detail information

Now we'll start testing the reading of normal/unprotected data discs. Let's see how fast the VisionTek/Lite-On drive can read data and if it can really reach the claimed 48x. For the tests we used Nero CD Speed and repeated the tests several times to make sure the results were accurate.

The data read tests are divided into four sections:

• Original/Pressed Discs
• CD-Recordable Media
• CD-ReWriteable Media
• Conclusion

Transfer Rate Test - Original/Pressed Discs:

For the transfer rate tests we used a pressed CD-ROM containing PlexTools v1.05 which was exactly 74 minutes (333.000 sectors) long. Below the produced graph with Nero CD Speed:

And of course the speeds and seek times of the VisionTek Xtasy 48X / Lite-On LTR-48125W drive:

In the left screenshot you see that the VisionTek has no problems reaching 48x with our test disc. It can reach a top speed of 48.72x. Although the drive starts slow it quickly speeds up as you can also see in the graph if you look closely. The seek times with original/pressed media were pretty good as you can see in the screenshot on the right.

In the table below we compare the achieved times with other drives we've previously reviewed. The VisionTek drive is the slowest starter but has the highest average and top read speeds. It has about the same seek-times as the other 48x drives:

Transfer Rate Test - CD-Recordable Media:

For the transfer rate tests with CD-Recordable Media we again used the PlexTools v1.05 disc only this time we read from a back-up disc. The disc used was a 'That's Write' CD-R certified up to 16x writing and manufactured by Gigastorage. Here's the ATIP information from CDR Identifier:

• ATIP: 97m 28s 12f
  
• Disc Manufacturer: Gigastorage Corp.
  
• Reflective layer: Dye (Long strategy; e.g. Cyanine, Azo etc.)
  
• Media type: CD-Recordable
  
• Recording Speeds: min. unknown - max. unknown
  
• Nominal Capacity: 702.83MB (79m 59s 74f / LBA: 359849)

The back-up disc was of course also 74 minutes (333.000 sectors) long. Below the produced graph with Nero CD Speed:

The speeds and seek times the VisionTek Xtasy 48X / Lite-On LTR-48125W drive reached with the CD-Recordable media:

In the left screenshot you see that the VisionTek Xtasy 48X again has no problems reaching 48x reading. Its top read speed is 48.15x, a little lower than the TEAC CD-W540E and Lite-On LTR-40123S drive. The seek times with CD-Recordable media were again pretty good as you can see in the screenshot on the right.

In the table below we compare the achieved results to some of the reviews we've done previously. The VisionTek drive is a little slower with the CD-Recordable media than with the original/pressed discs. Its seek-times are about the same again, with the exception of the full seek-times which were a lot faster than the other drives we've reviewed:

Transfer Rate Test - CD-ReWriteable Media:

To test the transfer rate with CD-RW discs we again used the "PlexTools v1.05" disc only this time we read from a CD-ReWriteable disc. We created a back-up of the disc using a PleXCombo PX-320A. The disc used was a 'Plextor CD-RW' disc. Here's the ATIP information from CDR Identifier:

• ATIP: 97m 27s 00f
  
• Disc Manufacturer: Disc ID not allowed
  
• Reflective layer: Phase change
  
• Media type: CD-ReWriteable
  
• Recording Speeds: min. 4X - max. 8X
  
• Nominal Capacity: 651.86MB (74m 12s 00f / LBA: 333750)

The CD-RW disc was of course also 74 minutes (333.000 sectors) long. Below the produced graph with Nero CD Speed:

The speeds and seek times the VisionTek Xtasy 48X / Lite-On LTR-48125W drive reached with the CD-ReWriteable media:

In the screenshots you can see that the VisionTek drive, like most Lite-On drives, cannot read CD-ReWriteable discs at full speed and reaches a top speed of 42.57x. The seek times with CD-ReWriteable media were however very good as you can see in the screenshot on the right.

In the table below we compare the achieved results to some of the reviews we've done previously. The VisionTek drive performs very similar to the Lite-On LTR-40125S drive but cannot keep up with the TEAC CD-W540E. Its seek-times were however very good:

Transfer Rate Test - Conclusion:

Overall we can say the VisionTek Xtasy 48X or Lite-On LTR-48125W is a great reader. It has no problems reaching 48x and going even a little faster than that. Its seek-times were good and sometimes very good as we saw with the CD-ReWriteable media. However when it came to reading this media the drive is limited to about 42x. Of course not really slow compared to other/older Lite-On drives but not nearly as fast as the TEAC CD-W540E drive.

So far for the data reading part. Now let's check the audio reading (DAE) speeds on the next page...