Oscar09 Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 i am looking to buy an external CD rom for my imac. I know some of you may be wondering why for an iMac since they come with CD roms but mine just happens to be messed up or just flat out garbage. On days, it reads the CDs i put into it and somedays like today, it dosent want to read any and just spits em right back out. It wont even read brand new out of the case music cds... and it is really frustrating when it wont open a brand new cd. Have any of you guys ever had this problem? Its a late 2009 iMac and i am just opting for an external CD rom. Any recommendations? iMac -> Audirvana+ -> Schiit Modi -> Yamaha A-S500 -> Audioengine P4 Link to comment
wgscott Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 I bought the Apple one. It comes with a painfully short unattachable USB cord. PS: Excellent avatar Link to comment
Oscar09 Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 How does it perform compared to the stock one on the iMac? PS: we have the coolest avatars! iMac -> Audirvana+ -> Schiit Modi -> Yamaha A-S500 -> Audioengine P4 Link to comment
wgscott Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Well, it hasn't broken yet. The nice thing is it is plug and play (requires no driver), it is slim, and matches the aluminum casing. It is probably fairly over-priced, and the USB attachment is a bit of an irritant. But it works. I've had internal CD drives fail on two 2009 mac minis and at least one iMac, and we have 3 macbook airs in the house, so it is worth having this thing around. Link to comment
ed71 Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 I'm interested in this as well. My internal CD-ROM hasn't been working well for some time on my 2008 iMac. I'm ready to buy a new iMac is Apple decides to release a new one, but I wonder if a good external drive would be a good idea anyway. Link to comment
Oscar09 Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 i read on many sites that supposedly it only supports macs without drives such as the mac mini, macbook air and the new retina macbook pro. I really wouldnt like the buy something that wont work with my iMac. iMac -> Audirvana+ -> Schiit Modi -> Yamaha A-S500 -> Audioengine P4 Link to comment
Oscar09 Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 anyone else? iMac -> Audirvana+ -> Schiit Modi -> Yamaha A-S500 -> Audioengine P4 Link to comment
wgb113 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 You can grab a LaCie D2 drive with Lightscribe for @ $50. I've been using one for years with my iMac and it works well. Bill Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Mac Mini->Roon + Tidal->KEF LS50W Link to comment
Oscar09 Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 You can grab a LaCie D2 drive with Lightscribe for @ $50. I've been using one for years with my iMac and it works well. Bill Thanks Bill! ill sure look it the LaCie since i know they make nice products! iMac -> Audirvana+ -> Schiit Modi -> Yamaha A-S500 -> Audioengine P4 Link to comment
sandyk Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Given that there is a general consensus that Async USB DACs outperform normal USB DACs, and the technical reasons for that, I would suggest that if the fastest and most accurate CD rips are desired, that the OP should think about replacing the existing internal writer if possible. I don't use Macs, but with Windows 7, rips using external USB writers are considerably slower when using EAC than the same writer used internally, with far fewer read errors too.I have used both portable USB writers and a normal LG BR writer in a cradle via USB and a supplied plugpack.The LG BR used externally still outperforms the little USB writer with power coming from 2 separate USB ports, but the LG BR writer when installed internally is far faster with less read errors. The better internal writers are also likely to be more capable reading damaged discs. At least, that has been my experience. Alex How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
Oscar09 Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 Given that there is a general consensus that Async USB DACs outperform normal USB DACs, and the technical reasons for that, I would suggest that if the fastest and most accurate CD rips are desired, that the OP should think about replacing the existing internal writer if possible. I don't use Macs, but with Windows 7, rips using external USB writers are considerably slower when using EAC than the same writer used internally, with far fewer read errors too.I have used both portable USB writers and a normal LG BR writer in a cradle via USB and a supplied plugpack.The LG BR used externally still outperforms the little USB writer with power coming from 2 separate USB ports, but the LG BR writer when installed internally is far faster with less read errors. The better internal writers are also likely to be more capable reading damaged discs. At least, that has been my experience. Alex Sorry for my silliness of not knowing but what product you are exactly talking about but could you link the one you have been using or would recommend? Thanks! iMac -> Audirvana+ -> Schiit Modi -> Yamaha A-S500 -> Audioengine P4 Link to comment
sandyk Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Oscar09 I am not suggesting that you use the LG BluRay writer that I use internally, and have tried externally, rather that I believe you would get faster and accurate rips if you replaced your internal faulty writer, instead of using a USB powered external writer.When using the LG BR writer externally via USB, it takes quite a while at the end of the track when using USB to confirm the contents of the rip are correct, whereas using the same EAC settings with the internal writer, this confirmation is quite quick. Alex How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
wgb113 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 My experience with my late-2006 iMac and my LaCie external writer is the exact opposite. The internal iMac drive was buggy about 300 CDs into my collection the first time I ripped it. I've ripped the collection again on the LaCie and it's as fast with less errors. It also hasn't spit out a disc yet whereas there were certain CDs the iMac just wouldn't take. Bill Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Mac Mini->Roon + Tidal->KEF LS50W Link to comment
ckpiv Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 i am looking to buy an external CD rom for my imac. I know some of you may be wondering why for an iMac since they come with CD roms but mine just happens to be messed up or just flat out garbage. On days, it reads the CDs i put into it and somedays like today, it dosent want to read any and just spits em right back out. It wont even read brand new out of the case music cds... and it is really frustrating when it wont open a brand new cd. Have any of you guys ever had this problem? Its a late 2009 iMac and i am just opting for an external CD rom. Any recommendations? Have you tried resetting the SMC? I had a similar issue with my Mac mini erratically reading and/or ejecting disk. After resetting the SMC the drive has been working normal. Just google reseting SMC on iMac if you do not no how to do this. Link to comment
Oscar09 Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 My experience with my late-2006 iMac and my LaCie external writer is the exact opposite. The internal iMac drive was buggy about 300 CDs into my collection the first time I ripped it. I've ripped the collection again on the LaCie and it's as fast with less errors. It also hasn't spit out a disc yet whereas there were certain CDs the iMac just wouldn't take. Bill Could you link the one you use? i would really appreciate it! Thanks! iMac -> Audirvana+ -> Schiit Modi -> Yamaha A-S500 -> Audioengine P4 Link to comment
Oscar09 Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 Have you tried resetting the SMC? I had a similar issue with my Mac mini erratically reading and/or ejecting disk. After resetting the SMC the drive has been working normal. Just google reseting SMC on iMac if you do not no how to do this. i did it already and it didnt work. same issues occur. iMac -> Audirvana+ -> Schiit Modi -> Yamaha A-S500 -> Audioengine P4 Link to comment
wgb113 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Could you link the one you use? i would really appreciate it! Thanks! Amazon: Amazon.com: LaCie d2 DVD±RW with LightScribe 16x: Electronics Bill Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Mac Mini->Roon + Tidal->KEF LS50W Link to comment
Oscar09 Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 Amazon: Amazon.com: LaCie d2 DVD±RW with LightScribe*16x: Electronics Bill Thanks Bill! they dont seem to have any new ones for sale anymore... ill scoop around and see what other LaCie drives amazon has. Thanks again! iMac -> Audirvana+ -> Schiit Modi -> Yamaha A-S500 -> Audioengine P4 Link to comment
wgb113 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Check LaCie's Outlet store on their website as well. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Mac Mini->Roon + Tidal->KEF LS50W Link to comment
wgscott Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 i read on many sites that supposedly it only supports macs without drives such as the mac mini, macbook air and the new retina macbook pro. I really wouldnt like the buy something that wont work with my iMac. It will work with any of them (well, at least any intel one), including my 2009 mini with a borked drive and I think it is a 2008 iMac with a borked drive. Link to comment
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