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Too sick & too lazy to do the reading and the math.

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krbusby

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Okay, you guys all talk in bits and compression and yadda yadda. I'm not that bright. So I'm asking for a very basic answer to, I hope, a simple question:

Does recording directly from CD through optical to minidisc make for a better sounding end product than ripping the CD to FLAC, converting to lossless wave, and then using SonicStage/NetMD to write the minidisc? I need to mention that I have the SonicStage import numbers set as high as possible but am writing the minidisc in SP for compatibility with my deck.

Thanks for any responses.

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I think it depends on how the optical out of the CD dithers the >16 bit information that is undoubtedly present on CD's (why else would they have been talking about 20-bit oversampling 23 years ago), unless I have completely misunderstood. MD is inherently 24-bit (floating point) whereas CD is (at least in principle) 16-bit fixed point. If the CD reproduction system does a better job than straight conversion, then recording to the MD (possibly via ANALOGUE inputs, I'm really not quite clear on this point) may beat any wholly "digital" pathway involving ripping.

I don't know. Some of this stuff seems very arcane to me. Maybe all I am saying is, try it, and whatever works the best, use it, and tell us about it - we may not be surprised.

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Ya I'm already thinking about some tests to do after I get out of my sick bed. (I'm a big baby when it comes to being sick).

I think it depends on how the optical out of the CD dithers the >16 bit information that is undoubtedly present on CD's (why else would they have been talking about 20-bit oversampling 23 years ago), unless I have completely misunderstood. MD is inherently 24-bit (floating point) whereas CD is (at least in principle) 16-bit fixed point. If the CD reproduction system does a better job than straight conversion, then recording to the MD (possibly via ANALOGUE inputs, I'm really not quite clear on this point) may beat any wholly "digital" pathway involving ripping.

I don't know. Some of this stuff seems very arcane to me. Maybe all I am saying is, try it, and whatever works the best, use it, and tell us about it - we may not be surprised.

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Thanks. I noticed those numbers, especially the 132kbps, and thought that seemed a little low.

dont rip SP to your standard md from sonic stage! its really just 132kbps lp2 with extra bits added so it can play on older players. use the optical cable instead for true SP 292kbps. it will sound much better! almost perfect to the original cd.

And that's really it. I just needed to know the facts and I'll add my ears to the picture as well.

As far as I can tell using SS and listening to the end result on any of my MiniDisc players is still a much better end sound than an mp3 player. Maybe it's the amp and processors Sony uses. Maybe it's simply a built in 'effect' of the players. Definitely more separation of instruments, more depth.

Your ears are the ultimate judge, my take is each transcoding you do loses something, personally I would use a relatively high bitrate and go with sonic stage all the way

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Why not record the FLAC files to SP in real-time, from whatever playback method you use, and skip a few steps? Sonic Stage SP is only 132 kbps and is not the best option. In fact, unless you plan on making LP2 mixes with Sonic Stage I'd skip that step altogether maybe. I always use digital for real-time recording. I know some folks say that analog recording might be better but I'm not convinced.

In the end let your own ears be the judge :)

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This is beginning to look like the most logical way of doing it. My biggest reason was how long it takes to mark the tracks and edit the info. I was using Songbird to play through my MacBook's digital out into my JE320. Guess I'll go back to doing that.

Thanks for the feedback.

Why not record the FLAC files to SP in real-time, from whatever playback method you use, and skip a few steps? Sonic Stage SP is only 132 kbps and is not the best option. In fact, unless you plan on making LP2 mixes with Sonic Stage I'd skip that step altogether maybe. I always use digital for real-time recording. I know some folks say that analog recording might be better but I'm not convinced.

In the end let your own ears be the judge :)

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