detail information

Now we'll start testing the reading of normal/unprotected data discs. Let's see how fast the Yamaha drive can read data and if it can really reach the claimed 40x. 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 the Yamaha reached:

In the left screenshot you see that the Yamaha has an average reading speed of 29.46x. As you can also see the drive doesn't reach 40x. A disappointing result.

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. Please note that the other drives are all 40x readers except for the TEAC CD-W540E, which is a 48x reader and is therefore mentioned separately. This drive does have the fastest seek times:

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 Yamaha reached with the CD-R media:

This result is more like it. This time the Yamaha CRW3200E has no problems reaching 40x and achieves an average reading speed of 30.50x.

The seek times are also slightly better than with original/pressed discs as you can see in the picture in the right. A very good result.

In the table below we compare the achieved results to some of the reviews we've done previously. The TEAC CD-W540E is again mentioned separately since it's the only 48x capable reader and it wouldn't be fair to compare it with 40x readers.

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. The disc used was a 'Verbatim' CD-RW certified up to 10x writing and manufactured by Mitsubishi. Here's the ATIP information from CDR Identifier:

• ATIP: 97m 34s 23f
  
• Disc Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Chemicals Corp.
  
• Reflective layer: Phase change
  
• Media type: CD-ReWriteable
  
• Recording Speeds: min. 4X - max. 8X
  
• Nominal Capacity: 656.40MB (74m 43s 00f / LBA: 336075)

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

And of course the speeds and seek times the Yamaha reached:

The Yamaha CRW3200E really produces an excellent result here and can read CD-RW discs at full speed (41.11x!). It's even faster with CD-RW discs than with original/pressed discs and CD-R discs!

The seek times however, are a bit disappointing. They're not the best we've seen as you can see on the right.

In the table below we compare the achieved results to some of the reviews we've done previously. The TEAC CD-W540E is again mentioned separately since it's the only 48x capable reader and it wouldn't be fair to compare it with 40x readers.

Transfer Rate Test - Conclusion:

Overall we can say the Yamaha CRW3200E is not the best reader we've seen when reading original/pressed discs but it performs a lot better with CD-Recordable discs and especially CD-ReWriteable discs. With these discs the Yamaha CRW3200E is the fastest 40x reader we've reviewed. The seek times of the drive were pretty average, sometimes very fast and sometimes a bit slower.

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