A440

That comes with the DS70P, not the MS907. You can't sit the microphone directly on the recorder, no matter what the pictures show--it has to be on a cord or you will get lots of motor noise. Just get the RH1--there are better microphones for just a little more than the $50 price difference between the RH1 and the M200. And if you already have the MS907, you already have a better mic.

The NoteBurner site does not mention .omg files anywhere that I could find. And Hi-MDRenderer is free (though everyone should send Marcnet some $$). Tomy....do you work for NoteBurner?

Once the tracks are uploaded into SonicStage you can combine them seamlessly before converting them to .wav. with the Combine function in SonicStage. There used to be a bug that if you erased a track mark on the unit before uploading--that is, you had Track 01 and Track 02, and erased the track mark on the unit so both tracks became Track 01--it would not upload. That bug was fixed in SonicStage 3.3 or 3.4, and it's no longer a problem. But I wouldn't overdo it if I were you. The important thing is not to let SonicStage mess with the disc too much. Every time SonicStage deals with the disc it can wreck it, as I have recently learned. If the disc is ruined you lose everything. Setting track marks with the unit isn't a problem. But then get the music off the disc and onto your computer while you can. Afterward, you can play with it all you want on the computer.

The Griffin iMic gives you line-in and line-out via USB. It's about $35, less if you can scoop one up on eBay. http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/

Not really. But if you upload and convert to .wav then you can edit to your heart's content, and much more precisely. And you'll have the original content still on the disc. Having just had SonicStage 3.4 destroy a completely irreplaceable disc--and if SonicStage screws up, the entire disc is ruined--I strongly suggest uploading the tracks before manipulating them. Inserting track marks every so often is no problem--I always do it during shows. But working on the disc in the unit through SonicStage would be asking for trouble. And thanks to Sony's encryption, no other program can read the disc.

None of those models upload. None of them. You have to record from your disc in real time out of the headphone jack. Only NH** and RH** models upload. All have their good and bad points. The MZR90 is the oldest and only records in SP mode: 80 minutes on an 80 minute disc. It is supposed to be very sturdy and to sound good. But it is getting very old. You really have to see what condition it is in. If it is very much used, it's not going to be worth anything soon. If it sat in someone's closet for a decade, it might be worthwhile. The others are MDLP recorders and can not only record in SP but can also put 160 minutes (LP2) and 320 minutes (LP4) on the same disc, though with lower quality. LP2 is barely passable for music. LP4 is only good for voice. The MZ-G750 has a radio in the remote, if the person selling it still has the remote, and it is well-built and has nice big controls. But if you are planning to use it as a portable music player, the only way it can record is in real time. All of the N units have a USB connector that allows you to download music from your computer to the MD faster. Even with the USB, YOU CANNOT UPLOAD RECORDINGS FROM N UNITS THROUGH THE USB. It's only one-way, computer out to MD in. All the N units will do an equivalent job. The big question is what condition they are in. Get the one in the best condition. Look at whether the paint around the buttons is worn off, which would indicate a lot of use. The N1 is the smallest and cutest. It uses a rechargeable battery and should come with an attachment for a AA battery if the person selling still has the accessories. Here's the exhaustive look at it. http://www.minidisc.org/brian_youn/mzn1/ The NF810 has a radio in the remote--if the seller still has the original remote--and a rechargeable battery. It's the newest model of your list. It should also come with an attachment for a AA battery. MZ-N707 takes an AA battery inside and the one I had was very reliable. I like the control layout of the MZ-N707. The recording quality on all the MZ-N units should be about the same, and slightly better than the MZ-G750. But there is not a huge noticeable difference.

If you don't need Vista support, you can still get the less complicated/buggy SS 4.2 by following these directions: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?s=&am...st&p=117313

You can also use a rechargeable AA if you want. Anything AA will work correctly. mAh--milliamp hours--is how much charge the battery holds. Even back when the MZ-N707 came out, 700 was pretty feeble. Now you can find rechargeable AA's at 2500 or even 2700 mAh, comparable to a Duracell or Energizer alkaline. Even cheap disposable batteries will also last a very long time, as you'll see. As for a mic, what are you recording?

Admit it, is that you going WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! over on the right? Sounds like you've got the mic in the right place. For me, all it needs is some bottom: snare drum and cymbal sound very clear, but surely that drummer also has some toms and a bass drum? Wonder what it would sound like if you raised the under 100 Hz zone with EQ.

If the models you mention are your ONLY AVAILABLE choices, the one to get is the MZ-N710. It is the only one that has a microhone-in jack. The others have a line-in jack that needs a stronger, amplified signal--not just a microphone. Look on any unit for a RED jack. That is a microphone jack. A white jack is line-in, for recording from your stereo or other amplified source. Here is a page with all the models of minidisc. Look at the any model you can find and look under Connectors to make sure there is a microphone jack. http://minidisc.org/equipment_browser.html With anything that is not Hi-MD--that does not begin with MZ-NH* or MZ-RH*--the only way to get the recording off the minidisc is to record it again, in real time, from out of the headphone jack. That's why I also recommend the MZ-NH700 if there is any way you can get one. See if these people will ship to Ukraine. http://www.minidiscaccess.com/item.html?PRID=1553219

If the seller is a serious presence at taperssection, he probably has a reputation to protect. That's a good thing. It makes it far less likely that he'd rip you off, since you could shame him in public. As for a sample, all he has to do is record 30 seconds of his home stereo with the mics, so it shouldn't be a big deal for him. Alternately, since he's giving you a long evaluation period, maybe the best thing to do is to get the mics in your hands, try them and see. The Soundman electrets are supposed to be excellent; I'm jealous.When you make a stereo recording with them--even if the mics are just separated without a Jecklin disc--please upload them.

Sorry to say, but I think you got a broken unit. It should never take that long to save, and everything you recorded should play back. If you can ask the seller for a refund, you should. If you can't, it will be far more expensive to repair than it is worth, so write it off and look for a newer unit. I was very fond of my MZ-N707, but unless you are extremely lucky, any that are still around are probably very worn. Look for the MZ-NH700 on eBay and elsewhere, perhaps http://www.minidiscaccess.com , around $170. It's the best starter unit now.

Well, this just happened to me. I had a very precious, completely irreplaceable live recording on a disc that I recorded on my NHF800. I added a song to it via NetMD, realized I had added the song to the wrong disc and erased the song and...CANNOT RECORD OR PLAY on the NHF800. On the RH1 it says "Audio File Error." I tried the procedure suggested: copied the ATDATA*.hma file to the computer, made a dummy recording, replaced the dummy recording with a renamed version of the corrupt ATDATA*.hma file. The MZ-RH1 unit now recognizes one long track, but runs through it in fast foward, with no sound. SonicStage sees the track, but trying to play it back just hangs with the hourglass running. I'm going to call Sony when their tech support wakes up--they don't work on Sundays! since of course no one uses portable audio equipment on a Sunday!--but I don't have a lot of hope. I'm still using SS 3.4 and will try updating to 4.0 with the online installer, but not 4.3 since that has been giving people trouble. I'm kicking myself that I didn't upload the recording before this. Anyone have any other ideas?

A mono plug (one ring around the plug) into a stereo jack only sends sound to the left channel. A stereo microphone (two rings around the plug, like your headphone jack) sends sound to both channels. That's Gregor's problem.

As usual, greenmachine has the practical solution. See how they sound. Brilliant. So, some random thoughts. I wonder if this is where your seller got it....for $385 ! http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-ECM-MS5-stereo-co...5QQcmdZViewItem When I Googled ecm-ms5, I got some links to tapers, like this one, using that mic: http://db.etree.org/shn_lookupshow.php?sho...ninfo_key=20965 It's good to see that your current mics don't cut off at 100 Hz--though that spectrum analysis makes me wonder what the heck they are picking up way down there. A subway train under the club? Some serious foot-stompin'? I didn't hear anything like that on the samples in the other thread. Beyond this point, it's a theological discussion. But: "Human feeling" may just be someone trying not to repeat the word audible or whatever. You don't stop feeling vibrations slower than 16--you perceive them as individual throbs, or physical motion. Or we wouldn't notice earthquakes. The 27.5 Hz A isn't just on the Bosendorfer, it's on every piano, and it is defintely an audible, tunable note. I'd love to hear one of those Bosendorfers. Piano music isn't written for the 13.75-27.5 octave, but those open strings provide resonance for everything above them. Still, I'd wager that if you played down those keys you would be able to distinguish separate notes--it wouldn't be all rumble. To me the hum of house current is a very clear note, and not a particularly low one. More to the point is the 40 Hz of the bottom string of a bass. Certainly that's used even in bluegrass, and definitely in rock and classical music. And the cannon in Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture? As with the organ note in the Saint-Saens, you may be mostly perceiving overtones, but you may also be hearing the fundamental. I'll bet you'd notice if someone played the wrong organ note. The beauty of live music is in the extremes that most people's sound systems (certainly mine) cannot reproduce. But I want them in my recordings if I can get them. As I said, that's probably more of a theological position than a practical one. Sony must be making such a high-end mic that way for a good reason. Down in the Google listings is the testimonial of a guy who used the MS5 to record a Mississippi fife-and-drum band which is loud and deep, and he was very happy with what he got. http://www.trewaudio.com/goat.htm

The audible range is generally defined as 20-20,000 Hz. Below 20 is subsonic. The bottom note of a piano, a low A, is 27.5 Hz. I know I have been in dance clubs with audible notes below that. Some pipe organs go down to 16 Hz. The lowest note on an electric bass is 40 Hz. One octave above the bottom note on a piano, the next A, is 55 Hz. Even a cello goes down to 65 Hz. 70 Hz, where that mic's pickup begins, is a C-sharp or a D that's about one and a half octaves from the bottom of the piano. You may not care about that bottom range. Your loudspeakers might not reproduce it without a subwoofer. And the mic may pick it up to some extent, too. But at any rate, it's not inaudible. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_frequency

Your extension cord should work fine. But plug-in power and phantom power are two different things. Plug-in power is a little bit of current at the mic jack--as above, 1-10V. The plug-in power from the MD is only 1.5 volts. Phantom power is 48V, usually from an external device for mics that need it. (Some recorders, not MD, also provide it), Phantom power can replace battery power for mics that need all that power. Plug-in power probably won't give your MS907 what it needs--hence the battery. I don't have the MS907, but my guess is that if you try recording with it plugged into the mic jack, but with batteries removed, you won't get much of a signal. I'd be very curious to hear otherwise.

I've never used that mic, but just want to ride my usual hobbyhorse: bass response is limited, only down to 70 Hz. Signal to noise ratio looks extraordinarily good, as it should be at that price. As for mailorder, in the end it comes down to trust. Has the seller posted a picture of the actual microphone (not a stock photo), or can you ask for one? That's a major expenditure, so the seller should be able to provide a digital photo. In focus. Has the seller sold other stuff before where some feedback has been provided? Does he post regularly to taperssection or is it his first post? Is his screenname ripoffartist@bogus.com?

You have to make sure you are getting the right adapter. I don't think the Y-shaped adapter that lets you split one stereo output into two--the kind they make for sharing a headphone output--will do your job. It has to have two MONO inputs and a stereo out. Also, Radio Shack mics are not going to give you top quality sound. They're made for voice, not for music. If you're trying to record gigs, you'd do better to save up some $$ and get the mic that's made for your job. http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2 For anything loud you will also need to run it through a battery module into line-in. I use this one: http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm

Thanks for the explanation. Sennheiser is generally very smart about fit, so the photo didn't make sense to me--now it does. Grados are a whole different animal--not foldable. I love to death my SR125s--they are my favorite sounding headphones ever. But they are the home headphones, not the portable ones. Reviews of the iGrado have been mixed.

I have had the Sennheiser PX100 in black (not Ipod white) for a couple of years. I have had to replace the foam earpads a few times, but you can find replacements at Radio Shack. They sound better to me than my Koss Portapro, and they are so comfortable you forget you are wearing them. The PX200 don't sound nearly as good. I don't quite understand the PMX-100 photos. They look like the PX-100 plus a hook over the ear. But why have both a headband and a hook? A wireless headphone needs a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter would be FM--not as high fidelity as a direct connection. If you're really desperate for wireless, you could get one of the FM transmitters used for car audio, like the Belkin Tunecast, and a headphone FM radio. But don't expect great sound.

It depends on what you are trying to get. Most musicians now have at least a song or two of their music up on http://www.myspace.com/ (followed by ARTISTNAME). Of course, also try the artist's own website--there may be freebies there. For independent music, you can get songs for about $.25 each as infinitely copy-able .mp3 files with a monthy subscription to http://www.emusic.com . You can look through their catalog without subscribing to see if it has music you want. For jam bands and other live recordings, try http://www.archive.org . For world music, a good site for downloading songs (at around $.99 each) is http://www.calabashmusic.com . For major label music you can pay for mediocre-quality digital-rights-crippled downloads at iTunes, or you can look at P2P file-sharing sites (Google that phrase) or Sparda's BT. P2P means peer-to-peer: you install a program on your computer which will search the computers of other people (peers) who are sharing music files. DO NOT PAY for any kind of P2P software. Anyone selling P2P software is likely to be a hacker or ripoff. The good P2P programs are free. Before installing anything, free or not, Google the program and see if it includes spyware or adware. These are programs that will be searching your computer--make sure they are legit. Due to the rules of this forum, you'll have to look elsewhere to find more about P2P.

I don't quite understand what connections you're making. How do you hear the music you're playing back? If it's through the MD unit, then your record head may be going bad. It is an old unit. If you're hearing the music another way, the computer may be playing it through what you're listening to rather than the output you're trying to record from. What happens when you plug headphones into the output that you are using? Can you hear anything? Maybe the wrong kind of signal or no signal is coming from that output. Instead of the connection you're using, use the headphone out jack of your computer and turn up the volume on the computer. Plug your headphones in to make sure you're getting something, and then unplug them and connect the male-to-male cord. When you record you should see the level meter moving on the MD unit. Monitor the music through the headphone jack of the MD unit as you record for a little while, to make sure it's coming through.

SM57 aren't really geared for what you're trying to do. They're meant to pick up one instrument or vocal, up close. They have a limited frequency response--40 to 15,000 Hz rather than 20-20,000 Hz like your ears and MD. It's actually even more limited because they have what Shure calls a "contoured frequency response," which means they really focus on the range of vocals, above 100 Hz. They are also directional for use on stage, so they don't pick up all the noise around the one instrument or vocal. http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/sm57-0e44...863b801f637.pdf If they're all you have at hand, look at this for how to place them--try the X/Y. http://www.kellyindustries.com/articles/st...techniques.html Into the mixer (which mixes the mono signals from the mics into stereo) and from the mixer into Line-in.

Go over to http://www.head-fi.org and search for Super-fi Pro 5. Most users seem to think the Shure E4 or E4c (different colors, same phone) sound better, and that the Super-fi lack bass, which you probably care about with electronic music. Shure apparently has a newer line of IEM phones that might even be an improvement.