bluecrab

Does anyone have knowledge of or an opinion about upgrading from one integrated amp to another? I have a Marantz PM-68, it's not the most high-end amp in the world, but it sure is a cut or two above your run-of-the-mill receiver. 95 WPC and sounds all right to me. http://www.spearitsound.com/Nevertheless, the fascination with newer and shinier things being what it is, I am wondering what I'd need to do to get something better that will result in an audiblde difference. I am looking at a Denon PMA-2000IVR. That is at 80 WPC but is a true dual mono, so they say. I just have no way of knowing if the upgrade would be audible and if so, how much. Has anyone done something similar? When I got the Marantz...I dunno...9 or 10 years ago?....the difference between it and whatever receiver I had at the time was completely obvious and dramatic. Help! **** I thought it would be worth mentioning that since posting, I did get some advice on this issue, from http://www.spearitsound.com/ I had an amp right in my sights (not the Denon, but similar) - on their web site and asked what they thought. Instead of going for the quick sale, they told me I really wanted more of an upgrade and gave some examples. Really, they could have told me, "Oh yeah, the NAD is the amp for you" and I would have bit on it. Now I guess I'll just have to save up a few more of those USDs and go for one of the even more higher-end amps I'd been considering. And they explained why, too. Anyway, it's a pretty good site to check out. No MD gear, but plenty else shiny to look at, or buy if you are in the market.

Wiz... I have had a similar experience. I upgraded my speakers and now I'm hearing diffs between PCM and lossy. Although I find SP/LP2 still listenable, I find I am preferring CDs. Problem is, I just don't like fussing with CDs that much. What are you using as source for PCM into your system?

This truly unfortunate case serves as a reminder to backup important files and data whenever possible. I have learned the (very) hard way. My sympathies for your loss.

It is true that the MDS-JB940 lacks Type S. It has Type R, which means little in LP mode. But the JB940 does have a current-pulse DAC. Even my MXD-D400 has only a hybrid-pulse DAC, although it does have Type S. From what I have read, the current-pulse DAC is supposed to be superior. I doubt any of Sony's *JE* series has a current pulse DAC, although some do have Type S. I play LP through a hifi setup from both the JB940 and the D400, although those hifi setups are so different that I really cannot compare the sound. I also use LP in a portable (MZ-R500), which I do not think has Type S, but the LP sounds OK there anyway. And I play LP in my car unit, the MDX-CA680X . I don't know what v. of ATRAC it has. Does anyone?

What a great link! I have a bunch of the JVC Crystals - they are nice to look at and well-built!

The real and unstated meaning is that the MXD-D400, like all other Sony MD decks, obeys all SCMS restrictions. I think it's reasonable to conclude that the copying must be in analog mode. It's kind of unfortunate. If the unit did not strictly obey SCMS, perhaps Sony could have sold thousands and thousands of them in North America and the fate of Minidisc would have been quite different. ;-) In any case and although I have done it before, I repeated this procedure. Internally. For a CD, I used a copy-protected (SCMS) CD that I had burned on my Aiwa CD-R. When I tried to copy at 1x, I got the flashing "Retry" message, and then copying began at 1x. Next, I tried the same procedure, using the same protected CD and the same MD, on my MXD-D40, which is the MXD-D400's immediate predecessor. In this case, the unit would not copy the CD at all. Instead, I received message C41 Cannot Copy. So, where the MXD-D40 will not copy a protected CD at all, at least the MXD-D400 will do so in analog. Stephen, I thought you might find the following passage, from my Aiwa CD-R's Ops Manual, interesting and relevant, as I believe the MXD-D400 acts the same way. The passage refers to dubbing only (internal recording): "If the original disc being dubbed is a digital copy or if it contains copy-prohibit signals, the unit will automatically make a copy with real-time speed in analog mode because of SCMS." If you'd like to experiment with an SCMS-protected CD, let me know if you'd like me to send you one, what you like to listen to, and where to send it. No charge! Then you can see for yourself. Regards, Bruce

And the very same to you!!

I have a couple of standalone CD copier decks. One of them, an Aiwa, given a commercial music CD, will copy the SCMS protection bit to the CD-R (that is, you can copy the original CD unlimited times but cannot make even one digital copy of the copy). Like the MXD-D400, it will make an internal copy via analog. That is what this is all about on the MXD-D400, as well. When you make a CD>MD copy, at any speed, in any mode, of an SCMS-protected CD, the MD will will have that SCMS bit and will not be copyable (digitally) any further on the usual home, standalone gear. It's all visible on the 'D400, at normal or high speed. This behavior is fairly common in standalone CD copying decks. I mean the switching to analog. I am not sure if the MXD-D40 has that functionality. I have seen mine simply refuse to internally copy a protected CD. This would all make me very frustrated, except I have an SCMS stripper that enables me to copy and CD or MD to any other CD or MD, via the stripper and an optical switch. Also, lately I have been burning some CDs via iTunes - although I don't know if they're coming out with SCMS or not. A while back, this whole deal about SCMS was a really big deal in the MD community. Everyone wanted to get around the copy protection so they could, for example, make digital copies of MDs they'd recorded. But you don't hear much about it now.

If you have a copy-protected CD (SCMS) and try to copy it to MD on the MXD-D400 (either SP or LP), the digital copy protection kicks in, you get a "Retry" message, and then the machine proceeds at 1x with an analog copy. I don't know if you can force the unit to do this...I have never done so, it just does it on its own.

Now that you mention it, I thought the recorded MDs I've acquired that were done via a computer may sound better than the ones I make on a deck. However, I am at this moment listening to an MD @ LP2 that I made earlier today, from a copied CD transferred CD>LP2 (analog) internally on the MXD-D400. It sounds pretty good and listenable, although less so than the original source CD. AFAIK, the MXD-D400 is the only Sony deck that will copy LP @ 4x.

What do you mean, exactly, by its not working properly? Seems to work fine on both my 'D400s @ 4x. (And also @ 2x on both my MXD-40s.) If you use the 'D400 to copy from CD in SP @ 4x, then you do not get the same result as copying from CD @ 1x. This condition is documented by Sony, although they don't say exactly what you do get. But LP2/4 should be the same at any speed, at least so I was informed right here some time ago. P.S. My apologies for the prior reply with no response - an accident! Yeah, I have some thoughts. Keep muttering. Keep sharing. Don't shut up. Your enthusiasm is good for all of us here! :-)

Too much trouble? Then it should be too much trouble for you to buy it from him. The discs look like a good deal b/c they are included. The portable unit is OK - I have one - but it, like the deck, lacks LP mode, and its battery life is about 14 hours, far less than some newer ones. If you're looking for a CD/MD combo, you can often find the MXD-D40 on ebay. No opt out, but at least it has LP mode (although only copies at 2x max in LP). The MXD-D400, as SFBP noted, does have opt. out, but is much harder to find and is usually pricier than the MXD-D3 or MXD-D40. I can appreciate that you want to get a good deal, but the lowest price is not always the best deal.

Sony is currently in so much trouble that I suspect HiMD or any other MD is something they may never give another thought to. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081209/as_japan_sony.html As for me, the software /code/etc etc etc I have to deal with/write/etc etc etc at work means that even if I have to put up with the terrible burden of listening to my (apparently) lousy LP2 MDs - some of which have indeed been recorded @4x - then I would rather do so than perform even some diluted version of what I do at work. At home, it's quite enough for me to maintain the two computers my wife needs for her work. It's a relief to me that with MD, I can actually get away from all that. Of course, as we say now, YMMV, or as we said then, different strokes... All that said and aside, with the exception that I wish SP MD could somehow have just a bit more capacity - even 90 minutes would be great - I'm basically still infatuated with the format. Dare I say, I love it? ;-)

Decks. I referred to HiMD decks. That's what I meant. A HiMD deck with the features of say, an MDS-JB940 - that I'd consider for $40, or$70, or even $100 :-) Besides, it seems like HiMD is pretty much meant to be used in conjunction with a computer. All my current SP/LP units are standalone and are staying that way.

That's true, Levanel, but compared to SP or SP/LP units, it seems like HiMD's are relatively scarce - and relatively expensive, as well. HiMD could make sense for me if only the decks had the features I need and if they weren't so rare and expensive. At this point, it doesn't matter much anyway, as I am not about to spend several hundred dollars on anything I don't really need. The economic times are taking their toll.

I just hope I have enough MD gear that I can bop til I drop with it. Earlier today, I was listening to an LP2 MD on my main system. The quality was outstanding and it was a lot more convenient that having to fiddle with the two CDs from which I made this MD. (FTR it was Pentangle's "Light Flight: The Anthology"). I think the Type S Atrac really does make a difference. Besides, if I gave up MD, I'd miss all the edifying and illuminating commentary and opinion here! :-) And oh yeah, I have taken to recording books on CD to MD. I listen to them on my drive home from work. Really makes my commute better. I probably should grab another car MD unit off Ebay, just in case.

Helvetica. Right, a movie about a typeface. Great stuff. I can't type this in Helvetica because this app doesn't have it, contrary to what you'd think after watching the movie. http://www.helveticafilm.com/

My opinion, fully shared by the two people who followed me into MD, is that tapes transferred directly from CS to MD often sound better on the MD. None of us knows why. Most of the time, it seems like just too much work (that is, I am too lazy) to do such transfers. Perhaps one day I will get motivated enough to really get going on that. I have no interest in getting my computer involved. Lest anyone think this means I am technically disadvantaged, it ain't so. I have had a long career doing various computer-related work (current title: programmer), but I just like keeping my audio separate, I guess.

The MXD-D40 itself is no slouch. I have two of those, as well. One I use at work to playback CDs, MDS, and occasionally record CD > MD. The one at home is in my wife's office. She is an editor and truly appreciates the 5+ hours on LP4 during her workday. The '40 has no digital out and will copy only SP at 4X: LP at 2X. Still, it is a rugged machine that sounds good, has a lot of features, and can sometimes be found in good condition on Ebay for well under $200. Get one while they're still out there in good shape!

Congratulations on acquiring the '400. I do have two of them, but I almost never title anything. True about erasing SS-created MDs on the '400 - it won't do it. You have to use another unit for erasing those. I don't use SS myself, but now and then come across an MD that was created with it. You are also correct, IMO, that the Type S LP2 sounds OK when played back through a decent system. And the 4x SP/LP* copying is an outstanding feature. Good luck with the unit - my US-made one has been pretty much perfect.

When I upgraded my speakers and also my CD player, the difference between CD and [standard] MD became all too apparent. I still find MD acceptable, even on my "big rig," but it just does not sound as good as CD. With a lesser CD player and speakers, I never really noticed it all that much. For a long time I wondered what "near-CD quality" really meant, and now I know. It would be tempting to go the Hi-MD PCM route, but my hearing is deteriorating anyway and these days, like a lot of people, I'm not tossing cash around like I did even a year or two ago. Guess I'll stick with what I've got for now. And it is fun to play with my almost-twin MXD-D400 decks (one is US and one is JPN). I'm also well set up at work to use STD and LP MDs (and CD) via a small amp and 'phones. I think when you get right down to it, all digital audio is a compromise in some way, as none of it sounds quite like true analog sound. Gets pretty close, though. ...late night ramblings :-)

61. First MD unit was the MDS-JE510/MZ-E40 bundle back around 1999, I think. I spent months trying to decide whether to go with CD-R, DAT, or MD. Finally, pretty much by just getting tired of trying to decide, I landed on MD and have been happy with it since, many decks and portables later. I did wind up with a couple of CD-Rs, too, but never got a DAT.

I have a box with some most pre-recorded CSs in it, a few mixes. I also have two good cassette decks, a Pioneer CT-07D and a Tascam 102 MK II, as well as a Sony sports walkman of some sort. The Pioneer needs a little repair, which eventually I will have done. After all, this deck has all kinds of features, including coax in and was on the costly side to begin with. Right now I have the Tascam in use, although I don't use it much at all. The Walkman I hang onto just in case. What the heck, it works perfectly, at least. I think one could make a case that the Pioneer CT-07D, with a good tape, sounds about as good as MD, maybe better if you really like analog-type sound. Anyway, I don't expect to be using any of these units much, although I am fond of them. You can see the Pioneer CT-05D here. It is the same as the 07D but lacks the coax in. http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Pro...CassettePlayers

Well, MD isn't "dead" in the sense of "no longer useful," but it is no longer commercially developed. I think we all pretty much knew that. I may be just old enough that my current inventory of MD units and blanks will last as long as I do. That's seven decks and three or four portables. Hundreds of blanks. And there's always not only Ebay, but various other web sites where one can sometimes find an MD unit for sale. It is sad that such a truly great format has come to this, but I suppose inevitable in this age of instant connectivity. Let us now praise MD, not bury it!

This really does feel like a community of sorts. I have always liked that about MDCF. Well said, Bob!