Confused in Colorado

at least you can find 1gb cf cards in stores and you have a choice of brands. this kind of device has the potential to deliver on just about everything that hi-md has failed on. sure, the replaceable media is more expensive which might make it prohibitive for a few users who want their entire music collection on one device, but that is a pretty small trade off for solid state build (no motor noise), advanced recording capability, no stupid sony copyright crap to prevent you from using it as you wish etc. this thing looks like a bargain on paper and if it pans out i'll sell all of my md equipment in a heartbeat (assuming i could find anyone to buy it). add this to other things on the horizion (iriver has a new player coming out that is 20g, can store and view digital pics in full color and is less than sony's top hi-md) and i think it is looking more and more like hi-md will soon be a footnote in sony's history.

I'm putting this question out here because I respect all of the experts on this board. I have decided against HI MD because of the limited functionality with respect to quickly upload, edit and export high-quality live recordings (my main use for one). So now I'm looking at Hard Drive players and am not sure which ones can do what I'm after. I know the Iriver120 can make high quality recordings using an external mic, but are there others? (I do not want to have to use a seperate preamplifier)? Who else makse such thing? Can the archos players accept a non-amplified mic and produce decent recordings? Any from Rio or Creative? I know this is the HIMD forum, but I'm not sure who else to ask. Thanks in advance!

Hi -- I'm selling a seldom-used soundprofessionals mini pre-amp that has a built in omnidirectional stereo microphone, knob for signal level, on/off switch and input jack. Works great with MP3 players, MD, DAT, Camcorders etc. $100 OBO. mattjbv@yahoo.com

what are the other non-md units (i.e. mp3) that you refer to? i thought i river 120 was just about the only one that was small and could do md- quality recordings without an external preamp. are there others?

i'm not sure why sony would delay the release of the units themselves just because the media is not ready yet. you can still use regular md discs at higher capacity. this just hoses those of us who need some kind of recorder NOW, but have to wait. i may end up having to buy an iriver or something like that instead just because of the timing. if they would release the units first and then the media later it would solve the problem for people who currently do not have an md recorder. not like i think a company like sony should cater to some dork in colorado, but i guess i needed to vent and my wife just doesn't understand...thanks for indulging me!

Thank you all -- this has been incredibly helpful and I'm feeling much more convinced that my best bet is to be patient and wait for a Hi MD machine. If you have other input by all means keep posting, but I just wanted to hop into the discussion and let you know this is exactly what I was looking for. Matt

Hi there, I'm fairly new to all of this (i can feel the eyes rolling right now!) but I'm stuck on a decision and I would like people's input. I know that posting on here I'm likely to get an MD-biased response, but you all seem pretty smart and well versed in this stuff so here goes: I want to purchase a small device for making high quality recordings of my live shows (i'm a comedian). I want the recordings to be high enough quality that I can burn them to a cd later if needed, so I will need to be able to upload them to my PC for editing etc. I will be using an external mic (will probably go back and forth between a lapel mic and some kind of small stereo mic like a sound pro T-mic or something). When I use the T-mic the unit will be placed on a stool on stage. I want the unit to be small and unobtrusive. I do not want to have to use an external pack for the microphone power and I do not want to use a microphone pre-amp; just the unit and the mic. While I will probably use it for listening to music some, I don't have a massive music collection and don't see that changing anytime too soon. The ability to use as a data drive on both is nice and I'll probably use that. I don't need the 20G of storage on the iRiver, but it is the only small, high bitrate mp3 recorder with an external mic input that I'm aware of (that does not need a preamp). So, given my needs, what would you all suggest I do -- wait for a Hi-MD recorder or go out and get the iRiver. Do I even need Hi-MD? Will NetMD suffice? Do I lose a lot of quality on the analog input into my PC? I'm confused... THanks for indulging my ignorance -- I really do appreciate any input/wisdom you can bestow upon me.