Re: MD: Sony E500 vs. E700 vs. E900
At 1/8/01 11:28 PM, J. Coon wrote: No, I haven't listened to it at all. It is just that when I record something, I want it to be very close the original. MD is very close to CD quality. However, from the reports of people that have posted their experiance to the list, they can tell a difference between standard MD and LP mode. As I recall, they said the extra long play mode on some of the units is only good for recording lectures. I was one of those people that posted my opinion of LP. I did a short comparison test between the LP and regular modes. I could hear a difference between standard mode and LP2. But I had to listen for it. This difference will probably not be apparent under normal listing conditions. As a result I'm REALLY looking forward to being able to install a MiniDisc head unit in my car that supports LP. LP4 mode does make some noticeable impact on the sound quality. If your hearing is damaged you may or may not notice a difference. But it's STILL better than most MP3's I've heard. In short, standard mode is for those times when sound quality is most important, LP2 is great for day-to-day use, and LP4 is perfect for those times when recording time is most important. IMNSHO, units without LP are history. Ed "What the" Heckman [EMAIL PROTECTED] +--+ | The work praises the man.| | (Irish proverb) | +--+ - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sony E500 vs. E700 vs. E900
On Tue, 9 Jan 2001 01:08:32 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: IMNSHO, units without LP are history. In what way? I can sorta see that new units may struggle to compete without these features. But as you've alluded to, yourself - I suspect many MD users may never use it. For normal musics MDs I don't think I would - long car journeys may alter that, but I don't really do that often enough to worry about. Whilst with my current use in the car, changing MDs whilst on the move, is not easily, or safely, possible - a 74 or 80 min MD with plenty of varying music on, is likely to keep me entertained for a good couple of hours - after which I should probably make a stop, whilst driving, in order to keep my attention and driving safe. I also quite like recording audio from DVD films to MD - and as 74 and 80 min MDs rarely - if ever - manage to get the whole film - theres a possiblity that LP *could* be useful - but I'm not convinced whether I'd wanna take a hit on sound quality, but in fairness, when listening in the car - sound quality is not the highest importance. Where I can truly see a use, is for lecture / seminar recording, or personally for recording audio books. I guess the MD format has to be careful here, though, in matching the needs of those that find it useful, with the perception of it's affects on sound quality whilst trying to compete with MP3 players. All that said - I hardly think this functionality will be the death for non-LP compatible devices - simply because of the lack of backward compatibility, and the niche that I think these features fall into. Neil ___ Send a cool gift with your E-Card http://www.bluemountain.com/giftcenter/ - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MD: Successful cloning on Sony MZ-R55 ?
Hi, I have been using my protable player/recorder ( Sony MZ-R55) for only 6 months and obviously bumped into this foolish problem: I deleted some of the discs contents accidentaly. Can you please help me. This is what led to the problem: (1) I recorded a whole disc, It resulted in one track only. (live concert) (2) I then proceeded to insert track marks etc. But accidentaly set a track mark I didn't want to. Then to delete it I stupidly deleted the last track on the disc. (3) This resulted in most of the disc being wiped as it was the remaining data on the disc. (4) I tried to cancel the TOC update but failed and already have ejected the disc. NOW: (1) is it possible to SAFELY to TOC cloning on a Sony MZ-R55 ? (2) have someone done it before successfully? (3) I basically just want to edit the TOC and make the end of last track refer to the end segemnt address of the disc, but then I read about cloning. (4) is it possible, now, to take a disc which is recorded full of data and take that disc's TOC and 'clone' it to my 'damaged' disc? (5) I'm very scared about this test-mode stuff as I bought my Minidisc unit overseas (only have a European warranty) at 50% cheaper as what it costs here in South Africa ! You think it is safe? and sorry lastly: (6) can you give me a sort-of step by step for a solution. I know alot of people have written about this, but I am not able to find anything on most portable recorders ( especially Sony MZ-R55) and is cloning the right solutuion? Thanx very much for your time and help. Sean Snyders. -- -: Sean Snyders -: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.cs.sun.ac.za/~snyders -: Computer Science Departmentsecretary: +27-21-808-4232 -: University of Stellenbosch voice: +27-21-808-4393 -: South Africa fax: +27-21-808-4416 - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sony E500 vs. E700 vs. E900
Ed Heckman wrote: I was one of those people that posted my opinion of LP. I did a short comparison test between the LP and regular modes. I could hear a difference between standard mode and LP2. But I had to listen for it. This difference will probably not be apparent under normal listing conditions. As a result I'm REALLY looking forward to being able to install a MiniDisc head unit in my car that supports LP. LP4 mode does make some noticeable impact on the sound quality. If your hearing is damaged you may or may not notice a difference. But it's STILL better than most MP3's I've heard. MP3 doesn't make it for anything except getting a copy off the internet of something that you don't care if it doesn't sound like it should. MP3, LP4 and LP2 won't be useful for anyone that wants to record something that they may want to use show other people. IMHO. In short, standard mode is for those times when sound quality is most important, LP2 is great for day-to-day use, and LP4 is perfect for those times when recording time is most important. Well, I'd say standard mode is close to CD or DAT quality, LP2 OK to copy music from a CD or another source, not live music, LP4 could be used for recording a filibuster, court proceedings,etc, but not useful for music. IMNSHO, units without LP are history. IMHO, you would be better off to just record it in mono and keep the sound quality high. In Mono you can put 149 to 160 minutes on the recording. -- Jim Coon Not just another pretty mandolin picker. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If Gibson made cars, would they sound so sweet? My first web page http://www.tir.com/~liteways - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sony E500 vs. E700 vs. E900
[snip] Where I can truly see a use, is for lecture / seminar recording, or personally for recording audio books. Agreed. As a student myself, I have toyed with the idea of recording lectures on my Sharp MT-831. Though it's not LP by any measure, I can still assure quite a bit of recording time on 1 MD by recording in Mono. In the same way that ATRAC compresses by removing imperceptible audio data, I can do the same by removing 1 of the redundant audio channels recorded with a mono mic. On the other hand, a friend of mine has discovered that he was able to get quite a clear sound by plugging his earphones in the microphone jack. I listened to a recording he made with a friend, each person talking in one side of the earphone, and the stereo separation gives interesting results when listening to the recording. If someone were serious about recording and perhaps archiving class lectures, it might be possible to get a [1] stereo microphone and attempts to record the teacher on one channel, and any class discussion on the other. [1] http://www.planetminidisc.com/ecm-ds70p.html Cheers, - Anthony L. - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sony E500 vs. E700 vs. E900
First off, I absolutely love my MZ-R90. Now onto rant mode: "J. Coon" wrote: No, I haven't listened to it at all. It is just that when I record Sounds like one of those "infidels look down on MD as inferior because it uses ATRAC" as you put it in another post. You're doing the same thing. LP isn't the quality I am looking for in MD equipment and I doubt if anyone the plays music will want it either. They aren't looking for super long recordings, they are looking for high quality recordings so they can use the material in the future if they want to. I do play music, and I am looking for super long recordings. If I want quality recording I go DAT. Don't kid yourself, MD is lossy compression, is not CD quality, and is unsuitable for archiving (or mastering for a CD, if you prefer) for that reason. In the future there will be great advances in audio restoration capabilities, and the higher quality you record now, will only make future restoration easier. MD does not fit into this picture. It amazes me that people will spend thousands of dollars on their instruments, including microphones and preamps and other miscelaneous recording gear, and then balk at shelling out $700 for a DAT. Instead they go for a $200 MD. (I'm just going with rock bottom here.) And then they throw away a lot of the signal. Does it sound great? Yes. Does it sound as good as it could? No. Plus you have severely degraded your chances of future restoration possibilities. MD has many uses. Long Play mode is one of them. Recording music is one of them. I will even go so far as to suggest that recording music in a LP mode is one of them (oh, no! heresy!) But don't delude yourself that you are getting high quality recordings in whatever MD mode you use. -steve - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sony E500 vs. E700 vs. E900
Will asked, tersely, | does LP sound good? thats what i want to know. I have to agree with Ed Heckman here; to my ears, LP2 is good enough for en- joying most music, and LP4 is plenty good enough for speech. Also, sometimes I'll record music from the radio while I'm busy or asleep and not available to listen to it, and I'm not interested in the listening experience of it so much as tracking the playlist; for that LP4 is more than adequate. If you can find an LP demo unit in a store or if you have a friend who already owns one, listen to an LP track and reach your own conclusion. A lot depends on your listening purpose and listening environment. If you'll be listening in a noisy place, or if you want background accompaniment for what you are doing rather than the experience of getting lost in the music, the quality may not be so critical for you. I'll also agree with Steve Corey, strangely enough. Even SP mode on MDs is lossy, so it's not a question of yes or no but one of how far. So as you can see, it's a subjective call. For a data point, my subjective call is as follows, and the rest of this post is strictly my own opinion, not intended as a recommendation to anyone and certainly not as a representation of immutable fact. If I'm time-shifting a radio program, then if I want to enjoy the music and then delete the recording, I'd use LP2; if I want just to identify the songs and delete it, I'd use LP4; if I might want to keep the recording or sections of it to play and enjoy again, and especially if I'm thinking of ripping it to hard disk or dubbing it to CD, I'd use SP. For a live performance, I'd go for SP: that's consistent with my position on radio broadcasts, because the only reason to record a performance that one is attending is to listen to it again. By the same token, if I'm not there but someone there is recording it for me to hear once, LP2 would do. - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Successful cloning on Sony MZ-R55 ?
Sean asked, | (1) is it possible to SAFELY to TOC cloning on a Sony MZ-R55 ? It's not possible, safely nor dangerously, on the R55, as far as anyone has reported in the fora I follow. TOCs can be cloned on Sony decks (except the ATRAC 4.0 series), on Sharp slot-in portables, and on those Sharp clamshell portables where the disc insertion sensor is accessible from the opening. | (2) have someone done it before successfully? Not on an R55, AFAIK. | (4) is it possible, now, to take a disc which is recorded full of data and | take that disc's TOC and 'clone' it to my 'damaged' disc? Not with an R55. In your case, there is an additional complication: the track you mistakenly deleted and want to recover may have shared a cluster with a track you kept. Partial recoveries need to be in segments of six or more whole clusters, so ... well, let's just say, it's not the sort of thing I could cover when I wrote up the JE520 cloning instructions. | (5) I'm very scared about this test-mode stuff as I bought my Minidisc | unit overseas (only have a European warranty) at 50% cheaper as what it | costs here in South Africa ! You think it is safe? There's no point in trying test mode, because an R55 cannot clone TOCs. | (6) can you give me a sort-of step by step for a solution. I know alot | of people have written about this, but I am not able to find anything on | most portable recorders ( especially Sony MZ-R55) and is cloning the | right solutuion? Cloning is the right solution, but you won't find instructions for doing it on an R55. Perhaps someone else near you has a machine that can clone TOCs, but I do caution you, you may have to recover the whole disc as one track and redivide all tracks from one another and retitle them all. - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MD: Sharp MD 831 remote
Anyone else noticed that the remote on this machine is of a very poor build quality. Mine started to lose the silver coating around the round STOP button and I've only had it a week! ZM - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sharp MD 831 remote
Anyone else noticed that the remote on this machine is of a very poor build quality. Mine started to lose the silver coating around the round STOP button and I've only had it a week! One of the main problems reported on Minidisc.ch with the Sharp MT-831 is that the paint comes off the unit. I've had the unit for about half a year now, and haven't had any problem with paint peeling off. - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: MD: Successful cloning on Sony MZ-R55 ?
Hi Sean, If you haven't recorded any new music onto the disc (i.e. so the recording is still physically on the disc, even if the TOC has been updated to record it as erased), it sounds to me like a TOC clone would restore your recording. However, the bad news is I'm unaware of any instructions for TOC cloning on a Sony portable, including the R55. Most Sony home decks can do it - I've done TOC clones on my Sony JE520 deck with ease - and as far as I'm aware there is no danger to the deck in doing this - so maybe you should find someone with a Sony deck who can help you out. If you don't know anyone with a deck, maybe you could even try it on a demo model on the shelf at a local store if they'll let you - the procedure takes all of about 2 minutes and is very straightforward - I can't see it damaging the deck (if I'm wrong here someone please let me know!). richard Richard Lang Solicitor Duncan Cotterill Christchurch, New Zealand -Original Message- From: Sean Snyders [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, 10 January 2001 1:37 a.m. To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: MD: Successful cloning on Sony MZ-R55 ? ... Hi, I have been using my protable player/recorder ( Sony MZ-R55) for only 6 months and obviously bumped into this foolish problem: I deleted some of the discs contents accidentaly. ... (1) is it possible to SAFELY to TOC cloning on a Sony MZ-R55 ? - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MD: mzr700 or mzr900 ?
Hi, I'm a complete newbie to Minidiscs in general, and I'd like to know what are the major differences between these two recorders? - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sharp MD 831 remote
I like the 831 remote so much, I haven't touched it in a while! (I've got 3 other remotes that can be used with the 831) I love the layout, so I'm saving it, in case I get another Sharp (clone) in the future. From my experiences with Panasonic, try to avoid touching these remotes with a greasy hand. Leon on 1/9/01 10:52 AM, zaheerm at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Anyone else noticed that the remote on this machine is of a very poor build quality. Mine started to lose the silver coating around the round STOP button and I've only had it a week! ZM - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sharp MD 831 remote
The remotes that comes with most of the portables that I have seen have been disappointing, plastic pieces of crap. When I first got my Denon 70 (0r what ever it is called (a Sharp MS200 clone) it did not work properly right out of the box. I up graded to a remote made by sharp that had an LCD and was actually made out of metal. Oddly enough this remote came standard with the Sharp MD-ST60 player which sold for a relatively low price (for the time). Larry Anyone else noticed that the remote on this machine is of a very poor build quality. Mine started to lose the silver coating around the round STOP button and I've only had it a week! ZM - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sharp MD 831 remote
I'd second that report. Within a month: o The silver coating on the remote buttons started to wear o The black text printed onto the remote (e.g. the word 'Stop') was rubbed off almost completely o The silver paint used on the buttons on the main unit was flaking off revealing an ugly, and cheap looking, brown-darkgrey color plastic button underneath o The battery cover had loosened to the extent that just walking with the unit could cause the cover to flap open slightly. "Slightly" is of course enough to break the battery connection So I took it back (had to put up a fight with the store and claim consumer rights, merchantability, etc, several times) and actually exchanged it for a Sony MZR90. I am not a fan of Sony but I'm pleased with this MiniDisc unit. Ok, mechanically it is very noisy, and the user interface doesn't seem to have been designed with the user in mind. But what I was after was a very small, very light, portable MD, with good sound quality, that didn't fall apart. My Sharp831 lost that particular battle to the Sony. Dave - Original Message - From: "Anthony Lalande" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 7:10 PM Subject: Re: MD: Sharp MD 831 remote Anyone else noticed that the remote on this machine is of a very poor build quality. Mine started to lose the silver coating around the round STOP button and I've only had it a week! One of the main problems reported on Minidisc.ch with the Sharp MT-831 is that the paint comes off the unit. I've had the unit for about half a year now, and haven't had any problem with paint peeling off. - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sony E500 vs. E700 vs. E900
First off, I absolutely love my MZ-R90. Now onto rant mode: I think everyone here "loves" their MD gear. (sometimes just a little tooo much :) I do play music, and I am looking for super long recordings. If I want quality recording I go DAT. Don't kid yourself, MD is lossy compression, is not CD quality, and is unsuitable for archiving (or mastering for a CD, if you prefer) for that reason. The question is not over the actual technical ability for MD to faithfully reproduce CD sound ... the key is in the users *perception* that MD is CD quality. No-one debates the fact that compression using ATRAC = data loss, but can people tell? I can point to the fact that the AC3 5.1 soundtrack is actually of lower quality then CD, but do people complain? ... NO. And that's because of "fitness of use". If you can't ever hear tell the difference, does it matter? I will challenge anyone in a doubleblind listening test to identify the difference between CD and the latest ATRAC version. If you can, then you are certainly in the minority. For the rest of the world population MD meets "fitness of use", this can include (but not exclusively limited to) archiving, portable audio, master recordings, car audio, bootlegs and any other of the 1000's of uses MD has been put to. LP2/LP4 also have their use ... whilst I can't attest to having "actually" listened to a LP4 recording, I can imagine what they may sound like based on my MP3 experiments and the effect of ever reducing bit-rates can have on recordings. Taking this into consideration LP2/LP4 will certainly have their use ... LP4 seems to be the ticket for lectures, talking books, Whilst LP2 seems a candidate for portable audio, car audio and other places where external noises interfere with sound quality. Here is an experiment just WAITING to be done ... pick a piece of music, something simple but complex (dynamic range, tempo, instrument placement). Do a digital recording in SP, LP2, LP4 dump back to CD digitally and compare on a reference system. (remembering that the recording can only be a s good as the original). Make the WAV files available for all, so that others can burn a CD and make a decision for themselves. 30 sec clips should be enough (x3 = approx 15Mb download) It amazes me that people will spend thousands of dollars on their instruments, including microphones and preamps and other miscellaneous recording gear, and then balk at shelling out $700 for a DAT. Instead they go for a $200 MD. (I'm just going with rock bottom here.) And then they throw away a lot of the signal. Does it sound great? Yes. Does it sound as good as it could? No. Plus you have severely degraded your chances of future restoration possibilities. What amazes me more, is people who spend $1000's on Hi-Fi and put it in a 10'x10' room, full of furniture and wonder why it doesn't sound that good. MD has many uses. Long Play mode is one of them. Recording music is one of them. I will even go so far as to suggest that recording music in a LP mode is one of them (oh, no! heresy!) But don't delude yourself that you are getting high quality recordings in whatever MD mode you use. Don't delude yourself you are getting an "exact" copy, but do recognise that using 5:1 compression, MD is probably giving you the best damn "real time" compressed recording available. "Fitness of use" :) L8R GC - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sony E500 vs. E700 vs. E900
Using the earphones works in a pinch but you are better off making or buying a condenser mike. Here is one that I designed that work well, and the parts cost about $10. http://www.tir.com/~liteways/Mandolin.html#Microphone Anthony Lalande wrote: On the other hand, a friend of mine has discovered that he was able to get quite a clear sound by plugging his earphones in the microphone jack. I listened to a recording he made with a friend, each person talking in one side of the earphone, and the stereo separation gives interesting results when listening to the recording. -- Jim Coon Not just another pretty mandolin picker. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If Gibson made cars, would they sound so sweet? My first web page http://www.tir.com/~liteways - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
