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Topic: Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping (Read 15585 times) previous topic - next topic
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Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

I haven't bought an optical drive in years.

I'm quite paranoid about accuracy in ripping.

Let's suppose I'm going to use XLD on OS X or EAC on Windows.

Are there still modern drives that support Accurate Stream, lead-in/lead-out reading, HTOA, uncached audio reading, and, optionally, C2 error pointers?

How about the external, slim models by Panasonic or Pioneer, are they any good?

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #1 –
I'm not sure if it works from Windows, but Apple's bus powered USB Super Drive houses an LG DVD+RW drive, which, like most of LG's drives, has a read offset of 6, and supports all of the features you desire, including C2 error pointers. Although XLD does take about a minute to detect the track pre-gaps, it does rip nice and quickly, so long as C2 support is turned on in XLD.

As I said, I'm not sure if it functions from Windows. I'll have to give it a try next time I'm in Windows, although I'm currently not equipped with an actual Mac that can host it, so I don't know if a regular PC motherboard can supply the extra 600mA of power that it wants above and beyond the usual USB 2.0 limit of 500mA.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #2 –
Quote from: kode54 on
I'm not sure if it works from Windows, but Apple's bus powered USB Super Drive houses an LG DVD+RW drive, which, like most of LG's drives, has a read offset of 6, and supports all of the features you desire, including C2 error pointers. Although XLD does take about a minute to detect the track pre-gaps, it does rip nice and quickly, so long as C2 support is turned on in XLD.

As I said, I'm not sure if it functions from Windows. I'll have to give it a try next time I'm in Windows, although I'm currently not equipped with an actual Mac that can host it, so I don't know if a regular PC motherboard can supply the extra 600mA of power that it wants above and beyond the usual USB 2.0 limit of 500mA.


Wow, I didn't know the SuperDrive is actually an LG drive inside.

There has been really only one version of the SuperDrive, right? Apparently MC684ZM/A and MD564ZM/A are actually the same thing?

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #3 –
The one I ordered, a model A1379, not sure what the model code is. I can't check the drive model right now, but it did show the usual HL-DT-ST model name in the system information dialog. I can't check at the moment since I am currently without a real Mac, and only have my older Hackintosh setup, which cannot power the drive properly. It does rip properly, though, at least with XLD.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #5 –
Does LG sell external drives for only $30? OP mentions OS X, I am guessing they are running some sort of Mac. The last Macs to support internal optical drives came with a drive included, the newer models only support external drives.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #6 –
Just today I was looking at external dvd burners. I've always used Pioneer for my desktop and was thinking of getting one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827106104

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827135256

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827151274

Any idea which one is better for ripping?

edit:
Just got this one for $19.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827136261

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #7 –
Quote from: kode54 on
Does LG sell external drives for only $30?

Newegg carries an external LG drive that's specifically mentioned to be OS X compatible for $30 (or $20 after applying a promo code).

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #8 –
Nice. I wish I'd thought of that a month ago.

EDIT: I see all of the linked devices are bus powered. Do they report that they need that extra power? Can that damage a USB interface after extended use?

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #9 –
Quote from: kode54 on
Nice. I wish I'd thought of that a month ago.

EDIT: I see all of the linked devices are bus powered. Do they report that they need that extra power? Can that damage a USB interface after extended use?


Looking at the images on the page, it seems that it comes with a USB Y-cable, which means you can probably plug one of the A males to a USB power source.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #10 –
I borrowed an old MacBook Air SuperDrive from the office. It seems to be actually an OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5630A (revision 1CHQ), according to XLD:

X Lossless Decoder version 20141109 (148.0)

XLD drive cache analysis logfile

Used drive : OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5630A (revision 1CHQ)

Your drive seems to have a cache of 17 sectors (39 Kbytes).
The cache size is small enough for cdparanoia III 10.2 engine.

End of status report

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #11 –
Quote from: k_sze on
Quote from: kode54 on
Nice. I wish I'd thought of that a month ago.

EDIT: I see all of the linked devices are bus powered. Do they report that they need that extra power? Can that damage a USB interface after extended use?


Looking at the images on the page, it seems that it comes with a USB Y-cable, which means you can probably plug one of the A males to a USB power source.

I bought an external optical drive (Samsung) with one of those Y-cables a while back, when my previous laptop was misbehaving with CDRs etc. I plugged it into a mains-powered USB hub which had a few free sockets, so that might be the way to go. Otherwise, to run it, I'd have to unplug stuff from the laptop's own sockets to use it.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #12 –
Quote from: kode54 on
EDIT: I see all of the linked devices are bus powered. Do they report that they need that extra power? Can that damage a USB interface after extended use?

I don't know how much power exactly those drives draw but some of the reviews on Newegg mention they draw more than the USB 2.0 spec allows (which, as you already noted in a previous post, is 500 mA at 5 V). The USB 2.0 spec also doesn't mention Y-cables at all.

I think both non-spec confirming behaviors could be at least somewhat problematic. For instance, what can happen with USB hard drives is that not enough power is available for the disk to spin up (the motor needs the most power during spin-up). For that reason, the USB device may not work on some hosts.

A tech review site I read suggests using USB 3.0 ports as a workaround. According to the spec, USB 3.0 port (in high-power mode) provide 900 mA which I suspect may be sufficient for most optical drives. Note that USB 3.0 ports provide more current not just to USB 3.0 devices but usually also to USB 2.0 devices.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #13 –
Quote from: k_sze on
I borrowed an old MacBook Air SuperDrive from the office. It seems to be actually an OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5630A (revision 1CHQ), according to XLD:

X Lossless Decoder version 20141109 (148.0)

XLD drive cache analysis logfile

Used drive : OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5630A (revision 1CHQ)

Your drive seems to have a cache of 17 sectors (39 Kbytes).
The cache size is small enough for cdparanoia III 10.2 engine.

End of status report


Whereas my MacBook Air SuperDrive reports:
Quote
X Lossless Decoder version 20141109 (148.0)

XLD drive cache analysis logfile

Used drive : HL-DT-ST DVDRW  GX50N (revision RR06)

Your drive seems to have a cache of 18 sectors (41 Kbytes).
The cache size is small enough for cdparanoia III 10.2 engine, but backseeking doesn't seem to work for flushing cache. Please be careful with this drive.

End of status report


Not so good, eh?

My PC's internal Blu-ray recorder, on the other hand:
Quote
X Lossless Decoder version 20141109 (148.0)

XLD drive cache analysis logfile

Used drive : ATAPI iHBS112  2 (revision PL01)

Your drive seems to have a cache of 32 sectors (73 Kbytes).
The cache size is small enough for cdparanoia III 10.2 engine, but backseeking doesn't seem to work for flushing cache. Please be careful with this drive.

End of status report

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #14 –
If using EAC in windows, you needn't worry about which "brand" of drive you use, only that you have a CD in the accurate rip database with which to test it. I use Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction to test any optical drive and let EAC configure it. If paranoid test the rip again with cuetools.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #15 –
Quote from: Mach-X on
I use Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction to test any optical drive and let EAC configure it.

Why this one? Does it have something special or you just meant you use one CD you already know to configure the software?

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #16 –
For the one disc I just tested today, the soundtrack to Sleepless in Seattle, reports with a confidence of 55 that my Lite-On drive's actual offset is 3, not the 6 which is actually in the database. That, or this is another pressing. I'll test again with the Super Drive, which has the same exact read offset. Of course, the Lite-On drive reads the pre-gaps a lot faster than the LG drive, but that could be because the LG drive is on a USB interface instead of motherboard SATA.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #17 –
Quote from: eahm on
Quote from: Mach-X on
I use Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction to test any optical drive and let EAC configure it.

Why this one? Does it have something special or you just meant you use one CD you already know to configure the software?

Nothing special other than ubiquity and the fact it's never been remastered or re-released in any way so a new pressing today is identical to one from 1987.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #18 –
Quote from: Mach-X on
Nothing special other than ubiquity and the fact it's never been remastered or re-released in any way so a new pressing today is identical to one from 1987.

Oh nice, I didn't know that, that's actually pretty "special".

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #21 –
Quote from: Mach-X on
Quote from: eahm on
Quote from: Mach-X on
I use Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction to test any optical drive and let EAC configure it.

Why this one? Does it have something special or you just meant you use one CD you already know to configure the software?

Nothing special other than ubiquity and the fact it's never been remastered or re-released in any way so a new pressing today is identical to one from 1987.


Unfortunately it has been remastered/brickwalled in the 2000s.
AccurateRip is quite good at telling the difference between versions anyway, so nothing wrong with using the original CD as a "reference disc".

XLD // ALAC // OGG VORBIS

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #22 –
I think I'll be buying this Samsung optical drive:
www.amazon.com/Samsung-Portable-External-SE-218CB-RSBS/dp/B00DBV28TG/

It has also has a read offset of 6.
http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm

But before I buy it, I'm wondering if anyone knows of other drives worth considering instead and not yet mentioned? Say with excellent speeds, great compatibility with EAC, optimal use of USB 3.0, or whatever else.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #23 –
Quote from: k_sze on
I always have doubts about slim drives. Do they last?

Some may do? I think this one is already broken, making a weird whistle noise, it's still burning but not even sure how well. I've used it less than 10 times.

Recommendation for a modern-ish optical drive for ripping

Reply #24 –
As far as current optical drives go, you can't go wrong with the Lite-On drives with a mediatek chipset. It gets a little confusing
because there are also lite-on drives that are *not* mediatek. The non-mediatek drives usually end with a "W" or "X." For instance,
the iHAS324W is not a mediatek (I believe they're NEC).

You basically want a iHASx24 followed with the letters A-F. The last one I purchased was a iHAS324 E. This was in May. It is an
excellent reader (and writer, too). They don't cache audio, have a read offset of +6 and do a solid job of reporting C2 errors. It's
a nice multi-purpose drive.

I shy away from those portable drives that rely solely on USB power. They tend to wear down very easily.

These 2 Lite-Ons are what I would recommend:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...=17D-001H-00002
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827106393

They're virtually identical. The first one comes in retail packaging. NewEgg often runs these ridiculous deals. I paid 13.99
+ free shipping for the first one.

I'm thinking the Samsung drives are pretty comparable (again, a Mediatek chipset), but I have not used any that are currently
for sale so I can't personally vouch for it. I am enticed by the Samsung SH-224FB. Its $20 and they're currently running a promo
so it'll cost $14 shipped.

The long and short of it is this: if your discs are in the AccurateRip database and are in decent condition, you'll have no problems
at all - you can run a burst copy and see how it compares to the database. If you have more obscure tastes and your discs are less
than pristine, it gets a bit trickier. I use a variety of software - EAC, dbpoweramp, CueRipper and PlexTools on the Windows side,
and XLD on the Mac side.

If you're *really* serious about ripping, you can go old school and find a plextor on e-bay. Buying used optical drives are tricky
business, though. The good thing about real Plextor drives is that they basically have a usage counter, so you can determine how
many hours it's been used (of course you won't be able to see that until after you get it!). A real Plextor coupled with Plextools
has successfully ripped discs that everything else has failed at. Another great drive is the PX-230A, which interestingly is *not* a
real Plextor, but has easily ripped CDs that even a Plextor Premium has struggled with. To clarify, a "real" Plextor was manufactured
by them and has a Sanyo chipset. The "non-real" were manufactured by a different brand and Plextor simply slapped their name on
it (while still charging premium prices!).

Hopefully this was semi-coherent (I'm *really* tired) and helps somebody. Apologies if I confused matters further. If you have any
questions, just ask away.

best,
Anthony