I recently decided to upgrade my old CD burner from an old 2x CDR to a new CDRW. Being on a budget, I couldn’t just go out and get whatever struck my fancy. I did, however, want quality. I determined that the Sony 24x/10x/40x CDRW was right for me. I got Sony quality and support and a great price.

The Big Complaint
This is the biggest drawback of this device. If you can get by this, you can have a quality drive at one of the best prices around. The software included with the CDRW is pathetic, B’s Clip or some other nonsense like that. That isn’t my big beef though; the biggest problem is that if you use this software, the CDRW is extremely loud. We aren’t talking noisy hard drive loud, we are talking Cessna powering up for take off loud. For some reason, the burning process is extremely loud. But wait, it gets worse, once the burning process finishes and it begins the verification process, the volume increases. Yes, it can now drown out just about anything else in the vicinity.

I know, it sounds like a problem with the drive. However, when I use the Nero Burning Rom software, the noise level is drastically reduced. It is only marginally louder than my old 2x was. Not only that, but the speed is far better with Nero.

How well does it actually work?
Surprisingly, even with the noise issue, the CDRW is awesome. I have yet to make a coaster. Of course that is probably due to the Buffer Underrun Protection technology built into the drive. Of course, my wife’s burner supposedly has this same technology and she has created some coasters. It looks like Sony may actually be getting this Buffer Underrun Protection down so it does what it is supposed to on a consistent basis.

Now the fact that the documentation tells you that you can burn a CD in less than 3 minutes on a CDR is somewhat misleading. I am not saying it isn’t true. You can burn the CDR in less than 3 minutes (at least if you aren’t using the included software) however; the verification process takes almost as long as the burn process. It also does not take into account, your initial read in time. In my experience, a CD is burned in about 10 – 12 minutes under ideal conditions. This includes the entire process once you have your files selected. Still not bad when compared to the old 2x speeds I got on my old burner.

I have to admit, I have not as of yet acquired and used CDRW discs with this drive. However in t he couple months I have had and used it, I am very happy with its performance on CDRs.

Price
I mentioned this is an inexpensive drive. The Sony website currently lists it at $89.99. However, a little searching can find some real deals. When I purchased mine, it was on sale for $69.99 and included a $30 mail in rebate, bringing my total bill to a mere $30. I was amazed, a Sony product for only $30. Sony does have a fantastic reputation in this area, (I would not however trust their DVD burning technology due to my experience with their DVD players).

The Bottom Line
Would I recommend this drive? My answer would have to be, that depends. It is a fantastic drive if you use Nero, (other popular software probably works as well). I think my recommendation would be based on whether you planned on using the included software as your burning software (another minor sore subject, the included software is only a trial of the garbage) or if you are planning on getting a traditional software package for your burning needs. If you have or plan to use Nero, by all means, this drive is a definite bargain. If you need to use their software, I would look at other drives that include better software.


Recommended: Yes