CDRLabs.com

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827129161

This the fastest reading cat(has reading glasses) on the block when flashed with the A09FW140. Burning speeds are great also. It will not burn 8X media faster than 12X. But 16X media burns at 16X. Very nice unit! Grab one before the 110s come out and they don't make them anymore.

$49.99 shipped!

Go to the Official Pioneer forum for details.

http://pioneer109.com/phpBB2/viewforum. ... a6d72ab027

This unit started life as a low down dirty dog but now is a hungry male Persian cat!

etp; How the performance of this drive Pioneer 109@A09 (reading speed, writing at over rataed speed ) is with compaire to our NEC 3500?.

TCAS! This is the fastest reader when converted to a A09 on the market! Before I converted it it was a little better than the speed of a hacked RP removed 3500(Plex 716 and AOPEN 1608 were the fastest out of the box). My scan on another thread shows that it beat the Plex 716a by a hair and a half. It burns most 8X media at 12X and Maxell 8X at 8X. All 16X media at 16X. So it is slower on TY02(12X) media and Maxell (8X)than the hacked 3500. However, I am still researching the availability of hacked FW for this and if it will improve any speeds for Maxell 002(TY002 is good enough at 12X). The recording times are about the same as the PLEX for most media, which is outstanding. I will do a 16X recording shortly to see if it slows down any during the recording.
Chas at CDFREAKS thinks it is a little high on error rate but makes perfect DVD videos. If I ever start using these for data back up I will need to know which one is the best. I suspect the NEC/Plex/Aopen!
Which brings up a point! One burner is not perfect at everything! If speed is not an issue for burning DVDs, then the 1608 is the best all around burner. If speed is an issue, then I would say the 109 is due to price ($49). The Plex 716 is a great burner but a little pricy! When the 3530 and 3540 are available to everyone the line up may shift a little

PS/ TCAS! If you here of any clearances on the 1608 let us know. Someone said they got one for $29 but would not say where! That is a great price for a great burner.

etp; I have not seen any further advertisement from OfficeMax for AOpen 1608 since long time and you are right some one was claiming that he bought two for $29.99 each, I have not been able to verify that.