thanks, I'm seeing a lot of external DVD writer drives, but no CD/ROM drives, I guess that is a sign of the times. I like the Seagate brand, I use one of their external hard drives to hold all my rips...
You're not likely to find a new CD/ROM-only ripper/burner but as far as I know all DVD drives will also handle CDs.
I have an external DVD drive from Other World Computing with a Pioneer mechanism that's been completely reliable ripping and burning hundreds of CDs and is very heavily built. It has both USB 2.0 and Firewire ports.
The only downside is that the fan is noisy during the burning or ripping process but since I'm using it almost always just during the time I'm transferring music that's not a big concern. It also comes in handy for software installations on a laptop with a flaky optical drive.
I do agree with the Seagate recommendation, I've bought dozens of their products at work and never had a problem.
I just finished ripping 600 cds to my computer using a Samsung SE-208AB/TSBS external drive. It has solid C2 error correction, which is key for getting secure rips. Runs quiet and has never given me any problems.
Only drawback is that it might require two USB 2.0 ports, depending on the power supplied by the USB ports in your computer. I only needed one, though, as I had it connected to a USB 3.0 port.
It's true, as Simorgh says, that some of the portable USB external burners need more power than a single USB port can provide.
There are cables that have two USB plugs on one end to provide the power and connection to the computer and a single plug on the other end to connect to the burner.
If you don't have two USB ports available on your computer you can plug one of the dual USB plugs into any standard USB charger to provide the extra amperage.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
