Conclusion

This roundup includes six new 40x CD-RW drives from CyberDrive, LG, Mitsumi, Samsung, WAITEC and TDK. The drives have several differences compared to what we have so far tested. The main changes are the P-CAV writing technology (LG), the 16x re-writing speed (CyberDrive) and 20x writing speed with blank HS-RW media (Mitsumi). Let's now see each drive positive and negative points:

a) CyberDrive CW078D: Without any doubt, this is the faster 40x recorder at this roundup, and generally in the 40x recorder category. The smart implementation of Zone-CLV manages to overpass the P-CAV writing technology. The drive also leads the race, providing the fastest re-writing speed of 16x (CLV). The DAE reading speeds are high and Mt. Rainier will be supported with future firmware upgrade. The price (120 Euros) is very attractive. On the negative side, the drive needs major improvement in the writing quality and it's reading speed with protected & PSX discs. Lastly, reading of Audio CD-R media needs further tuning because the drive returns many reading errors.

b) LG GCE-8400B: This is second faster 40x recorder that uses P-CAV instead of Zone-CLV recording technology. The drive could take the first place in the recording tests if CyberDrive wasn't present. The media compatibility and writing quality are very good, supports hardware EFM correction, it has a more quiet operation than the rest drives when reading/writing and includes 2 years of warranty offered. On the negative side, the drive is slower in the data/DAE reading speeds - due to lower maximum reading speed (40x), is SLOW when reading protected CDs and cannot 'handle' any protected Audio disc.

c) Mitsumi CR-485C: The drive supports 20x writing of blank HS-RW media, has good writing quality, can read fast and data protected discs and 'handle' protected Audio discs, offers Mt. Rainier out of the box and 2years of warranty. On the negative side, the drive is slower than its competitors at both writing/reading speeds, supports software EFM correction and lowers the maximum reading speed to 40x with CD-R media.

d) TDK CyClone 401248B: A balanced solution that offers Mt. Rainier, hardware EFM correction, writing of any media at 40x (with SmartBurn disabled) and good DAE reading performance. On the negative side, it cannot handle protected Audio discs, it is slow with protected data discs and produces low quality discs with Mitsui 40x media. There is the possibility that soon a new firmware upgrade will offer faster recording with the adoption of P-CAV writing technology, making it even more appealing!

e) Samsung SW-240B: It has to compete drives with faster maximum reading speed and higher average recording speeds. On the positive side we can say that drive has a good DAE ripping quality, high speed when reading protected discs, can 'handle' some Audio protected discs and has a low operation noise. On the negative side, it needs major improvement in the recording stability/quality and supports only software EFM correction.

f) WAITEC Storm40: WAITEC's proposal for the 40x recording speed offers a very high DAE reading speed, good writing quality, protected Audio discs ripping (partly) a 2 year-warranty. On the negative side, the drive supports only software EFM correction, RAW writing is performed at 16x and failed to recognize written 99min discs and our bad DAE test disc.

With so many different proposals at the 40x writing speed, the choice is for sure difficult. Each user much balances its needs and decides which drive fits best for him. As a final remark we list the retail prices of each drive as suggested from manufacturers or found over www.pricewatch.com

CyberDrive CW078D: $115
LG GCE-8400B: $100-115
Mitsumi CR-485C: ???
Samsung SW-240B: ???
TDK CyClone 401248B: $125
WAITEC Storm40: $145