A440

IEM (inner ear monitor) phones do not deliver bass as strongly as over-the-ear phones can. Imagine putting a woofer inside your ear. However, Shures have more bass than their competition, Etymotic, and on both the Shure E3 and E4 you can get substantial bass by using the EQ. The crucial thing about IEMs is the fit. If you don't have the right earplug they sound awful, and if the earplug is too small, then you immediately lose bass. Maybe "horrible" was from someone who didn't use the right plug. Shures do have bottom.

He had the right idea in the first place: go line-in with a battery box.

The mic preamp in the MD unit is pretty good by itself. A preamp is only useful for quiet sounds--quieter than speech. Decent preamps are as big as your MD recorder and cost $100 and up: look at http://www.soundprofessionals.com , http://www.microphonemadness.com and "Church-Audio" on eBay. What microphone are you using and what are you recording? That's what will determine whether you need a preamp or battery box.

Initializing the disc will wipe it clean. You'll lose your music. Don't do that unless you're prepared to lose the recording. Guitarfxr, it would be cheaper to get a new RH1 than a new Mac. Could it be something as simple as a bad USB cord? Have you tried a different one? They are standard, USB to mini-USB--you may have one with a camera, or you can find one for a few dollars. It's also possible the USB port is broken, which is probably going to be an expensive repair. Definitely install a good version of SonicStage--either 4.2 or 3.4. Seach these forums for links (use "installer"). Also, look in Downloads (upper right on this page) and try the MDAC Repair Tool in case it is a database problem. Probably not, but you never know. Last resort: Get the MZ-NH700 and start again. http://www.minidiscaccess.com/item.html?PRID=1553219

Drag & drop of Hi-MD audio recordings? Or just mp3s and data, using the Hi-MD as an external drive?

E2G are optimized for games, not music--probablywith exaggerated highs and lows and less middle. You'd be better off with the music version: Shure E2 (dark) or Shure E2c (white). Shure E2 are decent but not great. You should look around the internet and see if you can find Shure E3, which are much better, or Shure E4, which are excellent. Here's one place that has them: http://www.djdeals.com/shureE3.htm http://www.djdeals.com/shureE4.htm

In the Betamax case, Sony was sued by television studios for allowing people to record programs to watch later. Sony, and consumers, won the case, establishing historic protections for end users back when Sony was only an electronics company. Then Sony bought CBS Records (Columbia et al.) and Columbia Studios (no relation to CBS) and became a copyright holder, and promptly regretted its Betamax victory. The music and movie studios started dictating to the electronics side. You said "never been allowed to exist." You don't mean allowed under the legal system--you mean allowed by Sony's completely schizophrenic business team. And in that you are probably correct. But they were the ones being unrealistic. In minidisc's early days, when it was an improvement on the cassette and home CD burners didn't exist, perhaps uploading didn't matter. But by the time Sony made Hi-MD, it was more than obvious that people wanted to transfer their recordings to computer. Sony knew it too: hence uploading capability, more or less. Then Marcnet--all by himself, a one-man paradigm shift--came up with Hi-MD Renderer--which, some people remember, was the first program that freed MD recordings from SonicStage. Sony followed with .wav converter as an add-on, then built .wav conversion into newer versions of SonicStage. And now, without much publicity, the File Conversion Tool makes .oma files portable to any computer with SonicStage installed. Let's not forget, Sony is making VAIO computers with built-in CD burners (like every other computer) and even--ohmigod--DVD burners. I don't understand how Sony Music and Sony Pictures tolerate that. By now, the game is over. Sony should release software that nullifies encryption and makes all Hi-MDs drag-and-drop. It should license or make public its ATRAC codecs so they can be plugins for other media players. The idea that it can force people into Sony's own ATRAC universe is beyond delusional. I'm getting increasingly exasperated with SonicStage. Even 4.2, which is relatively stable, sometimes decides it doesn't want to upload files on the first try, then uploads then fine on a retry. But I shouldn't have to upload, unencrypt (to make a safety copy) and convert--I should be able to drag and drop a file that I can play anywhere. When a solid flash recorder with track marking, level control and decent mic preamps comes along, I will feel no loyalty to minidisc. Even now, if I'm just recording voice, I bring along my Iriver T30 with its dinky little voice mic and low bitrate mp3 recording, and then I just drag-and-drop that file onto my computer instead of the higher-quality Hi-MD recording. Sometimes convenience is more important than sound quality. And if Sony had ever had a clue, I could have had both.

First, follow the advice above and reinstall SonicStage, and try a different USB port. (If you are using a hub, don't--plug directly into the computer USB port.) Then, if you are still having problems, try a different USB cord--they are standard for many PDAs or cameras, USB to mini-USB. Then, if problems persist, try this. Sometimes it helps. You have to log in to download it. http://forums.minidisc.org/downloads/details.php?file=8

The MZ-M200 is the MZ-RH1 plus a mic. Exactly the same unit. You may be able to find a better mic for the price difference between the MZ-RH1 and the MZ-M200. But if you can't, then it's a good deal.

There was never any reason to encrypt homemade live recordings. There's no encryption on the M-Audio Microtrack, Iriver's H120 and 140, Edirol R01 and R09, etc. And the antipiracy frenzy around CD tracks downloaded to MD seems pretty excessive when every Sony computer has a CD burner in it. Let's see, would I borrow a CD, convert it through SimpleBurner onto MD, then upload the ATRAC compressed tracks back from the disc to someone else's computer....when I could have just burned another CD? Meanwhile, even a non-techie like me can see the conceptual flaw in the way all the audio on the minidisc is placed in one giant file. With any corruption of that one big file, everything is lost. Even if encryption was in any way necessary, it could have been applied to separate groups or tracks so that one glitch doesn't ruin everything. Sorry, but I'm not the one whose reality checks are bouncing. That would be Sony.

The news is all bad: Say goodbye to those audio files. Sony doesn't believe in drag-and-drop. Logic does not apply. HMA is Sony's encryption, tied to your particular computer, your installation of SonicStage, and probably hidden info on the original disc itself. You were supposed to upload to SonicStage and then remove encryption (with File Conversion Tool under SonicStage). Only Sony fully understands the encryption. Keep the HMA files in case Sony ever relents and releases its encryption keys. It hasn't happened yet. You can also contact http://www.sonymediaservices.com/ and see if they will help you. If they do, please let us know, but don't get your hopes up.

Try http://www.atraclife.com for help with flash devices and other non-MD units.

It should be stereo, with a plug exactly the same as the one on your stereo headphones: two circular bands around the plug. In fact, you can test its stereo-ness by plugging your headphones into the mic jack, starting Record, and then tapping on each earpiece, left and right. The headphone will act like a weak mic and you should be able to hear each channel separately on the playback.

It can't be done. It's a hardware limitation. The only unit that will upload files in SP, LP2 or LP4 is the MZ-RH1. Otherwise you have to do a realtime recording into your computer. You can automate that process slightly by using Hi-MD Renderer (see the thread in Software, or get the program free from Downloads). Its MD Recorder function has SonicStage play the files on the MD one by one and make a new file for each track. But that is a realtime recording. You may see, if you search the net, old gizmos like PC Link or or other promised devices that say they offer "uploading" from MD. They don't. They just connect to various ports for realtime recording. With your unit, direct file transfer is one way only, from PC to MD--not the other direction. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=7070

As long as you create discs in SP, LP2 or LP4 they should play on the R909. NetMD added a new way to create and name files in the existing formats. It didn't change the formats themselves. Obviously if you use the Hi-MD, you are going to have to use the old MD formats on a 74-minute or 80-minute disc.

You can hide the BMC-2 mics under your shirt (button-front shirt, fold the mics over the top button and tuck them in. Even metal detector wands are rarely traced over the front of your shirt. The recorder depends on the gate person you get. You could just say it's your "walkman." Battery box is pretty nondescript. But 10 discs....you're going to have to be creative. You could try cargo pants or something with lotsa pockets and a few MDs in each.... Or look for someone headed for the gate with a photo pass and a camera bag, and be friendly.

Get a battery module like this one. http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm Sound Professionals has battery boxes too. You don't need or want bass roll-off. Mic-->Battery Module-->Line-in should record your drums unless you have a very low-sensitivity mic.

Could you have mistakenly plugged the battery module into Mic-in rather than Line-in? The battery module has to go through Line-in for just about any music.

Actually, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good it will sound. The MZ-N505 has a line input, not a mic input, so you will definitely need the battery box, but with the battery box you should get a good recording. Those are the same basic mics as the BMC-2, and they sound fine. Keep the headphone as high up as you can around your neck. If you can bear to carry a bunch of discs, I recommend recording in SP even though you only get 74 or 80 minutes per disc. To save space, I recorded a lot of concerts in LP2 on my old MZ-N707--same generation as your N505--and now that I've been spoiled by Hi-SP, I find the LP2 recordings a little lackluster. If you feel you have to be really stealthy, use LP2 so you don't have to make obvious disc changes, but use SP if you get a chance. And get ready to do a lot of walking at Lollapalooza. The two main stages are at least 1/2 mile apart.

N10 has a nonstandard, proprietary USB connector. You need its docking stand to connect USB or charge the battery, which is built-in. (There's also an outboard AA pod that ruins the way it looks.) Very inconvenient, and if you lose the cradle you won't get much use from the unit. http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-N10.html Really, look around and get a Hi-MD. Minidisc Access does international shipping. http://www.minidiscaccess.com/item.html?PRID=1553219

Reviews of H4 have been mixed, Google around for them. I have an Iriver IFP 795. The IFP 9** are the same thing with built-in batteries, I think, which is not an improvement. I like replaceable batteries. The IFP795 is a good voice recorder, not so good for music. I don't think the processor is as fast as the ones in MD units--if you "upgrade" the firmware, you get drag-and-drop transfer, instead of using Iriver Music Manager. BUT you lose higher-bitrate mp3 recording, which must have been at the limits of what the processor could handle. You also don't have anything like the recording controls--level, track mark--that you do in MD. There's an Iriver forum at http://www.misticriver.net/forums.php . Maybe they'd disagree.

He means that if you search these forums with Advanced Search (on the upper right) under "ribbon cable" and N1 you will find other instances of this problem. Unless you are very skillful with electronics and can reconnect the ribbon cable, your N1 is at the end of its life and you will need to find another MD or Hi-MD unit.

Your R55 will not upload its recordings to a computer. You would have to make the recording and then record it in realtime out of the headphone jack into your computer. The big change with Hi-MD was that it WILL upload to computer, as well as hold a lot more material per disc. Get any Hi-MD you can find and afford that has a mic input, which is most of them. Cheapest (but excellent) is the MZ-NH700 if you can find it; fanciest and most convenient is MZ-RH1, which is the only unit that uploads recordings made on old MD units (like the R55). http://www.minidisc.org/equipment_browser.html Note that NH710 and NH600 only have line inputs, not mic--they need an amplified signal. Anything with a D in the model name is only a player (D for downloading). If you can bear to wait until August, you might also consider the Zoom H2 when it appears and people have had a chance to review it. Getting recordings off minidisc still takes an extra step--uploading to SonicStage and then converting to a more useful unencrypted format--and sooner or later an inexpensive flash recorder will combine high-quality recording, level control and track marking (like MD) with drag-and-drop uploading. Might be the Zoom H2, might not. Look at this thread about the SM58. It's a mono mic for stage use, and you'd need at least an adapter (XLR to stereo miniplug) and probably some kind of preamp or mixer. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=19054 For MD recording, you want an electret condenser mic--stereo, or mono wired to a stereo plug--that runs on Plug-in power that is supplied at the mic jack. (NOT Phantom Power, a lot more juice.) A style of mic called M/S will give you a stereo recording or a true mono signal, if that's what you want for a voice recording you can mix into a radio broadcast. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...&sku=150435 There are many, many mics that can give you a good voice recording. Along with Giant Squid and Visivox, you can look at http://www.soundprofessionals.com and http://www.microphonemadness.com for mic choices. Think about how you'll be using it. Do you want a lapel mic or a mic to put on a stand? Do you need a directional (cardioid) mic that shuts out background noise, or do you want an omnidirectional (also called binaural) mic that picks up the ambience of the room? For "broadcast quality," compare signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios in mic specifications--the higher the number, the less noise added by the mic. You may see photos online of little mics (like Sony DS70P) with no cord plugged directly into a minidisc mic jack, sitting right on the recorder. In real life, that setup picks up the noise and vibration of the minidisc motor and sounds awful. Get a mic on a cord.

Making your RH900 work with a Mac is always going to be a workaround. It was only made to work with Windows. On your current PC, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I don't think it would hurt you to upgrade to 3.4, but if 3.3 also allows you to upload the same track more than once--and I think it does--you could stick with it. Personally, I'm not a computer expert but I am staying with XP for as long as my hardware is supported. (That's the problem with buying new computers--sometimes the drivers for video card, mouse, etc., are only written for the latest OS.) Vista is a resource hog, probably for all those cutesy 3D icons and animations. Vista also has a lot of little security byways--Trusted Path--that prevent you from doing what you want with the computer that you own. And when Vista first appeared, it broke a lot of software that people were very happily using, like SonicStage. You can still find computers now in stock with XP Pro installed rather than Vista, so if you are looking for a new computer, you might even be able to save some money by getting XP. On a new XP computer, I'd recommend SonicStage 3.4 or 4.2, both of which have been comparatively trouble-free for most users. Look in Downloads or search these forums for "installer" and the version of your choice and you should find some links.

Did you wait a minute or so before disconnecting the N1 from the computer? Even after SonicStage says it has transferred 100%, the transfer is not complete until it plays its little three-note sound. Otherwise, unless someone else has ideas, the record head of your N1 may simply be wearing out, and you will probably have to get a new unit.