jammydodger1

as the title suggest I was given an mp3 file 320kbps of some vinyl a friend archived from his own personal collection, he intends to use the mp3s now and either sell or store his collection. well it was something I never thought id ever do but I converted the vinyl LP (led zeppelin 1) onto a new 74min maxell md 74 rm blank disc using my mzn h600 hi md unit set to net md mode and on sp mode, no compression. and wow what a real nice warm sound much nicer than the same said album I have on CD and also recorded to MD. pops hisses and all just sounds like its being played on a record deck (obviously like it records everything warts and all),but a lovely thing indeed. just thought id share this and as always, would love to here your thoughts? has anybody else had occasion to do this? was it a waste of time? ive never even done this before via analogue out of a record deck let alone an already converted to mp3 file. cheers... and happy mini discing.

24 bit 96khz is essentially FLAC isn't it? my son uses this codec on one of his many portables and whilst its good quality sound I don't see it as much better than mp3 or atrac equivalent. wont go through sonicstage that's for sure. listen to those other posts, but if it where me personally id redownload the file at the highest mp3 bit rate possible very little difference between this and FLAC.

Sergio these blanks are all over uk and us ebay. very pricey for standard recordable mini discs, nice to look at though.

I wanted to say that ref. nothing to do with minidisc or atrac too but iam a newbie to the site and bottled it I still thought as a techy type article it was a good read even if not many people will buy into it, I certainly wont. its mp3 through sonicstage for me every time but each to their own. neil young just needs something new to harp on about, I seem remember hearing him in an article somewhere saying people should still be buying vinyl, i love vinyl too but its not as if there is going to be a massive vinyl comeback either, there is a small increase in sales however. if it wasn't him I stand corrected, he harps on about daft stuff all the time, another fancy portable media player for the audiophile market, it wont catch on with the apple generation or the average joe even.

128kpbs is the standard mp3 I believe isn't it? downloaded mp3 sounds good enough to me converted to atrac through sonicstage and recorded at lp4 as do mp3 radio podcasts,the podcasts don't sound as good when recorded at sp or even lp2 to me somehow, strange. 128kpbs mp3s sound exactly the same when put through sonicstage onto himd at 48kpbs, to me they do anyhow. now that test I done was with CD where lp2 defo sounded better than lp4 and 48kpbs himd, but downloads sound great with atrac lp4 and atrac himd 48kpbs and from what your saying you think it sound pretty good too. thanks for you input, this is the sort of though provoking I wanted when I posted this. I find these compression bit rates very interesting and for all sony mini discs issues, for me atrac and sonicstage wasn't one of them for the most part there compression is still miles ahead of mp3, shame really that it never went mainstream apart from us crazy folks.

I carried out an lp2 verses lp4 test recorded with an mzn 510 and an mzn 520 both bit rates on both units. played them back through each unit and on my mds je470 deck and thru my himd recorder mznh 600. and yes its sharper clearer and I think louder but not enough for me to use it permanently. perhaps I may use it or in fact sp for new music I download or cds I buy from now on. the lp4 was great for archiving a massive cd collection and boxing them up in the roof space. I would defo consider lp2 now, your right it is very close to the original source. lp4 was the reason I bought a netmd mdlp recorder in the first place to archive the said cd collection, I actually looked at MD as just a one of use after I had done that task I never expected to record anything on it again. that was 11 years ago and I havnt stopped using it, I hadn't even considerd downloading mp3 and podcasts and using it for that it was just to archive my cds but I got hooked. thanks for your interest.

just seems to be a slight background noise on fm for me. dab sound obviously more digitized for want of a better phrase but just sharper and clearer to me.

good read, I quess old neil must be fed up with people streaming and downloading his music on mp3! it wont kill mp3 in fact it probably wont sell a lot at all, if people are that bothered about the quality of the sound they will probably buy a hard copy like the obvious CD, or a high quality download file format that already exists. if sony are doing their own version of a new lossless music format/file it had better realize the potential of making it compatible with mini disc and atrac this could be twofold it would please the mini disc community who invested both in the net md then later the himd units the latter was the one which had the potential of real high quality PCM with larger capacity discs. and secondly market the damn thing properly this time! and try and make it fresh and new but still compatible with older tech too. not do an ipod type of thing that the new format only is downloadable/playable on a new player/recorder! only news to me if it is possible to get it onto mini disc if I want a top quality sound I buy the original CD and listen to it on my separate which is not very often at all these days. good read none the less lets hope sony do it well and don't balls it up.

in my house there is ipods, ipads, sandisk mp3 players, dab radios, fm radios, separate md decks and cd players. and obviously md portables. I of course use the md equipment and am slightly biased toward it but I honestly cant tell that much of a difference when compressed. right if pushed id say the sound quality is in this order all through the same source my amp and decent speakers. 1- without doubt the cd separate 2- the md deck 3- mdlp4 portable 4- DAB 5-himd 48kbps 6-sandisk mp3 the wifes 7-fm radio 8-all things apple belonging to the kids. CRAP! all in all give or take, all not bad apart from apple and fm which sound the worst. I wanted to put the himd above DAB but iam being honest. still for what it is mdlp4 and himd 48kbps its really very good and again I say FOR WHAT IT IS.

my hearing is apparently fine so my doctor says anyway. I listen low most of the time on earphones or on my separate, cant abide music too loud to be honest. DAB isn't a great reception where I live but the bbc ones work great at least and I can tell the difference between fm and DAB, DAB is clearer and easier to listen too.

that was the ones and that was the price. got the last 2 packs in the holywood branch co.down n.ireland, asked was there more in store was told there wasn't. went to a couple of Belfast sainsburys and they where out too. also got some in Tesco around the same time. got some tdk colour ones the other day off ebay for 0.99 for 3 unopenend but £2.50 delivery! loads of deals on the bay to be had. people selling himd players with 1GB discs for peanuts too, obviously unaware of how rare and expensive 1GB discs are. people are getting real bargains.

age must have a bit to do with it, I blame being too close to the base bins when I was a doorman in a night club for some of it too. of course I can tell the difference from sp and compressed I have done a check since writing this but its very minimal. iam not even 40 yet so hardly that old but have noticed a difference in the last 10 years or so, been using mdlp4 for just over that. the point really is that IMHO its not a massive difference and the point also is that I quess since posting this I now realize that this is the reason why I chose to buy a net md(mzn 520, type s) all those years ago was to get 4 of my cd albums onto 1 disc and get the cds of into the roofspace so I suppose I have never ever used sp either for that comparison. I then bought a deck with mdlp (mds je470) think its type r? followed by my himd mznh 600 which for an entry level model is a super wee item indeed. so for 10 plus years I haven't really sat and listened to a cd or any other uncompressed audio so iam conditioned maybe and my amp and speakers maybe umph up the sound somewhat to sound better. but I mostly use the himd now on the 48kbps for podcasts with earphones. cheers for reply.

thanks yes I will do it the way I want and I am enjoying using my mini disc equipment again after a bit of a break. just informative to hear opinions, it keeps the interest going for me I guess. I am no audiophile as iam sure you all quest from my love of mdlp4 and massively compressed himd. I guess in a sense my separate hi fi equipment is maybe too good for my audio usage and needs but this is probably why I and everybody else who hears my mini discs think they sound so good. thanks to everybody for your comments some positive some not as much, but most important of all its all opinions effectively about something which in terms of modern day tech is forgotten by most of the world but not by us.............thanks.

my hearing sucks perhaps and perhaps the headphones do too but not my separates all are good quality and the speakers and all the interconnects are high end too thick loudspeaker cable and thick well made av cables connected and setup properly and acoustically positioned. I hear a slight difference through my CD separate from my portable himd through the amp and a minimum difference through my md unit with mdlp4 through my amp also therefore I think I've lost a bit of my hearing. I think folks are too hard on mdlp 4 it's more than ok imho and himd at 48kbps is fine for listening to podcasts and downloaded mp 3 tracks through headphones at work or doing the gardening ect. I respect all opinions and observations but also like people to respect mine, but in an audio forum it's wise not to make assumptions as to how good or bad a person's equipment is everything I use is Sony apart from my amp which is a lovely piece of kit known as a digital t Amp and my speakers are made by mission which if you know audio equipment are more than good enough. Thanks for your reply.

hi qualia, was just wondering how easy you find it in korea to buy blank discs and especially himd 1gb discs as some people here in the UK and Ireland have been paying a premium for them. love those discs you've made very nice.

the point of this post is however I cant really tell the difference anymore because my hearing is not as astute as it once was maybe. honestly I have not put a cd into a player in years other than to archive onto minidisc. minidisc replaced the cd for me then digital downloads killed it. vinyl sounds better or at least warmer to me.

cant use the ear buds, I have full over ear jobs, dj type ones. lp4 is way better than himd 48kbps of that there is no doubt or in fact the 64kpbs or the next maybe even. obviously uncompressed is the best of all, but for me it defeats the purpose of owning a netmd with mdlp or a himd unit with its associated bit rates. if I want to listen to music in its best form I will listen to a CD through an amp and bookshelf speakers but iam not sure that anybody really sits and listens to CDs anymore I rarely do.

then my hearing must be screwed cause most of my high compressions sound fine, actually MDLP4 sounds great! to me anyhow, but as I say my ears must me wrecked so pcm or even LP2 would be wasted on me. 48kbps himd sounds just fine for mp3 and radio podcasts on low volume at work all day, but I agree that it would be tragic to compress vinyl now that's a whole other story. thanks for your input.

only way to get this pcm is on that himd unit I was trying to explain, the model number alludes me but it was the last model made is it an mz -rh10 or something? iam no expert but I think this is the only way to get true high quality pcm from minidisc. unless its technically pcm when one CD is transferred and only one without compression, onto any generation of minidisc recorder, in either real time analougue or by digital transfer without any compression? not what iam into, I like to cram the music on my discs, but very interesting none the less. surely a 60, 74 or 80min standard MD re-formatted into himd mode on a less lossy compression bit rate would still be very good quality for mr netmd would it not or am I missing something? I think you can choose from pcm, hisp or hilp but wouldn't that just give you a max of 80 mins on a standard disc in himd pcm mode? I don't know its over my head, good luck again very interesting.

don't know about the PCM thing but I know that I use standard MDs in my himd unit through sonicstage re-formatted for longer recordings, supposed to be up to 13hrs on an 80min blank though that is the highest compression. but even re-formatted and at the lowest/best quality compression it would be worthwhile surely? considering as you say himd discs are hard to get and of course they are, whilst standards are actually very easy to get ebay is full of them and you are probably like me and have plenty anyhow. isn't pcm a format without compression though? like the highest quality possible? for audiophile guys ect? the last himd portable was marketed for this purpose from what I remember, as well as upload himd to pc I believe. if it was me id definitely be messing around with standard MDs at the better quality bit rates after being re-formatted to himd if high quality is what you are after. for me as I said in my post about bit rates and if I might not be as sharp in the hearing department as I used to be to which you kindly replied, I use my standard 48kpbs on my himd discs and on my re-formatted standard MDs. perfect for transfer of digital mp3 tracks and radio podcasts which iam fond of. for better quality and for MD deck playback I like MDLP4 via a net md unit, I get the impression from you though that you want the highest quality possible from a standard disc re-formatted to himd, in that case id definitely go for the least compression and re-format a standard in your himd portable be interesting to here what you make of the sound quality.

cards on the table. I use my hi md portable recorder always on 48kbps either with a hi md disc or a re-formatted standard MD as I want value for money from my discs, and will mostly be listening from the unit I record with on cheapish sony headphones, or through my amplifier with decent mission bookshelf speakers and I can only detect a small difference from the original source of music which nowadays is mostly mp3 anyway, so already compressed. second card on table is with my netmd I also record any new stuff I download at MDLP4 for two reasons firstly because this is how I archived my CD collection which got me into MD in the first place like 12 13 years ago, and I have a sony MD deck connected to good hi fi equipment as mentioned above and this is an MDLP model and again I cannot hear much of a difference from the original source even CD. not to mention the fact I find MDLP very good value for money on discs. third card, I actually like sonicstage software and use it all the time for importing those mp3 files onto both the himd and the netmd any music I want to keep permanently goes onto himd at 48kbps and another copy on the netmd at MDLP4. is it my amp and speakers that make it sound still ok? is it sony headphones full over ear types? or is my hearing bad? what is peoples thoughts on this?

update on these discs. iam not to handy with a computer so don't know how to do a link to a web page or bring up a photo but these disc are for sale on ebay sent from japan at I guess an ok price. sony neige 80 min 10 pack is £ 12.76 free delivery tdk 80 min 10 pack is £ 11.53 free delivery sony neige 74 min 10 pack £ 11.48 free delivery victor 80 min 10 pack £ 12.17 free delivery all brand new with bold wording like NEW FRESH and FACTORY SEALED ect. a couple of sellers similar prices some cheaper some more expensive ive included the cheaper ones all have near 100% feedback. the 5 packs of the same type are delivered for just under £9 so more cost effective to go for the 10 packs id imagine. the TDK would be the better ones here I think the sony neige ones I believe aren't as good as the sony colour shock for example. anyhow there you go......cheers.

ha ha ha it translates very funny. however what is not funny is the apparent enthusiasm this blogger has still for the product, not to mention you taking the time to google translate the page and post it also. the other fascinating aspect of the info for me is the date of release which is just june past 2013, this is very interesting indeed, and a revelation for the MD fan, keeps hope alive for media supply at least, now lets hope a manufacturer out there make recorder units again. it was said earlier by another member that these discs have a plastic shutter and whilst I prefer the sony and other branded discs with the metal shutter I archived my entire CD collection 10 years ago onto maxell xl-11 80 min discs about 12 or 13 of them, this is what started me on the mini disc. well these maxell discs I used then too had the plastic shutter and where made in japan and I have never had a problem with them 10 years on, by the way they where recorded at lp4 and sound fantastic, so no reason to believe these victor ones wont be the same. good find

good find but are these really new stock? exiting if japan are still producing MD recordable discs and as another poster said it might be a good idea to contact them for HIMD stock and find out if there are plans to produce these too. aren't victor listed somewhere as decent quality discs? never seen or used them. I have a tdk water colour disc unopened and a HIMD blue disc as well opened but still unused and two more that are in use and two five packs of standard sony 80 min colour shock ones unopenend bought in sainsburys of all places 5 or 6 years ago for like 5 quid so should be ok for a while. good find once again hope you stumble upon a supplier of HIMD sometime soon though I feel this is a long shot.

yea freddy my portable recorders just run on a single AA batteries, last forever too even during transferring for a while. from what I can remember one of my old netmd units came with a rechargable AA battery and an adapter plug to charge the battery whilst in the md unit. my slightly newer himd model never, I just use single use batteries, never bothered with the whole charging the unit thing, too much faffing about for me.