thumbs up for retail pioneer dvr-a09xl
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thumbs up for retail pioneer dvr-a09xl
this thing is -quiet-!
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i'm in canada, had to get friend to ship it at double what i'd normally pay for a drive up from usa.
$100, had $25 rebate but he forgot to qualify for that.
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4021220
look for the black sku as well.
$100, had $25 rebate but he forgot to qualify for that.
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4021220
look for the black sku as well.
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it is by far the quietest drive I have ever used. that includes plextor and samsung.
the program it comes with has a button to click that asks "do you want it to be silent but not work like crap" type of thing, you hit it, and it works the way we want it
retail boxed only. oem is crudey and cut down
the program it comes with has a button to click that asks "do you want it to be silent but not work like crap" type of thing, you hit it, and it works the way we want it
retail boxed only. oem is crudey and cut down
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I flashed my 109 with the A09 firmware a few months ago, for the ripunlock feature. It also enables you to use the Quiet drive utility.
I can't remember the exact procedure, you cannot just flash the drive with the Pioneer flasher (don't attempt this or you may damage the drive), you need to use a program called DVRFlash - search on rpc1.org, cdfreaks.com, pioneer109.com etc.
I can't remember the exact procedure, you cannot just flash the drive with the Pioneer flasher (don't attempt this or you may damage the drive), you need to use a program called DVRFlash - search on rpc1.org, cdfreaks.com, pioneer109.com etc.
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Just came by this post on Anandtech, thought you guys might be interested.
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview ... erthread=y
Not sure if he has any left, I sent the guy an email. I'll let you all know what I hear back.
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview ... erthread=y
Not sure if he has any left, I sent the guy an email. I'll let you all know what I hear back.
It is fairly quiet yes, not as quiet as my liteon CD writer slowed down to 8x, but perhaps dvd drives spin faster, i'm no expert.
It's not bad though, i can clearly hear it over my system but it's pretty unobtrusive noise provided you have the drive set to quiet. (it's deafening otherwise, so if you get the OEM version make sure you reflash as described above)
It's not bad though, i can clearly hear it over my system but it's pretty unobtrusive noise provided you have the drive set to quiet. (it's deafening otherwise, so if you get the OEM version make sure you reflash as described above)
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I concur the A09XL is very quiet!
According to know-it-alls on many different sites the only differnce between the retail A09 and the oem 109 is:
A09 has a fanzier bezel
A09 has a honeycomb shell supposed to dampen vibrations
Different firmware
Guess the same applies to the newer models.
Pioneer said the retail A09 version were never to be distributed in Europe. I had to E-bay mine from overseas.
Again, perhaps the same goes for the newer ones.
According to know-it-alls on many different sites the only differnce between the retail A09 and the oem 109 is:
A09 has a fanzier bezel
A09 has a honeycomb shell supposed to dampen vibrations
Different firmware
Guess the same applies to the newer models.
Pioneer said the retail A09 version were never to be distributed in Europe. I had to E-bay mine from overseas.
Again, perhaps the same goes for the newer ones.
Unfortunately, I don't remember which ones exactly!Derek Baker wrote:What sites had had it? I'd like to keep a lookout in future.Mariner wrote:I tried to get one a couple of months after they were released but everywhere had sold out here in the UK.
Thanks
Derek
I'm pretty sure that Novatech and Overclockers both sold them at one time or another though. I'd expect both of them to sell the newer one if it becomes available in the UK.
Ah didn't realise the drives were actually different in anything apart from the aesthetics. Perhaps the honeycomb does make a difference then, my re-flashed OEM 109 is definately quiet but you can still hear a noticable amount of noise when reading data. The initial spin-up is much louder as has already been noted, but sustained transfer is clearly audible as a quiet whoosh. Its pretty innocuous whiteish noise, akin to the sound of air blowing rather then the irritating vibrating buzz you often get with optical drives.
I'm using it in an already very quiet system (PIII650 cooled by a panaflo@5V, fanless gfx card, elastically suspended notebook drive + an S12) so it could well be that it's completely drowned out by slightly noisier systems.
I'm using it in an already very quiet system (PIII650 cooled by a panaflo@5V, fanless gfx card, elastically suspended notebook drive + an S12) so it could well be that it's completely drowned out by slightly noisier systems.
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I bought a DVR-A09XLB off eBay about a week ago, and it showed up today. Open the box, and what do I find? A DVR-A08XLB. I can't believe this. The model is printed clear as day on the drive many times. The seller even had a little sticky-note inside the package right on top of the drive that said DVR-A09XLB, ship to so-and-so, etc. He/she must be frikken retarded or something.
The drive works pretty well, quieter than I expected. However, it has an annoying whine after initially reading a CD that lasts for a minute or so. Is this common to these drives and/or the DVR-A09XL.
To be honest I'm pretty pleased with the drive, but kind of pissed because I payed for an 09. Then again, as little as I would burn DVDs, I guess it's not a big deal (according to what I've read I think the 09s are supposed to be faster burners than the 08s, but I think construction is similar). Just trying to decide if it's worth the hassle of sending back.
Sorry for the OT post/rant. What do you guys think, should I just keep it? Any way I can get rid of/reduce that whining I mentioned?
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Mariner wrote:Unfortunately, I don't remember which ones exactly!Derek Baker wrote:What sites had had it? I'd like to keep a lookout in future.Mariner wrote:I tried to get one a couple of months after they were released but everywhere had sold out here in the UK.
Thanks
Derek
I'm pretty sure that Novatech and Overclockers both sold them at one time or another though. I'd expect both of them to sell the newer one if it becomes available in the UK.
Thanks. Definitely Novatech: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prod ... p0s0n0m224
I've just installed a DVR-A10XLB.
There is definately a difference to the Pioneer 110 when it comes to noise.
It's unbelievably quiet.. I love this drive.
The retail pack also has considerably more software than the OEM 110, and costs AU $30 more.
(For those in Australia, its available through Harris Technology - apparently they have first priority to new pioneer releases.)
There is definately a difference to the Pioneer 110 when it comes to noise.
It's unbelievably quiet.. I love this drive.
The retail pack also has considerably more software than the OEM 110, and costs AU $30 more.
(For those in Australia, its available through Harris Technology - apparently they have first priority to new pioneer releases.)
i just replaced my lightly used 09xlb with a 10xlb (from hk/ebay) tonight. the tray closing was a little 'jagged' loud and it had trouble reading my unscratched ut2004 cd4 for some reason but i'll probably put this little gem up for sale here in the appropriate forum. or send me a pm. i'll ship within north america, have all the original pkg still.