WaywardTraveller

An update vis-a-vis my MP3 dilemma with SonicStage: Just now I tried transferring another MP3 album to HI-MD. I Imported the MP3s to the SS Library, and configured Settings to transfer as 132kbps ATRAC. I transfer the first track and, lo and behold! It says "Converting..." and it's transferred as ATRAC! BUT...when I try it with the next track - in fact, every other track I tried - it's somehow reverted back to throwing MP3s across without conversion, even if I try different bitrates, i.e. 256,64,48. Maybe it's a bug in SonicStage? peace WaywardTraveller

I've tried a couple of experiments uploading the song as MP3 and then converting it to 132kbps ATRAC and uploading it alongside the original MP3. For me, in every case the ATRAC version wins out; the MP3 usually sounds horrible in the treble spectrum (which seems to be an issue with Sony Hi-MD units supporting native MP3 playback) and the recording volume is substantially lower. I've done this using both <132 and >132kbps MP3s converted to ATRAC 132kbps. The ATRAC version always sounds more robust and both bass and treble seem fine (hmm...could this be Sony's way of pushing ATRAC? lol) But don't take my word for it...if you haven't already, try it and judge for yourself peace WaywardTraveller

SonyHiMD is right - those are clearly two different displays if you look at the fonts and the icon positions. However, having bought my RH10 from minidisco (thus it's a North American model) I can say with confidence that the display would look like your second picture. peace WaywardTraveller

Yep and yep....tried both of these strategies, and no matter what the MP3s are simply transferred across as MP3. I've tried using the Settings button to select a "specified bit rate transfer mode," and no matter what kbps I select MP3s are always transferred as-is. The only time I seem to be able to get an on-the-fly conversion to ATRAC is when I rip directly from CD . Am I missing something? I find the SS interface quite distracting, counterintuitive and occasionally frustrating.. Edit: I just tried to convert an MP3 to an ATRAC format with less kbps than the original and it seemed to work...but for the past 10 albums I've tried the same thing and it insisted on keeping the MP3 format ....... peace WaywardTraveller

I don't know about others here, but I find SS particularly annoying in that if you want to convert MP3 to ATRAC (which I usually do, since I find ATRAC generally sounds way better than MP3) you have to Import the MP3s, convert them, Delete the Playlist entry (WITHOUT deleting the files from your computer), re-import the "Optimized Files" .OMAs, and then transfer the files to MD. I found out this process through some particularly agonizing trial-and-error (which involved me accidentally deleting 2GB of Frank Zappa, Rush and Tool - thank god for backups!!!!). If my posting this process step-by-step would help anyone I'd be happy to do so. Or if anyone else knows a better way to do it, please share for the rest of us! peace WaywardTraveller

heahti...can you tell me where in Singapore you bought yours? I'll be working in Singapore for a couple months and would like to pick up a couple of colourful hi-MDs. I'll be working at a hostel right up the street from Sim Lim Center. Last I was there the MD (not to mention Hi-MD) selection was impoverished, to say the least Until then, I'll have to be happy buying purple-red hi-MDs here in Australia for CAD4.30 each peace WaywardTraveller

Offhand, I'd want all the foreign characters possible (short of Japanese/Chinese, which I don't require). Checking the manual it looks like quite a few are included (for Hi-MD mode anyways), but I'm not sure. Not very specific I know, but as a backpacker travelling over several continents I'd ideally like to be able to title recordings with village/souq/market names, song names, etc. in (romanized) original names.

These are pretty much the only earbuds I've had experience with so far. I've owned two pairs of EX71s (old and new version) and loved them, but got sick of shelling out for pair after pair when exactly the same problem happened with both of them - the left channel flat out died. I took good care of them, exercised caution with the wires and put them in a watertight pelican box after use...didn't matter. I then switched to the MDR-ED31s, and have been happy with them ever since (using them as we speak ). Bass-wise they have nothing on the EX71s, but the cords are actually cloth-wrapped or something, which is much, much more durable than the EX-71s will ever be. As a backpacker, I decided to scale down to slightly inferior but sturdier earbuds. peace WaywardTraveller

Greetings. Well, after having my shiny new RH10 for a couple of days I thought I'd post a few first impressions; I've had a lot of useful information come my way on these Forums and thought I'd try to pay it back..if only just a bit. First...I've owned a Sharp IM-MT880 for the longest time and am perfectly happy with it - the sound is sweet (even if the battery life isn't what it should be), and wanted a Hi-MD unit cos I've been on the road for almost two years and want to record market/souq/village sounds without having to lug around so many MDs. Having said that, let's get to the good stuff.... Background: I bought my RH10 from minidisco.com, so it's a non-hacked North America model. 1. The transparent covering: quite frankly, I still can't see what the problem is. I've tried scraping this surface with everything from a fingernail to an MD case, and have yet to "scratch the surface." Sure, fingerprints get on it, but if you use a camera cloth you can keep the surface shiny clean with a minimum of fuss. 2. Aesthetic: I've never really minded what others used to complain about with the MT880; I thought the USB "bump" had a uniqueness and style to it that was appealing. But with the RH10, I have to admit I find this baby beeeeeautiful!! Chrome and black...what else could you really ask for? And I feel I'd just be rehashing the obvious when I say the organic backlit unit display is simply outstanding...smooth animation, a nonobtrusive font style... The jog dial, for me, is nonobtrusive and easily moved by even a sweaty finger/thumb (travel to Singapore and you'll know what I mean!) and I find the feel of the buttons very solid (although one of them is very slightly loose). 3. Transfer: Well, anyone with a Sharp unit knows that the transfer isn't nearly as fast as Sony units, generally speaking. Personally, I couldn't care less - I read a book or do something constructive while spending the extra time transferring tracks, but all the same I found the RH10's transfer speed impressive. I HATE SonicStage with a passion, but slowly but surely Sony seems to be improving on something that seriously needs improvement...at least I can use this version on a Win98 machine (sometimes that's all you get in international net cafes )without expecting the periodic system crash! 4. A word on MP3s. One of the problems I have with online MD vendors is that they sometimes post incredibly contradictory information. Example: some advertise the MZ-DH10 as having mic/line-in jacks, others say it does NOT have this...a pretty important point for me if considering a Hi-MD unit. With the RH10, some advertised it has having "native MP3 capability," others did not. The verdict? As always, read the directions. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the answer to the RH10's "native" MP3 support is a "kinda." As far as I have surmised, the RH10 does support native playback: but I decided to run an experiment with a 192kbps MP3. I was able to upload it "as-is" without conversion if I selected the transfer kbps as 192+kbps; if I wanted anything lower it was automatically converted to, for example, 132kbpsATRAC. The interesting thing about this experiment was that the 132kbps ATRAC sounded way, WAY better than the original MP3 - more volume, more treble (a common gripe with MP3s as I've read) - generally, a much more robust recording than the original! Granted, I haven't tried this experiment with a higher-resolution MP3, but I'm now interested in trying it with my normal recording level of 256-320kbps. Problems THE REMOTE!! Serves me right for not doing enough research...I love this unit, but was disappointed at the crappy non-LCD remote I got with the North American model. I have also realized that the manual for the RH10 isn't nearly as clear on some things as it should have been...as far as I can see it doesn't mention that connecting the unit to a computer via USB presents an icon on the display that implies battery charging (if there's one inside the unit); nor does it explain some of the symbols that show up on the backlit display. Filenames also seem to be rendered in the Windows 3.x 8-character maximum fashion...a very minor gripe, but noticeable. All in all, I have to say I love this unit. I originally chose MiniDisc over, for example, Ipod because I wanted a removable, library-conducive media; if you have an Ipod and lose your unit/it gets stolen you're screwed, whereas if the same happens to your MD unit you can at least keep your music. But for someone who will be on the road in foreign continents for a couple of years, Hi-MD lets me keep twice the music at half the space...something like that. That, and now I have more space for those digital photos I can't fit on my memory cards

I am currently in Australia, but had the good fortune of buying my sweet, oh-so-beeootiful RH10 from Minidisco, so I think I have the setting with the best combination of features. But at the risk of asking a naive and stupid question (been travelling, so I've been out of the MD loop for awhile): if I make this mod on my Canadian/American RH10, I understand I will get better language support while keeping all my other features (equalizer, vol. output, etc) intact? A 'yes' would be the only way I'd mess with my new baby Thanks for anyone who can help. peace WaywardTraveller

Hey everyone, I am currently in North Africa, and I am using the Sound Professionals' in-ear binaurals (model TFB-2) with my Sharp MT880 to try and capture the almbient sounds, calls to prayer, etc. One issue, however...for some reason, when I play back my recordings there often (but not always) seems to be fluctuating background hiss. This hiss will sometimes drop out entirely, but will come back (I assume this may have to do with how/where I move?). Has anyone else had this problem and, if so, is there any way I can rectify this? I have also tried experimenting with high/low mic levels; I bought the mics from minidisc-canada.com, and it wasn't specified whether or not they were the high or low sensitivity model (I understand there are both). Any help would be extremely appreciated! peace WaywardTraveller You have stories to tell. Tell them here. http://www.Waywardtraveller.org/