As previously mentioned, the first CD I used was my monthly backup disc. I
put the "whole world" on this one CD so I use the best media I can
find regardless of price. I also do not overburn these backup discs. The graph
shows that the 72X did anything but read this CD at 72X. The average read speed
was clocked at 21.96X. Seek times were relatively lousy, being nearly triple
of most modern 40X drives. All other measurements were in the acceptable range.
Next, I put in a shorter TDK CD-R. Weighing in at 625MB (71:14:12 audio equivalent),
the 72X promptly woke up and roared through that baby at an average transfer
rate of 65.3X! Noticeable is the minimum and maximum rates; they conform to
Kenwood’s specs. Beginning at 45X (6.75 MB/s) and hitting 72X (10.8 MB/s) several
times the drive gave its all and did it without any discernable noise. The seek
time was finally acceptable measuring 95mS.
