Why does my “Super Fast” 24x, 32x or 40x CD-ROM drive only extract audio at 2x-4x speed?
A. A drive’s speed rating only applies to data CD’s which conform to the Yellow Book standard (i.e. HFS, ISO 9660, High Sierra, etc.) The information on Digital Audio CD’s (CD-DA) is based on the Red Book standard which arranges data very differently than Yellow Book data CD’s. Essentially, it is far more difficult to position the optics exactly at a desired location because Audio CD’s provide fewer “markers” on the disc for the drive to know where its optics are currently reading from. To compensate for the lack of optical position information, most drive manufacturers dramatically reduce the rotational rate of a disc when performing Digital Audio Extraction (DAE), thus reducing the speed at which CD-DA data is transmitted. Plextor(TM) drives are a notable exception, however. Plextor drives typically see extraction speeds reach about 50% of the rated speed of the drive! Back to top ……
