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I wanted a better drive for ripping and since a Plextor 230a is as elusive as the Loch Ness Monster I picked up one of these Lite-On IBHS112 CD/DVD/Blu burners instead. Previously I had been doing the majority of my ripping with an LG burner from Best Buy. I also have a Sony Optiarc that I used as a second try drive for discs the LG had trouble ripping.
I put the Lite-On to the test right away by pulling out 8 discs that neither the LG or Sony had been able to rip securely. The first was a CD-R where track 1 had failed badly on both drives with over 4000 frames needing to be re-ripped. I let the Lite-On have a go at it. It went through the full 8 passes and then indicated that there were [only!] 24 frames that needed to be re-ripped. It retried those 24 frames and was able to read them all accurately so I got a secure rip on this track that I had totally given up on before. Impressive!
The next test was another CD-R where one track had failed on both the LG and Sony. Both of those drives had been unable to rip the same two frames. The Lite-on ripped the track securely in five passes without any need to re-rip frames. Impressive!
The next test was a CD where tracks 5 and 6 had given both drives fits. In previous attempts, the number of frames that needed re-ripping was only a couple of hundred but approximately one third of those frames were still unreadable after all the retries. The Lite-On also failed to rip these tracks. I let it retry all the unreadable frames but it also ended up with a large number of unreadable frames.
The next test was a CD where both drives had failed to rip Track 5 securely. The Lite-On got an accurate (2) on the first pass.
I next stuck in a CD where track 4 had failed on both drives. Lite-On did five passes and then needed to re-rip two frames. It was able to read both frames after which I got an Accurate (8).
I then put in a CD where track 35 had failed on both drives. Lite-On made eight passes and then needed to re-rip 11 frames. All 11 were read and I got a secure rip.
The last two tests involved CDs that suffered from the bronzing problem that plagued many CDs pressed at certain factories in the 1990s. These CDs were in bad shape and I really didn't expect the LG to be able to rip them. Track 1 of the first CD needed over 4000 frames re-ripped so I quickly aborted that rip. I got similar results with the second CD. As I expected these two CDs are beyond salvage.
Overall I'm quite impressed by this drive's ripping ability. Excluding the two hopeless bronzed CDs, it was able to rip 5 of the 6 CDs that my other two drives could not. I was particularly amazed that it could rip the first CD-R that I gave it since both of my other drives had indicated that thousands of frames needed re-ripping.
Since these tests I've continued ripping CDs from my collection and it rips them fast and securely. I can recommend this drive to anyone looking for a good drive for ripping. Or you can continue the hunt for a Plextor 230a, and good luck with that.
I put the Lite-On to the test right away by pulling out 8 discs that neither the LG or Sony had been able to rip securely. The first was a CD-R where track 1 had failed badly on both drives with over 4000 frames needing to be re-ripped. I let the Lite-On have a go at it. It went through the full 8 passes and then indicated that there were [only!] 24 frames that needed to be re-ripped. It retried those 24 frames and was able to read them all accurately so I got a secure rip on this track that I had totally given up on before. Impressive!
The next test was another CD-R where one track had failed on both the LG and Sony. Both of those drives had been unable to rip the same two frames. The Lite-on ripped the track securely in five passes without any need to re-rip frames. Impressive!
The next test was a CD where tracks 5 and 6 had given both drives fits. In previous attempts, the number of frames that needed re-ripping was only a couple of hundred but approximately one third of those frames were still unreadable after all the retries. The Lite-On also failed to rip these tracks. I let it retry all the unreadable frames but it also ended up with a large number of unreadable frames.
The next test was a CD where both drives had failed to rip Track 5 securely. The Lite-On got an accurate (2) on the first pass.
I next stuck in a CD where track 4 had failed on both drives. Lite-On did five passes and then needed to re-rip two frames. It was able to read both frames after which I got an Accurate (8).
I then put in a CD where track 35 had failed on both drives. Lite-On made eight passes and then needed to re-rip 11 frames. All 11 were read and I got a secure rip.
The last two tests involved CDs that suffered from the bronzing problem that plagued many CDs pressed at certain factories in the 1990s. These CDs were in bad shape and I really didn't expect the LG to be able to rip them. Track 1 of the first CD needed over 4000 frames re-ripped so I quickly aborted that rip. I got similar results with the second CD. As I expected these two CDs are beyond salvage.
Overall I'm quite impressed by this drive's ripping ability. Excluding the two hopeless bronzed CDs, it was able to rip 5 of the 6 CDs that my other two drives could not. I was particularly amazed that it could rip the first CD-R that I gave it since both of my other drives had indicated that thousands of frames needed re-ripping.
Since these tests I've continued ripping CDs from my collection and it rips them fast and securely. I can recommend this drive to anyone looking for a good drive for ripping. Or you can continue the hunt for a Plextor 230a, and good luck with that.
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