A440

It depends on the manufacturer of the CD-R. I have had some CD-R's with coatings that flaked off in 2-3 years. Ruined. Now, actually, I use Sony CD-R's rather than the generic ones I was using, and I hope they will be more stable. (By the way, Memorex "Disc Keeper" sleeves are an active menace to stored CDs--they stick to the coating. Get archival quality sleeves or forget about any kind of longevity.) For something I wanted to keep permanently, I would never trust CD-R as a serious storage medium. Minidiscs are supposed to be very durable, and the case keeps the discs themselves well protected from the outside world. Maybe someone like Guitarfxr who's had MDs from their introduction can tell you about how his oldest discs are surviving. On the other hand, how long is your MD player going to last? A perfectly preserved minidisc is going to be useless without a unit that plays it, and nobody's making new ones any more. I'm still wondering when I'm going to get around to uploading all my legacy discs--and whether doing that is going to wear out my RH1, which I'm unlikely to be able to replace. Greenmachine put it clearly: "Never rely on a single medium for important data." Make a CD copy or a DVD copy, put the files on a hard drive, and keep the MD too if you want.

You might want to try http://www.atraclife.com . That site deals with Sony mp3 players. What you need to figure out from your manual is what kind of files your unit plays, and what kind of files you are trying to play. On your computer, in My Computer, click on Tools/Folder Options/View and un-check "Hide extensions for known file types." Then you can see what your music files are. Files you have ripped from your CDs are probably .mp3 files for your mp3 player. You can get them from Amazon, from emusic, and from various other places--sometimes including freebies from the band's own website or Myspace page. Or Google "mp3 blog" and you'll see lots of places that have individual songs. Just glimpsing what your unit does, it looks like all you have to do is drag and drop the mp3 files into the unit, as if it's one more hard drive on your computer. Napster files are .wma--Windows Media Audio. They are encoded with DRM--digital rights management. If you paid for them, you should call Napster customer service and have them tell you how to unlock them for your player. Point out that you have paid for portable music. You may have to be pushy. In future, if you see anything in the fine print suggesting that files have DRM, stay away from them. It basically means that the company that sold them to you has put limitations on them. They're not "managing" your rights--they are stealing them. Basic .mp3 files have no DRM. Connect files are ATRAC files, or .oma files. I have the feeling that your unit only plays .mp3 files, not .oma files. Sony sleepwalks through a lot of its marketing, which is why you got the Connect freebies. But Sony will be phasing out Connect by next spring anyway.

Which minidisc recorder do you have? First thing to do is try it with a different source and make sure the problem isn't the record player. Do you have a CD player, radio, etc., that you can connect to line-in?

Some shots in the dark: You should do a direct USB connection, not through a hub. Make sure there's a lot of free disk space and as few other processes running as possible. SonicStage is a real resource hog, and maybe it is hitting some kind of limit with a long track. --------------- For a pure digital transfer, but in realtime, you could use Total Recorder, which catches the audio going through your soundcard. Standard Edition is worth the $18--Total Recorder is also very handy for recording streaming audio. Connect, play back the audio through SonicStage, record with Total Recorder. http://www.highcriteria.com/ --------------- I guess you could also try adding a track mark somewhere in that long track, and see if shorter tracks would upload easier. But I would hesitate to make any changes on the disc for fear of wrecking the whole thing. My strategy would be to use Total Recorder and then, once I was sure I had a good copy of the music, to add a track mark and try uploading with SonicStage.

The MZ-M200 and the MZ-RH1 are the same unit. The M200 also includes a Sony DS70P microphone. Only that unit (RH1 or M200) will upload your old MD recordings digitally, and only to a PC running (free) SonicStage software. I don't think the vintage formats can be uploaded to a Mac. Recordings from your vintage units are in the original SP format and from what I have read here, they will upload slowly, perhaps only 2x or 3x. So you'd have to decide how much time you'd save by getting the RH1 vs. your optical and realtime playback. For a lot of recordings, it might be worth it--for a few, probably not. Then again, the RH1 is a great little recorder for future projects. New RH1 recordings, in the newer Hi-MD formats, can be uploaded to Mac as well as to PC--again, in an additional step through Sony software. The Zoom and Edirol do easier drag-and-drop uploading. Their built-in mics get mixed reviews, and their preamps are apparently not as impressive as the minidisc preamps, but you'd bypass those for any line-in recording, which should be high quality. The PCM-D50 does look more and more tempting. Never used one, but its price is now around $500 and as the MZ-RH1 gets scarcer, people are asking more than $300 for them ($400+ in the UK). If $500 is within your budget, and you want to use the built-in mics, that might well be your gadget. This blogger did a hands-on comparison of Zoom (H4, not H2) and PCM-D50. http://www.bradlinder.net/2007/10/sony-ann...held-flash.html

Maybe it's different there, but in most places the mic with the M200 is the DS70P.

The File Conversion Tool does go through the entire library and gives you a huge number about how long it's going to take--and yes, it will take a long time the first time if you've never used it. So do it overnight. But then, once most of the files have already had copy protection removed, it takes a much shorter time. It still calculates the whole library first and gives you the huge number again. But then you uncheck Add Copy Protection, and it quickly recalculates, giving you a much smaller number. Sure, it would have been a lot easier for Sony to either not automatically add copy protection when you upload, or to let you un-check Add Copy Protection first when you run the File Conversion Tool. But making it simple is not Sony's style. Sparky, I do this because converting to .wav takes a long time and uses up a lot of drive space. File Conversion Tool is quicker, and a lot of my recordings aren't going to be edited (or ever heard again). Since I do most recording in Hi-SP, it's a huge expansion to convert to .wav. Incidentally, some people have had trouble with the option of automatic converting to .wav on upload. It takes a lot of processing power and memory. Converting to .wav goes more smoothly if you upload from the disc to My Library first and then convert to .wav in a separate step.

Overload doesn't break the preamp. It just messes up the recording. I had the R700 once, and I've used the same settings for every unit (MZ-N707, R700, R900, NHF800, NH700, RH1) that I have owned through the years. It seems Sony hasn't changed its recording circuitry much from unit to unit, if at all. Manual volume is better for music because sudden impacts--like drumbeats--make the automatic level control react. If you hadn't noticed a problem with your previous recordings, though, don't worry about it. Basically, use what works. Your friend's mic and AGC (the default volume setting) worked for you--that's all that matters. As you've discovered, mics are not interchangeable. Each one will have different optimum settings--2/3 (or 20/30 on later units that show it numerically) is just a starting point.

I can't download the file from sendspace, but I assume either the mic or the preamp (in the MD) overloaded and you just got a big blare of noise. The Radio Shack gadget is called a Headphone Volume Control. My avatar is a picture of it. If you are in England--you said "bloody"--then Maplin has a different-looking but similar thing called the VC-1. In most cases, it should help. I haven't used your mic, so I can't be entirely sure. But you plug the mic into it, turn the headphone volume control knob to maximum (not minimum) or nearly all the way up, plug into Mic-In. Then you record with the level on the unit in Manual Volume at about 2/3 up. (Press Record and Pause so the time display is blinking, hold MENU, go to Rec Set and then Rec Volume, switch to Manual, set to about 2/3 up with the wheel. Un-Pause to start recording). Then use the volume knob on the Headphone Volume Control if you see the unit during the show and it's maxed out. You're really making it difficult for yourself to get a good recording. The sound system isn't aiming for good sound under the stage. Even out in the room, the bass is at its worst on the floor and the rest of the band is muffled--put your head down there and listen. Bass boost is for playback--it doesn't affect recording. Microphones may look similar but be very different inside. Can you get back the one that made a better recording? To be technical, the Headphone Volume Control does something helpful--lowering the overall signal going into mic-in--and not helpful, lowering the power coming out of the mic-in jack to the mic. Less power means the mic can overload easier. Usually the net effect is helpful, but depending on how much the mic needs the power, it may not be ideal. So you really just have to try it. Do it with your stereo with the bass cranked up (on the stereo speakers) and see how it turns out.

Recordings you make get DRM when they are uploaded, even in 4.x versions of SonicStage. You need to run File Conversion Tool to get rid of the DRM. Just run the File Conversion Tool (with Add Copy Protection unchecked) after you upload. Then you can just copy the .oma files onto a disc for archiving. Or convert them to .wav, or .mp3 (with HiMD Renderer).

Condenser with a 1/8" minijack. Probably a mono cardioid wired to a stereo jack so that one channel goes into both stereo channels of the MD. Check http://www.soundprofessionals.com

There are flash recorders like the Edirol R09 and the Samson Zoom H2. They haven't topped the RH1 as a stealth recorder--both have built-in mics and, according to people who have tried them, their mic preamps are inferior to MD preamps. I don't know about remote controls, track marking and other MD features. But for people not willing to put up with the whole SonicStage rigamarole, the flash recorders are drag-and-drop.

You don't have to be like a statue. If you're in theater seats you should be fine. Just hold the unit still after you push STOP for about 30 seconds while it's writing the data. It will show SYSTEM FILE WRITING and then, when it's done, go back to the usual sign-on screen. This is rarely a problem. I have had two failures out of hundreds of discs.

Sending those mics directly through mic-in at a rock concert will give you a bunch of distortion, no matter how bad your seats are. You are going to need something to prevent the bass from distorting the recording. Your choice is mic-->battery box-->line-in or mic-->attenuator (Radio Shack Headphone Volume Control)-->Mic-in. The battery box is cleaner and more expensive unless you make it yourself--and if you can, Greenmachine has a whole step-by-step thread among the stickies in this topic. The attenuator, with its volume control all the way to the maximum (though that is counter-intuitive), is slightly noisier and much cheaper (about $8).

Since Audacity is free, why not just download it and play with it a little? Audacity (at least on my computer) shows three choices of input: Microphone, Line-In and Stereo Mix. I've never used Stereo Mix. But it might well be the stereo mix of what's playing on your computer. Download Audacity and try it. If it doesn't work, the program Total Recorder will record anything coming through your soundcard, including streams. It costs about $20. http://www.highcriteria.com/ There are various legal theories about recording streams, or stream ripping. Recording companies are trying to get it declared illegal, basically because they don't want anyone else to have control of music in any form. But that would seem to be pushing it. There is a great precedent in the United States known as the Betamax case: when movie studios were trying to get VCRs outlawed and Sony was among the good guys. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Corp._v....al_City_Studios Sony won by getting the Supreme Court to agree that time-shifting--recording, in that case, a TV show to be watched later--was legal fair use under US copyright law. (Sony probably has second thoughts about that now that it owns a movie studio. But on the other hand, videocassettes and DVDs have been huge profit-makers for Hollywood.) Stream-ripping is pretty obviously time-shifting, especially in the way you intend to use it. You're not copying or selling the stream, which would be distribution of copyrighted material and a different legal situation. The people who put up the stream wanted you to hear it, didn't they? Go ahead. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Corp._v....al_City_Studios

It's actually better to record with batteries because the AC power can introduce a hum. It sounds to me like the problem is with the machine, the disc or the cord. Try recording the same CD to a different disc and see if there are also blank spots, if they're in the same spot, etc.

The high-quality but expensive way is to get the MZ-RH1 or MZ-M200 (same unit, but the M200 comes with a microphone). Those are the only units that will upload SP recordings from your R35 directly to the computer. It will be fairly slow, but it will be a digital upload. Otherwise, record them in realtime into the computer. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=7070

The mixer toolbar is the third level down: big buttons, then meters, then the mixer toolbar. You'll see pictures of a speaker (left) and a mic (middle) and then there are chevron-shaped things that you can slide back and forth--the one at the mic control the incoming level. The drop-down box (white) probably has the word Microphone or Line In.

Probably yes, but it depends how loud the music is and how sensitive the mic is. Loud signal plus fairly sensitive mic plus battery box is usually enough to provide a signal for line-in. I record nearly everything with mic-->battery-box-->line-in. But since you don't know the sensitivity of that mic, you'd really just have to try it. It looks like a musicians' supply store. Do they have any exchange period? Also, you should be aware that you can't just upload recordings from the Sharp. You'll have to record them in realtime out of the headphone jack.

You have to sign in again on the Downloads page to download from Downloads. Meanwhile: Web installers for 4.2 http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showt...mp;#entry117507 Ask Sony for Simple Burner http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/support-c...ts.pl?mdl=MZN10

Can't address your specific problem, but a lot of people have reported problems with SonicStage and RAID arrays. You may need to leave it on a non-RAID drive. Might be worth calling or chatting with Sony support though.

For inner-ear phones like the Shures, there is a huge difference in how they sound with the different earplugs, which is why they include 7 different types. When I got mine, I tried them all. Five sounded awful. One sounded very good. And one sounded excellent--so good the Shure E4 are by far my favorite portable headphones ever, and the 530 are supposed to be big step up from those. If you didn't try the Shure with all the plugs, you really don't know yet what they can sound like. Everyone's ears are shaped differently.

We definitely agree on that. I only use SonicStage when I have to: to upload Hi-MD recordings. And I un-DRM them as soon as they are uploaded.

If I understand you, the recording on the minidisc itself is at a good volume. It sounds good through headphones, right? OK, then it's settings in your computer and in Audacity. Go to Start/Programs/Accessories/Entertainment/Volume Control. Under Options click Advanced Controls if it's not grayed out. Look at Properties and tell it to show every control. Look at Line In and make sure it is not muted and all the way up. You can mute SW Synth, PC Beep or other inputs if you are sure you don't need them. Make sure Master Volume is NOT muted. Shut the Volume Control. Open Audacity. Under Edit/Preferences look at Audio I/O. That tells you what Audacity will actually record and how. If it's mono, change it to stereo. The Device should be the soundcard in your computer, whatever has the line-in jack. (If it's not obvious, you can find out its name by going to Settings/Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager/Sound and Video Controllers.) Check the Quality while you're in there--at least 16-bit. The mixer toolbar on Audacity--with the pictures of the microphones--lets you control incoming level and (in the drop-down box) which input you are using--Microphone, Line-in, etc. Are you sure your computer has a Line-in? Some laptops only have Mic-in. (Usually a microphone icon and a red jack. Line-in is usually a white jack.) Whatever it is, make sure Audacity is capturing the correct one. While you're recording you can move the Mixer toolbar sliders horizontally and watch the waveform expand as you raise the level. You want it to nearly fill the space of the display, but never to be flattened against the top and bottom. ------------------------- One more thought: Do you want to have the albums on minidisc? Because otherwise you could just record them directly into Audacity from your stereo--stereo headphone out, computer Line-in--without an intermediate step.

Call me overly cautious (or other things). But every time I upload a new recording from a disc into My Library, I run the File Conversion Tool with Add Copy Protection unchecked. It doesn't take long and it frees up all the files in My Library. I'd rather be sure that I've done the file conversion than check Properties.