A440

I looked at the posts you linked to. In fact, the section about connectors in the FAQ for the H120 is something worth cut-and-pasting here--equally applicable to MD, and very well thought out. Of course the taperssection people love the H120 more than the JB3: it's smaller, has meters, doesn't need to have a digital input (although see the FAQ below--digital input is much preferred). Kind of like a minidisc. That's just not a relevant comparison. Then there are bits like this in the FAQ: "[310] Do I have to use an outboard ADC? You don't have to, but you'll generally achieve signicantly better results if you do. While the iriver isn't terrible, it's not all that great, either (depending on how discerning your ears are). There's a reason it's such an inexpensive device: they had to cut corners somewhere. Two popular outboard pre/ADCs for the iriver are the Denecke AD-20 / Zefiro Inbox and the Edirol UA-5. Inexpensive (relatively speaking), easily powered in the field, and significant sound quality improvements over the iriver’s analog inputs and ADC." [MY NOTE: The analog-to-digital conversion in minidisc units is very good if not excellent. No extra box to carry, extra connectors and batteries to worry about, etc. Hi-MD also accepts optical input if you do get an ADC. Also, if I read it correctly Rockbox doesn't yet support optical recording, so you'd be recording from the ADC with the Iriver firmware.] [MORE NOTES: If you are using an ADC, it's turning the sound into digits and your recorder is doing storage and playback. You're bypassing the recording part of the recorder. So if you add an ADC, what you're looking for in a recorder is not really its recording capability but its storage capacity and interface. Even here, I like MD with its track marking and editing capability, but you might think drag-and-drop or 20GB of space is more important. Double the price and size of your setup if you get an ADC.] "[170] Does using the remote introduce interference? Yes. It seems on most units that having the remote plugged in during recording does introduce a ticking noise, which is only really noticeable when amplified. For example, with no gain the extra noise is about 3dB. So if you're using an external pre the issue is moot. However if using the iriver's pre at quiet gigs for a lot of gain (eg about 30dB), you may notice the extra noise." [MY NOTE: Minidisc remote isn't ideal either: lighting up the display during recording produces a burst of static. However, if you do that during applause, it's not a problem--much preferable to ticking throughout the whole recording.] "[390] If I run out of power while recording, will the iriver shut down gracefully, saving the recording? If the battery runs out of power, the iriver may or may not shut down gracefully, saving your recording. Users have reported mixed results with auto-saving the recording when the internal battery dies. If the iriver does not shut down gracefully, it is usually possible to salvage the recording up until the last buffer write, with a combination of chkdsk /f and Kuba’s handy wav header repair utility: http://www.fi.muni.cz/~xvanek4/repair/repair.zip " [MY NOTE: Minidisc saves your recording automatically when its battery is about to run out.] Also, I see that the H120's internal battery cannot be replaced without a modification. So once you're out of power, you can't continue recording until you recharge. Many of the taperssection folks are audiophiles who are willing to carry a suitcase full of equipment to a live gig: recorder, fancy mics, power supply, ADC, preamp, etc. All for a live concert where the sound is variable, the audience is making noise, etc. If you want to go that route, and have money to burn, then here's another alternative for you: http://www.core-sound.com/pdaudio_system/1.php In addition to Core-Sound's mics, preamp/ADC and flash storage recorder you will also need a PDA or computer and CF cards, which are far more expensive per GB than Hi-MD blanks. Me, I'm not that wealthy and I'm not that obsessed. Taperssection has also been around long enough to have very unpleasant memories of pre-2004 MD--not Hi-MD--when SonicStage was computer-crashing malware and MD recordings could not be transferred digitally and thus would not give them bit-perfect copies. Those days are over, but their prejudices and Internet traces linger. I get very listenable recordings with equipment I can hide in one pocket: MD, mics, battery module, remote. It seems you need more outboard stuff to do the same with the H120, basically because its processor just isn't as strong as the one in the MD. There's also talk in the H120/JB3 comparison in taperssection that the sound quality of basic music playback on the H120 is mediocre--it doesn't even fulfill its main purpose very well. Get the H120 if that's the gizmo closest to your heart. As I see it, the H120 has two advantages over Hi-MD: drag-and-drop, which is definitely a major asset, and a size of up to 2GB per file. But the disadvantages--recording quality, remote noise, no track marking, battery needs to be recharged, problems at end of battery life, etc.--would make me choose Hi-MD instead. Listen to some of the recordings in the Gallery here, and poke around taperssection or misticriver for H120 recordings. Your ears will tell you what you need to know.

First of all, forget NetMD recorders. They are obsolete. They don't upload, they don't put as much on a disc and they only record in compressed formats. The Nomad JB3 only has a line-in input. You may be able to get away with a mic plus a battery module, which is what I would recommend with Hi-MD as well, but having never used one I can't be sure. I use Sound Professionals BMC-2 mics, Sound Professionals CMC-8 mics (with omni capsules) and small Church Audio binaurals (not the kind he is selling any more). I wouldn't buy Giant Squid because their sound samples on this page are pathetic: very exaggerated midrange (the vocals), little bottom, tinny. http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-stereo1.htm The Foo Fighters sample doesn't have any low-end instruments, but listen to the Blue Notes sample. Do you really think the drums and bass sound so muffled on stage? Maybe they were using bass roll-off and didn't say so, but it's not a sample I would choose to showcase my microphones. Compare it to this from Hi-MD with very basic binaural mics--and it's not even PCM, but Hi-SP. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?act=m...si&img=2769 The microphone jack in your IFP-799 is slightly recessed, so not all mics will plug into it, but the Giant Squids will, which is why they're popular with Iriver users. I doubt the H120 has the same weird mic jack, so it's probably a workaround you wouldn't need. AT822 is a cardioid mic, so it's directional. Video shooters like it because it can be camera-mounted and picks up sound depending on where you point the camera. Its bass response starts to roll off below 150 Hz, about an octave below middle C on the piano, although it does go down to 30 Hz, which is just above the lowest note on a piano. Personally, I prefer omni mics, because I think cardioids sound artificial--no sound behind you--but it depends on how you're using them. If you go to http://www.taperssection.com and search for at822 and jb3, it looks like most people are using a mic preamp with the AT822.

Nice about the AA add-on, and after taking a look through the misticriver forums it's clear the internal battery is replaceable with a $16 1st-gen Ipod battery too. I prefer one AA in the unit--NH700/NHF800--but whatever floats your boat... And now I remember why I didn't get the H1xx series when it was released: the famous Iriver "glitch"--clicks in the recording every 30-60 seconds. Apparently that was fixed at the end of 2005. And Rockbox firmware has given the unit recording-level meters, removed some length limitations, etc. Very nice, but it's third-party software and this is two years after the H1xx came out. I guess your choice is between iffy firmware updates on the units (Iriver) but drag-and-drop capability, or no firmware updates (MD) but the mandatory SonicStage installation. Neither is ideal. Also, there are still things like this on misticriver, from the guy who did their live recording guide, that would give me second thoughts: http://www.misticriver.net/showpost.php?p=...p;postcount=143 "I think most people would agree though that true audio fidelity isn't one of the iRiver's strong points. However, loss of bass in a live recording situation isn't always a bad thing - A lot of the venues I've taped in are bass-heavy, requiring me to turn up the bass roll-off on my mics. A dip off in bass response by the iRiver allows me to run my mics 'flatter', and most live recordings need some equalising in post anyway." That's what I call a workaround. I'd rather get a full-fidelity recording from the start. Maybe Rockbox has fixed this by now. That live-recording thread has some posts from former MD users. They don't seem overly delighted.

Sonystyle: The Gardens Mall* 3101 PGA Boulevard Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 561-776-0514 Look in the telephone book under Electronics when you get there, and make some calls.

You will need either a battery module (ideal), which you are unlikely to find at a typical retail store, or an attenuator (usable)--a headphone volume control sold by Radio Shack or its Canadian equivalent, as in my avatar. Loud music through mics into Mic-in will overload the mic preamp and you will get a useless, distorted recording. It's not a matter of changing levels afterward. The distortion is not removable. Mic-->attenuator-->mic-in will prevent the mic preamp from overloading. But it will also make it easier for the mics themselves to overload, so superloud music may come out distorted anyway. However, on your timetable it is probably the best bet. Mics--2mono-to-stereo-adapter-->attenuator (with volume all the way UP-->mic-in. If you can find or build a battery module--see greenmachine's DIY thread--then it's mics--adapter--battery module--line-in. If you're an electrical engineer, get your soldering iron out and do it right: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=11254

** e1ghtyf1ve and atrain--you've both used the Iriver HD recorders. Can you elaborate a bit on why (or if) you prefer MD? toolmanwill: What is your recording setup with the H120? Mic-in or line-in? If you go line-in, what do you use between the microphone and line-in? You have peak level metering. Can you also see recording levels before they peak, preferably on the remote? For stealth at a concert, can you start recording from the H120's remote? (That would be an advantage over MD. With MD, the best you can do is to start recording on the unit, set on pause, then un-pause with the remote.) Is the battery removable? Is there an outboard battery attachment? Or does the unit simply have to be recharged once the battery runs out? If so, MD's removable batteries are an advantage (especially the NH700 or NH800F, one AA battery). And, well, have you ever dropped it? Kuuan: We still have not ascertained that MD recording is higher-quality than Iriver. I hope someone who has used both can provide some observations. My current favorite recording setup is omni mics-->9V battery box-->Line-in. You can listen in the Gallery to recordings by me and others. ------------- I am fond of minidisc because of the quality and ease of recordings I've gotten from it. If something better came along, I'd keep an old minidisc recorder/player for my current discs and switch happily to the new gizmo. I considered the Creative Nomad Jukebox 3, another hard-disc recorder, but (1) it was too big, the size of a CD player and (2) it had no mic-in, only line-in. If the Iriver H120 is indeed "perfect," maybe I'll try that next.

You can find a headphone extension cord at any electronics store, and a lot of hardware stores. It doesn't have to be Sony.

Your initial post asked about the Iriver IFP799. I have the 795--same thing at 512K rather than 1GB--so I told you about the flash recorder I've used. You can adjust the recording levels live on every Hi-MD recorder. However, it is best to find a recording setting with enough headroom and just leave it, unless you want to hear the recording levels go up and down in your finished recording.

I wouldn't depend on the Bose headphones to give you an accurate rendering of bass. As a poet (probably at head-fi) once wrote: No highs, no lows It must be Bose Also, on the date-stamped recording: Are you sure the date stamp is from the recording time, or is it (as SonicStage has done since Hi-MD appeared) the time you uploaded?

MD units usually have a line-in jack--those that have mic jacks always have a line-in jack as well. The Line-in (probably white) jack on your unit will accept a powered input, like one from a soundboard. All you need is a cord to connect the soundboard output, whatever that is, to a stereo minijack (same size as your mic jack). You'd need to see the soundboard--it must have some kind of output for recording, or for headphones. And you should be able to watch and alter the levels on the MD unit. However, here's the question: is all the sound from the stage going through the soundboard? Because if it's in a club, for instance, and also depending on the instrument amps onstage, you're going to get a weird mix: it might be all vocals and no drums. Only way to find out is to hear what's actually going through the soundboard.

Everyone who goofs up a recording feels like a fool. This thread is to show you're not alone. I'll start with mine: Amazingly enough, I got the MD unit into a Bob Dylan concert, where his own security is very anti-recording and knows what to look for. During intermission, went to the restroom and plugged in the battery module and remote, started recording, set manual levels, put on pause, hid unit in pocket and remote also hidden in pocket. Got back to seat, clipped mics to collar in darkness, started recording with remote, not looking at levels so as not to get busted. Never plugged the mic jack into the battery module. A super stealth recording of total silence. And it was a good night, too....

Yes, I've got the little module with three thin, coin-sized 3V batteries. They go for a good long time--I'd guess 50 to 100 hours--but I'm sure a full-sized 9V would be better. It's the old size-vs.-functionality battle.

I have no experience with the Iriver hard-drive players. However, I have tried to use the IFP795 at concerts. Recording with an external mic overloads it. And at one concert I did the experiment of using my line-in setup--mic and battery module--with both my MZ-NHF800 and my IFP-795. The MZ-NHF-800 on Hi-SP sounded as good as always. The IFP-795, through line-in, sounded muffled and watery. According to this post at misticriver.net, it's because the recorder doesn't pick up any high end http://www.misticriver.net/showpost.php?p=...amp;postcount=2 Also, with the 700 series, the firmware upgrade that makes it work like a USB drive REMOVES the high-bitrate recording choices, so once again you have to use proprietary software: Iriver music manager software, which is as klutzy and unintutive as SonicStage in its own way. I've looked at those misticriver forums and it seems they are always trying to find workarounds to make their flash players do what MD does simply and well, or shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Yeah, but it looks so cool!" MD also has the advantage of trackmarking (you can switch to a new track with a brief pause on the 795, but you can't join tracks on the unit as far as I know). I like my 795 as a little voice recorder and a portable mp3 player. Sometimes transcoding mp3s to ATRAC for the minidisc ruins them. But as a music recorder, give me the MD. Lamewing, I have done a lot of trackmark adding and removal on the unit. Since SonicStage 3.4 I have had no problem uploading any of them from the NHF800. I think the problem you had was a software problem, not a first-generation problem.

Mini-- We've all messed up important recordings. The other day I lost about three hours of music because the battery in my battery module was starting to give out--so I got three hours of increasing distortion and pure static. Of course, it happened after I'd checked out the recording of the opening act. It happens. All you can do remind yourself that you weren't supposed to be recording anyway. Perhaps that music was just fated to disappear into the air--the historical fate of music since time began. A440

Audacity will do this. Upload the recordings, save as .wav, open with Audacity. Select (hold down the shift key) the chunk you want, copy it and paste it onto the other reocording.

I would try one more uninstall carefully following the instructions with the registry (and clearing the Temp folders is a brilliant addition to that), reboot, and a reinstall with the MDCF version of 3.4 . If that fails, then uninstall with Add/Remove Programs, install with the installation disc that came with your unit--whatever version it is--and then install 3.4 on top of that. That worked for me once when the registry uninstall didn't.

No matter what you're using to record, a good recording is always the product of: 1) a good-sounding source 2) good mics 3) good mic placement 4) proper levels The main difference between the RH1 and other MDs for recording seems to be that you can set Manual Volume as the default setting. This is convenient, but doesn't change anything essential about the recording quality of Hi-MD--which is, basically, as good as what you can get into it without overloading. For live music: Mic (I like omnis)--Battery Module--Line-in at whatever level doesn't overload, using Manual Volume. As a guesstimate, try 17/20. But it will vary with your mic, with what you're recording, with the room, etc.

Audacity (free from Downloads) has Noise Removal under Effects. What you do is select a part of the recording that is ONLY noise, and it compares that to the rest of recording and removes what it thinks is noise. Sometimes it improves things; sometimes it doesn't. It depends on if you have a part of the recording that's pure noise.

The MZ-M100 is the same as the RH910, only with some limited Mac compatibility (which you don't need). It will do what you want, but if they are charging you a premium for it, then tell them you want the MZ-RH910 at the proper price instead. It should be $200 maximum. http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4029518 The RH1 should be more, about $330. It's the very top of the line.

What usually blocks installation is either firewall and security programs--try turning them off--or lack of disk space. Could either of those be your problem?

Well, I didn't get busted. Two new songs are in the Gallery in my album: In Tune with A440 http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?act=m...si&img=2769 http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?act=m...si&img=2770

Folks, I heard this cool unsigned band from England and recorded some of their new songs. The lead singer is a guy named Thom Yorke. I uploaded two songs in the Gallery. Maybe they'll have a career.... http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?act=m...si&img=2769 http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?act=m...si&img=2770

I have both units. The remote from the NHF800 definitely works with the NH700. Why would Sony do that? Maybe it was easier to manufacture one unit and just repackage it with a different remote and a new model number.

Welcome to the MD cult. Regarding your version question: Keep your CD in case you ever need to deal with Sony customer service, but don't use it. Anything before SonicStage 3.4 is bad news. Download the 3.4 installer from Downloads here, or go to Sony for the 4.0 Web installer. As Dex Otaku has pointed out, with any new piece of electronic equipment it's always a better idea to get the latest driver from the manufacturer's website. Maybe it will have even fixed a bug or two... If you want to be able to play back a sound file, you must use SonicStage to transfer it to or from your MD. Nowadays--after years of complaints that you can still read here or elsewhere--it works pretty well. Just make sure it's 3.4 at least. I have had absolutely zero problems with 3.4.

I've also bought a cheap Ebay remote from China--MC38EL, if I remember right--that worked correctly and seemed entirely genuine. Sold it with my MZ-NH900. Sony has factories in China. My hunch--only a hunch--is that there's a certain amount of "inventory shrinkage" from those factories.