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tekdroid

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Everything posted by tekdroid

  1. I tried Isopropyl Alcohol on the gold contacts after you said that... no go so far, however the behaviour did change: It doesn't want to record straight after I plug it in (which is what happened before). The <<| and |>> lever still tried to adjust volume as I pressed the |>> side once (other times it did what it was supposed to). The LCD display, however, has decided now to only intermittently work (before I would have no issues). Hrm... I think mine might be beyond sane repair Plus who knows where I put those extra screws (I didn't bother to put it back together last time I pulled it apart )
  2. Not that I know of. By the way, similar thing happened to me with that remote. Crazy things happened with button operation...and I thought I'd get it replaced early, but I still haven't managed to swallow the cost. When I get the replacement I will probably use it far more sparingly.
  3. tekdroid

    HiMD

    A few months ago I got the MDR-EX300 earbuds... but I've never been totally satisfied with any portable phones, so I wasn't expecting much...but they are passable...I guess. I also feel dirty spending too much $ on portable easily-breakable phones. Those NC60s don't look half as fragile, though. If any Hi-MD unit could power my Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones to adequate volume (which to me means effing loud )... I would be in heaven. I am currently considering the PCM-D50 for a mere $100 more than the MZ-M200 at B&H...good value considering it comes with some half-decent mics (by all accounts) and a more satisfying headphone power output. Seems like good value to step outside of the Hi-MD world in 2009, despite the bulk I could make use of that portability...not to mention recording.
  4. Ah, been a while since I saw that ad. I think it's a brilliant image and a very succinct, to-the-point (and exciting) message.
  5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SyQuest_Technology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LS-120 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_drive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaz_drive I was around in the 90s when these tried to take over the market with varying levels of success. Just once again I'd love to see a reasonably-priced competitor come out of nowhere and take on the Big Boys at the removable storage game and make some nice money in the process. The problem, as I see it, is a question of needs of the mass market. Assuming a disc like this makes it out, no manufacturer is gonig to target it to the Average Joe off-the-bat; they will chase the industries that need it and want it badly... medical imaging, gov departments, banks, insurance, organisations that want to store huge loads of data and that currently pay a crapload for storage of said data and will be all-to-willing to buy expensive drives and discs; these are the people that will get it first, and happily bend over for the privilege - because it saves them money. This is assuming the drives are fast, too... for easy random access to data, too. So, assuming Samsung has licensed this like they say, these are the first customers, IMO. Low-volume, high margin. Right now, I coudl really use 1.6TB; ah the convenience of putting a heap of stuff on one disc... butttt... the masses aren't there yet. Plus it seems like every month we hear about a new disc breakthrough, but none have really made it to my local discount store
  6. Guitarfxr, just wondering if there's any possibility of getting a unit like this to run off (lots of) AAs (perhaps with an external 'power pack')? Reason I ask is it's very hard to find 9V rechargeables (and I'm a 'reduce waste' freak who hates throwing out disposables, even if it's once a year).
  7. Nice read, but I'd love to hear far more strategy and less broad brush talk from Sir Howie. If I'm not mistaken, based on what he's said, he seems to think that collaborating with others on DRM is 'open' as opposed to developing their own DRM in-house. That's fine, but I don't regard that as open. To me it's refreshing to see that the internet has and continues to shape technology, and it would be interesting to see if 'open' translates to really open source stuff, like FLAC and Ogg Vorbis (and removable batteries... storage...). That stuff is never discussed and I seemed to recall Sony referring to Windows Media as more 'open' in the past (open - to Sony - meaning popularized, presumably). Of course I'm just talking about audio and Sony has their finger in many pies, but all I can say now is what happened to Panasonic in audio...and what happened to Sony? And Sharp? Talk about a severe resistance to change. In my eyes, all of those could run rings around what Apple is doing now (which has so much room for improvement). Instead the audio world is so stagnant and companies that once made awesome technology have almost no retail presence in the categories they were once strong in. What's worse is none are really innovating or looking out into the future.
  8. This excites me. If a data-recovery tool can be built from something like this, all the better. Keep up the good work
  9. yeah when i said "ps2 included" I meant it works just like a regular CD player with optical out, not the opposite. My wording wasn't the best.
  10. long furry fabric from a fabric store (with fur around 3cm+ long) and a bit of sewing, otherwise look for ready-made windscreens. All of these will affect the sound to some degree (some top-end will go) but it's not normally noticeable unless you directly compare. Besides, it's the only solution when outdoors.
  11. tekdroid

    Hi-MD data..

    I have several discs with files and sounds combined. Slow is right but they are fine for most uses. Watch passers-by freak out at the noises your unit makes while copying and/or retrieving data!
  12. yeah, tho there have got to be some sensible trade-offs for everything. No backlight in a device that uses 1x AA or 1x gumstick [as opposed to 4xAA or so] seems like a sensible omission... besides, nearly all remotes that can connect to it have backlights. As far as recorders are concerned, what I've heard so far pretty much is in line with you get what you pay for. I've heard lots of talk of noisier pre-amps and crappier mics on non-Sony devices, tho these - to be fair - usually cost far less than the PCM-D50. The local sound shops here laugh when you mention MiniDisc and try to convince you that the Zooms are the thing... (but then again none of these guys are selling the PCM-D50)....and I have no reason to believe them at this point... but then again, at this point I have tried none of these other devices
  13. the market is driven by convenience, and today it's hard to justify MD to the average user, especially one who couldn't give a rat's about recording from live sources or line-in (who, let's face it, are nearly everyone). First, you must find Hi-MD in stores (only one current model Hi-MD selling, two if you want to count manufacturer model number re-numberings). Secondly, you must find (and pay for) the discs. Thirdly, the masses remember the horrors of NetMD and lots of us remember SonicStage deleting stuff, upload restrictions, etc. These things all add up to terrible experiences and non-recommendations. Fourthly, it doesn't do vids, isn't small, cheap, etc. The devices selling now in the mass-market are simple in that the user loves to forget about storage mediums, and there are benefits to simplicty and lots of storage, but there are also downsides when lots of things are not removable or replaceable, IMO (naturally nearly all occurring outside the warranty period). I think within the warranty period there would be far less returns on a device without a mouth that opens up accepting discs, for example. Equalling less support costs for the manufacuter (not to mention greatly reduced manufacturing cost). However, outside this warranty period, I bet a well-taken-care-of MD unit would outlast any of these devices using embedded batteries and storage...simply 'cause these things are removable. Anyway, MiniDisc would lose 70%+ of its potency if not for the quality (and features) of the recorders (to me). If the portables were machines that just accepted music from PCs for playback, there'd be little reason for me to get one aside from the removable batteries and storage (which are great benefits to me). I wouldn't keep one for the joy of waiting for it to transfer tracks, that's for sure. The fact that the current model's buttons fail after a short time isn't re-assuring either. Sony don't have the perfect device here by a long shot. What they do have is the benefit of great features and recording (and playback) quality, but other devices compete on the playback front...and do it faster, easier and often better. It's really no surprise why others recommend something else. Especially when MiniDisc has traditionally come with crappy earbuds itself...there's very little differentiation to the average user who might buy one on the sound front out-of-box experience...except convenience is a LOT worse with Hi-MD to Joe and Josephine User, and they also get a lot of features their playback-only desires don't appreciate. I guess what I'm trying to say is at the end of the day, it all makes sense and should take nobody by surprise that Hi-MD isn't taking over the world, and neither should it. It's a niche product in today's market. Today's market is also rife with disposable devices... but that's the nature of the beast until customers wake up to this fact.
  14. i've never seen track-marking done properly on consecutive audio (ie. playing a full CD and having every track marked identical to the CD)... I haven't seen this from anything but playing from a real CD in a real non-computer CD drive (PS2 included). Playing on computers and going via optical out (via optical soundcard, etc) has always ignored this track info (regardless of source on computer...files, CDs, etc). Not quite sure the reason... but ... that's always been my observation.
  15. I had a look at what you wrote. Your Sony D-NE718CK, does it sound fine when you hook it up to a stereo with the LINE OUT and played that way? If so, there really should be no reason why you are getting what you are getting. Another way of testing is trying LINE IN on the MiniDisc unit with different equipment and seeing if it still occurs. The MiniDisc unit itself shouldn't be adding anything anything that isn't there, really. This is the first time I've heard of this fading.
  16. recording off the PS2 is great. I like sitting the tiny Hi-MD unit on the slim PS2 and recording away. Not sure what the problem was with the DVD unit; I've never tried that. what did you mean by: "...you dont get those sound fades you normally get when recording analogue with the stereo cable"
  17. speaking for myself, the only affordable recorder on my radar that I have any motivation for purchasing (outside of Hi-MD) is the Sony PCM-D50, but because of its size, the current exchange rate, and the fact that it uses Memory Sticks ... all those things have so far worked against me buying it. If it were up to $650 Australian dollars with a nice 8+GB memory stick thrown in, I'd have one by now for the times when Hi-MD is just a big pain in the butt (longer continuous PCM recording times, longer battery life, higher bitrates and sampling rates allowing for more headroom, nifty limiter). This unit would be a far greater pain in the butt to carry around, though.
  18. First you should ask who is qualified to measure sound quality here? I say nobody but you and your ears. Even those crazy Head-Fi'ers who most people 'look up to' when nervously spending on new gear I would disagree with nearly always, more times than not most definitely. One man's 'great' is another's craptastic. Best in what area? If sound, WAV 44.1KHz sample rate, 16bit for CD should give you identical sound to the source, all things being equal. If you want the same sound in a smaller and more taggable file, try FLAC http://flac.sourceforge.net I say only you are qualified to answer that, after some first-hand experience. Indeed. See above. Too late
  19. Yes, but whether or not the replacement will fit and mount as the same specs as the one inside your recorder is another matter. Lots of 3.5mm sockets that you may buy as spares will probably not fit or have solder points in identical places. I have never seen these longer plugs (thankfully?).
  20. So you saw a lot of iPods, right? Any other brands that you recall?
  21. how did it run out of power if it was connected to the PC? Good luck!
  22. Nup But Sony should host their own Walkman forum, at the very least. I think their own community forum would pay off for them tremendously with regards to customer loyalty and respect, plus it would be a very convenient way for them to use feedback in product planning and probably save them a lot of money in support costs, too. Their main personal audio rival does it. So does another one.
  23. Keep in mind Sony units have 5mW+5mW (into 16ohms) headphone outputs. If your headphones are high-impedance, you won't get great volume levels out nearly all Sony portable gear, MD included. Also keep in mind the small possibility that your headphones might not just be suited to the source or your ears...there's always that possibility. As for the big plug on the Grado, consider using a standard 3.5mm plug-to-3.5mm socket extension cable so as not to damage the MD, especially if it sticks out a lot and is pulled on. Otherwise, enjoy Keep in mind also that there are Sony models that play lossless and might sound great (except that lossless will be WAV, not anything like FLAC... so it's more cumbersome tagging-wise and size-wise..). Cowon is definitely not the only choice. Also, if net hype is anything to go by, certain Sandisk models are out now playing FLAC and apparently sounding good (I personally wouldn't trust anyone's idea of good sound without listening myself, but if that's something you might like, check out the Sandisk's Sansa Fuze and Sansa Clip). http://www.sansa.com/ Otherwise go MD, especially if you are into recording live (and/or from optical and line in) and want decent remotes and a battery that can be switched anytime, anywhere, and doesn't need surgery and skill and $$ to replace when it eventually dies. I'd suggest an MZ-NH700 which has to be sourced second-hand now. It runs on a single AA battery. I know you wanted rechargeable but IMO everyone should have a charger and spare AAs now. You do, right? If you are OK with lossy audio and MD (which many like the sound of), there are far more you can choose from (with nearly always better build quality) in the regular MiniDisc range, and they nearly always run on an AA, too.
  24. me personally, it's because there are no all-round player/recorders as good as what Sony offers (or offered) in their Hi-MD line for similar cost. So until Sony offer something like the PCM-D50 in a compact size, and with more MD features (Combine, better playback modes, titling, remotes, etc), I will keep using Hi-MD. That said, I still am tempted by the PCM-D50 and I know it goes beyond MD in lots of areas, not the least of which is higher bitrates and no damn SonicStage! . Flash media gets weaker with every write and MD does too, but might be better than most flash media on rewrites (I suspect it is), but otherwise, I'd guess that flash media beats MD in all other areas (size, mechanical simplicity, weight, speed, dust resistance). Perhaps some flash media might be more sensitive to static and other weirdness, and perhaps MD is better in the way it actually needs high temps to change the data, but otherwise flash media is better in almost all ways. The storage capacity and price keeps improving as years go on, along with economies of scale having so many devices use the same formats (phones, cameras, PCs, PDAs, video cameras, etc), not just Walkmans. All it takes is a great MD-like recorder to get me to forget SonicStage and MD (but still love it), to be honest. Because all those little weaknesses it has can be gone forever by moving to a solid-state storage format.
  25. tekdroid

    NWZ-X1060

    ...and removable battery, eh
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