June 14
Yamaha Offers Fastest Mac Audio Ripper
New drive writes CDs at 24x; FireWire model on the way

by David Nagel
Executive Producer

Yamaha has started shipping a new CD-RW for Macintosh and Windows that offers audio ripping speeds of 24x. The current model, the CRW8824EZ, is an internal EIDE device. The company says the drive will be joined in July by three new models in the 8824 family: an internal Ultra SCSI, external Ultra SCSI and external FireWire drive. According to Yamaha, the current model is compatible with Mac systems running OS 7.5 or higher. In addition to the audio ripping function, the drive operates as a regular CD-RW with 8x write, 8x rewrite and 24x read capabilities.

The CRW8824EZ offers 140 ms average access time and a 4 MB buffer memory to write a 650 MB CD in 9 minutes. It is also the first CD-RW recorder to use Yamaha's PurePhase Laser System, which eliminates the glare and reflections created on the surface of the disc while burning a CD, according to the company. It also uses flash ROM to allow upgrades via Yamaha's Web site.

The internal EIDE model is available now for $249.95. It includes Mac and Windows software titles, including Adaptec Easy CD Creator, Direct CD and Toast; Adobe ActiveShare, PageMill, Photo Deluxe Business Edition; MusicMatch Jukebox; and the Neato CD Labeler Kit. For more information, visit http://www.yamaha.com.

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