Hi Chris, Thanks for the note, and I hope you don't mind if I reply to MD-L, it's a topic that comes up every so often. "Chris Lloyd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Being a seasoned minidisc and hi-fi user (in general), I feel that I > must write regarding the Minidisc Community Page position on the > 'minidisc blank' sound quality issue. Rather than rubbishing claims of > well (and some not quite so well) respected hi-fi magazines, why not do > your own investigations scientifically. I draw your attention to the > excellent article in Hi-fi Choice (October 1999) regarding minidisc > blanks. I believe that, although there is little (perhaps even no) > difference in the nature of the quality of data storage (and hence the > playback sound) due to the actual optical surface of the minidiscs in > question, in practise there is an audible difference in sound quality > between discs. It is the combination of the design of IC, be it Sony, > Sharp or whoever (and whatever quality of deck), that is at the heart of > the number crunching of every md recorder, and the quality of mechanism > that surrounds the disc that allows variations in tracking accuracy, > whilst recording, for any individual design of disc and, hence, allows > different levels of digital distortion to result on the disc (causing > variations in soundstage depth and other subtleties). > I know from experience that Sony ES mds sound far superior to TDK MJs, > ON A SONY JA20ES for example. Any search for differences would likely include: 1) good experimental work (serious double blind A/B/X type tests). 2) measurement of the error rate, after error correction. 3) a theoretical explanation for where differences might lie. I admit to not having done (1), but perhaps someone should try it. Even without doing (1), if (2) showed no differences after error correction (as my simple check of block error rates implied [see the FAQ, http://www.minidisc.org/minidisc_faq.html#mdquality]) there would seem to be no point in doing (1). But my main problem in any case is that I cannot imagine an explanation (3) that would hold up to any serious scrutiny. Yes, I have heard of differences being reported due to disc tracking problems causing noise in the analog stage of some [cheap] MD players. But this is not a problem with the discs so much as it is a problem with the playback units. If the experiment is repeated with an external DAC, the problem will not appear (this is presumably even admitted by the folks who conduct such experiments). If you want to pursue it further, please first give a plausible explanation for how certain discs can sound better. I find the claims that some discs have certain general characteristics (e.g. "better bass", "better top end") to be comletely at odds with how audio information is stored digitally and give them a summary dismissal. Regards, Rick ----------------------------------------------------------------- To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
