Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Sup Foo · Jan 2, 2001, 06:49 PM

I am looking for the best firewire cd-r.

I have read reviews in Macworld and Macaddict and narrowed it down to Que 12x8x32 firewire. According to the magazines, it's the best. However, I have read as much as I could on these forums, and about half have problems with the Que 12x8x32 firewire burning audio, and the others don't.

So which burner is the best for both data AND audio?

My machine:
Mac G4, 400mhz
320 mags RAM
20 gig HD
Toast 4.1.2

Cipher13 · Jan 2, 2001, 07:00 PM

Yamaha 8824FXZ or whatever.
Get the external Yamaha CRW8824.
Best there is unless you want to step up to the Yamaha LightSpeed burner, which is 16x10x40 I think.
Yamaha is the best name in the business.

Cipher13

rambo47 · Jan 2, 2001, 08:17 PM

I'll second Cipher's vote for the Yamaha. On his recommendation I got the Yamaha 8824 FireWire and it's the bomb! Fast, easy, and no coasters.

------------------
"There is no spoon."
iDisk: rseijas
Homepage: homepage.mac.com/rseijas

mitchell_pgh · Jan 4, 2001, 10:40 AM

Where is the best place to buy the Yamaha CRW8824 online price-wise?

suprz · Jan 4, 2001, 11:00 AM

cipher, does yamaha make a external usb cd burner? i can seem to locate one on the website...i will buy a yamaha anyways, (i'll go with an external and get a enclosure case that goes to usb)it would just be easier and cheaper the other way

------------------
" I think,
therefore....IMAC

marusin · Jan 4, 2001, 11:30 AM

I highly highly highly recommend the Yamaha Drive... It is fantastic and I have not burned a coaster (>300 cds burned!) while owning it!

You can pick it up at www.outpost.com (with no shipping and FREE Overnight Delivery!)... Order it today and you'll be burning flawless discs tomorrow...

-Mike

Sup Foo · Jan 5, 2001, 03:18 PM

Thank you for the replies!

However, I thought people would be raving about burners with plextor mechanisms. Most people I have talked about burners with say Plextor is very reliable.

Thanks again.

Cipher13 · Jan 5, 2001, 04:04 PM

No, Yamaha don't make USB burners... and I don't recommend one anyway.
If you're gonna upgrade your computer any time at all soon, wait till you have a computer with a higher throughput port, like FireWire...

Forget Plextor, Yamaha is the best there is. Yamaha mechanism, Yamaha burner, Yamaha enclosure...

Cipher13

[This message has been edited by Cipher13 (edited 01-05-2001).]

suprz · Jan 5, 2001, 06:36 PM

oh well, i was planning on getting a ibook with the tax return money anyways.....i guess i'll just have to wait.

------------------
" I think,
therefore....IMAC

Joshua · Jan 5, 2001, 09:15 PM

I got the Que!Fire 12x/10x/32x as a Christmas gift, and I've used it to burn over 40 CD's so far without a single coaster. My only issue with it was that they shipped it with a UK power cord, which was quickly and easily remedied.

So if you're looking for a high-quality burner, I wouldn't rule it out.

Josh

Jan 6, 2001, 10:31 AM

I got the Sony Spressa CRX1600L 12x8x32 Firewire and I have had absolutely no problems with it. I've burned over 50 CD's with it and zero coasters so far. The only problem is that the software sucks, but I'm getting Toast pretty soon. CNET rated it much higher than the QUE drive also, by the way....

ddiokno · Jan 7, 2001, 08:43 AM

Originally posted by saul1181:
I got the Sony Spressa CRX1600L 12x8x32 Firewire and I have had absolutely no problems with it. I've burned over 50 CD's with it and zero coasters so far. The only problem is that the software sucks, but I'm getting Toast pretty soon. CNET rated it much higher than the QUE drive also, by the way....

I second the Sony Spressa! It is awesome and was a huge step up from the 4x I was using! Nothing like burning a full cd-r in 4 and a half minutes! I would also agree that Discribe software pales in comparison to Toast Deluxe...
dave

Jan 7, 2001, 09:49 AM

Plextor scsi

Or

Lacie Firewire (uses the Plextor Mechanism)
http://www.macgurus.com

They have a lot of info and will only sell Plextor brand because of the quality

I am mot affilliated with them other than being a very happy customer

Also I am not against Yamaha but a drive that needs a firmware update everytime a new OS comes out is not for me

I have had 2 Plex's (4/2/20 and 12/4/32) both are still going strong and neither have ever needed an update of any kind to work on my G3 or G4, to work with the latest OS or to work with any scsi card I have ever had. (Initio, Jackhammer, and 2 different Orangemicro cards)

JeffO · Jan 7, 2001, 11:28 AM

I've got a Yamaha 8824 and it's great! Got it from outpost.com just over $300. You can probably find drives for less, and I considered a Que, but after reading these forums, I decided to go with Yamaha. I'm very glad that I did.

Jeff

Cipher13 · Jan 7, 2001, 05:54 PM

Originally posted by Lesliev:
Plextor scsi

Or

Lacie Firewire (uses the Plextor Mechanism)
http://www.macgurus.com

They have a lot of info and will only sell Plextor brand because of the quality

I am mot affilliated with them other than being a very happy customer

Also I am not against Yamaha but a drive that needs a firmware update everytime a new OS comes out is not for me

I have had 2 Plex's (4/2/20 and 12/4/32) both are still going strong and neither have ever needed an update of any kind to work on my G3 or G4, to work with the latest OS or to work with any scsi card I have ever had. (Initio, Jackhammer, and 2 different Orangemicro cards)

Please do NOT post information that you do not KNOW is correct without a DISCLAIMER.
I have had my Yamaha from OS 8.1 to 9.04 and NEVER updated the firmware on the drive once.
It is the CRW8424SX-VK.

Cipher13

Kryton · Jan 13, 2001, 06:12 PM

My vote goes to the Sony CRX 1600 -A2 RP (12x8x32)

It's very fast, reliable, solidly built and (in my case at least - I've got the European Model) came with Toast and Retrospect Express (and other software).

Hervon · Jan 13, 2001, 09:47 PM

I agree with Sup Foo, a Plextor mecanism is great. I have a Pyro Firewire enclosure with a plextor 12x10x32 with burnproff. Great combinaison!

ciao

Smokerz · Jan 14, 2001, 08:33 PM

Sony 12 firewire is the most reliable by far. The repliers should state things like this to be more accurate with their opinion:
G4/500 512 megs sdram,OS 9.0.4 and 9.1 Toast 4.1.2 with Sony Firewire burner. Never a problem with Disk at Once. I owned Yamaha 4x and 6x scsi with Toast 3.5.7 and Toast 4.1.2 without problems. I also owned the Yamaha 16x light speed which decided on it's own to burn at Disk at Once. 50% coasters including the 8x firewire .. too expensive firewire drive. Burners should work right out of the box with no screwing around. I used to be a huge Yamaha fan.

LY · Jan 15, 2001, 11:44 AM

At MacWorld expo saw the Formac firewire 12x10x32, was bus powered and had burn proof for $299. Seemed
like a great price, I was sold.

zigzag · Jan 18, 2001, 03:24 PM

Just for your info, the current issue of MacHome raves about a Sony Firewire CDRW - I don't remember the model number. I don't vouch for the magazine or the Sony - just passing the info on.

FWIW, it's my understanding that the QUE uses a Plextor mechanism but anyone with different info is welcome to correct me on this.

marksie · Jan 20, 2001, 10:40 AM

Originally posted by Joshua:
I got the Que!Fire 12x/10x/32x as a Christmas gift, and I've used it to burn over 40 CD's so far without a single coaster. My only issue with it was that they shipped it with a UK power cord, which was quickly and easily remedied.

So if you're looking for a high-quality burner, I wouldn't rule it out.

Josh

Thunderbird · Jan 20, 2001, 11:19 AM

My vote goes to the Que!Fire. It burns CD's very quickly, comes bundled with Toast, and has generally not given me any problems.

Thunderbird · Jan 20, 2001, 11:20 AM

Also, the problems with the Que!Fire burning audio CD's has (to my knowledge) been fixed with the latest update to Toast.

Jan 21, 2001, 08:24 PM

My yamaha 8824 really rocks. Couldn't be happier.