Topic: Help in choosing preamp/microphones

[lbgspam]

...except for the fact that MD media cheaper then SD media.  $5 for a 1GB disc vs ~$35 for a 1GB card; smaller then anything else out there; optical in which the R9 doest have, stable firmware which the MT sorta has (after how many months?).  The only draw back I see to the MD is that you can only get 1GB discs (95 min per disc) which usually isnt a problem for most shows and the transfer is a little slower. Takes me about 20 min to transfer a 90 min show off my RH1.  You're obviously a hater and its doubtful that you have ever used a HIMD recorder.

Just an FYI:

1) I just got a 4gb SD from newegg, $59 after rebate.  Holds 4hrs of 24bit WAV recording. 

Since you need 1-2 MD/show your cost to run the mini disk will be higher in the long run (unless you plan to dump to DVDR or something like flash recorders do).

2)Sony Online prices the RH1 at $349.
Eridol R-09 is $340 delivered from where I got it.

 I assume you have a better place for the MZ-RH1 than I found.

3) I can transfer 4gb of data in 17 minutes off the SD card.

4) No arguement about the Microtrack -- it is why I got the R-09.  However, Microtrack owners say the current firmware has fixed all the past issues.

[dunebug81]

You have to compare apples to apples.  If you reuse the MD just like you would a CF/SD then per GB a MD is cheaper.  According to Sony a minidisc has over a 1 million write-rewrite cycles so using a few discs over and over again is possible.  I tend to use a new disc for every show but if Im out Ill erase I show that I taped years ago that hasnt been listened to since to put something new on it. 

You may have scored a deal on a card however I was doing a quick search on pricewatch and thats what I cam up with.  Granted it doesn't do 24 bit but that isn't an issue for me as I wouldnt run 24 bit anyway since I would have to dither it down to 16 bit to play it on my ipod / burn to CD for the car which is where I do about 90% of my listening.

Minidisco.com has the RH1 for $329.95 and there is a coupon for $20 off the RH1 or a 5% off coupon for an entire orderwhich would bring the unit down to about $310.00 + $8.00 for shipping.

A speedier transfer would be nice but the RH1 is well over twice as fast as the 1st and 2nd gen units and the speed limtations are from the unit having moving parts vs a solidstate media. Most shows I tape are only 70-80 min which only takes about 15 min to have it uploaded and opened up in soundforge.  I've never been in such a rush that I was tapping my foot waiting for a show to upload.

[guysonic]

While Hi-MD allows lossless recording, at least in the past you could NOT transfer those recordings (easily) without using Sony's Sonic Stage handling program, and that program is noted to at times corrupt the transfered file, inhibit multiple transfers from the deck, and even cause the deletion of personally made recordings from deck itself.   

Also heard there are some 'hack' programs that work to bypass Sony's handling program, but since you are a beginner, maybe best to leave MD to die like it now should with Sony's mishandling and bad attitutude toward mic input uses with all their MD decks?

You will be struggling to retain manual control with level settings on all these sony MD decks, and no taper, beginner or experienced needs that kind of deck regardless of saving a few bucks.   Suggest you get a far friendlier R-09 for having a better time with making and transfering recordings.

[dunebug81]

The last 2 or 3 versions of Sonic Stage are much more open in terms of uploading files and and doing what you want to with them.  There are no restrictions on  the latest version of Sonic Stage on recordings made from an analog or digital source or limits the amount of times that a recording can be uploaded.  Its been almost a year since sony has updated their software to do so. 

The manual record setting can be set and saved as a default on the RH1.  It was the biggest complaint from MD users and Sony fixed it. 

Sony is in a unique situation in that they are a manufacturer of recording devices such as CD/DVD burners and Minidiscs but are also a record label and I can see their need to feel like they need to protect their interests of the music label yet make usable consumer product.  At the end of the day is all about the share holders and the bottom dollar no matter what the company is.

[lbgspam]

Yes, but I think that a new purchaser, such as the person who started this thread, should in no way buy a MD/HIMD.

As I and GuySonic have already detailed, there is absolutely no reason to buy a HIMD/MD right now as there are no benefits to the MD now -- the MD is not cheaper (or not significantly cheaper depending on how you look at it), it is not as convenient, and not as fast as a Flash based recorder.

If you have some other reason why someone would purchase this over a flash recorder I am curious to hear it!

But, IMHO, the thread starter made a mistake in his purchase and you should even consider selling yours while you still can get a reasonable amount of money back

MD was a technology with GREAT potential given the era it arrived (early 90s).  Unfortunately, Sony so crippled it that it could never take off in the US (in Japan it was VERY popular).  At this point, it should go the way that DAT is starting to go, a steady decline to obsolesence.

[poorlyconditioned]

Yes, but I think that a new purchaser, such as the person who started this thread, should in no way buy a MD/HIMD.

As I and GuySonic have already detailed, there is absolutely no reason to buy a HIMD/MD right now as there are no benefits to the MD now -- the MD is not cheaper (or not significantly cheaper depending on how you look at it), it is not as convenient, and not as fast as a Flash based recorder.

If you have some other reason why someone would purchase this over a flash recorder I am curious to hear it!

But, IMHO, the thread starter made a mistake in his purchase and you should even consider selling yours while you still can get a reasonable amount of money back

MD was a technology with GREAT potential given the era it arrived (early 90s).  Unfortunately, Sony so crippled it that it could never take off in the US (in Japan it was VERY popular).  At this point, it should go the way that DAT is starting to go, a steady decline to obsolesence.

MD is OK sometimes.

- price is cheaper.  I can get an HIMD with mic and line in for $150.
- battery life is excellent, a single AA NiMH can record at least 6hrs.
- mic input is better than NJB3 or iRiver, etc, and (probably?) as good as R09.

Don't spend more than $150 though.  Otherwise get the R09.
Recording compressed (HiSP, 256kbps) sounds good, but only if you're not doing additional processing (eg., matrix with other recording).

  Richard

[lbgspam]

[

MD is OK sometimes.

- price is cheaper.  I can get an HIMD with mic and line in for $150.
- battery life is excellent, a single AA NiMH can record at least 6hrs.
- mic input is better than NJB3 or iRiver, etc, and (probably?) as good as R09.

Don't spend more than $150 though.  Otherwise get the R09.
Recording compressed (HiSP, 256kbps) sounds good, but only if you're not doing additional processing (eg., matrix with other recording).

  Richard

Care to specify where you found a new HIMD for $150?  When I looked (as detailed above) I couldn't find one for less than $350 new.
Unless, you are talking about a USED HIMD?

[twoheadedboy]

http://www.minidisco.com/Sony-MZ-NH700S_2 . There's also a version with blue effects for the same price. It's the same as the NHF-800 but without the digital FM tuner remote, so it's $30 cheaper.

This is by far the best recording unit IMO, as it runs on a single AA battery instead of a proprietary, underpowered, and overpriced gum stick battery.

This was my deck before my R-09. You can't beat the A>D (and overall sound quality for 16-bit/44.1khz) and size/battery usage anywhere close to that price level.

However, it does not retain your settings (AGC is on by default, for instance, and you have to go through multiple menus to turn it off), there's no backlight (may not be a problem for you), and 1 GB = 94 min of PCM audio, which means you're going to either be changing discs at least once for most shows (and that's just for the main act), or using a compressed format, which is frowned upon in the taping world. I also hate the software with a passion, despite improvements made since I was using it. It is incredibly slow as compared to R-09 over USB 2, for which no additional software is required, just drag and drop.

Honestly, I know the R-09 is more expensive, but I would just save your money for it, as it is superior in every way to the MD and really isn't that much more. I've taped 3 shows with mine now and would never go back!

[beefstew]

i guess the only other argument would be is

if ur stealthing HI-MD recording in lossless

ur 1h 34m mark goes up and time for a disc switch - the disc switch increases ur change of being caught 

[taper420]

I agree you should go with the R-09... I used MD and then HiMD for awhile, and it's nothing but headache after headache.....I actually have one getting warranty service done on it right now(woohoo extended warranty).... but in MD's favor I did read that they have very high quality ADC's that can't be found in any equipment in the same price range (at least at my time of reading).....of course the fact that there's no balanced line-in really hurts it.... does the R09 have balanced input? The pre's on MD are complete crap though. Always go line-in with an external preamp. And for any serious recording you need two units to avoid gaps during disc switch. Just save yourself the trouble...sell the MD, go for flash and you won't regret it.

[Scuba Jeremy]

Nobody has mentioned one of the biggest drawbacks about the MD format, Hi-MD or not. If you bump an MD while it is recording, it will create a permanent gap in the recording. There will be no way to retrieve that data, it will be gone forever. Flash recorders do not suffer from being bumped while recording. You wouldn't want to drop any recorder, but in real world situations, the flash recorder will be much better.

I have a few stealth MD recordings where I did everything I could to avoid bumping the deck, and invariably, some asshole bumps into me and shakes the deck. Great, I didn't need those two seconds anyway.

I'm a huge fan of the R09. Look into it.

[dunebug81]

Nobody has mentioned one of the biggest drawbacks about the MD format, Hi-MD or not. If you bump an MD while it is recording, it will create a permanent gap in the recording. There will be no way to retrieve that data, it will be gone forever. Flash recorders do not suffer from being bumped while recording. You wouldn't want to drop any recorder, but in real world situations, the flash recorder will be much better.

I have a few stealth MD recordings where I did everything I could to avoid bumping the deck, and invariably, some asshole bumps into me and shakes the deck. Great, I didn't need those two seconds anyway.

I'm a huge fan of the R09. Look into it.

You must have pos recorder.  Ive been pushed, shoved jumped on and had people drop on me and never once has my recordings skipped.  I even tripped over some dude a few years ago cause I wasnt watching where I was going and it didnt skip.  These units write to memory and then write to disc so they do have some protection. 

[Church-Audio]

Nobody has mentioned one of the biggest drawbacks about the MD format, Hi-MD or not. If you bump an MD while it is recording, it will create a permanent gap in the recording. There will be no way to retrieve that data, it will be gone forever. Flash recorders do not suffer from being bumped while recording. You wouldn't want to drop any recorder, but in real world situations, the flash recorder will be much better.

I have a few stealth MD recordings where I did everything I could to avoid bumping the deck, and invariably, some asshole bumps into me and shakes the deck. Great, I didn't need those two seconds anyway.

I'm a huge fan of the R09. Look into it.

You must have pos recorder.  Ive been pushed, shoved jumped on and had people drop on me and never once has my recordings skipped.  I even tripped over some dude a few years ago cause I wasnt watching where I was going and it didnt skip.  These units write to memory and then write to disc so they do have some protection. 

Hey can I get a copy of the part where you tripped? might sound funny 

[jebi]

i have a hi-MD for sale...

works great.

[guysonic]

Nobody has mentioned one of the biggest drawbacks about the MD format, Hi-MD or not. If you bump an MD while it is recording, it will create a permanent gap in the recording. There will be no way to retrieve that data, it will be gone forever. Flash recorders do not suffer from being bumped while recording. You wouldn't want to drop any recorder, but in real world situations, the flash recorder will be much better.

I have a few stealth MD recordings where I did everything I could to avoid bumping the deck, and invariably, some asshole bumps into me and shakes the deck. Great, I didn't need those two seconds anyway.

I'm a huge fan of the R09. Look into it.

You must have pos recorder.  Ive been pushed, shoved jumped on and had people drop on me and never once has my recordings skipped.  I even tripped over some dude a few years ago cause I wasnt watching where I was going and it didnt skip.  These units write to memory and then write to disc so they do have some protection. 

I find this likely NOT true as small MD decks DO NOT HAVE ANTI SHAKE BUFFER WHEN RECORDING, ONLY during playback. 

So just what model MD has anti-shake when recording?