Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Which Plextor drive would be best ? (Read 12032 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Hi,

Going to buy a new PC soon. I'm considering buying a Plextor CD/DVD-ROM drive to rip my entire CD collection to FLAC. It doesn't necessarily have to be a CD or DVD-RW drive, as I am planning to buy a separate drive for burning.

Which Plextor drive would you folks recommend ?

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #1 –
A PX-712A.

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #2 –
Quote
A PX-712A.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=258965"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Why not PX-716A? which support writing Double-layer DVD+R

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #3 –
Quote
Quote
A PX-712A.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=258965"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Why not PX-716A? which support writing Double-layer DVD+R
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=258971"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I've read some bad reviews about the PX-716A which stopped me from buying one.  Supposedly has some burning quality issues that plextor is aware of and maybe some other things.  For CD ripping I think the PX-712A is one of the better drive Plextor has produced recently.  Check on cdrlabs.com for some good reviews on cd and & dvd+/-rw drives.

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #4 –
Quote
Quote
A PX-712A.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=258965"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Why not PX-716A? which support writing Double-layer DVD+R
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=258971"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The PX716A seems to have quite a lot of problems at the moment. Seems like neither the hardware nor firmware is mature enough. There are loads of threads over at CD Freaks about it.

I have a PX712A and it is a superb CD ripper and writer, but as a DVD writer it is *extremely* picky about media. To give an idea, genuine Verbatim 8x DVD+R (code MCC003, made by Mitsubishi) works very well, while OEM MCC003 (which is typically made by Prodisc under licence from Mitsubishi) is hit-and-miss. I've pretty much given up on media experiments and buy only Taiyo Yuden media for it now.

From what I've read, the Plextor Premium still seems to be the gold standard for CD ripping, although I've never used one.

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #5 –
For CD ripping, Lite-on drives are cheap and fast. If you're picky, find a drive that are in EAC's database for correct offset settings. Plextor CD-RW drives are good rippers too.

Don't get plextor DVD writers. They're too expensive for your purpose. Even the Plextor premium is cheaper (which is expensive on its own for a CD-RW drive).
twitter.com/pika2000

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #6 –
and all this plextors are perfectly compatible with plextools (all included?)
PANIC: CPU 1: Cache Error (unrecoverable - dcache data) Eframe = 0x90000000208cf3b8
NOTICE - cpu 0 didn't dump TLB, may be hung

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #7 –
I have the PX-708A. Whilst I've had to return it to Plextor once (quick and painless process) I'm extremely happy with it with regards to ripping (CDs, hundreds from my collection in various states) and burning (to DVD - Verbatim Datalife Plus 4x DVD-r ).
daefeatures.co.uk

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #8 –
Quote
Going to buy a new PC soon. I'm considering buying a Plextor CD/DVD-ROM drive to rip my entire CD collection to FLAC. It doesn't necessarily have to be a CD or DVD-RW drive, as I am planning to buy a separate drive for burning.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=258935"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


If CD audio ripping is your primary purpose, there is *only* one choice: Plextor Premium. Fast, reliable, sails through any copy protection and is great with dirty & scratched discs. The DVD models aren't as good with audio CD's.

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #9 –
Quote
Why not PX-716A? which support writing Double-layer DVD+R
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=258971"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


As Duble0Syx and cliveb mentioned, PX-716 has been a flop. True, the problems everybody complains about are related to DVDR writing quality; but do you really want to buy a $150+ drive just for ripping and burning CDs?
The best 16X/dual layer burners right now are BenQ 1620 and NEC 3500.

Quote
and all this plextors are perfectly compatible with plextools (all included?)
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=259091"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


All the Plextors mentioned in the thread work with PlexTools Pro, though only PX-712 and PX-716 are bundled with it here in the US. These two drives also support DVD error scanning, PX-708 does not. All four support C1/C2/CU error scanning.

Quote
If CD audio ripping is your primary purpose, there is *only* one choice: Plextor Premium. <snip> The DVD models aren't as good with audio CD's.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=259122"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


My experience was different . Out of over two hundred CDs I ripped with my Premium and PX-712A, I found three or four scratched ones that the Premium could not rip some tracks off but  the PX-712A managed just fine. That is with EAC in secure mode, though; both drives can rip just about anything with PlexTools Pro.

In fact, a couple of weeks ago a friend asked me to make a copy of a viciously abused audio CD, and I was pretty sceptical at first. You see, I'd never heard of anyone using a CD as a sanding block, but that's just what he must have done apparently - the data side was riddled with countless tiny scratches. So I insert the CD, fire up PlexTools Pro v2.12 and start writing a PXI image to the HD.  PTP breezes through the first few tracks, then gradually reduces the speed to 4X, then apparently freezes. I shake my head and let it be. All the new posts at HA and CD Freaks and a couple of hours later it is still only at track 6. I go shopping, return to find it made little progress. I leave it running overnight, check back in the morning - not done yet. The errors reported for some tracks are in thousands! Having gotten that far, I stubbornly refuse to kill it, and go to work instead. To my surprise, I find a working PXI complete upon return. 14 hours and change, I should have saved the log for the world to behold, heheh. Well, I'm not into salsa, but my buddy reported that he could  find no glitches or skips with the copy.

Truly a formidable testament to the power of Plextor. =)

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #10 –
Thanks everyone for your input !

As I said, I'm not interested in burning with this drive, just ripping. Best bet seems to be the Premium.

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #14 –
Quote
Does the plex premium do over and underreading?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=261520"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Please define "underreading" !???????
I know that I know nothing. But how can I then know that ?

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #16 –
Quote
If CD audio ripping is your primary purpose, there is *only* one choice: Plextor Premium. Fast, reliable, sails through any copy protection and is great with dirty & scratched discs. The DVD models aren't as good with audio CD's.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=259122"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


In general, I can back up that experience with my own.

I do own a 712A and a Premium ... and the Premium does indeed perform better on most defective CD's. There are some rare occasions where the 712A excels the Premium at the same extraction speed (the Premium then will have to slow down to 8x due to out-of-spec disc jitter, I guess).
The name was Plex The Ripper, not Jack The Ripper

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #17 –
Quote
I guess overreading = reading lead-out and underreading = reading lead-in.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=262193"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I guess overreading means both !
In your terminology, overreading into the lead-out would be "abovereading".
I know that I know nothing. But how can I then know that ?

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #18 –
Hi

Why is is so rarely mentioned, that overreading into lead I/O is esseantial for perfect copies? It's nearly never mentioned! Does anyone know the reason?

wbr Fabian Stöckl

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #19 –
Quote
Hi

Why is is so rarely mentioned, that overreading into lead I/O is esseantial for perfect copies? It's nearly never mentioned! Does anyone know the reason?

wbr Fabian Stöckl
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=262629"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


If a drive can overread at least it's read offset from the Lead-In or Lead-Out (depends on whether the offset is negative or positive), you can be sure to get every bit of information from a red-book-compatible audio CD, even if it doesn't start or end with silence (like most CD's do anyway).

The bad thing is, to get a 100% burned CD backup, your write device would have to be able to overwrite it's write offset into Lead-In/Out ... and only very few devices are capable of this.

So don't get too excited on read offsets ... if you have a drive with a huge offset (like Asus CDS500 with 1858 audio samples), you definitely should use offset correction but with average read offsets well below 1000 (most drives well below 100) audio samples there is a big chance you'll never hear it anyway.
The name was Plex The Ripper, not Jack The Ripper

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #20 –
Quote
If a drive can overread at least it's read offset from the Lead-In or Lead-Out (depends on whether the offset is negative or positive), you can be sure to get every bit of information from a red-book-compatible audio CD, even if it doesn't start or end with silence (like most CD's do anyway).
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=262698"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

preferred combinations are:
negative actual read offset and capability to overread into lead-out
positive actual read offset and capability to overread into lead-in
I know that I know nothing. But how can I then know that ?

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #21 –
My experience with Pelxtor DVD/CD burners have been great since their SCSI only days, my fav was the PX-708A (switched to NEC DL burnes now), in general they all produced extremely good quality rips with a correctly configured EAC but tend to have problems with scratched CD's and are a bit picky with writable media (firmware supported ones are a must).
WavPack 5.7.0 -b384hx6cmv / qaac64 2.80 -V 100

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #22 –
Quick question...

Is the "Plextor Premium" you're referring to the same drive as the "Plextor PlexWriter Premium"?

Just double checking.

Thanks!

~esa

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #23 –
Quote
Does anyone know if Firmware 1.03 fpr the PX-716 managed to fix all known problems related to DVD burning?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=261523"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


According to the latest c't, the PX-716A still has some problems.

Which Plextor drive would be best ?

Reply #24 –
Quote
Quick question...

Is the "Plextor Premium" you're referring to the same drive as the "Plextor PlexWriter Premium"?

Just double checking.

Thanks!

~esa
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=265314"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Yes, it is ...
The name was Plex The Ripper, not Jack The Ripper