32x CD-RW Roundup Vol1

Review Pages

1. Introduction
2. Installation
3. Data Tests
4. CloneCD Tests
5. DAE Tests
6. CDR Tests - Page 1
7. CDR Tests - Page 2
8. Writing Quality Tests - Page 1
9. Writing Quality Tests - Page 2
10. CD-RW Tests
11. Conlcusion

32x CD-RW Roundup Vol 1 - Page 11

Conclusion

Freecom 32A
Positive (+)	Negative (-)
- Faster 32x Z-CLV recorder around! - 4Mb of buffer - Supports Burn-Proof - Can write any media at 32x writing speed but.... - Very good DAE speeds - Supports HS-RW standard - Supports DAO-RAW - Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data - Supports CD-Text (reading/writing) - Supports Overburning (up to 93mins) - Supports Ultra-DMA 33 connection interface - Has 2 years of warranty (applies only for Europe) - Complete retail package	- FleSS-BP quality monitor system seems not working correctly (or at all) since many C1/C2 errors produced even when 24x/32x CDR media used!!! - 20x CLV recording speed is slower than 16x-20x Z-CLV speed - Makes lot of noise when writing at 32x speed - Doesn't support 'Mt. Rainier' format - Very bad CloneCD reading performance (get another reader for such use) - Higher seek times than competition - Cannot handle AudioCDs with errors - DAO-RAW writing only at 16x speed - Failed to backup SD2 protected CDs - Low PSX ripping speed - WinXP in-compatibility (?) - Failed to read 99min CDs

LiteOn LTR-32123S
Positive (+)	Negative (-)
- Supports 32x writing (Z-CLV) speed - Supports 12x re-writing (CLV) speed - "Smart-BURN" anti-coaster technology - Has build-in media quality detection system - Low C1 errors when 24x/32x CDR media used - Very good data reading performance with both CDR/pressed media - Good re-writing/packet writing performance - Good DAE speeds - Supports HS-RW standard - Supports DAO-RAW - Good CloneCD reading performance - Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data - Can produce 100% SD2 backups - Supports CD-Text (reading/writing) - Supports Overburning (up to 99mins) - Supports Ultra-DMA 33 connection interface - Complete retail package (includes Nero/80min HS-RW media)	- Is the slowest recorder at all recording speeds compared to the rest 32x recorders - Doesn't support writing speeds below 8X - Only 2Mb of buffer - Doesn't support 'Mt. Rainier' format - Has high spin-up times that causes lower DAE performance than competition - Many DAE errors when scratched media being used - Low PSX ripping speed - Failed to read 99min CDs - Cannot "read" protected AudioCDs

The Freecom 32A and LiteOn LTR-32123S come after Mitsumi CR-480ATE to clear the clouds about the 32x recording speed. Many users expected that the 32x recorders would offer a major performance upgrade over the 24x recorders. The truth is that only Freecom 32A offers a noticeable time difference (20ses) against the faster 24x recorder (Yamaha CRW3200E). That time difference with 74min CDs is even smaller (14secs) which should make you start thinking if such small time differences are important. The Freecom 32A may have proved the faster recorder around, for now, but its produced written CDs contained not only C1 but also C2 errors. This isn't acceptable since your written discs could end up un-readable by several readers.

Getting more in details we must also note that: the drive's 20x CLV writing speed is slower than 20 Z-CLV speed, lot of noise is produced when writing at 32x, CloneCD users should look for a good reader since the drive's performance is very poor, cannot backup SD2 CDs and we cannot guarantee that the drive is able to co-operate with WinXP (at least we didn't manage to). On the bright side, the drive has very good DAE performance and 2 years of warranty (applies only for Europe).

An alternative point of view

Maybe this last point should make you think again, about buying (or not) a 32x Recorder… especially in the case that you already have one which can burn at a decent speed (let's say 20x/24x) and considering an upgrade. Are 20 seconds less, really a difference? From our point of view we wouldn't think so. If you MUST go for an upgrade then you might want to look elsewhere; let's say the DVD-R / DVD-RW market. The speed is not THAT impressive there either, but... you will be able to burn disks that contain up to 4.7 GB of data, together with the 'cheap' CDR media you are now using. Besides, the future of the Media recording certainly is NOT lying on the CDR market anymore.

The LiteOn LTR-32123S supports not only "32x" recording speed but also 12x re-writing speed, which makes it directly comparable to Mitsumi CR-480ATE. The drive's writing performance was the lower among the 3 tested drive since at almost all recording tests, the LiteOn drive came last (after Freecom 32A and Mitsumi CR-480ATE). Firmware updates can improve drive's writing performance. The drive's built-in detection system will prevent users from writing low quality media at the 24x/32x speeds and the produced CDs will have very good writing quality as our tests results have shown. CloneCD users will be satisfied with both the ability to backup SD2 CDs and the fairly good reading performance. Last you would be able to write 99min CDs but not sure if you could read them afterwards.

It's quite interesting how good behaviour Mitsumi CR-480ATE had, even if the drive was an engineering sample with a beta firmware. The Mitsumi CR-480ATE has 2 unique features: It supports 16Mb Buffer and 'Mt. Rainier' format. Its not the faster 32x recorder, but has very good writing quality. The drive's weakest point ,against LiteOn LTR-32123S, is the lack of backup SD2 CDs...

Since both Freecom/LiteOn drives come from retail packages which most consumers will buy shortly after Xmas, this roundup offers an overview off all positive/negative points. Many other manufacturers are expected to ship 32x recorders during 2002 but as it seems, only the 40x/48x P-CAV recorders will be able to offer a real performance difference from the 24x recorders.

Merry Xmas And a Happy New Year!