Error Correction Tests

In the following tests we check the drive's behavior when reading scratched / defective audio discs. The test discs used were the ABEX series from ALMEDIO.

- ABEX TCD-721R

Errors total	Num: 1144745
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 49727	Avg: -71.7 dB(A)	Max: -11.6 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 10326	Avg: 3.2 Samples	Max: 411 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 26	Avg: 6.0 Samples	Max: 6 Samples
Total Test Result	64.4 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

The performance with this disc is quite good. The total error count is about average but the maximum loudness error level is very high at -11.6 dB(A). There are also a lot of muting sample errors and the number of skipped samples is also high. The total score could have been better.

- ABEX TCD-726

Errors total	Num: 7
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 3	Avg: -87.9 dB(A)	Max: -70.4 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0.0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0.0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Total Test Result	94.4 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

The Abex TCD-726 test disc is a simple test for error correction and so it's only natural the Toshiba drive perform better than in the previous test. The total error count isn`t high, while there are no skips and any mutes. The total score of 94.4 out of 100 is good, but in general, most good drives record a score of 100 for this test.

- 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 more difficult tests. These tracks are referred to as Check Level-1 through Check Level-5.

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

Error Level	1	2	3	4	5
Toshiba SD-R5272	5/5	5/5	5/5	3/5	0/5

The drive performed slightly better than average. It managed to playback 5 out of 5 attempts for the first three tracks and 3 out of 5 for the fourth track. It did not manage to play any attempts for the fifth track, but then only the best drives mange to read the fifth track.

- Summary

Test Disc	Reading Speed	Score
ABEX TCD-721R	Max	64.4
ABEX TCD-726		94.4
Average Score		79.4

The total average score for the drive is satisfactory.