MD: Aiwa F80 - the best portable recorder for live gigs
hi all my main interest in md is recording live gigs so over a year ago i purchased my first md - a sony r90 which was a mistake! the Aiwa F80 is the one i should have got. especially since i use the mic input which on the r90 distorts far too easily(mics with a battery box which use the line-in would mean no distortion). i recently got an aiwa f80(i would have got it months ago but i was hoping aiwa would bring out a portable rec with mdlp which they have not yet done...lets hope!) which has to be *the* live recording machine(except for size and *perhaps* reliability and a couple of other minor things) [obviously the r90 is the only sony which distorts so easily. the other sony models are fine.] after having to fumble thru the r90's jog dial menu *everytime* recording is started it is an absolute godsend to use a machine which remembers all the last recording settings even when the f80 is turned off. the r90 reverts back to auto gain control(AGC) *everytime* recording is stopped and when you do then switch to manually adjusting the levels they have been reset also :( this is very annoying and difficult to do when trying to record without anyone else seeing [one question for r900 users: does it remember the mic sensitivity after stopping recording?] the other huge advantage of the f80 is the backlight function on the lcd display on the unit which allows easy viewing and adjusting of recording levels. the aiwa's operate more like the sharps which are both better live recording machines(because of on the fly adjustment of rec levels) than the sony's except for sony/aiwa's date/time stamp which i consider a must. and there are less skips/dropouts when recording on the f80 as opposed to the r90. the f80 isnt as sturdy as the r90. the 3 buttons(DISP, MODE, DSL) above the lcd on the unit are a bit difficult to press and cause the whole lid to bend! and i dont like how the eject and rec buttons are right next to each other and travel in the same direction. the sony is smaller and has a longer battery life. also the r90's eject/insert mechanism allows easier changing of md's mid gig. quick comparison of f80 v r90 for live recording only distortion using micBIG win lose remember last recording settingsBIG win lose on the fly rec level adjustment win lose backlight on unit BIG win lose skips during recording win lose battery life recording time lose win sizelose win size of external battery pack(both 1AA) lose win eject&rec buttons too similar&too close lose win other comparisons remote size/looklose win reading remote lose win (sony's remote is easier to read) display of time from date/time stamplose win so if you're thinking about getting a recorder primarily for live recording the f80 is the best there is(except for lack of lp), unless of course you want to buy my r90 :) ct _ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Best buy, phasing out MD equip ??
From: "Mike Burger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > You tell me. I can get a decent MD recorder for much $40-50USD less, and not have to pay as much for the media. What's a CF card cost these days for a card with enough capacity to hold an hour or so worth of music? I wouldn't know Mike. My Expanium uses CD-R and CD-RW media which costs me approximately 80 cents per disc. And each disc has the capacity to hold well over one hundred songs even at high bitrates (say 192kbps). That works out to 8 plus hours of VERY high quality (ie: practically indistinguishable from the CD) music on one 80 cent disc. You do the math. Don C. - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Best buy, phasing out MD equip ??
=== = NB: Over 50% of this message is QUOTED, please = = be more selective when quoting text = === You're correct...I did misunderstand. From the conversation, I thought he was talking about just an MP3 player. However, this brings us right back to the problem of any CD sized device not being as convenient to carry around as an MP3 player...size often does matter. On Fri, 9 Feb 2001, JT wrote: > > On Fri, 9 Feb 2001, Mike Burger wrote: > > > You tell me. I can get a decent MD recorder for much $40-50USD less, and > > not have to pay as much for the media. What's a CF card cost these days > > for a card with enough capacity to hold an hour or so worth of music? A > > minidisc is about $1.20 to $1.50 per disc. > > I think you misunderstood what he was referring to. > > The Philips Expanium is a CD player that can read MP3s off CDRs. So, the > media costs about $0.50 max for anywhere from 4 to 10 hours (depending on > bitrate) of music. > > Josh > > - > 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: Best buy, phasing out MD equip ??
=== = NB: Over 50% of this message is QUOTED, please = = be more selective when quoting text = === So? It still requires a computer ($500) and a CD-R burner ($120 old model). I admit, i use my MD for most of my MP3 music on om computer, but I like to take notes with my mic and record off friends at school. So, rules out MP3. -Rob - Original Message - From: "JT" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, February 09, 2001 11:31 PM Subject: Re: MD: Best buy, phasing out MD equip ?? > > On Fri, 9 Feb 2001, Mike Burger wrote: > > > You tell me. I can get a decent MD recorder for much $40-50USD less, and > > not have to pay as much for the media. What's a CF card cost these days > > for a card with enough capacity to hold an hour or so worth of music? A > > minidisc is about $1.20 to $1.50 per disc. > > I think you misunderstood what he was referring to. > > The Philips Expanium is a CD player that can read MP3s off CDRs. So, the > media costs about $0.50 max for anywhere from 4 to 10 hours (depending on > bitrate) of music. > > Josh > > - > 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: Best buy, phasing out MD equip ??
Don Capps wrote: > As for MP3 players...don't knock it until > you've tried it. My Expanium is the best entertainment investment I've made > in years. And at 199 USD how much more inexpensive does it have to get? > The Expandium is not an MP3 player in the classic usage of that phrase (when people speak of "MP3 players" they are usually referring to things like the Rio). It is a CD player that can play MP3 files, isn't it? I believe that they use a modified CD ROM drive in order to achieve this. But in order to make those MP3 files you have to have a computer and either download MP3 files or convert music CD's "virtual files" to wave files to MP3 files. I realize that there is software that can do this in one step, but it is still not the same as copying a CD directly to an MD. For $200 you can also buy a DVD player that will read MP3 files and has a digital output. Plus you will get about $60 back in change!! True you can't carry it around your neck. But you can't watch DVD's on your player. Since their introduction I still have not seen a drop in the price of portable CD/MP3 players. Two hundred dollars seems like a pretty high price to play for something that isn't even capable of either recording or at least play back DVDs. Aiwa makes a car unit that will play them also. It's $300.00. About $150 more than it's standard CD counter part. You are paying too much extra for the "gimmick" in my humble opinion. Larry - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Buying a MZ-R900 & transmitters
Keith Whitfield asked, | Does such a product exsist that allows me to transmit the output of the MD | to a normal radio (UK fm frequency) I want to tune it into the car radio. I | can build Fm transmitters but 1) there not allowed & 2) the frequency | responce is a bit low (not much good for anything over normal talking) There are such products sold in the US (as I understand, the law here allows extremely low-power radio transmission without any licensing), but they per- form *very* poorly. I've vented in detail previously on this list, so here's the short version: it's difficult enough to find a quiet FM frequency, but when you do, the accursed things drift terribly. They need to be retuned every few seconds, making it very hard to enjoy the music or to stay alive in traffic. When you do get it tuned in, the signal is weak, uneven, and laden with static (but only for a few seconds: then the transmitter drifts and there's no sound at all). If your car audio system has an auxiliary input jack, use it. Next best, if it has a cassette deck, use a cassette adaptor. My own car has just a radio, so while I'm driving I listen to broadcasts, anathematic as that act may be to many here. - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Best buy, phasing out MD equip ??
On Fri, 9 Feb 2001, Mike Burger wrote: > You tell me. I can get a decent MD recorder for much $40-50USD less, and > not have to pay as much for the media. What's a CF card cost these days > for a card with enough capacity to hold an hour or so worth of music? A > minidisc is about $1.20 to $1.50 per disc. I think you misunderstood what he was referring to. The Philips Expanium is a CD player that can read MP3s off CDRs. So, the media costs about $0.50 max for anywhere from 4 to 10 hours (depending on bitrate) of music. Josh - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
