CDR Tests

The TDK CyClone 161040 is the first drive that supports 16x CLV writing. You might be confused since Yamaha was the first company ever presented 16x writer, which however used 16x partial CAV. The main difference between 2 technologies is that 16x CLV should be faster around 15sec (in full 74min CD). The drive didn't perform good with CD Speed v0.8 test so we were unable to confirm the 16x writing speed. This shouldn't worry you since the drive does support 16x writing speed:

- Procedure:
We tested TDK CyClone 161040 with Nero v5.0.3.8, CloneCD v2.8.4.2 software and with the following media: Princo 74min (16x) & 80min (16x), Platinum 80min (12x), Verbatim 74min (16x) & 80min (16x), Mitsui 74min (16x), Ricoh/Plextor/Verbatim 74min HS RW. The media manufacturers have acted fast to the 16x writing challenge and you will find easily 16x certified CDR media to use. In most cases the 12x certified CDR media will do just fine for 16x writing.

- CD-R Tests:
We created "DataCD" job with data slight higher than 74mins (74:03:65). We burned the same job with all 4 CDR-W drives:

As you see all 4 tested drives (BP4, BP1400P, CRW2100E) gave the same exact burning time (404sec). The TDK 161040 makes 2 extra seconds to finish the task, which shouldn't be considered as a drawback. The CPU Usage is little higher than what we got from the Sanyo drives.

Let's now see the 16x writing speed performance. The Sanyo and TDK drives need about 8-10 secs in order to calibrate the media..The time (including lead and lead-out) is 312secs (5:12min), which is the fastest you can get nowadays from a 16x CLV recorder. The Yamaha 2100E stays back 12secs since it uses 16x CAV writing technology.

- 80min CDs:
As previous we created a DataCD (80:02:16) and used the same media for all burns:

The Sanyo and TDK drives gave the lower burning time in this test. The Yamaha 2100E needs 4 more seconds to finish the task, which however is not a big difference in terms of time.

At the 16x recording speed again the Sanyo and TDK drives deliver the lowest recording time (334sec). The Yamaha 2100E lags behind, as it is 19sec slower. The time difference between 16x CLV and 16x CAV writing speeds has increased in this test.

- Overburning Tests:
We used 90 and 99min CDs (from Medea International and Copy4All) and using Nero we were able to write up to 92minutes. Both drives stop writing at 93mins so you will not be able to use fully the increased capacity of 99min CDs. The 90min media can be written entirely:

- AudioCD Tests:
We created several Audio CDs (including CD-Text). All of the CDs we created were tested with the Plextor PX-40TS and Plextor's CD-Text compatible CD player. From what we saw, everything worked just fine.

- CloneCD Tests:
The TDK CyClone 161040 is supposed to support DAO-RAW according to CloneCD v2.8.4.2. However, real life tests showed the exact opposite. The DAO-RAW is NOT working since the drive either produces un-readable CDs or CDs with only Audio tracks! This happens in both DAO/SAO RAW modes! The problem was also confirmed using PadusDJ. Add the known problem reading SubChannel data from Data tracks and you have the complete idea. Of course since the DAO-RAW writing is not working we weren't able to check if the drive can make safe backups of SafeDisc 2 protected CDs...

Both problems have been reported to TDK/Sanyo and were admitted as true. We hope that they will be fixed soon, so that users can enjoy CloneCD :). The drive also supports SAO/DAO-RAW among with Simulation, which Plextor drives don't support. CloneCD doesn't display the 16x write speed option but if you set the write speed at "MAX" it will do the job ;)

- Buffer Underrun tests:
The TDK CyClone 161040 includes the improved BURN-Proof technology,(gap lenght 2micro meters), which eliminates buffer under-runs and of course coasters. The drives worked fine even under heavy pressure from our side (100% CPU Usage). The BURN-Proof technology will save you from any possible buffer under-run you might ever face!

Verdict of CDR Results:
The TDK CyClone 161040 is based on Sanyo Bp1400P. The general impression that the drive left us, is that it behaves normally in most cases when using CDR media and try to write at the maximum 16x. There might be some problems if the CDR media is not of good quality. The recording time is the same as with the Sanyo drives, and beats Yamaha's proposal in most CDR tests. Keep in mind that you will need a very fast CD-Rom/DVD-Rom for be able to keep writing 16x on the fly. If your source drive is not fast the recording time will be increased dramatically... Overburning works great but only up to 93 mins so you will not be able to use 99min (or 120min) CDs.

The BURN-Proof technology is there and gives you the freedom eventually to work in your PC without any fear of Buffer Underruns. CloneCD users will freak out when they find out that the DAO-RAW of the drive is not working! Let's hope this nasty bug will be fixed soon...