[amcananey]

Is there any sort of consensus on what is currently the best CD-Rom/DVD/Blu-ray drive for ripping audio CDs? By best, I mean as measured by the following three factors:
 
1) Speed when ripping CDs
2) Error correction (or lack of errors in the first place)
3) Ability to rip copy-protected CDs
 
I know Plextor drives used to be considered the best, but I don't know if they have been overshadowed by something else now.
 
BTW, I really only care about performance when ripping CDs. I don't care about or need any other features.
 
To explain point 3) above, I do not have a traditional CD player. I buy CDs, then use EAC and React to rip them simultaneously to Apple Lossless, FLAC and MP3. Yet every once in a while I buy a CD that has some kind of stupid copy protection on it and I can't rip it with my drive at home, even though the crappy, cheap, portable, slow external CD-Rom drive that came with my laptop at work has no problem ripping the same CDs. This is flat-out infuriating. These CDs are invariably widely available on the internet for illegal downloading, but as someone buying my music the old-fashioned way and putting cash into the record companies' coffers, I wind up getting ripped off and holding CDs that are useless to me.
 
Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
Best regards,
Adam

 

[mshan]

http://club.myce.com/f58/
 
 
 
 

 

[amcananey]

Sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand. Can you explain a bit more?
 
Best regards,
Adam

 

[mshan]

CD Freaks used to have more forums about various burners, but looks like that forum is where everything is now.
 
Just read through some of the threads to get an idea of which drives are best rippers (they seem to talk highly about Mediatek chips, but I think the focus may be on dvd rippers).

 

[amcananey]

Yes, I've noticed lots of talk about DVDs, but very little about CDs. I'll hunt around there...

 

[mshan]

Better links to CD Freaks forums:  http://club.myce.com/f61/

 

[leeperry]

any drive that doesn't cache audio, it'll save you some time in EAC.

 

[RTS100x5]

 My PIONEER BD RW 205 serial ata  is VERRY fast and 99.9999% error free

 

[amcananey]

RTS100x5,
 
Do you mind answering a few questions?
 
1. Do you use EAC?
2. When you say it is very fast, what are you comparing it to?
3. How do you know the error rate for your unit?
 
Best regards,
Adam

 

[RTS100x5]

No I actually use WMP because I like the database / organization
 
 Typically my PIONEER BDRW 205  rips DVD / BR 's at 25 / 30 mbps using DVD FAB compared to my PLEXTOR BD. ASUS BD  and MAD DOG DVD which usually max out at 6 / 8 mbps.
 
As for my error specs I have never ripped or burned a disc that failed in 1 yr +  so hence my 99% rating , this is obviously a subjective rating based on use. It did slow down alot on a very scratched CD and I had to delete 2 songs from it so I couldnt give it the ol 100% rating