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JG98258

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Everything posted by JG98258

  1. Hello Minidisco Community- I'm seeking advice: now that my RH1 is starting to act up, I need to get a new one! But do I have to have an RH1? My RH1 had a NO DISC error that seems to have stopped(the error that is). I can play it as before but for how long? There is a good looking lightly used RH1 on Ebay right now for $550. That's not too much for me to spend on a unit I can hopefully expect many more years of life out of and enjoy so much. Having a HiMD unit means I can play my HiMD discs at any time. I'm hesitant to use my existing RH1 now. . . . There are lots of Std MD units on Ebay, and they're MUCH MUCH cheaper. But all my HIMD discs, and all that great music on 'em, become less accessible to me. As I see it, for portable use, I can: buy another HiMD portable unit and play everythingrecord all my CDs to my Sony JE520 deck(which makes GREAT sounding discs), and use either my MD-510 portable or another Std MD portable unit. Would require the purchase of a Std MD unit and a bunch of Std discs, which are still available and relatively cheap. Got any suggestions on the better quality Std MD units they sell on Ebay?maybe a more forward thinking possibility: use either SS or Sound Forge to record the CDs into a high quality codec, and play them either with my Sony MZ-E385 portable unit or another, better quality one?As I understand it, any HiMD .OMA files I have in SS cannot be converted to a Std MD format, transferred to the MD-510, and come out sounding as good since SS does not really have the 292 kbps codec in it- they get converted to LP2, correct? Thanx for the advice. . . .
  2. got the same problem with my 8 year old RH1. . . . no disc error, std or hi-md. will try above suggestions. does sony still repair these in '15?
  3. I too picked up 3- 10 packs of the 80 minute Neige discs, at $14.80 each from an Amazon retailer, to go with my new used MDS-JE520 deck. Any quality concerns about these discs?
  4. I didn't think of that- hi-SP out of the computer would be 256 kbps, and going into the 520 deck using standard SP would be 292 kbps. If there is something I have on hi-SP that I want to play on the big stereo through the 520 deck, I can either rerecord the original CD or vinyl using the deck, or connect the RH1 using the Monster stereo mini to RCA cable as I've been doing. But the idea is to minimize the use of the RH1. . . After connecting the 520 deck to the receiver and playing some of my SP discs, my first impression is man, this deck sound pretty darn good! I think I'm entering a new world of minidisc by having a deck, albeit SP only, in my home stereo system. If only I had one of those Onkyo hi-MD decks. . . maybe someday. The next step is to enter the world of semi- high end sound card on the computer.
  5. Is the OLED display necessary? Are there things displayed on it that aren't displayed on the remote at the same time? I've never checked. On my RH1, I always use the remote to start/stop tracks, FF, rewind, etc. to save wear and tear on the control on the RH1, and I turn the OLED screen off to save it. I want this little guy to last. . .
  6. For 5 bucks from a second hand place. They didn't know what it was. This is actually my first deck; all my MD recordings were done with an MZ-N505(replaced by Sony with a MZ-N510) in SP mode, or a MZ-RH1 in hi-SP or PCM mode directly out of my Denon analog CD player using a Monster Interlink 400 Mk II cable or from vinyl through my venerable Tandberg receiver. So cool! I can play my SP discs in my stereo system! I don't need to connect up the RH1 into the receiver and play that way. I can save the RH1 for portable use only. I still have plenty of regular discs left, and they're still available, so new recordings can be done with the new deck. Cool. Plus I can then play them in either of my portable units. The service mode says this unit has only been in record mode 12 hrs, although the manual says this is like one quarter the actual amount. Says playback mode 115 hrs, assuming it hasn't been reset. I've never actually done optical in/out recordings with the RH1; none of my other components have that type of connector. The sound card in my computer doesn't have an optical in/out either, but a new card wouldn't be terribly expensive. All my discs are backed up and non-copy protected in SS. Can I do this: with an optical out sound card and using an optical cable, play a hi-SP recorded album in SS on the computer, and have it be recorded into the 520 deck in SP mode? Or import an album into SS in SP mode(can I do that?), then play it going out of the sound card optically and into the 520 optically? I suppose a CD player with optical out would be very useful, but this Denon DCM-360 player sound really good, and I've always been happy with the sound quality of the MDs recorded out if its analog connectors.
  7. It looks like the Macally IP-A481 external battery, mentioned in this forum in the past, is no longer availablbe. Macally now has the JboxMini, which looks to be the repalcement. Any one have any experience with this unit? Thanks
  8. See the posts in the topic "MD Users Today"- a similar question is being asked. The format will last as long as we keep the demand alive.
  9. I'll give you a good analogy of MD users sticking with the format when there are other newer formats available: film cameras vs. digital cameras. Sure digital pictures are quicker, easier, etc., but are they better, when you take all things into consideration? A hard question to answer. . . Film camera users are in a similar situation to MD users: few available models that do the work(the camera, the minidisc player/recorder) currently being produced; limited selection of media (film, MD blanks)currently being produced and sold in the retail market. If there are enough people out there using the products, the products/market will survive. Maybe for many years- there are plenty of similar situations. I'll be doing my part to keep the minidisc format and film camers alive!
  10. CDs and vinyl albums I record get done with HiSP 256 kBPS, either out of of my vintage 30 yr old Tandberg receiver for vinyl or directly out of my not so vintage analog only Denon CD player. I use a Monster Interlink 400 Mk 2 RCA to miniplug cable into the RH1. My really favorite stuff I record at PCM, but it uses up the discs quickly. . . I did a test with several tracks from one of my favorite Pat Metheny albums recorded onto the minidisc at PCM, 352, and 256. End result of the test was 352 and 256 were indistinguishable and PCM was only slightly better than those two. So- 256 it is. Works well for recording time- 8 hrs worth on a Hi MD, 2 hr 20 min for a regular minidisc. Good headphones and a headphone amp help a lot too.
  11. It was the sound card. Got a new one, a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE, and the problem is gone. Of course now that I have a sound card, after what I read about this model, I may have a new set of problems pop up from time to time. A new Windows thing to learn how to troubleshoot. But it's all good, it's useful knowledge; kind of like knowing how to diagnose and repair your car
  12. Thanks for the help y'all. I didn't mention before- when I imported the OMA files, I had my AV and firewall turned off. But there may be more to that- some other small resident app. that is working with the OS on a frequent basis. I went into services.msc and disabled several things that may have caused the problem. That didn't help. Maybe it's system restore. Could be a buffering problem with existing onboard sound card. I just finished downloading updated drivers, incl. the one for the sound card. Maybe that'll solve the problem. If I don't get this solved that's ok; I just want to make sure I can recreate a disc if it gets lost or damaged. Being able to transfer onto a disc in the RH1 using the files from SS, and having it play back on the RH1 without the artifacts is good.
  13. Good evening all- let's hope I can explain this properly- I have previously transferred my minidiscs, both Hi SP 256 kBPS and SP 192 kBPS from the RH1 into SS v.4.3 on a now dead computer. Still have the hard drive with a directory of "SS Optimized Files". My idea for this is so I can listen to them on the computer and have a backup for each one should I lose it. I then converted them, removing the copy protection, with the same codec. So I have a folder on my computer of optimized files with the .OMA extension- 15 GB worth in directories by group from the MDs. So I get a new(used) computer- a Dell Optiplex GX280 P4 3.2 Ghz with a built in sound card, and reinstall SS 4.3. I import the .OMA files into SS. When I play them, I get little artifacts, or short "blurred" parts of the music, reoccurring every few seconds. Not pleasant. More evidence: if I transfer one of these groups of .OMA files onto a blank minidisc, using SS, and play it on the RH1, I don't get the artifacts. If I play the disc through the RH1 attached to the computer running SS, I don't get the artifacts. More evidence: if I transfer a group of .OMA files that were stored on a different computer into this version of SS and play, I don't get the artifacts. I don't record my minidiscs using SS; I record them straight out of the CD player using an analog RCA to stereo miniplug cable(CD player doesn't have optical out). Seems like the sound card could be the culprit. Does anyone out there know enough about this to offer an educated opinion? I don't know much about the various features sound cards offer, especially optical vs. analog, etc., but I know they're not terribly expensive for a decent quality one. If my artifact problem is because of the current mainboard embedded sound card, I'll spring for a separate one. If not, well I guess I could transfer all my discs one by one into SS again, and convert them. . . unless someone out there can shed some light on this. Thank you for whatever help you can offer.
  14. I too record my MDs only by realtime, straight out of the CD player into the RH1, using a Monster Cable Interlink 400 RCA to stereo minplug cable. The CD player is a Denon DCM-360, analog only for the output. I record onto the MD at either HiSP 256 kbps or PCM for my really favorite stuff. I did an extensive comparison of this method(HiSP 256 kbps) vs. Sonic Stage @352 kbps, and came to the conclusion the straight out of CD player method sounded just as good if not better than the SS method. And I compared a variety of well recorded, dynamically wide, and complex CD music that I know well. Stuff recorded onto the MD by PCM sounds even better- essentially the same as a CD. I use SS for titling and backing up, but not for recording. I don't use LP for anything musical.
  15. JG98258

    Caveat Emptor!

    Actually I just received my order- not bad, Quebec to WA State in 8 days. The LIP-4WM battery is identical to my original one except for 2 things: the new one has a "Recycle 1-800-..." logo thing on the front right side, where the original one just says "Li-Ion"; and on the back, lower right, the new one says "FHA"; the original one has "EAA" here. Anyone know what those mean? Both batts say made in Japan, but whether or not that's true. . . . The new battery did not come in a case.
  16. JG98258

    Caveat Emptor!

    I hope they're not going out of biz- just ordered some stuff from them last week. Got shipped out that same day, and it's currently in transit. Quebec to WA State for $19 shipping fee. I ordered a 5 pack of HiMDs at $20.00, and one of their $35.00 LI-P4WM batteries. I thought long and hard about the battery- is it a genuine Sony battery or not? I think Minidisco was selling them for $59.00, which has got to be the genuine Sony made battery. From what I read here in these forums, even if my MD Canada $35 battery is not genuine Sony, it could still give me many years of good service. Especially if I take care of it and charge it properly, etc. Useful reading: the various rechargeable battery documents on the "Battery University" website, linked to one of these MD forums somewhere. I learned all about the hows and whys of NiCD, NIMH, and LiIon batteries. I also just ordered a AA/AAA battery charger made by Maha that sounds like a very useful model. My in-the-field MZ-RH1 charging method is this: have a handful of fully charged AA NIMH batteries, and charge the RH1 as needed using my Enegizer Energi-To-Go charger, which holds 2 AA batteries. Works fine for charging the RH1 as long as the rechargeable batteries in the Energi-To-Go are full
  17. Needing something quick, that I could buy retail rather than mail order(so much for planning ahead- I think I'd rather have one of the 4 battery units), I bought an Energizer Energi To Go with the mini-usb connector. Uses 2 AA batteries. Seems to work fine for the several times I've charged my RH1 battery off of it. The AA batteries can be rechargable, but they should be fully charged. If they're not, and less voltage than full, it seems the RHI will not recognize that the unit is attached.
  18. Own one RH1- great unit except for lack of features you can only do on remote, battery issue; own a MZ-510CK- also nice. RH1 sounds better.
  19. No you cannot see this info without the remote, nor can you use any of the equalizer functions without the remote.
  20. As a matter of fact, I did an extensive comparison of the same material recorded onto the minidisc 4 different ways: 1) using Sonic Stage v4.2 in PCM mode 2) using Sonic Stage in 352 kbps mode 3) CD player into RH1 as described before, in PCM mode 4) CD player into RH1 in HiSP(256 kbps) mode The music I used was a selection of Pat Metheny Group pieces- complex, multilayered, very well recorded jazz. Lots of detail, lots of dynamic range. The results were, after many back and forth comparisons, that the sound coming out of the CD player and onto the disc was better than the Sonic Stage version. The PCM version was somewhat noticeably better than the HiSP version, but not a lot; the HiSP version I thought sounded better than the SS 352 kbps version. More "life" to it. Faint details in the music were just as pronounced in these two recording methods. I'm not sure what CD playing technology has going for it now, but this model Denon player has a feature called "Alpha Processing". . . . I remember it was a noticeable improvement over the model it replaced in my home system. I love the portability of minidisc, but I also want my discs to sound really good. I didn't mind carrying around a bunch of the older 80 minute discs, recorded in SP mode, for a day hike- tunes on the trail. Now that I have the RH1 with it's HiSP mode, the 1 GB discs hold just under 8 hours of music recorded in HiSP. Even more convenient. Also, I think the D/A converter and amplifier in the RH1 make my 80 minute SP mode discs sound better than my older model minidisc player.
  21. For the last couple of months I've been recording a bunch of my CDs onto minidisc, using Hi-SP mode, using my newly purchased RH1. A variety of stuff- quiet jazz, loud jazz, rock n' roll, etc. The recording levels for all these types consistently fall in the range of 15 to 18, where the music would make the meter light up the last level to the left of the 0 dB mark frequently but not go over. The resulting sound quality is excellent. . . . on the other hand, I've recorded a lot of the same stuff onto SP mode of my MZ-N510. The rec levels varied more, over a range of 20 to 25. Sound quality also great, although I think the RH1 sounds better. My recording method is to use my Denon DCM-360 CD player, with it's analogue RCA jacks, with a Monster RCA to stereo mini plug cable going into the minidisc recorder, and setting the record level manually. . . .
  22. JG98258

    Hacks for RH1?

    It would be nice if you could set the EQ on the RH1 itself rather than through the remote only- I prefer not to use the remote, the theory being the less number of components between the RH1 and headphones the better- slight loss in sound quality caused by the remote.
  23. I too am confused by the many options available to me for recording CDs with my new RH1. Here's how I did it before with my MZ-N510, keeeping in mind my desire is to get the best sound quality possible on the MD: 1. older model higher end Denon CD player with RCA analog out, connected directly to the 510 with a Monster Cable RCA to stereo mini plug cable 2. record the CDs onto the MD using ATRAC 3 SP mode, manual record level(most of the time) Results were pretty darn good- nice detailed sound, especially after purchasing a headphone amplifier. I didn't mind carrying lots of MDs at 80 minutes each for an extended day of hiking or etc. I never tried the Sonic Stage recording options. . . . Now that I have the RH1, with it's supposedly better sounding ATRAC 3+ and HiMDs that can hold 7 hrs 55 mins in Hi-SP mode when recorded from the RH1, I am thinking about re-recording some of my CDs onto the HiMD discs in the HISP mode straight out of the CD player as above. From what I've read, ATRAC 3+ at HiSP/256 kbps should be better sounding than the old ATRAC 3 at SP/192 kbps. Sure I can get 4 albums onto one HiMD, and free up 4 standard MDs, and have a better sounding disc. . . . but what are my other options? I know I am limited in a couple of ways: 1) my CD player does not have digital optical out, only analog. New CD player with that: quite expensive; 2) I only have a built-into-the-motherboard variety of sound card- no digital optical out on the computer. I certainly could get a new sound card with optical out, and from what I've read here they're not expensive- 30 bucks or so. I have SS version 4.2 installed; I see there is a way to record from the computer to the MD in ATRAC 3+ at 352 kbps. Maybe this is even better sounding than the 256 kbps directly out of CD player option. My question is- can I do that with the connection method being the USB cable, or do I need a new sound card with optical out? Is there a loss of quality going from CD in computer going into SS, getting coded to ATRAC 3+ and then transferred to the HiMD? Thanks for the help.
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