bluecrab

Thanks, Kevin. Very GTK. Should I ever need to replace my E10, this information would be critical. It's nice to have both MD & CD (HHB) decks that can defeat SCMS, as I still have some MDs & CDs that have it. Now if only the E10 could strip SCMS on output... 😉

This stuff about E* series pro vs. non-pro is news to me. My E10 (bought used from a musician) is decidedly Pro and says so. And discussions elsewhere regarding the E* series haven't revealed that lack of SCMS control. But since the subject is now out and about, I'm going to ask around a bit and see if that issue has been encountered somewhere.

Right. I'm sure by now the receiver's insides are furry, but kitty is a rescue...can always get a new receiver if things went awry.

Why thanks! As far as I could tell, this forum went AWOL for quite some time. Its absence was noted elsewhere. I did take a peek behind the 940 (without disturbing the cat, who often lies on top the receiver), and found that there's coax out from the 940. I'm not sure the difference in the 940's sound is solely one of SQ. I like that it now sounds more like the other source (iTunes/streaming iMac), which also feeds the receiver, via dedicated optical. Difference in DACs, I suppose. There's kitty on the receiver—the 940 is just beneath her.

The best thing that ever happened to my JB940 was when I hooked it up via optical (or coax, I forget what's back there) to my Cambridge Audio receiver. Nothing really wrong with the 940's DAC, just not quite on a par with some others, IMO; for example, JA20ES, JA333ES, and even the JB930. My ears, my call.

Although I lack experience with atrac3plus, I can say that I've had some very good results with both vinyl & cassette (esp. the latter) using 292, Type R, with a decent ADC in place, and straight to MD via A.In. I think a good number of MD users believe that 292 SP often results in quality MD recordings from an analog source. In fact, some prefer MD analog input to digital.

Oh right, forgot about the coax. Good feature. Sony, at least once, got the ATRAC chip wrong in the SM. I believe that was for the JA20ES. Someone here opened up their 20ES, took a pic, and lo & behold...Type R after all. As I did not peek into the 2070 and no longer have it, can't verify.

"If anyone has any Kenwood experience or thoughts..." I had a Kenwood MD-2070 deck. I have no reason to think it wasn't 4.5. I thought it a very good unit for playback, maybe even outstanding, but I was never convinced that recordings I made on it matched those made on my Sony Type R decks. (I used it mainly for playback, in any case.) Further, while it was nice to look at, I felt that the UX was less smooth than any of the various Sony units I have owned...including, way back when, the JE510.

Problem was solved: A keyboard was plugged in and laid off to the side on edge. It was causing this trouble by having a key(s) depressed without being seen.

Thanks, guys, will pass along!

Asking for a friend—an actual SWIM instance ;-) ... Sony MDS-E10 loads MD with write-protect tab closed for track naming - after TOC reading it briefly flashes the track info (or blank disc) and immediately goes to "All Erase?" I've tried it over and over, always the same thing. When pressing eject, it might not respond, or will after 4-5 presses of eject. This happens with various MDs. Any ideas?

"...ATRAC version in the MXD-D3 is not 4.5 but actually it is Type-R. " I could hardly believe it without looking into it a little. (No slight intended, NGY.) Yet, the JE530 (R) has the same chip. So it's true. How is it possible this took 22 years to discover? Could some D3's have had 4.5? On a practical level, it makes no difference to me, but as a datapoint, it's fascinating.

Anything is possible, I suppose. But...I owned two JA20ES (US models), both bought used, and neither had the dim display issue. Same for my 333ES (US).

You EE-types are paying good attention to every detail! I have a mundane observation to contribute. My Sony MDS-JA22ES was a Japan domestic model, 100v. My being in the US, to be safe I used a stepdown to get to 100. There were some well-documented (here) issues with the unit, but power wasn't one of them. But the display, while good, was on the dimmer side, especially when compared to other MD decks near it. So I gave it a try minus the voltage converter. The display brightened up considerably. However, the majority of opinions that I sought advised that long-term, probably not the best thing to do. I retreated to converter safety and put up with the dimmer display. Compare this to my MXD-D400, also a Japan domestic, also using a converter—in fact, the same converter the 22ES used. It has a normal, bright display and has never been subjected directly to US voltage. I suppose what I am saying is that for a machine like the S500 or my D400, perhaps it is better to just use a converter if that is reasonable. The S500 in particular is a rare find. Like to note that my converter, while not a brick, is larger and more substantial than a travel-size one I had, which eventually failed. If the D400 is happy, then I'm happy!

As far as I can tell, this JPN domestic-only deck doesn't have an SM in English. If you have a non-English PDF version of the SM, you could try one of the PDF language translators. Although I would not hesitate to take up NGY's generous offer, I'd give serious consideration to what sfbp said.

If you do not require or want optical output on the MD deck, then any of the ones you mention should be fine—probably the 480 has the best specs of that lot. Many details (including all the 4*0 series) here: http://minidisc.org/equipment_browser.html I have 3 MDLP decks: MDS-JB940, MDS-E10, and MXD-D400 (CD/MD). Each has its own charms. I have also owned the MDS-JE480. Best of luck to you!

If you want to copy MD > MD digitally (and preserve track marks), get yourself an E-series Sony deck. These can be set to ignore SCMS and can be copied to from a protected source easily.

This isn't adding up for me. The discs play on a variety of MDLP players and display all associated information. What are you seeing on the level meter? Anything? ( I see that NGY asked abut that, too). Were the discs ever playable; that is, have they ever produced any sound?

I've gotten the DIN UNLOCK under a few conditions. Sometimes the signal to the MD was not 32/44/48 (most likely not the case direct from CD). Sometimes the Input on the MD was set incorrectly. Once it was a bad coax cable. When I'm recording direct from computer, that message persists until playback starts. I think all the suggestions so far are good—especially more information about the configuration.

I found that the best solution for me was to dispose of the JE510 (the ones made in Malaysia seem to be the culprits) and get a better deck. Others have indeed had success with the micro-switch, so they say. By and by I also acquired an S39, which failed the same way. A friend gave me a JE320, which failed immediately. My brother's 320 also failed. The lesson I learned was to leave the entry-level decks for someone else.

If by "same error" you mean the self-turn-on, then a description of the fix is here: http://snnake11.tripod.com/ The JE510 was my first deck, too. I had a bit of a gimmick so it could not turn itself on, but it eventually managed to croak on its own.

You're welcome. I clicked on your link to TH and found I had a login there. I thought that the entire E-series models were all considered "pro," but precisely what that means in the Sony world...who knows? My E10 is connected to an HHB Burn IT CD recorder, also noted as "pro" by HHB, also can control SCMS.

The short vid by kgallen shows exactly what needs to be done. Earlier today, I was able to copy an MD that had had SCMS removed (likely on the E10) from a JB940 to a CD-RW on a Pioneer CD-R standalone that will not permit copying from an MD with SCMS. That would indicate that SCMS is not propagated via the E10 once the Copy Bit is set to Permit. However, if an MD already contains SCMS, then the op is a no-go. What all this means to me, mainly, is that I sold my separate SCMS killer a bit too soon. If my E10 goes feet-up on me, that means big trouble for digital copying. I bought the E10 at least 3+ years ago from a pro musician in Boston who'd gone computer. There was a small mechanical problem that he fixed on the spot. Since then, it's needed a new belt and the power button is now stuck in the On position. My not being sfbp or kgallen, I resolved the latter issue using a small power strip. You do what you can!

Hadn't thought to notice that. It certainly does. Perhaps a non-Pro version wouldn't do that? I could enquire of a few other E-series owners if that would help.

What I mean is that if I begin with a CD and copy that CD to MD on the E10, then the resulting and subsequent MD and any copies made from it are SCMS-free. I I may be able to test today. However, it seems that the E10, on output, no matter the setting, enforces SCMS if it's already on an MD. All copying S/PDIF.