In the following tests we check the drive's behavior when it comes to reading scratched / defective discs. The test discs we use are the ABEX series from ALMEDIO.

The total error count was extremely high for the Sony drive and the maximum error loudness was also high at -12.0 dB(A), when the limit is set at -35.0 dB(A). For this reason, the muting samples and skipped samples were high. The performance is well below average and the total score of 55.6% is indicative of the poor performance. The C2 error accurancy was also very low.

- ABEX TCD-726

Fortunately for the drive, this disc is much easier to read so it was reasonable to expect better performance. Here we should mention that most drives get a total test result score close to or right on 100%.

- CD-Check Audio Test Disc

The CD-Check Test Disc is a very useful tool for evaluating the Sound Reproduction / Error correction capabilities of a CD player. The disc offers a signal combination with disc error patterns to rate the drive's abilities to read music and reproduce it completely. Five tracks on the disc contain a sequence of progressively difficult tests. These tracks are referred as Check Level-1 through Check Level-5.

The files are reproduced (played) through a software multimedia player (i.e. Windows Media Player). Each level is considered as passed, if the tone coming out from the speakers is smooth, continuous without interruptions, skipping or looping. The higher the Check Level passed, the more reliable the sound reproduction of the tested device.

The drive passed only the first three Check Levels of the test. The performance reveals average sound reproduction and error correction. The fourth level includes an error size of 1.125mm, while the fifth 1.500mm where the drive produced continues audible clicks.

- Conclusion

The performance of the SONY DRU-710A was below average, at least with the ABEX TCD-721R. The drive's abilities with the CD-Check Test Disc were limited to the 3rd Error level.