Pioneer’s seventh generation drive, the DVR-A07XL, is the retail version of the DVR-107D, available in the European market in one month. The 8x8 dual-format DVD burner comes in two very stylish black and white versions. The DVR-A07XL tackles two main issues. The first is ambient noise. Pioneer has consequently developed a drive chassis that incorporates a honeycomb shaped moulding. The structure called the ‘QuietDrive’ helps to dissipate and ‘soak up’ noise. Together with performance adjusting firmware and a lack of integral fan, ambient noise from the DVR-A07XL is reduced by 75 percent.

The second area that the design team addressed is performance. The DVR-A07XL features Pioneer’s Precision Recording Technology - a range of innovations that improve DVD writing performance. The drive utilises Distributed Real Time Defect Management (DRT-DM) that conforms to the DVD format without sacrificing write performance. In addition, a Liquid Crystal Tilt Mechanism helps to ensure precise writing onto the surface of discs that have become warped or are of uneven thickness while an Ultra Dynamic Resonance absorber reduces the instability caused by damaged media. An additional feature of Pioneer’s Precision Recording Technology is the ‘smart laser driver’. The drive’s strategy circuitry has been moved to the laser pick up assembly to prevent any signal distortion between the main board and the drive’s laser driver circuitry.

The technical specifications of the drive are not any different than the DVR-107D, reviewed by CDRInfo.com a week ago.