WaywardTraveller

Thanks for the info. I never, ever, ever use copy protection though - the vast majority of my music is burned straight from CD. I'm hoping that means I don't have to worry about this problem!

hmmm...not sure what you mean by "decrypting"...I just use the backup tool and let SS do its thing....? All of the files are in .oma format and not .mp3, if that's what you mean.

has anyone here tried restoring a music DB made in XP with SS 4,3 running on 64-bit Win7? It shouldn't make a difference...byt I work with technology far too much to trust it and my music DB is 78GB...would hate to lose it, and I'm installing Win7 since my XP died....

Hey, haven't been around in a while and thought I'd drop by Just wondering whatever happened to that low-end version of the RH1 that was to be released? peace WaywardTraveller

Doh! I've been out of the loop a while indeed

Greetings all! Thanks so much for the kind birthday wishes...have been home for a bit and am now embarking on a nerve-wracking journey back to graduate school (which means stumbling through GRE hell)! Will be using one of my shiny gold NH1s to record lectures for studying peace WaywardTraveller

hmmm...Correct me if I'm wrong, but I take "legacy" to mean discs recorded in NetMD mode - the disc in question is, in fact, a Hi-MD disc with a bunch of Hi-LP recordings on it, made by myself with a mic. snif....maybe my solution would be to upload them with a different computer and then back up the files? peace WaywardTraveller

OK, here's the deal: I have a series of spoken-word journals on a Hi-MD from my travelling. I have filled-in author and album fields on each recording on the disc, and just now tried to upload them to My Library. The result? It doesn't give me an error, but it doesn't uplaod them either! The Hi-MD listing blinks, re-populates (as if it's just finished transferring), and nothing else happens. Nada. Zilch. No transfer to my computer. Can anyone PLEASE help? Each file says, sure enough, that it can be transferred unlimited times, and I DID transfer them once before on a different computer running SS 4.3, so what gives?? peace WaywardTraveller

Update: After checking a few things out, THANKFULLY SS4.3 hasn't gone awry at all; I changed the author of ONE "Various Artists" album to 'M' and for some reason ALL of them were shifted to the alphabetical M entry....but everything is now working fine. whew. peace WaywardTraveller

Hey, I am hoping someone can help me with this issue that's recently come up with me. I've spent the last few days ripping my CD library into SSv4.3 - I use XP Pro on a dual-core Pentium computer. Everything's basically going fine...but one day as I ripped a disc I saw all my Various Artists entries vanish from the listing before my very eyes! Naturally I freaked (I have about 40GB in SS right now and still counting) and cursed the powers that be, but just now I found out that apparently the music IS still in the DB....the problem is this: When I view My Library, if the view is sorted by Artist, I cannot see ANYTHING by "Various Artists." If I switch the view to View Albums/Playlists and sort by Album, I can see all my VA albums AND I can still transfer to MD! So this isn't the end of the world...but if someone - anyone can help me restore this I'd appreciate it. Also....I backed up My Library into a 40GB directory, and read in the docs somewhere that SS needs to connect to the Net in order to "authenticate" the DB before restoring...does this mean you can't restore your Library without a Net connection? peace WaywardTraveller

Hello, When I get back to Canada I will need a good (i.e. NOT belt-driven) turntable to rip my vinyl to WAV and archive it. I've seen some USB turntables - tables that seem to plug straight in to the computer. Are these any good for archiving vinyl? Do you still need a preamp, or can you just play right into your computer? peace WaywardTraveller

That may be true, but when you actually consider the cheap garbage-quality ratio (and look in the vast majority of electronics markets and stores in the country) I'm still convinced you'd find YUIN the stark exception. However, I've never heard of the brand before.....is there a website? peace WaywardTraveller

Very true. I think it also depends on the source: I have some CDs that rip crystal clear at 132, but you're also right about the artifacts. And to write PCM to Hi-MD in SOnicStage, just import the WAV file into SS and, when you transfer it, select "Transfer file 'as-is' (no conversion)". peace WaywardTraveller

Sorry guys....guess I didn't make it clear enough that it's a big joke. lol...these buds ARE crap (unfortunately, there's no coiled-brown-pile emoticon to illustrate how they really DO compare to the EX90s ). I'd guess the frequency response at somewhere around 20K-22K! Phones like these are, however, perfect for learning German (as I am currently doing on MD), simple non-critical listening (spoken-word) and anything else where I just need to listen to information. I wanted to post the pics, though, as an example of the utter crap you can get in China (and in case you need contradiction, it's the same country where you can pick up $10 LIP-4WMs!) peace WaywardTraveller

When I was in western China (Xinjiang) I scouted around more than my fair share of electronics markets. In one of Urumqi's main markets I was looking halfheartedly when these caught my eye. I mean, look at the box: Sony E888s for a mere RMB14 (that's two Canadian dollars)! Could this be true? The box is clearly marked Sony E888, so why wouldn't I get anything other than REAL Sony E888s???? The price was right, so I bought 'em and ran home to test them out. Well! Sony has truly outdone themselves with this new style of E888: new multi-directional drivers allow you to use EITHER the gaskets OR the conventional earpiece - both play the music at the same time, so you can even use the gasket in one ear and the earpiece for the other! The wires are coated in plastic for a durability never before seen in Sony buds (you can see the word SONY on one of the buds in one of the pictures). Ball-bearings on the cord allow you to adjust the wires for you comfort. AWESOME! And as for sound quality....words can't even express how they compare to the EX90s! And all this for only $2! (you won't find this price anywhere outside China) If you can buy them NOW NOW NOW! peace WaywardTraveller

Nah, don't worry about it Karl - the webmaster must work at a Sony Store or something... peace WaywardTraveller

Actually, TLV, I've found that good headphones can make 132kbps sound much better than I thought possible! But be that as it may, I'm getting progressively spoiled by 256/352 and use 192 almost exclusively as my floor. Is this where I make people cringe by talking about transcoding MP3-128 - > A3-132 in a pinch? As far as I am aware, recording is exactly the same across all Hi-MD units (hence their compatibility). The only differences you'll find are in recording modes (some units can record in MD mode, others only Hi-MD) and things surrounding the recording process like battery life, MIC-IN availability, etc. How do you reckon? Unless I'm missing something (or don't get what you're saying), irrespective of source the data would be recorded with the same codecs. This is why many people here own, say, an RH1/NH1, but also an NH600/700 beater for field recording, concerts, etc. peace WaywardTraveller

At the risk of being somewhat off-topic...is there a discussion thread about the best medium ("format?") on which to archive important data for long-term storage? I.e. what brand of CD-R or DVD+/-R (Sony, TDK, Memorex) is known to be good for long-term storage? I'm very conscientous about backing up important data, and my backup CD/DVDs are stored in volume cases away from heat, sunlight and dust. If someone could point me to any threads on this I'd appreciate it (I'm on a crappy computer that takes ages to load up pages and searches are painful ) peace WaywardTraveller

One more observation on the EX90s re: burn-in: At the risk of a drawn-out comparison with the EX71s, the 90s seem to do more with less burn-in time. The EX71s need quite a while to acquire that "warmer" sound to them - my offhand estimate being about 50hrs? The 90s, on the other hand, seem to settle for about 20-30. However, these numbers are more guesstimate than anything, so if anyone else has any different times feel free to mention them. peace WaywardTraveller

Well, take advantage of it while you can - I called the Galleria Sony store here in Melbourne and the Hi-MD discs here are normal price. peace WaywardTraveller

Hey Krull...congrats on picking up a sweet little player. As far as I know, the more recent units like the RH1 have a faster transfer speed than the 1st-gens. I'll hazard a guess, though, and suggest that you probably won't be too put out by any differences between USB transfers. Noticeably different? Absolutely. "Better" depends on who you talk to. The RH1 has a HD digital amp which is supposed to have improvements even over the amp in the NH1/NH900, whereas the 600D has no digital amp at all. Many people love the digital amp, but others say the non-digital amp units like the 600 give your music a "warmer" and "fuller" feel where the digital amp comes off cold (but detailed). Ideally, as with all such things the best thing is to get your hands on both of them if possible and compare. Another $60,000 MD issue! Yeah, you'll get loads of different opinions on this; but if you ask me 48kbps is perfectly fine for any spoken-word applications (unless the source is well and truly shite). Others use 64kbps (66kbps is oldschool LP4 IIRC) without problems. With music it's all going to depend on you. Many people use ATRAC 132kbps for an ideal balance between space and sound quality (although 192kbps is an even better midway point if you ask me) - others refuse to rip below 256kbps. Personally, I won't rip any non-spokenword less than 192 anymore (unless I'm travelling for a while and wanna cram as much as possible on to each disc, in which case I go 132). Stuff I really like/love and/or experimental music with lots of detail that rewards concentrated listening usually gets 256/352kb. My quality varies from 192-352, but it's important to remember that your headphones CAN completely transform what you're listening to! A good set of phones will make 132 sound much, much nicer! Yes (I'm assuming you mean ATRAC). The following SS bitrates can be used with Hi-MD: 48,64/66,132,192,256,352,PCM. All the other bitrates you see can be played on your computer and/or transferred to some other audio device (but not Hi-MD). Hope this helps. peace WaywardTraveller

I thought SS4.3 was basically SS4.2 for Vista and not for XP...? I know this is a bit off-topic, but I know very little right now about Vista. I hear it's NOT downwards-compatible with any previous version of Windows - is this true? Does this mean one couldn't run SS4.2 for whatever reason? peace Waywardtraveller

Can anyone say how the SA1000s would compare against the XD400s or something like the MDR-VJ700s? peace WaywardTraveller

Yeah, Sony finally seems to have gotten the case right. You still have to deal with that little loop of cord caused by the left bud, but it's much more manageable than with any other Sony buds I've had. rayzray: the slanted ends can't be straightened out; but although they may look a bit odd they fit in my ears better than the 71s ever did. Moreover, the slant makes the buds easier to grasp and insert/remove. peace WaywardTraveller

A very Happy Birthday to Richyhu! Many happy returns! peace WaywardTraveller