MCDEF WROTE
> Well, you're wrong -- the difference is not that the CD player is superior.
> While I do have some very nice CD equipment, one of my blind tests was
> between a Optimus portable CD player -- one that cost $129.99 in 1994 -- and
> an MZ-R50, one of the best MD portables ever made.
Actually the argument about the merits of the MZ-R50 vs the Sharp model that was
current at the time, was at times quite heated. There were thread after thread
here from the two camps. Many people felt that the Sharp had superior sound
(especially with regard to bass).
The only way to really run a decent A/B test would be to take a high end CD
player with a digital output and the same for the MD deck. Both would have to
go through the same (but not one that is included in a unit-we need better
quality to really determine this) DAC.
And there would have to be a variety of different types of music evaluated.
As I stated before, to be fair, the MD should not be a copy of the CD but a high
quality prerecorded MD. After all the argument is whether a CD's sound will be
noticeably better than a Mini Disc. Not whether a copy of a CD will sound as
good. There are too many variables in using a home grown copy.
What I'm getting at is that all other things being equal, we want to know how
ATRAC effects the sound. Not whether the laser on a consumer MD recorder will
produce as good a copy as the original CD.
There are too many factors involved with "burning" an MD as opposed to one that
is stamped (prerecorded) just like a prerecorded CD. Once you have established
whether a prerecorded MD made using the most advanced ATRAC and played back on
the most advanced ATRAC version sounds different, you can take it from there.
The quality of a tape recorded on an Ampex (they used to be the studio standard
many moons ago) as opposed to one recorded on a consumer Webcor (any one
remember that name) will be no contest. So, the way I see it, it must first be
determined how much of a factor ATRAC is.
Has anyone ever compared a high quality CD with a copies made from different CD
writers using a variety of different brands and grade CDRs and CDRWs? You might
think they would sound Identical, but do they really? The fact that some CD
players (especially older ones) have trouble playing some CDRs even though they
used the standard CD format, raises questions.
Larry
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