bluecrab
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HiFi World Nostalgic look at MiniDisc June/ July 2016 2 parts
bluecrab replied to freddyjollo's topic in Minidisc
Cannot read that format, Freddy, but the article is also available as PDF, here: https://www.politicalavenue.com/108642/US-MAGAZINES/Hi-Fi World - July 2016.pdf Interesting stuff and with a pro-MD slant. From your excerpt, I agree for the most part. However, I believe the SQ from my JA22ES might exceed that of some "modern" DACs (my Musical Fidelity, for example). Thanks for the link. -
Thanks one and all. I finally found the right article to read about MP3 and I now understand that, as far as decoding/uncompression, MP3 and ATRAC are more similar than different. Neither is truly compressed in the same sense as a compressed, non-lossy data file. In any case, I intend to go on listening to MD and to avoid MP3 when possible, at least in the realm of lossiness. Pretty happy with ALAC, too, although to my ears, the best digitally sourced sound is still to be had from CD. (Maybe I like my CDP-XA20ES and its bass-heavy DAC a bit too much!)
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Let me as the OP just hop in for a second, if you would. I completely understand that ATRAC files are decoded, not uncompressed, for playback. There is really nothing left to uncompress. So I wanted to know if MP3 also works that way. As for ALAC/FLAC, these files are assuredly compressed to begin with; then they have to be decoded for uncompression. So I think, anyway. The reason I thought of any of this at all was that while listening to my JA22ES, I thought it sounded really good. And I wondered if, since an ATRAC file does not need uncompression, that might be a kind of processing benefit (like one less step). Wondered, too, if MP3s are similar to ATRAC files in that way, or not. I really didn't mean to start anything contentious though!
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I'm having a hard time finding an answer for this: It seems to me that MD ATRAC1 files don't actually get uncompressed for playback, as they already contain all the data they will ever have. So, they don't have to be uncompressed dynamically for playback. Is that true? How about MP3 (et al.) then? Same as MD or is there a different process used for playback? To give another example, just so I'm being clear, FLAC and ALAC files, while compressed, do contain 100% of their original data; thus, it seems to me that such files are uncompressed/decoded dynamically for playback.
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The PC3 and 940 both have the Type R ATRAC chip. The 48kHz, which is what I assume you think will make the SQ diff, will wind up at 44.1 anyway on both machines (940/PC3). Wouldn't expect there'd be any diff in the SQ.
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Thank you, NGY, that is exactly what I asked. I asked the question because I most often play MDs in shuffle mode. That means I cannot Stop the playback and resume it at same place. So Pause is an option. However, anything I can do to extend the life of my MD units—not shorten them!—is what I want to do. So, extended pause on playback is not great. (I never leave any MD units on, at least intentionally, when not in use.)
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On a "modern" MD deck (MXD-D400, JB940, JA20ES, etc.), for how long is it safe to have the unit in Pause mode? I occasionally have done this for 20-30 minutes at a time with no apparent problem, but I am wondering if there's some kind of upper limit.
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The 333ES is so good, that its LP2 sounds good even without Type S. I got one when they were more reasonably priced, but it's now deceased and departed. The JE780 is well-spoken-of and while not exactly common, does turn up here and there for much less than the 333ES. I'm not sure the S500 was ever common, even in Japan. Don't know where you're looking, but besides eBay, you can always check out Buyee (http://buyee.jp/?lang=en). Lots of folks record optically from their PCs! (I sometimes do so from an iMac...my PC has coax out...that works, too.) I have a JA22ES, which seems to have a GUI that enables one to do titling and such from a PC, although I do not use that functionality. Anyway, good luck, be nice to know what you wind up with.
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Difference between blank minidiscs manufacturers?
bluecrab replied to bivouacrecording's topic in Technical, Tips, and Tricks
I am now avoiding Hi-Space MDs after twice having issues with them, recently. I also avoid Memorex, mainly the earlier ones. Princo, too, is not one I care to use. This has nothing at to do with sound quality and everything to do with construction quality. -
I can try it on the N510 itself (an actual NetMD unit) and see what happens. Still, I am thinking about why this could be. All tracks, I think, were original transfers to SS. However, there is just a chance they could also have been copied from iTunes, although whether that would have an effect, IDK. It just doesn't seem right, as I have encountered this situation before on the MXD-D400 and resolved it by using an earlier deck to erase.
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I downloaded some tracks form SS to an MZ-N510. I thought this would have led to TrPROT when I tried to erase on an MXD-D400, but it didn't. Was able to delete tracks. Same for MXD-D40 and MDS-JB940. The odd thing is that I HAVE seen that TrPROT issue on at least the MXD-D400 before. I did nothing out of the ordinary on the transfer. It looks like I used SS's "normal" mode, in which the tracks are transferred as LP2 (not faux-SP). As an aside, I note that MD isn't smart enough to update the TOC when a track is deleted.
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Be happy to. Errr...exactly what do I need to do to get a TrPROT flag on the MD? Just create and MD in SS or is there more?
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Oh, I get it now. Meaning that I could erase a Tr-Protected MD in the E12. Probably true. I have other decks that also will do that and also pay no attention to anything Net MD, as they are pre-NetMD. NetMD turned out to be kind of a disappointment for me, anyway, because of its inability to do true SP. Good for titling, though, and of course for non-SP use.
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Stephen: I think it may be a common misperception that Sony E-series "pro" decks can somehow control or subvert SCMS. My MDS-E12 seems to have no way to do that. I would truly like it if I am wrong, though.
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Technically, MD is not unhackable, of course. However, its general lack of connectivity makes it more secure than say, a file on your computer. For example, I could record an 80-minute, 59-second fiasco of a diatribe about any given topic without fear of its being intercepted or otherwise discovered unless the actual physical medium left my control. And even then, someone would have to know what a minidisc is! ;-)
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"(My receiver does have two digital inputs, but as I have multiple devices with digital output (CD, SACD, DVD, 2x MDs), some of them can be connected to analogue VIDEO or TAPE only.) " Or you could use an optical switch. Powered ones are better than passive.
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Freddy, just speaking for myself...yes, Standard. It would be interesting if Sony had told us the specs of each filter, instead of using somewhat vague descriptions.
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Sometime in the Near Future: Sony's Artificial DNA storage (or "SADNA" as it is commonly called) is readily available, but the price is just excessive. Sony keeps improving it and eventually the price drops so many more people can afford it, but by then a bunch of other companies have deployed a cheaper, faster method that grabs everyone's attention (and money) because it's just easier to use. It's called "MP-ADNA"—"My Personal Artificial DNA." You know what happens next, right? ;-) Thanks for the links!
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My guess, NGY, given that the our units are so closely related and that they both seemed to be in NM condition, is that it could be a design flaw. All the Sony tray-loading MD decks are kind of infamous for having issues, although it's not clear if this particular issue crosses model lines. So, how could such an issue appear in a more-or-less-new production model? Very easily. Lack of appropriate QC, perhaps, or just a simple manufacturing mistake. I really can only guess! But I do offer my congrats to you for fixing your 20ES. Both the 20/22ES have some of the best SQ in the MD world for listening. Nice recorders, too, although I will spare my 22ES that effort. :-)
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I agree with punkrockaddict 100%. Have tried the filters where they are available, but have found that my preference—at least to this point...my hearing loss is worsening—is to not use them.
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Actually, I do have one other unit in "champagne": it is the MXD-D400 (which has Type S) in its JPN version. In the pic, it looks more silver than champagne, but in real life, it is the same color as the JA22ES. I also have a Kenwood MD-2070 and that one is silver-colored. It's in a box right now and has successfully avoided being photographed by me ;-)
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Well, why not....here is a pic pf the now-functiioning JA22ES, and my thanks to all! It really is a great-sounding unit.
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The JA22ES was, at long last, returned to me yesterday. The repairer tested it and used it for quite some time, without issue. I briefly tested the unit last night and so far, so good. The repairer considered, NGY, your suggestion to replace the part, but he was concerned about going to that level of complexity—can't say as I blame him for that! The unit will last as long as it does, and that will be that. As much as I would like to use it for recording, I probably won't, in the hope that bot doing so will extend its life. I have a couple of other Type R decks that should do a very good job of recording. That said, I will note that to my ears, the JA20/22ES sounds as good as or better than any MD deck I have ever owned, including the JA333ES. And it looks great in Champagne color! :-)
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No, I do not have the defunct 333, I am sorry to say. Had I thought about it better at the time, it could possibly have been restored to functionality. Gone like the wind now :-(
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Found the thread that had the photos of the chip in the 20ES. Ironically it is earlier (March 12, 2012) in this same thread: http://forums.sonyinsider.com/topic/27442-money-no-object-which-was-the-very-best-full-sized-md-playerrecorder/?page=2 Just scroll down to Azureal's comment. Oh, there is just one prob: the actual photos are no longer there (not for me, they're not)...just a bunch of filenames of filetype .jpg. No idea what happened to the actual pix. But they WERE there and they DID show the CXD-2656.
