Faeflora Posted October 25, 2000 Share Posted October 25, 2000 Hi Craig, I read your informative article on Mindisc technology. I'd like to buy one for found sound sampling, mix auditioning, and impromptu jam sessions. I read a lot of reviews and articles on the internet but it was difficult to find information on the sound quality of the different units. Most of the reviews elaborated on the size and appearance of the units which I understand since the Minidisc community seems to be pretty image oriented. They do look cool and tiny http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif but I am shopping for a unit with a decent preamp and A/D D/A and a minimally colored "sound". I assume that the newer units will have better converters and ATRAC algorithims. Beyond that though, could you (or anyone else) recommend any portable units for my uses? What do you use? How do you like it? Thanks http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif If you live in the Washington Metro area, check out Slave Audio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted October 25, 2000 Share Posted October 25, 2000 I have a Sony MZ-R30, which is a somewhat older unit. Basically, the later the model, the better the ATRAC compression. There are some temptingly low prices on older units, but you can usually hear the difference in an A-B comparison. I don't know of any "professional" Minidisc portables other than the one from HHB. I hear good things about it, but it's fairly large compared to consumer models. Obviously, you're not going to get killer converters and preamps, and even if you did, the data compression would probably negate the advantages anyway. But for field sampling, the fidelity is certainly good enough for many applications. For interviews, capturing ideas, etc. it does the job just fine. And yes, they are cute...mine has also been 100% reliable, even though it's been to Europe several times. It's survived life on stage with stacks of bass-belching EAWs and some pretty nasty smoke machines, so if it can handle that, it can probably handle anything. Will there be any other posts? I doubt it, most people pretty much look down on MD...but I like it. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott from MA Posted October 25, 2000 Share Posted October 25, 2000 I have the Sony MZ-R55 and I love it! It's a pretty clean sounding unit. My only complaint is that it EATS batteries! Supposedly, the newer models have a longer battery life. Scott (just another cantankerous bastard) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faeflora Posted October 25, 2000 Author Share Posted October 25, 2000 Originally posted by Anderton: I have a Sony MZ-R30, which is a somewhat older unit. Basically, the later the model, the better the ATRAC compression. There are some Thanks for the reply. I found a MZ-R70 for $180 at bizrate.com I'm gonna buy it http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif. Also, I think that it's cool that we've got a moderator who does a lot of electronic music. I think I'll start a new post about elecronic based music. Also, I like how you initiate discussions. F http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif If you live in the Washington Metro area, check out Slave Audio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted October 26, 2000 Share Posted October 26, 2000 >>Also, I think that it's cool that we've got a moderator who does a lot of electronic music.<< I've been playing onstage since I was 12, and I've NEVER had more fun in all my years playing since getting into the whole dance music scene back in 1991. I particularly like playing live, and jamming with DJs. A lot of this generation has a much better attitude, too -- very open. >>Also, I like how you initiate discussions.<< Hey, that's what I'm SUPPOSED to do! But I'm glad you appreciate my efforts, it takes a lot of time to maintain this board. Luckly the people on it are so damn cool I don't mind at all... np: Junior Brown, "Semi-Crazy" (okay, it's not dance music, but after "Voodoo U" ended, I wanted to hear some really good guitar : ) Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 27, 2000 Share Posted October 27, 2000 Originally posted by Anderton: And yes, they are cute...mine has also been 100% reliable, even though it's been to Europe several times. Yeah, we europeans are really hard on MiniDisks ;-) Mats Nermark (one of the easy going, laid back europeans) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Tavegia Posted October 29, 2000 Share Posted October 29, 2000 I have had my mini-disc for about a year, a Sony home unit MDS-JE330 with ATRAC 4.5. I hve really enjoyed it for making tapes (whoops) for use in my car. Old terminology dies hard. I have read reviews of the newer units with ATRAC type DSP which is even better. The Sony model JB-930 and the newer 440? have the DSP converters. I think I have seen the 440 for sale for less than $250, a great buy. It certainly is not as good as DAT, but I believe more reliable for archieving, voice interviews and demo "discs". I got it right that time. I haven't purchased a portable as I have a portable DAT, but I'm sure I will some time this year. Handling the mini-discs is much less troublesome than CD's, especially in the car. And, with the cars inherent near 70db noise floor on the highway, the mini-disc is great. I keep trying to understand the use of Dolby encoded tapes in the car. With such a high noise floor inside the car Dolby B was rather useless, but made some sense for the home. I have even read where a Grammy artist is using some tracks from a 8 track minidisc in a potential new album. It might work OK for some synth and guitar parts, but I don't believe the recording quality is there for quality acoustic work. I play the piano and have compared recordings I have made on DAT dumped into my computer to burn CD'rs to mini-disc copies and you can easily tell the difference in critical listening. Just an opinion. ------------------ Jim T. Jim T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faeflora Posted October 30, 2000 Author Share Posted October 30, 2000 Originally posted by Jim Tavegia: I have had my mini-disc for about a year, a Sony home unit MDS-JE330 with ATRAC 4.5. I hve really enjoyed it for making tapes (whoops) for use in my car. Old terminology dies hard. I have read reviews of the newer units with ATRAC type DSP which is even better. The Sony model JB-930 and the newer 440? have the DSP converters. I think I have seen the 440 for sale for less than $250, a great buy. It certainly is not as good as DAT, but I believe more reliable for archieving, voice interviews and demo "discs". I got it right that time. I haven't purchased a portable as I have a portable DAT, but I'm sure I will some time this year. Handling the mini-discs is much less troublesome than CD's, especially in the car. And, with the cars inherent near 70db noise floor on the highway, the mini-disc is great. I keep trying to understand the use of Dolby encoded tapes in the car. With such a high noise floor inside the car Dolby B was rather useless, but made some sense for the home. I have even read where a Grammy artist is using some tracks from a 8 track minidisc in a potential new album. It might work OK for some synth and guitar parts, but I don't believe the recording quality is there for quality acoustic work. I play the piano and have compared recordings I have made on DAT dumped into my computer to burn CD'rs to mini-disc copies and you can easily tell the difference in critical listening. Just an opinion. Thanks for the reply. FYI as I've been reading about Minidisc on the web I found out that the data on a Minidisc "unarranges" itself after 10 years so be careful about archiving! If you live in the Washington Metro area, check out Slave Audio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trick fall Posted October 31, 2000 Share Posted October 31, 2000 Hey Craig, I was wondering what kind of mic you used for those field samples. I have a home MD and one in the car, but was thinking of getting a walkman one for cheesy live recordings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Hughes Posted October 31, 2000 Share Posted October 31, 2000 I made my own stereo condensor mic for use with my minidisc recorder (a Sharp MS722). I got two condensor mic elements from Radio Shack ($1.99 each), and a stereo-to-stereo miniplug cable, clipped off one end of the cable and soldered the mic elements on. I mounted the whole thing in a 35mm film canister. It may look goofy, but it sounds really good (as good as the $99 Sony stereo mic that most places that sell minidisc recorders carry), and for $8 in parts and about 15 minutes time, you can't beat it. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted November 1, 2000 Share Posted November 1, 2000 >>Hey Craig, I was wondering what kind of mic you used for those field samples. << I have an old stereo condenser mic left over from a cassette Walkman (what a piece of junk, but the mic sounds pretty darn good). Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trick fall Posted November 4, 2000 Share Posted November 4, 2000 Jonathan and Craig, just wanted to say thanks for the info. The home made microphone is prolly out of my reach so I think I'll go with the sony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virtual.rayprodigy.net Posted November 4, 2000 Share Posted November 4, 2000 One of the cool things about MD is that you can instantly and repeatedly change the order of tracks on the disk which is neat for trying out different song sequences for a CD you're working on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP3 Posted November 4, 2000 Share Posted November 4, 2000 Fae, one minidisc to consider is the Tascam MD 301-mkII. It's not a portable, but you should check it out in any case. It's a rack mount unit that has optical in on both the front and back. The best feature though is the keyboard input on the front for titles, edits, and remote control. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Very cool. [This message has been edited by TinderArts (edited 11-04-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted November 8, 2000 Share Posted November 8, 2000 >>FYI as I've been reading about Minidisc on the web I found out that the data on a Minidisc "unarranges" itself after 10 years so be careful about archiving!<< This intrigues me. Where can I find more info on this?!? Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outfarpresssaber.net Posted November 13, 2000 Share Posted November 13, 2000 I've used MDs in radio production for 3 years with no flaws whatsoever. Beware the "experts" who tell you they can hear the difference-they can see it on an oscilloscope, but in a blind test they all fall down. I had to debate with the engineer at the radio station for a year, he kept calling them toys, and for the past 2 years all our downloads are onto minidiscs. The Sony ECM-907 mic works great with MD, one of my projects is a teen production with diaries, and the combo of MD with this mic is awesome. I was worried about the youngsters breaking something or flubbing it up, but there have been no problems. I"ve put thousands of hours recording and editing on my original MD (Sony MZ-R50) and it works exactly like it did when new. We bought MZr-37's for the students and they are lacking a few features, but the sound quality is exactly the same. I have nothing but praise for MDs and wonder why they haven't completely taken over the cassette market. I burn CDs for distribution and archiving- I've read that Mds MIGHT corrupt in 25 years. When you erase them they are perfect. The ATRAC compression scheme is wonderful. Anyone who snubs MDs simply hasn't used them. !FurthuR! ------------------ http://www.outfarpress.com home of THE SHORTWAVE REPORT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 Today something disturbing happened...I recorded a CD on to a TDK Minidisc, and sections of it are blank. In other words, the song will play, then there will be silence for 5-10 seconds, then the sound returns. This is not due to movement or shock memory, the thing is just sitting there. Other MDs play fine. In any event, this is the first case I've had of a media failure with MD. Hopefully it's just an anomaly (they were the cheapest MDs I could find at a German electronics store). Have any of you MD fans had media fail? Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP3 Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 TDK are the only MiniDiscs that I've had problems with. In regards to sound quality- MDs sound fine to the average listener. Don't record from one MD to another. You'll definitely hear artifacts if you run through ATRAC compression twice (this holds true for other codecs as well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 >>In regards to sound quality- MDs sound fine to the average listener.<< I'm amazed Sony hasn't based an ad campaign around MD's advantages compared to MP3: * Better sound quality * No setup hassles (don't need a computer, USB port, etc.) * Cheaper media -- how much would you have to spend on memory to store 5 hours of highest-quality MP3 music? With MD, it's only about $13. If Sony can't make MD fly now, with the interest in MP3s and portable music, they'll never make it happen. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 >>Don't record from one MD to another. You'll definitely hear artifacts if you run through ATRAC compression twice (this holds true for other codecs as well).<< Very true. This also holds true for sample rate conversion and anything else that doesn't do a bit-for-bit copy of a file. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.