end of the day you must purchase what makes you happy. If Yamaha makes you happy, so be it


As an addendum: I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Yamaha is getting out of the CDRW business. Yep, its sad to say but the F1 seems to be the last great CDRW from Yamaha. Doh
http://www.cdrbase.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27192

 

[Duracell]

... I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Yamaha is getting out of the CDRW business. Yep, its sad to say but the F1 seems to be the last great CDRW from Yamaha. Doh ...

How become a legend? ==> leave the world in your best time;


Greetings from
Duracell

 

[Wedge]

observation

Plus, you must try these burned discs on more that just a JVC ghetto blaster (who is to say that it works 100% properly?! ).

I have slowly come to realize how true this is. Players can be picky. What works fine on one player may not on another.

I understand that many arguments are made in favor of one drive over another, but in the end, the "best" is that which works "best" for you.


EDIT: btw, where can I find one of these Yamaha F1s in the states at a killer bargain? dxkim? Chime in bud. I know you know.

 

[dx]

Re: observation

btw, where can I find one of these Yamaha F1s in the states at a killer bargain? dxkim? Chime in bud. I know you know.

Go to Pricewatch.com or your fav price search engine. I'm seeing them for $80-110 USD at this time. Just be carefull, as some of them are OEM.