So what's a good cd burner to get ... ??

Plextor now source their drives from a variety of different manufacturers. Some of them are capable of doing low level error checks using a new program called PlexUtilities but the scanning is less comprehensive than that on the older Plextools.

I'm currently using a batch of JVC branded discs. With the exception of one disc that had a C2 error, they look to be similar in quality to the other Taiyo Yuden discs that I've used.

James.

Would you ever trust a used drive off of eBay?  Try getting a Plextor 850, perhaps?  Or the older 716 series?

At least if Plextor is still supporting some level of quality checking, you're ahead of the game compared to other drives where there's nothing by flying blind.

I do have to say that a basic Pioneer DVD burner that someone gave me for my home computer (probably worth $65) writes DVDs as well as the "better" Plextor 716 that I still have at work.  Both tested on the 716 with Plextools, of course.

Okay MC,  you convinced me. I just ordered a band new Plextor 870A with LightScribe cd/dvd burner. It comes with PlexUTILITIES and Nero 9 Essentials software.

Thanks everybody for your input !!

http://cgi.ebay.com/PLEXTOR-PX-870A-PATA-DL-22X-DVD-WRITER-LIGHTSCRIBE-/180582604942?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item2a0b8fe08e

I just read that Nero 9 Essentials and Nero Burn 10 lite...or whatever it is, neither program will burn audio cd's.....data or dvd's only....what a crock....looks like I'll be sticking with AA 3 or Windows Media Player for burning audio cd's.

I like Burrrn for audio CDs. It is freeware.
http://www.burrrn.net/

Whatever you do don't use Windows media Player to burn your CDs. You have no idea what it may be doing to your lovely clean audio data.

I'll find out what it's doing to my files once I get the PlexUtilities software. Getting this software was one of the main reasons I bought this Plextor model. Some Plextors don't come with the PlexUtilities, so you have to be sure it says that in the ad.

I just read that Nero 9 Essentials and Nero Burn 10 lite...or whatever it is, neither program will burn audio cd's.....data or dvd's only....what a crock....looks like I'll be sticking with AA 3 or Windows Media Player for burning audio cd's.

Strange.  Here at work I use Nero Smart Start Essentials 7 to burn CDs and DVDs.  It's not the full version of Nero, but it does what I need it to do.

At home, I purchased the full version of Nero...at Staples in Canada, the seem to cut the price in half once in a while.  Not sure if they do the same in other countries.

It seems a lot of software companies are downgrading their software with the newer versions. They're going backwards for some reason.

They're going backwards for some reason.

Try the RIAA...

Well then, let the RIAA buy the downgraded software.

I got some Taiyo Yuden cd-r's from Guitar Center..They had them for $7.99 for a 25 pack case, I bought two. They're silver laquer printable discs. My new Plextor should be here early next week.

I'll find out what it's doing to my files once I get the PlexUtilities software.

PlexUtilities won't let you verify that the data on the disc is the same as the data in your files. So Media Player could easily be messing around with the sound but burning error free CD's and you would have no idea that there is a problem.

Plextools will verify that the data on the CD matches the original files if you burn using a .cue file or its own .pxa format but I think this functionality only works with certain drives.

James.

So then James, what cd burning applications do you use ??

What do you recommend ??

I use Plextools when writing to one of my Plextor drives or ImgBurn or Nero when I'm writing to a non-Plextor drive. All my serious audio stuff is written with the Plextor drives so I don't know how well ImgBurn does audio (if it does at all). I've also used Feurio in the past but it doesn't seem to be supported any more.

James.