Plextor vs. LiteOn Burners

[LawyerRon]

I'm considering picking up a burner this weekend at Mwave and can get the LiteOn 16X (Retail Box) for $82.00. LiteOn has been getting some very good press lately.

Or, I can get the Plextor 12X (Retail) for $117.00 less $30.00 rebate for $87.00 net.

Which is a better deal? The LiteOn is faster but Plextor has a great reputation.

[Cricket]

Hi LawyerRon,

Tough decision. I don't have any experience with the Lite-On CD-RW's so I'll have to go with the Plextor 12/10/32. I have one and have installed a few for some friends and so far no one has complained. I also have a 16x Plextor and the difference in burning time between the two isn't very much.

Cricket

[HAL9000]

Ron, we've been selling the LiteOn CDRW's in our shop since August of 2000 and have yet to have a single return. I read somewhere that the LiteOn CDRW's are based on Ricoh mechanics. We've been selling their DVD's as well for a few months now and so far so good. I wouldn't touch their CD-Roms though, they are junk.

[RJ]

I'd go with the Plextor, but I'd wait a month because after the release of the PlexWriter 40/12/40A in mid. february the prices will certainly drop.

RJ

[TwoRails]

Hi LawyerRon,

Here's my two cents worth. The Plextor wins almost every review I've read, with TDK edging it out once in a while. That is a very good price for the unit, since it was about double that price just a short time ago.

My pick: Plextor

TwoRails

PS: I own the TDK 16-10-40 for two reasons: 1) it, along with the Plextor, are usually concidered the best choices in reviews, 2) the Plextor was not available out here in the sticks where I live...

[LawyerRon]

I'm still on the fence, keep the opinions coming. Hal's comments carry a lot of weight.

[TwoRails]

Hi LawyerRon,

One thing to consider, to be pushed over one side of the fence or the other, is what software comes which each unit?? Some older Plextors, like the one your considering, were "dinked" in reviews for having "out dated" software when the unit was new! (Not sure of which models, though).

Maybe Hal can shed some light on the supporting software in his units???

TwoRails


PS: this is one of the couple main issues when I choose the TDK over the Plextor....

[HAL9000]

We just sold a Plextor 16x and it came with Easy CD Creator 5, not sure what the 12x comes with. All the LiteOn's that we've been pushing out the door come with the latest version of Nero.

[babylon5guy]

Hi LawyerRon,
I build a couple of PC's a month on average and the last 6 or 7 I've built I've used Lite-on and they are all running flawlessley. As Hal9000 said they all came with the latest version of Nero which is my favorite burning software. Plextor is the best IMHO but for the money you can't beat those Lite-on's! Oh and by the way I had a couple of them that wanted to be the master on the IDE channel for some reason, so if you have trouble with it being slave, switch it to master.
HTH

[Robert Houghton]

RJ

40/12/40A, at these speeds you should cut a CD in about 1 1/2 minutes. I have the 24/10/40A and couldn't imagine anything faster. My vote goes with the Plextor, mine came with Nero software and glad of it. EZ Creator is death when matched with WindowsXP.

Bob H.

[RJ]

Actually faster burners don't make much sense.
The PlexWriter 40/12/40, for example, does not start with 40x burning. It starts with 16x, then goes to 24x, and at 56min. CD-position it reaches 40x, so it needs about 3 min. (179 sec) to burn a 80min. cd.

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News...RelatedID=1884
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News...RelatedID=1888

They better invest their research time for developing DVD burners. This would make more sense since faster CD-burners can't lower the burning time noticeable anymore.

RJ

[Vladiator16]

LawyerRon


Check Newegg's prices on the Liteon. Your can get a a 24x10x40 for $87.00 shipped. I've been using the Liteon 16x for about 5 months with absolutely no problems. It's a quality drive at an excellent price. Here's the link to newegg.com. I order all my stuff through this site. Best prices and reasonable shipping too.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...ry=1336&DEPA=1


Vlad

[Michael]

My Lite On 16x burns about anything I throw at it.....over 100 burns now without a coaster. This board http://www.cdrom-guide.com/forums/index.php repeatedly compares the Lite On and Plextor drives to each other. Lite On being the price point favorite, Plextor the fave for it's excellent warranty support. As for reliability both drives are highly recommended by that forums users. I also have an LG 16x that is very quiet and seems like a better build that the Lite On. They were recently on sale at best buy for $49 after rebate.

[Michael]

example of Lite On's growing popularity:
http://www.cdrom-guide.com/forums/sh...?threadid=5390

[Jenni]

I bought an Acer 24x burner, and have yet to have it burn at 24x. My CDROM (a 50x!) can't keep up with the 24x burning speed, so the burn-proof kicks in repeatedly, and the disc won't read in anything but the burner. Prassi rates my CDROM at 14.6x and burns at 12x. EZCD doesn't support my burner and will only burn at 12x. Nero works just fine at 16x though, so that's what I've been using. I could copy everything to the HDD first, but if I'm gonna do that, what's the point of having a fast burner?

On the same subject, who makes a good, fast CDROM drive, one that's good for DAE and data extraction? And don't say Sony. I had one, and I hated it. I've been looking at LG's drives. But I don't think the DAE is very fast on them. Any other recommendations?

[Michael]

The Lite On 52x cdrom has very good DAE. I believe it was ranked in the top 5 at one site that focuses on DAE (lost the link, sorry). Lite On cdroms don't carry the reputation for reliability as do their cdrws. Another top notch unit is the LTD 163 dvd from Lite On. Great DAE. I'm using one and it has no problems keeping up with the burner. I've also heard that TEAC makes a very good, quiet and reliable cdrom that handles dae like a pro. Use this link and search a few posts http://www.cdrom-guide.com/forums/index.php

also http://www.sysopt.com/userreviews/cd...shiba_48X.html

[LawyerRon]

Someone educate me. What is DAE?

[HAL9000]

DAE = Digital Audio Extraction

[Michael]

Hi Ron,
here's more than you might want to know About DAE (no, it's not an acronym for District Attorney Emeritus....LOL)....

http://www.emediapro.net/em1999/starrett7.html

[LawyerRon]

Michael,
You're quite funny. Stick around. And thanks for the link.

[casey]

Hi Jenni
The LG is a very good drive but DAE is limited to 6 - 8 x
Aopen makes a very good CD Rom Model 952 = 52x & Model 956 = 56x
Check on the label on top of the CD Rom (yellow) for firmware AKH.
I can copy Audio at 16x on the fly. Will do a quick test and will post exact spec's (audio and data extraction speed) a bit later on the forum.

[casey]

Right, here is the results: Program used NERO CD SPEED ver.085
AUDIOTest CD: U2 The Joshua Tree)
Start 16x
Max 24x
Average 22x

DATA: (Test CD: Windows ME Install CD)
Start 24x
Max 47x
Average 36x

This CD Rom is of very high quality, very quit, uses Dynamic Damping System and is solidly build.Have bought about 10 in the last 8 weeks. Use them in all systems I build.

[Floppyman]

For fast DAE the Plextor 40x SCSI cdrom is one of the best. It supports up to 40x DAE.

[casey]

On a slightly cheaper note: LG8160b CDRW (16x) and brilliant quality too can do Audio 19x - 39x
For other drives check this site: www.cdspeed2000.com

[mc2phat]

I'd still go with the Plextor, just because it's Plextor. I'm leery of anything LG makes simply because I have seen too many LG drives in Compaqs.

[Michael]

Casey, nice specs but the Lite On DVD LTD163 Averages 30x, as does the Lite On 526S cdrom. To be fair though that is on a 700mb plus disc....I doubt U2's Joshua tree is that long so the dae x's will be slower. Could you post your specs again using a full length disc? Hendrix's Electric LadyLand is a good one to use as test disc. Rule of thumb: DAE should be twice the speed of your burner (give or take a few x's). Cd writers, just as most cdroms, do not write at their max speed across the entire disc, so a 16x writer need not have 32x dae at the ripping source, but it's best to come as close as possible just to have some headroom.

[nightfishing]

I've had my Lite-On for about a week and I love it.

$79 for a 24x, gotta love it.

I found the receipt for my Ricoh 4x and I paid almost $300 for it (shipping excluded).

You can't go wrong w/ a Plextor, but the Lite-ons are excellent machines.

[casey]

I know the Liteon is king of the hill, but in this country nobody has even heard of Liteon.!! When I mention the name in PC shops and at one of the biggest suppliers, if not the biggest in South Africa, they look at me as if I am from mars!!(Get the Memorex writers though)
Your'e right that DAE varies on music cd,s cd length and have also noticed that cd's of the same time, but where the one has say 8 songs and the other 12 differ with up to 15%
Will post other specs asap.
Great form!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[casey]

Here it is.
LG 8160b 16 speed
Test CD:Queen greatest hits: CD no 2
CD Length 75:57:67
Start 19.01x
Maximun 41.72x
Average 31.75x

[Michael]

Interesting (and fabulous x btw). I have the same LG burner and I get around 13x average. It's setup on the highpoint eide 3 controller though. Maybe I'll move it over to eide 1 and see what happens. My 16x Lite On averages around 26. I never use my burners for DAE anyway (always use cdrom/dvd). This is somewhat off topic for this thread. It might be interesting to start a new one and have anyone interested post their model and DAE x's. If ya wanna "burn on the fly" it's essential that your source drive is a speedy one.