Thorgal

hi, Its a great help, thanks! I was planning on bying me an Onkyo deck, but I am going to do some testing for myself so I have decided, so I will by an ES-deck as well. What I dont like about MD is the SP codec, which Sonicstage isnt familiair with. The only way possible to get it on disc is real-time recording, while Sonicstage operates so much easier, and with the possibility of downloading at a 352 kbps bitrate. Its a pity Sony abandonned SP.....

Hi, off-topic here, but interesting are your earlier posts regarding PCM-ripping by Sonicstage. I've done some testing and the results are remarkable. When ripped with EAC and transcoded with Sonicstage at a bitrate of 64kbps the result is accaptable. Not that I will use this bitrate for daily use, but it is accaptable. I can remember Sony's claim that atrac+64kbps equals LP2, equals SP first genaration. This claim was argued a lot. But now I must conclude the claim is right after all.

Thanks for the advice. Especially for the JA333ES. I was also considering bying that one. But with type R for my older LP2 recordings thats no option anymore. A friend of mine owns a JA30ES. But that one has problems with discs created with Sonicstage. He told me that that deck is not compatible with teh newer type R codec. Can you please mention some other Hi-md decks besides the 105 and 133 from Onkyo?

Thanx for all the thinking. I am reading some new considarations here. It's the combination of equipment and codecs which makes a choice difficult. Codecs is one, the equipment is two. I can indeed compare codecs. But I was also wondering if Sony ES equipment is much better than an Onkyo Deck or another normal Sony deck. Can I expect a Sony deck to produce much better sound? Can I expect the Sony deck to last longer and if it gets broken in lets say 15 years, can I find someone to repair it? If my Onkyo deck fails can I find someone in europe to repair it? All these considerations must lead to one definite choice.

Budget is no limitation. I want to stay with MD, because I like the format. Material used for recording are CD's or lossless downloads. I already own a RH1 so I can record to any format I want. The main question just is: what sounds better: Himd at 352 kbps on an Onkyo Hi-md deck (analoge connection) or SP on an Sony ES-serie (digital or analoge connection to receiver)?

Hi, I am at the point of buying myself another home-deck and I was wondering which one to buy to get the best sound as possible. The choices are: An Onkyo Hi-md deck (MD-105 or MD-133), new of course or an older Sony ES-serie deck like the JA333ES, JA50ES, JA30ES etc. Not new of course but some new-like decks are available. Sound quality is most important to me. I dont want to use Hi-md discs so on Hi-md 352 kbps is the highest rate possible. On the Sony MD decks SP is the best possible. SP is only possible if recorded via line in. Via Sonicstage the real bitrate on the disc is LP2 even when SP is chosen. This is a known fact. So for the best quality recording must be done via line in. So more time consuming. An Onkyo deck must be imported from Japan. When it gest broken it not easy to get it fixed. Question: what do you think offers the best sound quality? And any things I have forgotten to think about when chosing between the 2 decks?

I just think that frequency analysis is more reliable than my ears...... on the other hand, not everyting can be measured by words and figures....

Hi, Glad I found this thread. Seems I am not the only one with an addiction. Sometimes it's away for months or years, but than suddenly it's back like it's never been gone. I am already a proud owner of two (just in case one gets broken) MZ-NH1 one MZ-NH600 But this didn't stop my from bying a MZ-RH1 yesterday. Also have an Onkyo hi-md deck (105) and an old Sony 510 At this moment I am bying lots of discs on ebay and one or two more decks. Also I want the Onkyo Hi-md deck (133). I am collecting because I think it''s now or never. Supply will drop the coming years. I hope I will have enough equipment that will keep me going for 30 years..... I am very interested in sound quality and I am always comparing teh different codecs. Yesterday I listend to the same cd on both HI-SP (352 kb) and normal SP. SP sounded better to my ears. Also I was listening to some 4 years old downloads on Hi-LP. Those seemed of worse quality than recent ones (also Hi-LP made with Sonicstage 4.3. Has the codec improved over the last years? Don't get me wrong: it's not the codec I use frequently.

Hi, a few months ago i installed Sonicstage 3.4 on my Beta Vista. After that install Vista could not start up anymore. Now I want want to install Sonicstage 4.0 om the new released Vista RC1. I want to install the 32bits version and I was wondering if there are bad experiences to be shared? In that case I can save me some trouble. I hope sony updates sonicstage to be compatable with Vista. Thorgal

Ok, I compared the codecs to versions like 3.1 and 3.2 and I noticed not much difference. Comparing to SS 2.X is indeed another thing. Pity I don't have any transfers left done with SS 2.X Glad to read progress is still being made. Pity though that progress is very little over time, due to the fact that atrac is proprietary. Which makes me wonder, cause Sony must also recognize this fact. They can never hold up to formats like mp3 or ogg vorbis. Doesn't this mean that in the end Sony will end the development of atrac and adapt on open but secured alternative?

With the coming of sonicstage 3.3 I saw a few people giving their thoughts on the codecs and how they are compared to earlier versions of sonicstage. I was just wondering: Are the codecs really getting better or is this just whisfull thinking. Are the codecs still being worked on? Is there any official confirmation (Sony) that this is truly the case? Are all the codecs still being worked on, or is it only on Atrac 3 plus? I read a posting saying that LP2 sounds better than in previous versions. If this is true (and I have no evidence for that, not on the Internet, and also my ears hear no difference) than I think also LP4 is under construction, which I find hard to believe. Other question: Will it ever be possible to reach Hi-SP quality with Si-LP? Just curious about your thoughts on this matter.

My two NH1's arrived this morning via DHL. Battery arrived couple of hours later via airmail. What a coincidence. No local taxes, thanx Sefu! A really great package, exept for the two Spiderman cd's . Well you can't have it all. .... Thanks again, and for you and the rest hope you find a sollution to the battery problem.

I got the same mail today as you did. Guess both our packages will be on the same flight! I totally agree with you, it's a superdeal. That's why I ordered two NH1 units. Just in case one gets broken in the future. Last week I also ordered the Onkyo deck via www.pricejapan.com. Today the postman rang, but I didn't hear it. Now I must wait till tomorrow. Can recommend this site, the service is very good and price is much much lower than on audiocubes. Also compliments here for Sefu. He is really trying to satisfy his potential customers. I think his service is great, answering all our questions, besides his busy job nowadays. Patrick

Hi Sefu, Like Bond I am living in a country in europe which isn't listed in your list. I am very disappointed because i was looking forward bying me a NH1. Could you please add The Netherlands to the list? I am sure there are many interested here in ordering. Hope you will. Thanx!

Nice to hear that. I am at the point of ordering the Onkyo Deck as well. I live in the Netherlands. Tell me how are your experiences with that deck. Did it arrive in a porper way? And how does it sound connected to your receiver? I am very curious how LP2 and Hi-Lp sounds. Can you tell me your experiences? I have been looking around, I don't know for sure but I guess it is not a second generation deck, so it doesn't play Mp3, am I correct?