A few weeks ago Sharky Extreme reviewed the ASUS CD-S500 50x IDE CD-ROM. After testing the drive with both real world as well as synthetic benchmarking software, we determined that the drive was quite fast, but suffered from its overbearing level of audible loudness.

The Kenwood 52x TrueX IDE CD-ROM we're looking at today was specifically designed to negate the major flaws found in typical CD-ROM drives like the ASUS unit, while providing superior speed. With a spindle speed of only 4,800rpm (half the rate of the ASUS 50x CD-ROM) you'd correctly assume that the Kenwood 52x cuts excess noise out like a tumor.

But how does the Kenwood drive manage to live up to its "52x" rating with a spindle speed that any current 24x CD-ROM matches?

Read on….