The Drive
Bundled with Yamaha's CD-R is the latest version of Ahead's Nero (v. 5.5), which consists of Nero Burning ROM (CD recording), Nero MIX (music management), Nero Toolkit (drive utilities) and InCD (package writing). Also provided are installation screws, an IDE cable and an audio cable. Yamaha also threw in an extra manual that explains Nero in even further detail, showing thoughtful consideration of the user, as well as an appreciation of the value of the software: that is atypical of most other hardware companies. Nero, by the way, seems to have become the CD recording software of choice, taking the place of Easy CD Creator and WinOnCD, which often were the standard software that came bundled with CD recorders. I consider Nero to be one of the most versatile recording suites, and this appears to be the general concensus today.
| Technical Data | |
|---|---|
| CD-R Write Speeds | 20x, 16x (at partial constant angular velocity - CAV),12x, 8x, 4x, 2x, 1x (at constant linear velocity - CLV) |
| CD-RW Write Speeds | 10x, 8x, 4x, 2x at CLVor 4x to 10x at CAV |
| CD Read Speeds | 40x CAV (Video CD at 10x, Open Session at 12x max.) |
| Interface | UltraDMA/33 |
| Buffer | 8 MB |
| Average Access Time | 150 ms |
| Installation | Horizontal only |
The back side is quite similar to other IDE CD-ROM drives and CD recorders. There are two audio outputs on the left, one digital (SPDIF) and one analog. The white thing is the jumper which sets the drive to master or slave mode. In the middle is the IDE connector, and on the right side is the power connector.