jadeclaw

Using a Phono-Amp or the phono input of a home system is useless. What is needed is something like this: http://mac-pro.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?...ategory_Code=PO Or this: http://www.goelectronic.com/Merchant2/merc...=5+MOBILE+VIDEO or if you can use a soldering iron, this one: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/circ/audioboost.html If you build this one, remember to increase R6 to 2.7 kOhms.

Depends on the headphones and your ears. To me, the difference between Digital and Analog is audible. Additional advantage of digital connection: No level adjustment needed and most CD-players include trackmarks in the datastream, so that the trackmarks are set at the right position.

You see , when you take off the top lid of the unit, you see, where the disc settles down. Exactly on the right side of the drive pin, there is a small block with a little blueish round lens in its center. Exactly below the window of the disc. That lens must be cleaned. And exactly that's where you have to be very careful. Very gently wipe it with a Q-Tip, if the previous owner was a heavy smoker, dip the Q-tip into alcohol before wiping, then wipe with a dry one again. Remember, be very careful, NEVER exert any pressure on the lens. If you have to remove multiple parts to access the lens, it might be better to leave that one to an experienced technician. This is: how a laser pickup looks like. The round glassy thing on the left side is the lens.

Seems to be a bit weak on the bass, starts at 100Hz, but that is better for speech. And it is cheap, 20 bucks here: http://www.warehouse123.com/ProductInfo.ph...=PANRPVC200-BLK

There is a problem with MP3. This format isn't as unified as it should be. Since its creation 15 years ago, a lot of changes and improvements had been introduced and we actually don't know, on which point on the timeline the decoder in Sonicstage is stuck. And every improvement, that came after that point can trip up the decoder. A sloppy implementation cannot be ruled out either. And there had been MD-players suffering from similar problems: http://www.minidisc.org/atrac_breakdown.html And don't worry, Sonicstage isn't the only problem child here, my DVD-Player hates VBR-encoded files. *Grmpf*

Well, what you are doing, is reencoding the file again, introducing additional artefacts. Save it with higher bitrate under a new filename and don't overwrite the original file.

Aarrgh! Journos! Yes, the Qualia is a MDLP-player. Not Hi-MD. And it is normal for journos to get the facts wrong.

There might be a reason for the silence: A slow server limits the traffic possible. And that keeps the cost down to a limit. So, the final solution would be to find a different hoster, one who offers a dedicated server with a high amount of traffic already included.

Hmm, going out on a limb here: It may be, that the lens of the car unit is dirty, especially when the unit was in a car, that hasn't been kept clean or when the previous owner was a smoker. So careful cleaning of the lens might solve the Problem.

@Papagoose: The iPod doesn't record. And after looking around again, the portable HDD-based recorders offered aren't really satisfying, unless we go professional... So, qualitywise MD / Hi-MD still looks like the best solution for portable recording. Personally, I think the export problem with current Hi-MD units is solved faster than someone manages to teach recording to the iPod.

Only new recordings done in Hi-MD-Format on a Hi-MD-recorder. Hi-MD-Format includes old discs reformatted in Hi-MD-Mode.

You're right, the JE510 cannot read MDLP-recorded material. Check this list: http://www.minidisc.org/deck_table.html and look for those with the MDLP mark. For Sony, it is the JE440 and newer. Btw, all MDLP-portables with analog in still can record in SP-Mode and your JE510 plays that.

38 * 6 minutes = 228 minutes, so if you used LP4 for all of them, you could add another 90 minutes. Oh, and having a VAIO-computer does not transfer the music as MP3, as MD-Players cannot playback MP3. It is always converted before transfer.

Backup the files using the Backup function from the tools menu onto the removable harddisk, take that backup to your second comp and import that backup into the Sonicstage install of that machine.

You can't transfer them as MP3. However, you can select LP2 or LP4 as the destination datarate, when importing your MP3 files into Sonicstage. LP2 gives 160 Minutes playingtime, LP4 gives 320 Minutes on a 80 minute disc. If you have more Ram and a faster CPU, it speeds up the conversion but not the capacity of the MiniDisc.

'The J' is right, it is ID3-Tags only... The latest version is here: http://sourceforge.net/news/?group_id=979 General Info is here: http://id3lib.sourceforge.net/ However, I have still use for that.

You're welcome.

So we're back to realtime recording, this time off the wave mix - or we hope for SonicStage 2.1 But that explains, why the user manuals have so little information about uploading and exporting. And since SonicStage is even unable to handle my DVD+RW drive, all forms of export are out of the question, except for the backup function. So the goal will be decoding the .hma files on the disc itself. If these are encoded, it must be using only one or only a few keys, as the disc is playable in any recorder. Until then, the only advantages are the longer playing time and the USB-drive function. And if that justifies the price of the new rigs, well, that question still has to be answered. Let's see, what Michael from Russia reports, if the european version is that anal too, it is time for another petition.

These are encrypted and bound to the installation of SonicStage, you are using now. Move them back in and leave them in there, otherwise you lose them. To back them up, select the backup function from the tools menu and export them into a directory of your choice. You can write this backup onto a cd-rom to have it on a safe place. After a reinstall, you can reimport from that backup. There is no other way to save the downloaded music. That the downloads were free doesn't matter. Currently it looks like that, the problem is that there are about 2000 different CD-writers out there and almost everyone of them has a different command set and protocol, so Sony decided to support, what they know of. And that is their own range and the stuff ending up in their VAIO-systems. SS2.1 will come soon, it may change the situation, but we don't know, until it's out. Alternative way: Start a wave-editor, select 'Wave out' as recording input on the soundcard's mixer panel, set Wave-out to 100%, start recording in the wave-editor (44.1 kHz/16bit) then start playback in SonicStage. Of course, switch off any effects/EQ the soundcard provides. After recording, remove any silence at the beginning and end of the recorded track and save. Do that for each track, then burn an audio cd from that with your regular CD-Software. I know, it is cumbersome, but it always works.

@tda: Well, the only solution is a low impedance headphone with a good efficiency. By bridging the 6 Ohm resistors, you nearly doubled the power, when using an 8 Ohm headphones, with a 4 Ohm load, you tripled the power. The limit can be the amp itself, if it can't deliver the current necessary to drive such a load. Advice: Take the modified rig to the shop and try a bunch of headphones on it when buying new phones.

It is digital, as the signal is grabbed off before it reaches the actual hardware. Yes. That's how I record streaming radio.

Sorry, but we don't know yet. You have to wait another 2 to 4 weeks until these are available, and only then we know. Keep an eye on this forum. Alternatively you can use an external amp like the Reactive Sounds Boost Box: http://www.reactivesounds.com/spa2.php If you are good with a soldering iron, you may build one yourself, numerous example circuits are available on the web.

2 to 4 weeks I guess.

Direct uploading to a pc is possible via USB. Old recordings done with your MZ-R510 cannot be uploaded. Uploading is only possible with recordings done on a Hi-MD recorder in Hi-MD-mode. For optical out, we have to wait for home decks.

@sirpilf: It might be an introductionary offer, according to the manual and the websites, no discs are included. Yes, SonicStage will copy it into the Atrac-format. That means, you will have 5 GB music on your pc. @CrackBone: Sure, that's possible and the quality is retained as well as the data is taken off before it reaches the soundcard itself, but it takes time. 1 hour playing time == 1 hour copying time. That's why everyone wants uploading instead.