raintheory

Do you need Mic and/or line-in?

4.3 seems to be hit and miss for XP users. Seems to work for some but not others. I personally did experience problems transferring files with 4.3, and have stuck with 4.2. The only difference between 4.2 & 4.3 is Vista compatibility.

Glad you were able to get the material recovered. Sorry it cost you a fair bit (I have been doing MD recovery to help forum members here for just a trade of a few blank discs). Check out the TOC-Cloning link in my signature, which might provide you with some more info on the subject (I use a Sony portable for recovery). Also, don't hesitate to PM me if you have other discs that suffered the same fate, or if you have any questions.

Exceptions being the MZ-M100 / MZ-M10 / MZ-M200 Which are Hi-MD (& Mac) compatible. But as sfbp states, a good general rule is the "H". The MZ-NH* & MZ-RH* units are what you will want to look for most likely. EDIT: Here is a list of Sony's Hi-MD units: http://www.minidisc.org/part_Hi-MD_Sony.html

The NH1 does upload, but only Hi-MD recordings (RH1/M200 will upload most legacy recordings as well). And it won't playback Mp3 natively, only the 2nd and 3rd gen Hi-MD units do that.

Yep, in Manual Rec mode you can choose limiter on or off. ... I'm not sure the specifics of the limiter though.

Well I just got my Olympus LS-10, which I had sold my beloved (yet seldom used) MDS-E12 deck in order to get. I'll try to write up a proper review w/pics & audio samples in the near future, but so far I am quite impressed with this one! Don't get me wrong, MiniDisc is still my baby (and will be for years to come, until all of my units die and good ones are hard to come by). Some highlights include: - 2GB internal flash and an SD card slot. - PCM recording up to 24bit/96kHz - Other recording formats include Mp3 (128/256/320) & WMA (64/128/160) - Rec-Level is a physical knob (hated that Sony got rid of this after the first MD units). - Mic sensitivity is a physical switch - Also has a Low Cut physical switch - Stereo speakers on the backside for playback, as well as a tripod socket! - Mic-input as well as built in mics. Also line-in - Drag & Drop to PC/Mac - Uses 2 AA batteries - and more... So I'm pretty excited about this one. It definitely feels solid and well-made/well thought-out. It's ease of rec-setup/etc will make it useful for quick song sketches and field recordings, but believe me I will always have at least one (Hi)MD unit with me.

Just an update: This unit has been sold!

if you are so inclined you could disassemble the unit to find the mechanism and see what the holdup is there./.. the service manual should be in the downloads section here in the forums, and shows exploded views you can use to find how to disassemble.

I think the correct answer is B... From what I've experienced (and read over the years), the AA charges up the gumstick, most likely as it's depleted (doesn't seem intuitive given the characteristics of NiMH batteries in general though). At least as it's in use it does this, doubt it does this when the unit is off, and I doubt you can properly "charge" the gumstick from AA's as you would from mains power.

Here is Sony's link to the full (non-web) 4.3 installer: http://sonicstage.connect.com/SS-US.zip Hope this helps! -Aaron

There may be a way to increase the laser power (if that is the issue) in service mode... Theoretically it may be possible, however I have no idea how to do so. Just saying, I've read of doing it before... Can't remember what unit, but I'm sure it's a possibility with all of them. We still have a fully functional MZ-1 (from 1993!), sadly I have seen many of units made since then develop problems. Unfortunately they don't make this stuff like they used to I guess. P.S. I have an Ashiko, we could start a percussion ensemble!

A number of users (myself included) have experienced problems transferring tracks on XP while using Sonicstage 4.3 Try version 4.2: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=17769 Be sure to uninstall 4.3 first. The only difference between 4.2 & 4.3 is that 4.3 is Vista compatible.

If you are experiencing problems towards the end of discs, the ribbon cable that connects the record/overwrite head could be wearing out (happens pretty often to units over time). Be cautious until you have this figured out. Bad ribbon cables have been known to randomly corrupt TOCs making the discs effectively blank.

Well I finally got around to listing this thing on eBay. I couldn't find my original thread here where I was selling it, or I would have edited it. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=360054908778 If you have been an active member here for >6 months and win this auction, I will throw in a few goodies.

Nope, it's still ~132kbps... There is no SP encoder in SonicStage (due to DOLBY patents/licensing I believe). There are quite a few threads floating around (though searching doesn't seem to help much) regarding this "fake SP".

Yr not using any skinning software like windowblinds or anything like that are you? Also, be sure do disable any programs that may be running in the background (even antivirus, temporarily) and see if this makes a difference.

For NetMD, maximum quality via Sonicstage is in fact ~132kbps (LP2). The newer Hi-MD recorders can transfer (in Hi-MD mode) higher bitrates (~192, ~256, ~320, Uncompressed PCM), what unit do you have?

Unfortunately there is no true SP codec for NetMD/Sonicstage. You can use "SP Compatibility Mode", which will work on SP only units but is only ~132kbps instead of ~292kbps.

Info on this particular model for those interested: http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-R90+R91.html

hmm, interesting/ you using vista? EDIT: Are the WAV files 16bit/44.1kHz?

Thanks Avrin, I might have messed something up or had a setting wrong. When I initially tried I saw after transferring: the WAV, the 105kbps w/o DRM, and then a 132kbps with DRM, which I'd assumed was transferred. Weird, probably a setting I missed though. I'm going to see if I missed something.. EDIT: Must have been a fluke the first time I tried. Just tried with an MP3 and it worked fine without deleting the MP3... Apologies for taking us the long way around. *Edited previous posts

Problem is, if you have the original WAV/MP3 in yr library, SonicStage will convert that to LP2 (132kbps) and then transfer... Regardless of yr transfer settings. You need to remove the original from library after converting to 105kbps (just be sure you have a backup, as the only method I have found to delete just the WAV/MP3 permanently deletes it). EDIT: (After more experimenting this does not seem to be the case.. This post can be disregarded.)

Well I think I got it to work using this method (SonicStage 4.2): - Import a WAV file (or whatever) - Right-click and choose "convert format", choose Atrac3 105kbps - Right-click and choose "Properties" (make sure you have a backup of the original file), click the "file info" tab. Choose the original file in the box and click "Delete file"* EDIT: This step is not necessary, apologies! - In Transfer Settings choose "Transfer 'As-Is'" - Transfer the track to a NetMD-formatted Disc. (It says "converting" for a split second, but after checking the properties of the track, it has simply created a copy of the 105kbps LP2 file and added copy protection.) Success! *If you do not delete the original file in this step it will be used to create a standard LP2 (132kbps) track, which will subsequently be transferred instead of the 105kbps file. I think this is causing the confusion/problems people are having. EDIT: Again, this is not necessary.. Hope this helps! As I said it seems to have worked for me.

I've had no problems with it. Only uploaded stuff from MD>PC though, haven't tested the PC>MD route.