A440

Can you upload something with the errors you hear, and point out where they are in the timing? Do you hear them in playback from the disc as well as on the computer? Do you hear them by playing back the disc through SonicStage when connected to the computer by USB?

American RH1. My RM-MC40ELK is from Ebay, so that may be the problem. I get a little bit of static when I light it up to check levels or change them, on Line-in. One classical recording I did via Mic-in, which was unamplified and needed some gain, had a persistent buzz that I assume was from the remote. If yours is working better, that's great. But various people have complained through the years that adjusting the remote during recording adds noise.

You've got the Manual Level drill correct. You probably won't have to reset to 20/30. Once you get into Manual Level, it will remember what your previous setting was if it's over 13. Under 13, it reverts to 13. About track marking at the gig: Since it's your first gig, just record it as one track. Start it, make sure it's going, let it roll and stop it after 90 minutes or at the appropriate break. The beauty of MD is that you can add track marks on the unit during playback or split tracks once they are uploaded on your computer. I have the RM-MC40ELK remote and I do use it to make track marks during the applause at loud gigs, when I also look at levels. But at a.....LG....gig the music may be quieter, and you'd hear noise from the remote. Every time the remote is used it makes a little bit of static (which is why I trackmark during applause where it doesn't matter). So use the remote to un-Pause and start recording, and to Stop at the end, but then put it on Hold and simply unplug it once you know you're rolling. Upload to your computer as soon as you have time. I'm always happiest when the music is copied from the disc and encryption is removed. Make sure your SonicStage version is better than the disc that came with the NH700. Either 3.4 or 4.2 is best--get them via Downloads. Earlier versions of SonicStage have more restrictions and more bugs. Since it's a PCM recording it's a big file that will take a fairly long time to upload. Make sure you stay connected even after it shows 100 percent uploaded until you hear the three-note sound that announces it's done. You might try a small upload--one of your GM mic recordings--to see how that process works. Also, I suggest UNchecking the box under Tools/Otions/Transfer/Hi-MD/Transfer Settings/Advanced that says "Save in .wav when importing." SonicStage is already chewing on a lot of information with a full-disc upload. You can convert to .wav afterward once the file is safely uploaded into My Library.

IMPORTANT: Get a real alkaline battery, not the dinky rechargeable that came with the unit: Duracell (my preferred), Energizer, or even better a Duracell Ultra, Energizer Titanium or whatever they're calling the highest grade. A good new alkaline will definitely last the length of the gig and well beyond. You could test the rechargeable just by letting the unit record at PCM--it doesn't matter if it has an input--and seeing how long it lasts. But I have more peace of mind with a Duracell. For stealth, I suggest doing all your level settings before you get to the gig. Plug the battery module into Line-in and run through the Manual Level routine. Then just leave it on Pause. Plug the mics into the battery module and tap (gently!) on them to see you're getting a level reading. Obviously it won't be full concert volume. Put the unit on Hold, plug in the remote, stick the unit in a pocket. You don't have to take it out till you're done. Stealthier. Leaving the unit on hold won't eat much battery life--I do this all the time, up to an hour before the gig sometimes. Then, at showtime, use the remote to un-Pause and start recording--check the remote display to make sure it's stopped blinking and the time readout is changing. Pause between encores will save disc space, and you won't need to worry about battery life. 90 minutes on a 94-minute disc is going to be tight, but if you're worried about stealth then changing discs is going to be pretty difficult, since you have to do the whole Manual Level routine again. You'll have Auto Gain off automatically with Manual levels. I have Mic Sens on low--I have no idea if it makes any difference, but what the heck. Try to rehearse this--just record some daily life--so you're used to working through the menus. Is this a Lisa Gerrard gig?

Do you remember which settings you used? There were what looked like very diverse ones in that thread. Maybe the exact numbers could help someone else here.

Try http://www.atraclife.com

Looking at the waveform in Audacity, you should be able to just see the quiet versus loud parts. Just raise the gain on each of the quiet parts one by one. Alternately, you can try Compressor rather than Normalize. A compressor compresses the dynamics: brings the loud parts down and the soft parts up so it's a more even sound. Look at this thread for some compressor settings to try--there are a bunch of different ones . http://audacityteam.org/forum/thread/4729;...1c2311cf11fb176 I have a feeling that "audigy" was a mistype of Audacity.

Your iPod antipathy is safe. The Micromemo is basically for...memo recording. Podcasters are probably all just thrilled. As noted in this post: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=18303 and the iPod review and comments that it links to: Mic-in is Mono. A stereo microphone only records the left channel. (Line-in is stereo.) Fixed gain only: one mic setting, one line setting. No auto gain, no user adjustment. A full battery runs out after 2 hours (30GB) or 3.5 hours (60 GB). Track marking, manual levels, etc.? Nope. And here's yet another one, which does have auto gain, but the bulk of built-in mics, the same battery limits, etc. http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/revi...pod-with-video/ Just for the stealth aspect--no one suspects an iPod--I'd like to try one with mics and battery module, but I'm not rushing to the Apple store.

Although it's not supposed to, I find a battery box provides a small but crucial boost in output--enough to send loud music through line-in without a problem, and sometimes enough to allow me to capture speech (close up) with Sound Pro BMC-2-->battery module-->Line-in. Since the CM 25 is both powered and sensitive, the best thing to do would be to try it with power on through Line-in and see if the signal is strong enough for what you are recording, as it is for King Ghidora. Otherwise the attenuator via mic-in would work, but at the cost of fidelity.

I doubt it's the transfer. I would be shocked if EAC degrades files--there would have been a big geek outcry long ago. You should easily be able to find another free burning program, though--iTunes if you want. I think the difference is in the playback equipment. Try one more test: Hook up the MD to the computer and play back the file on the disc through the computer (with decent headphones) with SonicStage. Then play back the CD from the CD drive with SonicStage. Neither is going to sound great since you're dealing with the computer soundcard, but at least it's the same audio playback. However, there's still the difference in how the data is read off the discs. I don't know where the Digital-to-Analog conversion stage is--in the computer with the data, or in the MD unit/CD burner.

I don't know of any hacks for the NH700. But I haven't wanted any either. [The rest edited out because KG points out that the CM25 is a powered mic.]

Sparky, he's saying that the burner works correctly--it makes clear copies of commercial CDs--not that he's comparing the commercial and home-recorded material. And he's saying he hears a difference between the recording that he plays from the MD and the same recording as uploaded and burned to a CD. I don't know why this would happen, since it's the same file. Guitarfxr's explanation that it's different amps sounds most logical to me. Another test would be to transfer the uploaded recording back onto another MD and see if the sound quality is somehow different from the original MD. How about trying that, Jon?

MDs record in 16-bit, not 24-bit. Can't be changed. It's in the chip. About SonicStage and PCM: SonicStage doesn't compress those recordings. All it does is add and then (when you convert to .wav) remove its encryption. What happens if you play the uploaded recording in My Library out of your computer through your hi-fi system?

If Mr. Mandolin has a lot of discs, it would be worthwhile investing $300 in the MZ-RH1. The Audacity solution above is realtime and analog, and it requires you to edit all the recordings afterward. It works (assuming your PC has a decent audio input, not always the situation), but it is very time-consuming.

Some of these people can read numbers a lot better than they can hear. A lot of traders' sites are hung up on specs. They insist that the original recordings not be compressed, which is what they mean by "mucking around with atrac." Hi-SP is Atrac compression at 256 kbps--that's how it fits so much more on a disc than a PCM recording would. In theory the traders are correct: You do get a more hi-fi recording in PCM, and blowing up a compressed (Hi-SP) recording to lossless files only makes sure you don't lose any more--it doesn't turn it into an original PCM recording. ATRAC also has a bad reputation from long-gone old days and from LP2 and LP4, which do cramp the music. In practice, I'll bet most of the trader music snobs couldn't tell the difference in a blind test between a Hi-SP recording and a PCM one, given that you're dealing with live concert sound and not a studio situation. I've also heard a lot of lossless recordings on those sites that were made through pathetic microphones with lots of crowd noise, and a Hi-SP recording with good mics sounds better. You could lie....send them .wav or .flac uploads of Hi-SP recordings and just say they were originally PCM. I'd be curious about whether you'd get busted on that.

I don't think there's any pressing reason to upgrade from 3.4. I upgraded from 3.4 to 4.2 recently. 4.2 loads a little faster. Big deal. I'm not going to touch 4.3, given the problems that people here have been having with it . Before I upgraded, I backed up the entire library, etc., which took most of an hour, and I experienced that inevitable tension as I wondered whether the upgrade would mess things up. If I were you, and 3.4 is working fine, I'd wait to upgrade until I got a new computer or a new MD. You already have unrestricted uploads and DRM removal (File Conversion Tool) with 3.4, and that version is all you need for uploading your recordings.

Typically a Mic-in input is red and a Line-in input is white. I see a white jack on the photo, so that's probably it. As on your MD unit, the Mic-in has a preamp behind it and the Line-in does not. So you may not get enough of a signal from your mics to use the Line-in. Try it, and see if you can raise the input level with your recording program (Audacity? Creative's own program?), but the level may just be too low.

I have to agree with jonfinlayson about this. If you had asked Sony about what to do, they would have shrugged and said nothing could be done. Thanks to Avrin, and I, too, am really glad MDCF exists.

Stereo cables--headphone cables, speaker cables, etc.--transmit analogue signals that are susceptible to degradation with every electron that doesn't get through. But the USB cable is just sending ones and zeros, and the file is exactly copied. Compare the sizes of the file in the computer with the size of the one on the MD--they should be the same, and if all the bits are there, they should be identical. Is it possible that you are just hearing the difference between the compression of MD recording and the higher quality of CDs? Or the difference between playback from the MD unit and your stereo? A good stereo can sometimes reveal deficiencies.

Just remember you won't be able to plug the T-mic in without an extension cord either. My guess is that it's the same capsules, so choose based on the design.

You should simply look on eBay. Stores that still sell old units usually have very high prices on them. And maybe on eBay you could find a non-working unit so you wouldn't be destroying one. For looks, the E players are nice but among recorders, so are the MZ-R900 (either red or blue), the MZ-N707 (black and red especially) and the MZ-N1 (silver). You can look at all the units here: http://www.minidisc.org/equipment_browser.html

To upload those recordings to your computer you need the MZ-RH1. It is the only unit that will let you transfer those recordings to your computer. It will use Sony's free software, SonicStage, to upload the recordings. (That is Windows software, not Mac. There is no Mac software to upload old MD recordings.) When they are uploaded, you can convert the recordings to .wav files (also with SonicStage) and edit them with any sound recording program, like Audacity. You can use SonicStage to name, combine and divide the recordings on the disc itself with any minidisc recorder labeled NetMD or Hi-MD, for playback from the disc itself. But to get the old recordings off the disc and into a real sound editing program, you must get the MZ-RH1.

Once the files are uploaded into My Library you can also convert them to FLAC (or .mp3 or .ogg or even .wav) with Hi-MD Renderer, which is in Downloads, if you want to save a step and not have those giant .wav files filling your hard drive. I also recommend using the File Conversion Tool, which gives you the option to remove DRM from your .oma files. Under Tools, go to Start File Conversion Tool, which will close SonicStage (takes a little while, don't worry) and then, after a few Nexts, shows you a check box that says Add Copy Protection. Uncheck that (so that both boxes are unchecked) and continue, and you'll get .oma files that you can play in any installation of SonicStage, not just the one on your computer. And do you have any idea how you finally got it working? It might help someone else.

Are you trying to upload recordings made on the NH700? That is, not recordings made on legacy MDs and not music transferred to MD with SonicStage. Those will not transfer from the NH700. Otherwise, do one more reinstall, preferably 4.2, with Administrator privileges as noted above. When you reinstall, try using the default directories and not changing them. SonicStage has trouble finding the music otherwise.

You asked about battery powered. That preamp weighs four pounds and needs 16 watts of power from an external AC adapter.