detail information

As mentioned before the PleXCombo PX-320A can write discs at a maximum speed of 20x. Not an extreme speed but enough for people who don't mind waiting a minute more to write a disc. To test the write speeds of the PleXCombo drive we set-up a basic write process using the latest Nero Burning Rom version 5.5.8.2. We used the DAO (Disc At Once) method for writing the disc. The disc was finalized and set-up as a non-multisession disc. In the screenshot below you can see the burn process completed successfully

The disc was written without problems. To test the created disc we fired up Nero CD Speed, inserted the back-up disc in the PleXCombo and started a normal 'Transfer Rate Test' to see if the disc had been written without any errors. In the screenshot below you can see the disc is read without any problems:

The PleXCombo PX-320A had no problems going faster than 40x and even reached a top reading speed of 42.08x.

Comparing:

Next we did some more tests comparing the PleXCombo PX-320A to some of our previous reviews. Please note that some reviews were done on different machines using different CD-Recordables so the achieved writing times can be a little off. You can see a complete overview of the achieved results in the table below:

The PleXCombo performs pretty well being just a few seconds faster than the Lite-On drives and Plextor drives we've previously reviewed. Of course, like mentioned before, since some of the reviews were done on different machines and with different CD-Recordable media these results can be a little off. Nonetheless the PleXCombo PX-320A performs as expected and does a good job.

Writing Audio:

Just like Yamaha with its CRW3200E drive for instance, Plextor has introduced a new technology designed to get the best result when writing audio. This technology, called VariRec, allows you to change the laser power when writing audio at 4x (in TAO or DAO mode) and with it you should be able to improve the quality of the recorded disc and make it more compatible with picky CD-players like a car stereo.

To test the PleXCombo PX-320A VariRec feature we ripped the tracks (in WAV format) of an audio disc with Exact Audio Copy (Secure Mode) and then started a new audio session in Nero Burning Rom version 5.5.8.2. When writing audio you can see an option to enable the VariRec settings:

When pressing the VariRec button you get the following screen where you can set the VariRec options:

As you can see from the screenshot, the recording speed is limited to 4x when writing in the VariRec mode. We did our first test with the default setting (0) which is recommended. When you choose to use a different setting (and thus decreasing or increasing the laser power) you may risk a non working back-up. We copied the same disc with different VariRec settings (-2/0/+2) and every recorded disc worked fine in our stereo and car stereo. In the screenshot below you can see the PleXCombo writing a 59 minute audio disc in VariRec mode:

Unlike with Yamaha's 'Audio Master Quality Recording' mode, the buffer underrun technique the PleXCombo offers, BURN-Proof, is enabled when writing in the VariRec mode. Of course, when writing at such a low speed as 4x the buffer underrun technique isn't really needed but it's a safe feeling that if needed, BURN-Proof will protect your disc.

Now for the more important question: did the back-ups created with VariRec enabled sound better than back-ups created with the normal write mode? Well again, just as with Yamaha's 'Audio Master Quality Recording' mode, we couldn't tell the difference.. Is this bad or good you might ask? Well the back-ups created with the PleXCombo PX-320A sounded just as good as the original disc regardless if VariRec was enabled or disabled. That's a good result and actually what's really important anyway..

Conclusion:

So what can we conclude from all of the achieved results? Well the PleXCombo PX-320A performs as expected. Because it's not an extremely fast writer we only compared the drive at 16x writing and 20x writing. The drive performed just as good as other drives we've reviewed and was actually a few seconds faster than most drives. Of course this could also be due to some other factors like different CD-Recordable media and test methods but nonetheless the drive performed very well.

When writing audio Plextor offers its new VariRec technology to increase overall quality and playability of audio back-ups. We, just like with Yamaha's 'Audio Master Quality Recording' mode, again couldn't tell the difference between a normal audio write and a write with VariRec enabled. All disc sounded just fine and played fine in our stereo and car stereo. We did like Plextor's VariRec a little better than Yamaha's 'Audio Master Quality Recording' because with the Plextor technology, the buffer underrun technique is enabled while Yamaha has it disabled. Of course no major issue since the writing is done at a low 4x but it gave us a 'safe' feeling.

Now that we've finished our normal read and write tests, it's time to test the drive for its ability to read copy-protections.