Waitec X-FILE DVD+RW- Page 4

DAE Tests

Test Method

We used CD DAE 99 v0.3 beta and EAC v0.9 beta 2 software in order to check the DAE performance of the drive with various AudioCDs (both pressed and CDR). The posted DAE results are the average of both applications. We made a full CD Rip starting from the first to the last track of the CD. The Average DAE reported speeds are displayed in the test graphs.

DAE features

As the EAC v0.9 prebeta 11 reported, Waitec X-FILE supports "Caching" of data, "Accurate Stream" and "C2 error info".

Pressed AudioCD results

Waitec X-FILE does not support a very fast DAE speed, but is faster than the other drives in this category and finished the test at 23.5X average ripping speed.

CDR AudioCD Results

Waitec kept the same performance as in the previous test, and ripped the audio CD-R at 23.4X.

EAC Secure Extract Ripping mode

After many requests from numerous visitors we have added the EAC's secure extract ripping mode results, which ensures maximum produced WAV quality. Note that for each drive we used the build-in detection function:

During the test. Waitec X-FILE reduced the ripping speed dramatically in order to maintain a quality ripping result. Although the very low average ripping speed, the drive gave many sync errors and audible noise points were present during the playback of the produced wav.* files.

Advanced DAE Quality

The advanced DAE test results were not bad for Waitec X-FILE. The drive got a "100" score and the reading speed was high. The drive also can read Subchannel Data and CD-Text:

Bad CDR Media results

This is a real life DAE test with a scratched disc. The disc was dirty, and with some light scratches, enough to cause problems to most of the tested drives. We used CD DAE 99 software to rip the whole disc (756539616 sectors) and the results were very interesting:

Waitec X-FILE ripped the disc at 8x average speed, slower than the other drives and produced a specific amount of data errors (7% of the total data).

CD-Check Audio Test Disc

Digital Recordings CD-CHECK is a compact disc which allows evaluation of the CD player's "error correction headroom" (i.e. player's ability to correct data errors) and "tracking" (i.e. player's ability to stay on track despite of disc surface or other errors). CD-CHECK uses special digital signals in combination with disc error patterns arranged over five tracks. The five tracks contain a sequence of progressively difficult tests referred to as Check Level-1 to Check Level-5. The higher the Check Level passed the more reliable the sound reproduction of the CD player. A smooth, continuous tone of 20-seconds indicates the player passes that Check Level. Any clicks, interruptions, skipping or looping indicates failure of a Check Level.

We tested the drive with the following procedure: We used WinXP Windows Media Player to playback the disc, and using headphones we listened all tracks. A continuous tone of 20 seconds plays in each track. If the drive playbacks without an audible pop or click occurring during playback of the tone it passes the check level. The tests are repeated five times. A result of 5/5 indicates that no pops or clicks were heard in 5 out of 5 playbacks of a particular track. A result of 0/5 means pops or clicks occurred during all 5 playbacks of a particular track. Digital Recordings provides the following interpretation of results:

· Level-1 Pass: Player meets minimum requirements
· Level-2 Pass: Average error correction
· Level-3 Pass: Good error correction
· Level-4 Pass: Very good error correction
· Level-5 Pass: Excellent error correction

Test Results

The drive did not manage to completely fulfill the 2nd level error correction requirements, and failed to successfully playback (no audible pops or clicks) the other level tones.

Ripping 90 and 99min CDs

The drive managed to read 99 min CD.

Reading Protected AudioCDs

For the test procedure we used 3 protected AudioCDs, which we tested in both recognition and ripping (with CD DAE) processes:

* Pressed AudioCD with Sony's KeyAudio
* Pressed AudioCD with Cactus Data Shield 200 (Natalie Imbruglia - White Lilies Island)
* CDR AudioCD protected with Cactus Data Shield (CDS100) - made with Clone Audio Protector v1.1 (adding 30 secs lead-out)

As the test results showed, Waitec X-FILE cannot handle any audio protections. In the CDS200 test, the drive managed to rip the disc contents but the produced files had too many errors.