Damage

Sorry, that project came to a crashing halt just days after it started. Go look up Engadget or TUAW or something. I can't be bothered to look for it. Rumor had it that Samsung would've used the WMP-Janus Subscription scheme like everyone else is using these days.

Can I nominate: HiSP352? Just asking is all... Edit: I call the 48kbps HiLP48 (you can see my past posts for example of this, I'm too tired to quote myself), so that's where it comes from. Just to keep the theme of HiLP/SP is all.

Add insult to injury, the poor old ATRAC CDs players are left in the dust. Ah well, at least my NH1 gets a new shot in the arm thanks to the 352kbps setting... Getting closer and closer to what Connect Player may look like in the future, and it's looking pretty good.

Actually, I should've noted the return of Digital MegaBass in the form of ClearBass for D-NE920/20. It distorts less when you're using Clearbass but by no means a good way to get extra bass in your music. The parametric equalizer is better overall for fine detailing that tune of yours rather than Digital MegaBass/ClearBass. Something that gets overlooked...

Hmmm, other than returning to the puck stylings of past PCDPs, nothing new added on. I suppose I'll skip this generation. Unless, and this is a must, the D-NE30 packs a HD Digital Amp. Otherwise, it'll be very hard to top D-NE20/920 in their features. By the looks of it, they're still sticking with MC53/55s. Shame, they would've absolutely benefitted with a remote that's similar to the 40s. That and better media handling. D-NE20 even pukes on a genuine Taiyo Yuden CDRs. Nuts.

Try this: Use your most sensitive headphones, crank the unit volume down to zero and press play. If you hear a soft hum, then most likely, you will hear noise in the background especially during quiet passages (with better headphones, this will be more noticable). I've not noticed this with my D-NE20 but I know there is some noise associated with D-NE900. The D-NE900 is no slouch when it comes to playback and has all the playback features of D-NE920 save the better LCD screen. The difference comes with couple of items, the first being the background noise, the second is the lack of any tactile feedback on the unit itself. If you're fine with the level of controls on the iPod shuffle, you can probably get away with using the D-NE20 as is. Otherwise, you'd want the D-NE900 at the bare minimum. By the by, the cheaper D-NE520 units has severe noise problems despite it being equipped with Digital Amp. D-NE20 does not have this (I just double checked to be certain).

Not really, but I think Apple might just have a smashing success with their new platform, the Sledgehammer: http://smashmyipod.com/ Enjoy.

On a poor old innocent iPod con Video. In an Apple store no less. http://smashmyipod.com/ Enjoy. I know folks here will more than say iLounge or head-fi.

I didn't quite say this before I saw the pictures, but the design of the Walkmen remind me the Rio's design, including the backlit buttons (CE2110 has this, so I'd imagine the Carbon line would), and the general shape. The CEs are tapered like wedge though, whereas the Walkmen look like soapbars. I wonder if Sony's Walkmen unit absorbed some of those who used to work at Denon's RIO unit? If so, it can only help, methinks.

Looks a bit reminiscent of the XD series, sans the big wire auto headband adjustment spring thingy, of Doom! While I know I'm asking you to compare apples and oranges, I'll ask anyways. How does the NC50 sound vs. the XD400 without any noise cancelling? From your impressions, they remind me of the XD400 and to some extent XD300's initial SQ... Or for that matter, would you recommend this vs. the in-ear monitors (dunno if you have experience with any) such as the Shures. I would also like to know how you manage to take so damn awesome pics of your gear. You need to share your secrets with the rest of us mere mortals.

Absolutely no hardware trades will be allowed in the Minidisc Trades forum. This forum is expressly for MD disc to MD disc trades only. All such posts will be moved to apporiate forums. -Damage

No. Friends don't let friends get inferior headphones! For the same price, or lower, the HJE50s all but spank the EX51s. Unless you're planning to use it with an iPod, then I'd almost recommend the EX series over the HJEs. The EX-series has some serious synergy with the iPods, with the small exception of making the iPod sound even brighter (Treble Reduction helps here). Other than that, for most of Sony's offerings, the Panasonic HJE50s does a better job vs the Sony's own EX series.

Mmm... Grados. I just got enlightened to a pair of those (SR60 - $70 at a local Virgin Megastore of all places), and they are pretty terrific. Unfortunately, they're not the best set of cans in my arsenal (that honor belongs to the XD400s)... For $70, though, the Grado SR60s are hard to top. Unless you have a thing against 60s stylings.

Warning: DO NOT GO TO HEAD-FI, unless you like parting with your money on headphones. Most I spent thus far on a set of headphones were Shure E3s at $200 inc. tax. Though I've not spent more than $100 on set of full sized cans, there are time which I want to do so, like last week. When a set of Grado SR135s (I think) were beckoning me to... take them home with me... The temptation, the temptation.

Personally, I'd say save yourself the trouble and get the Pana HJE50s. However, the EX71s/81s (by extension, I've not used these) pairs well with the white DAP that shall not be named. Something like two mediocre parts combining into one good part. Or something like that.

Koss Portapros, I'd think, fits your requirements.

I almost one want.

Neither. They have been supplanted by the excellent XD and SA line of headphones. Look for XD400, they blow the CD580s out of the water for similar price (US$100). Or if you want something that sounds remarkably similar to CD580s, the XD200 can be had for US$30. But whatever you choose, it will be a definiate improvement vs. the MDR-V200s.

Say what? How dare Damage review an iPod, an iPod Shuffle of all things? Did the finality of that sink in yet? ... OK. Now that's over with, get to your insults, but after reading this review. Equipment: 1 iPod Shuffle 512MBs, 1 Presidian folding speakers, 1 Sony XD200, 1 Sony XD400, 1 Koss Portapro, 1 default iBuds, random MP3s, 1 Car audio system Procedurals: Random MP3s loaded up, shuffled. I can't tell what's playing on these until I hear the songs. Everyone knows what the iPod Shuffle is (will be refered to as iShuffle or iSnufflelopogus), but for the three of you who's been living in Tibet, here's a rundown. It's a USB Key drive with MP3 playback thrown in. It has dimensions of a normal USB Key, and from a distance, it'd probably look like a USB Key. The only thing that'd give it away is the bullseye design of grey and white towards the top (or bottom if you're using the lanyard). On the top (bottom) of the player you have your usual head-phone out, and the botto (top), you have your USB port. It's light as a feather (less than an ounce) but packs 512MB of memory which you can use as removable drive. Except you need to activate that function via iTunes before you can use it as such. You'd think by now, the disk mode would be activated by default. Seriously. Technically, you're supposed to use iTunes to manage your iPod shuffle. I'm game. So in goes iTunes 5.0. While it might be easier to manage individual songs from different albums, the entire song organization of iTunes somehow manages to be inferior to the Artist->Album management of SonicStage. Say what? Looking for alternatives, I found the ml-iPod for Winamp and a random small python script turned windows EXE to be much more superior way to manage music, especially the latter. However, this isn't an iTunes review, it's for the iPod Shuffle. Packaging. I miss the dangerous blister plastic in which I can slice my precious fingers in many different ways. Instead, the boring ho-hum cardboard box made getting to the Shuffle way to easy. I hope I don't get any papercuts. UI. Or there lack of. Other than the play/pause, volume, fwd/rew, and the on-off-shuffle switch, and the battery indicator button, along with three LED to indicate its current state (hold, play, pause, what not), there is no UI or feedback from the unit. In that way, it makes the unit dead simple to operate, even in the dark. However, that simplicity has its price. For instance, if you know there's a certain song you want to access, you may be pressing that FWD button lots of times for that song. But hey, life is uncertain, right? Enjoy the adventure, right? Bollocks to that, I suppose instant gratification doesn't come to anyone's mind. However, all things can be forgiven if it sounds decent. Thankfully, the iPod Shuffle does shine brightly in this area, comparing favorably with the vaunted NH1. The bass is crisp and strong. The Trebles, for the most part, is clear with detail though perhaps bit brighter than the HD-AMP flavored sounds of NH1 with the XD400. Conversely, using Porta Pros and XD200, the trebles sound veiled throughout while the bass and the vocals remain intact. In fact, I can't find any faults with the iPod shuffle's Sound Quality, or at least anything glaring to nitpick about. Well... Considering the shuffle is supposed to shuffle songs, it doesn't shuffle too well. I hear songs that I've heard 15 minutes ago again while certain songs never gets played. Using iTunes or other third party programs, this is a problem with all shuffle managers. So much for unpredictability, I'd hope that when it shuffle through my files, it'd at least keep track of the last several songs and not repeat them... Overall, I consider the iPod Shuffle as a USB Key Drive with secondary MP3 playback thrown in for good measure. With a set of decent, low impedence headphones, this makes for a good commute buddy, so to speak. Carry some tunes with you along with your data, and when you have some minutes to kill, listen to your tunes, or that podcast you've been downloading. You know, a veritable multitasker. Still, the lack of a UI feedback (and all the features that could've come with, like... EQ perhaps?) hurts the iPod shuffle. A jack of all trades and master of none. The Good: Good USB 2.0 KeyDrive, MP3 playback, built in battery The Bad: Built in Battery, iTunes The Ugly: No Screen, no features save MP3 playback. Shuffles like Shuffleboard. Verdict: B-

True, but I'd assume that it'd be okay to feed any USB device power from this or other said devices since USB runs on 5V rail. Since the USB cable that connects the RH910/10 to the PC doesn't have any way to convert 5V to 3V (ie, no transformers or such), one would assume that the unit has a way of transforming 5V down to 3V. I wouldn't hesistate too much, your RH unit is getting fed 5V everytime you connect it to your PC.

First things first, dump the Audigy. While it's great for gaming, it's not recommended for serious audio duties. I won't do the recommendation bit, but you have several options when it comes to upgrading your PC's audio. If nothing else, you want to use digital out (COAX or SPDIF) and I do believe Audigy supports that in one way or another. Use that with your HiFi if your set allows for digital inputs. Other cards of interests are cards powered by VIA Envy-24 Chipset. I think Chaintek makes a model that's been the FOTM at Head-Fi for ages. If you want to stick with creative, you can get couple of EMU professional line of cards. Onkyo makes another one (I believe import only) powered by Envy-24, but it's nothing like you've ever seen in a soundcard, it's a veritable city of Capacitors for power and line conditioning. By the by, your choice of EMU 0404 or 1212 is fine, though the 1212 might be overkill for your purpose. Unless... Wait, you've been poisoned by Head-Fi-itis, have you? I will, however, reiterate the need for some sort of digital out capabilities (even if you don't use a DAC, nor one necessary for headphone listening), espeicially when using a HiFi set at your home. With my setup, the HT-Receiver works as a DAC, and for all intents and purposes, the sound quality from that setup works well. Or at least, nothing that I wouldn't notice dramatically. The price you pay for a quality DAC IMO is better spent elsewhere. Just for zippier performance, you will probably want to get a new CPU and mainboard combination, though that particular chip/mainboard combo will do fine for music and movies, occassional surfing, and productivity type. An Athlon64 processor and a mainboard that allows use of regular unregistered DDR would be the cheapest way to upgrade. Finally, considering consolidating your optical drives into one with a modern DVD burner, with one exception. If you're heavy into CD ripping, you still may want to invest in a plextor CD-burner drive and pair that with Exact Audio Copy for audio ripping duties (or likewise, using a known CD-Drive that can rip through almost anything is ideal these days). As for that DVD drive, I recommend Pioneer DVD burners. Why? Let's just say a firmware hack unlocks that drive's full potential.

Can one assume this would also power the RH line of units? If so, this would be awfully handy. Despite the fact that the RH line comes with a AC/DC Brick, it'd allow for consolidation of chargers into one.

1. First thing first, if your Clie's made before 2002, you can more or less forget about MS Pro Support. The first Clies with such support probably came out late 2002 or 2003. If it doesn't have the MS Pro logo (MS logo with Pro on the bottom), you're SOL, even with the 128MB and 64MB MS Pro sticks (long story short, it's all on FAT16 vs FAT32, and wouldn't you know it, it's hardcoded in Clies...). 2. Chances are (conjecture), the new bitrates will probaly work on all Atrac3plus devices without too much difficulty (I'd have to assume at this point that the CODEC at least chip or VLSI wise is same all across the board except for some models!). The biggest kicker for HiMDs come with the first generation HiMD units, and as such, Sony may consider just keeping HiMDs limited to PCM, HiSP, HiLP, and HiLP48. I believe it's been verified that the CODEC on the first gen HiMDs are not same as CODEC chip on 2nd gen or other ATRAC devices. And as such, keeping with Sony's Backwards Compatibility mantra, it'd make sense to keep HiMDs locked in those bitrates... Or so I'd say, if they didn't decide to introduce MP3 playback ability with 2nd gen HiMDs. This smells like a 3.3 or 3.4 or even 4.0 release. Save the first gen units, I suspect that all ATRAC3plus devices can play the "new" bitrates. As a side note, I'd like to remind those of us who missed it the first generation ATRAC CD units released way back in 2003(?), 2002 had the "undocumented" ability to play 256kbps ATRAC3plus files. The next few upgrades should be quite interesting.

Too bad there ain't Electronic Fry's in the area. One closest to me (now about good 20 miles away, so that's at least several gallons of gas to boot) had several HD5s and some HD3s (in frilly pink, feh), and even two or three DH10Ps... All the retail price... Yes, how dare you be sensible and get an iPod!

Panasonic, without a doubt, is one of the best in-ear phones for sub $50 (well, what I'd call semi-canal phones, since it doesn't go all the way in like Shures or Etys). The biggest problem with the RP-HJE50s however are their somewhat questionable durability and build quality. Of the two pairs I had, one had questionable diaphgrams and the other? The driver housing is a bit fragile. I've not tried Sony's new EX81s, but I can easily guarantee you that the Panasonics will outclass the EX81s and EX71s. This is coming from someone who swore by the EX71s (and bought 3 pairs of those all willingly).