Amazing drive. I currently burn 2x 4x and 8x +r media at 16x on this 1655 and they all score in the 90's in cd-speed. No hacking needed. I just unlocked it in qsuite. If it starts to cause a prob I'll just turn it off. I'm even burning 8x +R AML media made in china and it works great at 16x. Also for a few bucks less I'm very impressed with my new nec 3550. Nearly as good, similar burn quality to the 1655 but not the qsuite tools.