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You won't get above 22.05 kHz no matter what you do unless the entire system operates using a sampling frequency of greater than 44.kHz (the standard for all MD and CD equipment, though DVD sound is 48kHz, so divide by 2 for 24 limit). In terms of natural experiences I have enjoyed many live concerts (of classical music!) where certain sounds I heard might, if put on record, lead me to believe that there is distortion in the sound equipment. In fact not, just some passing unpleasant harmonics that happen to pop out of the playing. Particularly on string quartets. So I think that the goal of "natural experience" by increased fidelity is not necessarily a real or achievable one. Your Mileage May Vary Stephen

Your only choices for line out in HiMD are RH1 (M200) and NH900. But HiMD has inherent reliability problems, which is why I ended up opting for the PC playback route.

Hi Molly There's also a wonderful flash recorder called the ICD-SX750, made by Sony. It should cost between $100 and $200 depending on where you buy it. It has 2GB memory. It's pretty good at recording from its own mics, and uses AAA batteries (it will recharge NiMH rechargeables if you can get mains current, too). Is that of interest? The two responders so far will yell at me because they love the PCM-M10 but there are several reasons that I disagree with them (that is very far from saying they are wrong: they are right, I just disagree, for the purposes you have stated). The SX750 has its own speaker for instant playback (this machine came from the dictation product line but is way better than that, believe me), and can use external microphone(s) if you need better quality than the inbuilt ones. 1. The PCM-M10 weighs almost 1lb; the ICD-SX750 clocks in at about 2oz. 2. There's no SD card (you said you didn't like them), it has its own internal memory. Although the M10 has internal memory, It has lots of crevices (such as where you open it up to put in the SD card) and if you are in anywhere with sand, I should think the SX750 will be better suited. 3. The PCM-M10 only records in MP3 and LPCM (the latter is same as CD). The SX750 has a whole variety of codecs to choose from ranging from LPCM and MP3 to something Sony calls LPEC, which can give you hundreds of hours depending on the quality setting you choose. The best of these LPEC codecs, dubbed ST-HQ is really very decent, and you get the same number of hours as 128kbps MP3 but with much better quality for music. 34 hours to be exact. 4. Another diehard MD fan, ozpeter (as the name suggests also from "dahnunner") did a comparative review of the two (SX750 and PCMM10) . One of the things he commented on was that the mics and stereo separation are probably better on the SX750. Granted, the frequency range may be a little bit cut off on bass noises below 100Hz, but it may well be that is irrelevant for your purpose). For archiving, you will have to get data off it in the end with a computer (standard Mini USB), though it has a perfectly good headphone socket which doubles as line out, so almost anything including standard headphones will allow you to review your recordings properly. There are 2 nice pieces of software included for free, by Sony, Digital Voice Editor, and Sound Forge LE. Both allow you to convert formats to your heart's content, and burn CD's quite easily if you need to (assuming you can get access to a 'puter at some point). It has no restrictions on uploading that make MD a nuisance at times. It also has a big brother (I have both, and I consider myself an MD fiend) with 8GB (again built in), that should be no more than the PCM-M10 no matter how discounted that product may be. I ordered my SX950 from Japan, and it was about $250. There's one here (I couldn't find it on Ebay USA just now, probably the Japanese merchants are in difficulty with the current ongoing crisis in Japan). With 12+ hours of LPCM or 136 hours of LPEC-STHQ you really can only run out of battery. Hope this is of use (especially since I am about to get yelled at!) Stephen PS your charging options might well include some large dry cells in a portable box with a mini-USB output, I imagine that these are readily available if you look. This might be even better than using lots of alkaline AAA's.

I just re-read. Avrin's point is that nothing actually happens unless you remove (or replace?) a bunch of resistors too. This will be almost impossible on the tiny motherboard, so probably you are better trying to get a non-limited model from the start.

I think perhaps the point (made by Avrin IIRC) is that the limiting may be a rather primitive circuit that may actually detract from the sound quality if activated. I could easily be wrong on this, but I do recall him saying something about certain levels (23 on some units) being the "straight-through, no-amplification" setting. Whether that is affected by the volume cap (everything is decreased) or whether the volume refuses to increase past 25, I honestly don't know.

Yes you can change the RH1 not to have a volume cap. Problems: 1. The jog lever seems to wear out after 1 year and efforts to get into service mode can and will significantly accelerate this process. 2. You really should not be thinking about the RH1 as a playback unit. All HiMD units have Type-S which is the best playback for legacy MD bar none. Take the advice of most here, and save your RH1 for uploading.

Why do you need one? Anything on HiMD can be uploaded to the computer and played back there via optical or coax without any problems arising from being amplified in the analogue stages of a small portable recorder. You're right about Cassette decks, at least in theory. However I'm sure that you know (from experience) that the biggest component of most analogue cassettes is the very noticeable tape hiss, which has to be removed if one is saving a digital version of what was on that tape. I'm not sure of the spectral distribution of that hiss, but I'm sure it swamps any of the claimed high-frequency sounds we're discussing here. Just came back from a trip in the car, and wanted to add that the outstanding feature offered by MD is that digital sound "never" gets distorted between the recorded disk and the speakers, provided you don't feed it through more stages than necessary. Many of the beauties of high-end analog gear pale (IMO) into insignificance beside the killer "quality" and "balance" of the sound. It's not about raw frequency response so much as about the absence of false (distorting) harmonics. For example listening to a clarinet quintet, as I just was, where the clarinet sounds real. It doesn't take much analogue amplification for the simplest things (eg the Clarinet or the trumpet in my sample) to get distorted. For me, THAT's why I like MD and digital sound so much. Stephen

Where is the basis for this assertion (and the related one that the human ear can hear both these sounds)? I don't believe either. Most if not all real life venues for music have sounds that cannot be eliminated from the room that would totally swamp those high frequencies. The low end is dangerous enough to the human body not to mention recording equipment that I seriously doubt that you even want to capture anything below 20Hz. Most environments in the city have got contributions from electrical hum, low-frequency rumble of traffic/trains, that are nearly always cut (filtered) from commercial recordings. All in all, I think these extreme ranges are a matter of scientific curiosity, and much of the time (if we observe them at all) are likely artifacts of the measurement setup. How many rooms do you enter during the course of a week that have not a single electric-driven fan in them?

Here's my sample (picked mostly at random but because it has a perfectly prominent trumpet part) It should play on any computer that has a Sonic Stage install, just by double clicking it, or opening with Windows Media Player. test.oma

Wiz is in a tiny minority with his claim about PCM. Honest. Not that I don't believe him, just I know that it doesn't apply to me. I will say this once (in this thread) only: MOST (OF MD'S AND OTHER MEDIA) BANDWIDTH RECORDS NOISE. Digital sources with almost no noise don't need most of the bandwidth. That's basically the trick of MD reproduction. I will post a nice trumpet sample at 66kbps when I get back from an outing this morning. Regards Stephen

Just to follow this discussion to its logical conclusion.... The biggest problem with ripping CD's is, well, ripping CD's. Sony's and probably many other rippers do only just a good enough job to support decent quality at the bit rates most people will want. So the route of CDrip->WAV file, WAV file->netMD doesn't work well and gives an exaggeratedly bad impression of what MDLP is actually like. Many people tumbled to the idea that skipping the computer is "the solution". In fact it isn't - the damage to SQ is already done when the CD is ripped to a WAV file (at least with Sonic Stage). But the damage is not noticed until trans-coding (conversion) from 1411 to 132 kbps is done. This problem simply doesn't happen when ripping directly to LP2, either via Sonic Stage, or using so-called Simple Burner (as with many allegedly simple products, SB is actually more complicated in its implementation than SS, and more tied to the architecture for which it was written. Hence SB cannot run under W7, where SS actually has no trouble. End of digression). If it did, no one would have bought MD at all, in my opinion. They made sure that what most people would try actually worked beautifully, and it (still) does. The problem also doesn't occur when Sonic Stage rips to Atrac Advanced Lossless (with subsequent conversion to LP2 or whatever). Or with EAC ripper, a very nice piece of Open Software that deals with all the issues and makes sure you get the best possible file in the 'puter. With the optical route you are once again dependent on the manufacturer of the CD player to do a beautiful job. If you are lucky enough that this happens, be happy. But in my (limited?) world view, getting this right is no longer the job of expensive components in the CD player but the job of the software one uses. Like you I put sound quality ahead of everything. Yet I can, have and continue to record 5 hour programs off (internet) radio at LP4. I've even posted some examples for short periods, though nothing permanent because of nervousness about copyright. My only disclaimer is that I listen only to classical (and some jazz). Others make claims that some forms of music are simply not susceptible to any form of compression, but I cannot confirm (or deny) those claims. What I will say is this: even the lowest bit rates (66kbps LP4 or 64kbps Hi-LP) you are likely to try will trump most analogue stuff. Take a look at the specs of the average cassette deck from just before CD's became the only game in town. LP4 is as good as that. MP3 at same, or even three times the same, data rate, is not. PS. if you only need to send music TO minidisk, consider comparing the results with an MDS-JE640 (same chip and most of the electronics as the much more expensive JB940), to the results using your portable. I'm guessing the deck will do a better job.

I think there are extra smarts on the A->D side of things on the decks. Wave shapers, filters etc. For microphone recording, a portable is probably great, though.

Even LP2 beats (or at worst equals) most MP3 of bit rate up to 256K (or perhaps higher). Using PCM as a way of getting higher quality sound for portable listening is a non-starter in my view. You can get 15+ hours of LP2 onto a HiMD 1GB disk. However, don't use RH1 as a playback unit, no matter what anyone tells you. It's way too valuable as the only MD to allow upload of SP and MDLP. Buy a portable such as the EH70, or at least one of the "lesser" HiMD units second hand (the UK has lots of NH700 which seems to be particularly reliable and runs on AA batteries).

"never" is a very long time. Let's get something straight. ALL digital sound is compressed (yes even 1411 Khz LPCM), it's a question of what formats work for what application. Sony did some incredible ground-breaking stuff, first with SP then with MDLP, paving the way for some later codes such as AAC and WMA, no doubt. Here's a philosophical question: do you *need* SP for a data stream that has been transmitted/mastered/recorded at MDLP or equivalent? And this is where I take issue with you "never" using the Net. Soon just about ALL sound will be digital. Why ship around 5x to 20x as much data if the result to the ears is equivalent? The major reason for using the highest data rate possible is simply to have the most data for the purposes of editing. For example if you need to magnify a quiet section, it will scale up much better if there were more data points to work with in the original. Once a digital source has been properly edited and mastered, Sony shows us just how much data we really *need* for things to sound good... their term "psychoacoustic". Lots of things recorded in LP2 (or, don't kick me too hard, LP4) can sound perfectly acceptable. Especially with the Type-S. But the part that really does the juice in the recording is the same in 940 and 980, namely the "Type-R" bit reallocation that is done during recording. This takes place at all data rates despite what you may have read. The big difference is that conversion (using PC) TO LP2 or LP4 is markedly inferior to real-time recording at these data rates. The other problem with SP is that it has never been a "supported" codec, probably due to agreements between Sony and Dolby. However this may have changed forever in the next release of ffmpeg which is able to play SP. I think there are some other reasons for liking the JB940 (ability to export the I2C bus as "PCLINK" which makes the unit able to talk to other Sony devices via M-Crew; and variable word length - some say that this feature is more trouble than it's worth though), but I am very happy with my 980. Both very solid decks. Don't buy the 980 for its NetMD feature - it's rather slow and not competitive with the later portables (eg RH1) which can download at screaming speeds. Final comment about data rates: the biggest single thing that all this sound equipment does is record noise. If you have a sound source with no noise in it, there are lots more bits available to record what you want to hear instead. Sony's magic on the decks seems to be getting rid of that noise before the sounds are ever recorded in the first place. There's an interesting article about 24-bit processing on the MD side explaining how a 292kbps MD can beat a 1411kbps CD in certain situations. Welcome to the forums!

No need, the updated file is available as a download in the downloads section. But I will probably add another link to your video in the download section. Thanks

You will have problems with Japan model as it is designed for 100V (not even 110V) operation. I guess from looking on the web that you have same power as Europe and Australia, namely 230V. I have 2 general comments: 1. Try Ebay UK (this may require the cooperation of the vendor and/or someone living in the UK to help you) 2. Consider making your own HTPC (computer stores may be willing to make one for you) with the right specs. I have Windows XP, 500GB disk, Ethernet, HDMI (and in the alternative TOSlink) out, the usual USB ports, and a TV capable of 1920x1080 connected on one or both of the VGA or HDMI ports. I would say the major problem with this setup is the noise of the fan, so you have to solve that somehow. Probably you can get it working with Windows 7 but the problem of 64-bit operation for some software may be more trouble than it is worth, especially if you can get XP installed.

Sounds like a bad connector (or I suppose possibly a design error - but that wouldn't explain why the previous head unit worked ok with it).

Does the Auxon device have a power connection?

Where to begin? 1. Anything you DOWNloaded to the MD's is (in principle) lost forever (to the digital domain). Better to get an MDLP capable deck with optical out (we can give you a list) and play them back to a PC via optical if you're desperate. 2. With Windows 7 you need to install the driver from our downloads section, but you got around that by using XP. 3. Even now, you will not see a directory in Windows Explorer. That is by design. MD directory (TOC) design predates most of Windows, anyway. Sony didn't want you to download songs to MD (from a CD that you no longer have) and then keep making copies thereof, without considerable effort. You could try and fake a TOC of the right length (search TOC cloning on this forum) that allows the tracks to be uploaded. But i've never done it. Probably someone here has. If you have lots of disks, be prepared for lots of work. I see you're in my home town. Send me a PM if you like and we can talk later by telephone.

I think you're going to have to learn how to service it. But ANY error increases the chance that the adjustment needs to be done. Once you're floating on the edge of the servo system(s)' tolerances, the likely wear will be increase. Yes, those "see through" TDK's have caused me trouble sometimes. But never in the way you describe. There's a "stray light offset adjustment" probably relevant, FOR PORTABLES only. Not sure how the deck handles it.

Not that likely - more probable is the overwrite head simply needs replacing. Jim Hoggarth (here on the forums) fixes these sort of things professionally for not too much (he has a standard charge for portables and another for decks, I recall). You can find him on Ebay too, but suggest you start with a PM.

Jim Hoggarth here would likely be able to give definitive commentary but this sounds like one of the famous swollen LiIon batteries. "famous" meaning that many articles of commerce by many manufacturers (laptops in particular) have had this happen to them. And not that this model(s) is(are) vulnerable to it. I have no idea how you replace a battery on these devices, but I suspect it is possible, though it may not be economic if Sony has to do it for you. Welcome to the forums!

These have both been there for a year or more. There seem to be at any one time about 2-5 D5C's on Ebay US (not much good to me in Canada without serious negotiation). The W1 is indeed rare.

Just beware - even pressing the track mark key exactly once (or more, of course) will blank any disk you put in it. If you don't get it fixed my strong suggestion would be to superglue the trackmark/record button on the unit so it cannot be activated by accident.

yup, a "deadhead" as they say