I’ve replaced my BenQ DW1650 with a new Pioneer DVR-112D, and I’d like to put the DW1650 in an external USB/Firewire enclosure, since I no longer have any room in either computer to keep the DW1650 installed. The primary use for the external DW1650 would be for quality scanning with Nero CD/DVD Speed, rather than for burning. I have USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394a ports available for use on both computers.
From reading the forums, it appears that using optical drives in external enclosures seems to be quite problematic and seems to center around the USB/Firewire chipsets used in the various enclosures.
Not knowing any better, my first choice would have been the Plumax Stortecc PM-525C2-PPB with the Prolific PL-3507 Combo USB/Firewire chipset from DealSonic. They mention BenQ as being compatible with this enclosure. However, they show this enclosure as discontinued (or backordered, depending on how you read it).
My second coice would be the Plumax Stortecc PM-525C2-PTB with the Cypress AT2+ chipset for USB and the Oxford OXFW911+ chipset for IEEE 1394 Firewire. This unit is still available, however they don’t mention BenQ as being compatible with this enclosure.
My questions are:
Are drives like the BenQ DW1650, which were previously good scanners when connected directly to an IDE/ATAPI controller, still reliable scanners when mounted in an external enclosure and operating on a compatible USB or IEEE 1394 to IDE/ATAPI Bridge? Will the current DW1650 firmware BCIC work in an external enclosure or will I need to re-flash to another version?
Has anyone had any experience, good or bad, with the BenQ DW1650 in the Plumax Stortecc PM-525C2-PTB enclosure? Is the Cypress AT2+/Oxford OXFW911+ as good or better than the Prolific PL-3507 Combo?
Finally, does anyone know of an online retailer, preferably in the US, who might still have the Plumax Stortecc PM-525C2-PPB available?