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rgruber · Sep 4, 2001, 03:52 PM

I know the topic has been done to death but I wanted a CD-RW with the following specs:

1) $300 or less
2) Quiet
3) Not biege
4) Works with iTunes, Diskburner and Retrospect out of the box with no fiddeling. Not sure if this is possible as Retrospect might need it's own extension set but this is preferable.
5) Good tech support
6) 12x or over. Speed not crucial.
7) Comes with Retrospect (not crucial)

I was leaning towards the Sony 12x10x32. Only drawbacks are tech support and I don't think Retrospect will work with Diskburner.

Que looks good but I've heard bad things about their tech support and reliability.

Yamaha is ugly and expensive, but reliable.

The new Lacie 24x looks good but I read somewhere that it's loud.

Any others? Maybe a firewire case and ATA burner?

TIA

milhaus · Sep 4, 2001, 05:45 PM

I'm wondering why the concern about noise from an external CD-R? The Lacies are great drives, with excellent support, but yes, they are noisy. I'd rethink the importance of this feature, only because CDRWs aren't meant to be on all the time. They actually will last longer if they are switched on just for burns, and then shut down, meaning that the noise should only be a problem when burning - this is why I'd be cautious in unsing the CDRW as the startup drive, or as a main CD-ROM. But if you want nice features and a trustworthy burner, you should try the Formac, which has the added bonus of being bus-powered and is supposedly pretty quiet.
M.

Skywalkers new Hand · Sep 4, 2001, 07:13 PM

Originally posted by milhaus:
I'm wondering why the concern about noise from an external CD-R?

Are you kidding? Why would we want a LaCie Vacuum with a big clicky switch in the back? My friend had a LaCie and got rid of it after 4 months because the fan and turning it on and off drove him nuts.

I have a QPS and leave it on all the time as like to hit eject have the door pop open, burn and leave it as it. No fan, no fuss, no problem.

Were did you hear this nonsense that the drives last longer if shut off all the time. It does not say a thing about that in my manuals. Who here has ever had a drive die after a while just because they left it on to much?

JFischel · Sep 4, 2001, 08:09 PM

Do not under any circumstance order from Fomac. They have this shitty policy about their price adjustments. I ordered one of their 24X firewire drives for $389. Sometime within 10 days of my order they dropped the price $60 and refuse to process a refund of the difference. Granted they have the right to protect their business from people coming back after 60 or 90 days demanding a refund, but not giving a refund after a scant 10 days is nothing short of a shitty business practice.

Sep 4, 2001, 09:36 PM

search on dealnn.

If you ordered before Aug 25th or so there was a $90 rebate on the Formac 24x!!!!!!! Must be postmarked soon so hurry.

Skywalkers new Hand · Sep 5, 2001, 12:33 AM

Originally posted by <formacrebate>:
search on dealnn.

If you ordered before Aug 25th or so there was a $90 rebate on the Formac 24x!!!!!!! Must be postmarked soon so hurry.

Lots of people are complaining about that offer as it comes with a version of toast lite that does not even support the drive. Not to mention that the drive is cheap and loud.

rgruber · Sep 5, 2001, 09:50 AM

Originally posted by Skywalkers new Hand:

I have a QPS and leave it on all the time as like to hit eject have the door pop open, burn and leave it as it. No fan, no fuss, no problem.?

Which QPS do you have and how do you like it? What software are you using?

milhaus · Sep 5, 2001, 11:42 AM

Originally posted by Skywalkers new Hand:


Are you kidding? Why would we want a LaCie Vacuum with a big clicky switch in the back? My friend had a LaCie and got rid of it after 4 months because the fan and turning it on and off drove him nuts.

I have a QPS and leave it on all the time as like to hit eject have the door pop open, burn and leave it as it. No fan, no fuss, no problem.

Were did you hear this nonsense that the drives last longer if shut off all the time. It does not say a thing about that in my manuals. Who here has ever had a drive die after a while just because they left it on to much?

I would hardly say that QPS has a good reputation for customer service, and don't bother trying to get rebates from them, unless you're willing to do some work.

I'd say the "nonsense" is common sense, given mean time between failure ratings for CDRWs. Of course, it's no "guarantee" that if you leave your drive on all the time it will fail after a certain period of time, but statistically it has a greater chance of failure with more burns, and more time on. Do with that information what you will. I think I might have read something about it on www.xlr8yourmac.com (perhaps in the drive compatibility database - by Mike B.), but don't quote me on that.

And I admit the Lacie is noisy, especially the FW versions. My Lacie USB hardly made any noise at all, but the new burner is quite loud. But Lacie has excellent support, as mentioned above. You may be fortunate with your Que!, but a lot of people haven't been.

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Sep 5, 2001, 12:32 PM

Originally posted by milhaus:
[QB]

I would hardly say that QPS has a good reputation for customer service, and don't bother trying to get rebates from them, unless you're willing to do some work./QB]

I don't need customer service because nothing has gone wrong with the drive in a year. I also don't have any rebates from them.

Yes, some people have had problems with the USB Que drives but the firewire ones seem to be solid.

I have the 12x10x32 Drive for 10 months now and it has burnt over 60 CD all with no problems at all.

It came with Toast 4 lite but I have Toast 5 now.

iTunes loves it. My Mac loves it. I love it.

JFischel · Sep 5, 2001, 03:21 PM

Has anyone actually been able to get a response out of Formac about their policies? It's very possible I am blind, but nowhere on the web site does it say that the drive ships with Toast Lite, it says Toast 5. I can't get anyone on the phone, their marketing and accounting numbers go directly to a voice mail system. 2 emails have gone unanswered. I'm really upset about their changing of prices and not adjusting and order that was less than 48 hours old. I'm not sure if it will accomplish anything, but the California Better Business Bureau has a simple web form. I'd encourage anyone who has had problems with Formac to try to work things out with them in a responsible "adult" manner, failing that hit the BBB web page.

.jaf.

pjkim · Sep 5, 2001, 07:52 PM

I have a QPS QueFire CDRW drive and can't recommend it at all. The drive worked fine when I first got it last October. It is now making screeching noises and refusing to burn CDs. I have been calling tech support for the past month and a half. I stay on the line for 15-20 minutes and give up- I leave a message with my phone number (they say they will call back). They haven't returned any of my calls yet. I have emailed them also- no reply.

Their customer support is rather lacking. I can't recommend QPS. Basically you get a drive with a "As Is" warranty.

Their rebate is also a no show after 5 months.

Peter

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Sep 5, 2001, 10:32 PM

Well I am sorry to hear that. On another note out of the 6 Mac's that I have owned. 4 of them had to be completely replaced as they were defective. Apple's support was bad, they did not fix anything without a fight and allot of fuss.

If I were to recommend a computer based on this experience Apple would not be it.

I will continue to buy Mac's though as obviously not all of them are defective or nobody would buy one.

Judge for yourself.