bluecrab

Does anyone have an opinion on whether it's better to use 16 or 24 bit output when recording from MD to CD-R? (Actually CD-RW in this case.) My MDS-JA333ES, along with some other MD decks, has both optical output bit lengths available. I went with 16 bit, because the standalone Aiwa CD-R recorder that was the target uses 16 bit words. Are there advantages/disadvantages to using either bit length in a given context? FWIW, I took the resulting CD/RW and read it into iTunes using Apple Lossless. Then I burned a CD-R on the Mac from that. I am really not sure if the end result was the same, better or worse as if I'd used 24-bit output into the Aiwa CD-R. It seemed to me like the 16 bit-to-16 bit was more an an apples-to-apples approach. I may be doing more of this MD > CD stuff, so I'd like to get a clearer idea of what might result in the best sound. Thanks and happy holidays!

Service manual link is here: http://minidisc.org/...MDS-JA20ES.html You are correct, it is too good a machine to scrap if there is any hope of fixing it.

GTK about the Verbatims. I don't really know if any problems I had with the MXD-D40 were due to the CD-R itself being high speed (say 52x) or whether the 'D40 didn't like CD-Rs recorded at high speed, or brand, or something else of which I'm not aware. Not really a frequent problem, anyway. I think it could be possible, though, that zahne's MXD-D3, being of the prior generation of Sony's CD/MD units, might be more sensitive to such issues. There is a brief, related discussion from 2004 here: http://club.myce.com/f34/cd-r-playback-issues-w-sony-mxd-d3-104497/#.UK2HEoV22vk One thing I do know, and that is that my HHB standalone CD-R completely detested Memorex 52x CD-Rs. I seem to recall that many years back, some people reported issues with Memorex MDs, as well.

Although I don't have the MXD-D3, I do have 2 each of the MXD-D40 and the MXD-D400. The MXD-D40, especially, will sometimes have the same kind of issues with CD-Rs that you describe. I haven't noticed that any particular brand CD-R is a problem, but older ones and possibly ones recorded at higher speeds may be. My fix going forward is to record as many CD-Rs at no higher than 12x - preferably lower - (on a Mac or standalone CD-R) as is practical. Now, one thing I did was to buy a bunch of HHB CDR80s. These CDRs are designed for lower-speed recording. They were a bit more expensive than the usual CD-Rs you see and definitely harder to find, but they do seem to work very well. So if you need to record to CD-R and you can find any brand of lower-speed CD-R, that might be one thing to consider. Then again, if you won't be burning new ones...well, I guess it's time for trial and error. You can always record from an external source via the MXD-D3's optical in. Sure, it is 1x, but that's better than no recording at all. I might add that one of my standalone CD-R recorders, the HHB BurnIt, can have significant issues with high-speed CD-Rs...notably Memorex....it simply would not reliably burn them and even made some weird noises when I tried to do so. HTH and good luck.

To this day, at least in the US, the number of blank looks you can get if you mention "Minidisc" is almost equal to the number of mentions. I remain at least somewhat infatuated, but then I also have a longstanding infatuation with the command line.

I have the JA20ES, the JA333ES, and the JB940. Of these, the JA333ES is the best, no question. But the JA20ES is almost as good, and it's a close almost. I have the JA20ES and JB940 in the same system, and I use the 940 only for LP2 playback. All my output connections between the three decks and an amp are analog. I don't use any of them to record, normally. For that I have the MXD-D400, which is a better recorder than player. I'd say if you can find a JA20ES in good shape, go for it. Do be aware that this deck, like many MD decks, can exhibit peculiarities and malfunctions from time to time.

TOUCHSCREENS? Get me too far away from the Linux command line, and I become disoriented ;-) Seriously, though, MD is fairly easy to use while driving. I have a flip-down face on my car MD (Sony MDX-C7970), which requires a bit more attention than my wife's slot-faced MD head unit (Kenwood KMD-673R). One thing I like about mine is that the volume control is rotary, not separate up/down buttons. In either case, it's all good. Just great for audiobooks.

No combo decks that I am aware of do that. For MD -> CD, I use an MD deck and a standalone CD-R. I also do some MD -> MD recording, somewhat painfully at 1x, although the results are good. BTW Stephen, I have not succumbed yet to the MD/PC paradigm. -Maybe- I would have if only Sony had indeed supported Mac, but as you note, that was never the case.

"Death At A Funeral," (2007 version) around 15:50 on the DVD and then a few more times for about a minute. Looks like a car MD unit. I paused and zoomed in, but couldn't positively ID the unit. Pioneer? The unit does not have a flip-down face. Little doubt it's MD, though.

OK. I asked because I have a deck (not a JE510) that gave me some Blank Disc errors when I stopped it while it was recording. However, it did not continue to record past end of source. I used to have the JE510 myself, but it died due to the infamous self-turn-on and associated problems. I think Jim's advice is sound. Unless the unit was specified as "For parts, not working," send it back. It's a pain, true, but in the long run you may be better off. There's a decent chance that even if you fix it, it will eventually fail. There's a reason that so many of these are on Ebay. Then again, if you're adept in repairing such a unit, you have little to lose by following up on some of the suggestions noted here by others.

When you were recording from CD > MD, did you let the CD finish copying or did you press Stop before it completed?

"But the JB940 really was a good recorder that was very well designed internally. You have one of those digital Pioneer tape decks? Are they good? It has digital in-/outputs!" I do have one (CT-07D). Are they good? Mine is, although I think Deck 2 needs a new head. It has coax digital in but no digital out. The digital processing on the "out" path all goes towards making the audible output better, to good effect. Nevertheless, although I have occasional short bouts of listening to some of the 100 or so remaining cassettes I have, these bouts grow fewer and farther between. Besides the lesser SQ of CS, its non-random-access availability doesn't suit my listening habits. I really don't know what to do with that CT-07D. Sell as is? Repair and then sell? One of these days I will have to decide - it's just taking up space. Staying with the great MD format as long as possible!

I really couldn't tell much, if any, difference between what I heard from my MDS-JB940 deck whether I was using opt. or analog out from the deck into a Cambridge Audio receiver. I admit that the receiver has some settings that totally tweak the analog signal in various ways. The one I like best is called "Room" and given the right recording, it does make it sound pretty "Roomish"! I have a Pioneer cassette deck (CT-07D - not using currently) that does something very similar. You'd never guess you were listening to a CS if you didn't know to begin with. My measuring toolset is limited to my ears, though ;-)

"I love the car changer as well, I wish I could have MD in my car ... :-( " OK, I'll take the bait...why can't you have MD in your car? My guess would be that your car has one of those integrated consoles? Back in 2006, one of the reasons I bought the car I did (Ford Escape) was that it was NBD to pull the factory stereo and put in MD!

Although I keep my MD mainly separated from my various Macs (4 of them), I'm nevertheless following this thread with some interest, even if that interest remains academic, not practical. I went back through the thread and didn't see anything about what Mac OS you're using. I'm mentioning this because Sony does support some functionality on native Mac OS, as described here: http://esupport.sony...=SMB&mdl=MZM100 According to Sony, this support extends only through Mac OS 10.4, but I would not be shocked if it worked at least through 10.5.8 (I'm not saying it will, just that it might). After that...well, who knows? Anyway, have you tried using the Hi-MD software on the Mac side, instead of XP? If not, might be worth a try, especially if Parallels supports concurrent MacOS/Windows operations. I realize that this is a less-than-seamless solution (if it even would work), but at least you'd be on the same box.

I make MD > MD mixes sometimes, between decks, in the digital realm. However, everything goes through an SCMS stripper, so that's not a problem for me. If you're referring to SCMS-protected MDs, between MD units, digitally, then an SCMS stripper is needed, given the units you have. Most MD units obey SCMS. There are a few "pro" types that don't and the MDS-W1, as PhilippeC notes, but in general it's going to be difficult to make those MD > MD digital mixes. One way around this is to use the analog inputs to the deck you're copying to. Of course, then you have watch your rec. levels, but other than that it will work. FWIW, I cannot tell the difference between a copy of an MD from the original MD. I think it may take a few generations of copying before audible differences become apparent. The MDS-W1 may be the only MD unit that actually lets you Move tracks. Rare everywhere, this unit might turn up somewhat more often in Europe than here in the U.S. An example of a currently available SCMS stripper is the Behringer Ultramatch Pro 2496. This unit does a lot more than strip SCMS. One of these, or something else you might be able to find on Ebay, probably is the most economical solution for digital MD > MD copies. If you look into this further, just make sure that track marks are preserved. I see you are in Denmark. Given your location and also your proximity to Germany, you may be able to find an SCMS-killing device or an MDS-W1 more easily than here in the U.S. Good Luck!

Do those Sansui S-7XV's sound as good as they look?

Thanks to my MDS-JA333ES deck, I just turned an Aiwa CD recorder of modest SQ into a very nice player. The Aiwa does have a complete set of opt/coax outputs (two of each), but it just didn't sound that great compared to the other source units I listen to, including the aforementioned JA333ES. So I ran a a coax from the Aiwa to the MD and gave it a listen. Noticeable improvement in SQ! The 333 has a nice little rotary switch on its front panel that controls input selection, so I don't need to go into any menus or anything. It's nice having what amounts to a 2-CD changer that also records and now also sounds really good. No idea why I didn't do this some years ago, as there would probably have been improved sound using the DAC of the JB940 that was replaced by the 333. I have also used the 333's DAC for output from iTunes on a MacBook Pro (it has opt out). That sounds nice, but IMO the standalone CD deck sounds better in comparison. FWIW, my integrated amp, while powerful and excellent, does not have digital in, so that route was not open to me. I'm not complaining, though, as the 333 is now DACx3: Itself, the Aiwa, and the MBP. Just thought I'd slip in a little good news.

Does anyone have an opinion on whether there's an audible difference between Type R and 4.5? I'm referring to SP mode, in a deck, and analog out. (In this particular case, LP mode is completely out of the picture.) Of course, I could see where a high-end 4.5 deck might have better SQ than a lower-end Type R deck, but assuming that two (or more decks) are higher-end, what would you say? The specs of the two ATRACs would indicate that the Type R should sound better, but specs are one thing and listening is another. Anyone have both kinds of decks?

I'm not sure why this topic is in Classifieds, but there is related information here: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm This information is intended for CD decks, but the "very dim" part could be applicable to MD decks, too.

Did you check the SM? http://www.minidisc.org/manuals/sony/service/MZ-NH1_sm.pdf Might be in there.

J'ai le mxd-d400 en or (le modèle japonais). Mon 333es est noir. :-)

150 USD for a a mint JB940 by itself has to be the deal of the year so far. Toss in 94 MDs and it's almost like stealing! ;-) Nice. Congrats. Good luck with the unit.

NICE work. Really nice. Now I don't even have to think about opening up my JA20ES...unless Sony sneakily put different chips into different units! Glad to have it confirmed that my JA20ES is indeed Type R, which I had always assumed. No idea why Sony didn't put that information on the faceplate or why the SM isn't consistent.

AFAIK, there have not been any updates. Disclaimer: I don't use Hi-MD or a computer as part of my MD routine. However, I do pretty much keep track of Mac stuff and haven't seen anything about the Sony Hi-MD s/w being ported/updated from/for PPC to Intel. If you have an Intel Mac, there are various options you can consider to run the Windows version of the Hi-MD s/w. That would mean making your Mac able to run Windows. And that means forking over $$ for the Windows OS. None of this is surprising, as Apple itself has pretty much dumped PPC users. It really is a shame that Sony didn't integrate Mac/MD more.