MD > h120 ?

[sunjan]

There is a Sony MDS-JE500 on ebay for $1.25 with 2 bids and 9 days to go. Hmm...

But I've been talking with a friend locally and it sounds like I'm going to borrow his Sony MDS-JE520. Woot. I was wondering, when transfering digitally with these units in real time where does the Rec Level come in? Perhaps just leave that at 0 and add gain in post if need be? I just want to get the cleanest possible transfer.

If you want the best transfer quality, you should only go for the decks with ATRAC Type-R or Type-S. JE500/520 have older ATRAC versions with inferior DSP.

Read all about it here:
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,106908.msg1443430.html#msg1443430
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,97042.msg1292667.html#msg1292667

To be safe, check the model here before you buy it. If the deck has Type-R or Type-S (and digi-out of course), you're good to go:
http://www.minidisc.org/part_Decks_Sony.html

[612]

Sony MDS-JE520 (optical out) > iRiver h120 (optical in)

Not a high speed USB transfer but that is what I'm working with. Say I'm transferring a recording that is pretty much clipped throughout but still very listenable (if that makes sense). It's also a recording I know a good number of people will want to hear.

Would anyone be tempted to turn the h120's Safety Clip setting ON to, for lack of a better word, "mellow" the recording out a bit? Or would you just do a straight digital transfer as is to keep it in it's pure form? I'm a purist at heart.

[sunjan]

Would anyone be tempted to turn the h120's Safety Clip setting ON to, for lack of a better word, "mellow" the recording out a bit? Or would you just do a straight digital transfer as is to keep it in it's pure form? I'm a purist at heart.

The Safety Clip only works when you set the H120 to analog source. So if you feed the Iriver a digital signal, safety clip is disabled.
Just go pure digital transfer, going analog out from the JE520 defeats the purpose of getting an MD deck in the first place, right?

If you want to edit you have much more control in post.

[612]

Would anyone be tempted to turn the h120's Safety Clip setting ON to, for lack of a better word, "mellow" the recording out a bit? Or would you just do a straight digital transfer as is to keep it in it's pure form? I'm a purist at heart.

The Safety Clip only works when you set the H120 to analog source. So if you feed the Iriver a digital signal, safety clip is disabled.
Just go pure digital transfer, going analog out from the JE520 defeats the purpose of getting an MD deck in the first place, right?

If you want to edit you have much more control in post.

Oh that's right. I completely forgot that sending the Iriver a digital signal disables the safety clip feature. I have it enabled on my 2nd h120, the one I use for soundboards, which is always line-in. Thank you for making that clear sunjan. Pure digital it is! That's what I was hoping for too.