Silent dvd-rom and CDRW drives

Silencing hard drives, optical drives and other storage devices

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halcyon
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Silent dvd-rom and CDRW drives

Post by halcyon » Thu Apr 17, 2003 4:12 am

I have mostly been reading and asking questions so far, so I think it's time to contribute something back.

I'll start off by listing the least noisy modern dvd-rom and cdrw drives I've been able to find personally. My search has not been exhaustive, but I have tried several models from LG, Samsung, Plextor, Toshiba, Pioneer, Sony, LiteOn and Yamaha.

I've also read all dvd-rom and cdrw reviews on the net (that I could find), which also touch the acoustic performance of various drives.

DVD-ROM drive (least noisiest at default setting)

1. Sony DDU1621 16x DVD-ROM (manufactured by BTC?)
+ This drive is not only the least noisiest (a lot less vibrational
noise and swooshing noise than LiteOn, Samsung, Toshiba or Pioneer 16x models)
- It has no error correction for dvd-discs. This is a major bummer and as such, makes it a bad choice for a HTPC main drive
+ It has decent DAE speed, ok level C2 accuracy (not among the best) and superior error concealment to anything I've found yet (good for ripping scratched CDs)
- Of course, it is not silent, but much easier to make less noisy than any other modern (16x) dvd-rom drive I've been able to find
- If you can find older 4x or 8x drives, you may get even less noisy drive

Least noisy modern CDRW drive

1. LG 4480B 48xcr 24xcrw 16xdvd-rom (combo unit)
+/- It's not silent, but subjectively clearly lot less noisy than any 48x (or faster) LiteOn model
+ Firmware revision 1.0 caps DAE at 40x sligthly reducing noise (of course one can use drive speed to further cut down on noise)
+ Has excellent scratched disc reading performance
+ Burn quality is very good on TDK, Acer, Mitsubishi and TY media (48x certified) I've tried
- Again, an older 4x or even 12x drive can performe much more quietly

I'll be experimenting with further noise damping when I get some silical gel mats or other padding material to put between the drives and the case.

If you have better suggestions for a modern/fast/reliable drives that are not extremely noisy, please pass them on.

Best regards,
Halcyon

mudboy
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Post by mudboy » Fri Apr 18, 2003 3:57 am

Samsung SM-348 CD-RW/DVD

elitezoid
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Post by elitezoid » Fri Apr 18, 2003 11:29 am

Currently have a Samsung SD-612F DVD-ROM which is silent during DVD playback.

pingu666
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Post by pingu666 » Fri Apr 18, 2003 1:27 pm

my ricoh is all over the place :(
old combo drive

bigred
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Post by bigred » Fri Apr 18, 2003 11:28 pm

I have a Plextor 48x24x48. Silent and no matter what anyone says, the best burner brand ever made.

Maybe your other make works okay for you, but when it comes down to it the plextors make the most pure error free burns.

Shuriken
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Post by Shuriken » Fri Apr 18, 2003 11:42 pm

elitezoid wrote:Currently have a Samsung SD-612F DVD-ROM which is silent during DVD playback.
Most DVD drives are pretty silent when they play in DVD mode. The CD mode is on average 3x as loud.

shunx
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Post by shunx » Sun Apr 20, 2003 1:00 pm

You can use software like CD Speed to slow down the drive speed when the extra speed is not needed.

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