mrsoul

When I had a Sharp DR7, I almost always recorded Live Music in mono. It gave me 160 minutes to work with and I could not tell much difference using cardioid minis or my AT822 (which has 2 cardioid minis in the head in a X/Y pattern). If you have a MD that is not Hi-MD, then give mono a try, you will probably be surprised. The "quality" of the recording will be the same but the sound will be a little "warmer and fuller" at times with stereo but the trade off for the amount of time to record is worth the slight difference in sound. Once I made that decision to switch to mono, I was able to relax a whole lot more and actually enjoy the show instead of hovering over the MD watching the time. I never looked back at stereo until I got my Hi-MD and now I watch the time if I am in PCM, otherwise, it's dancin' time in Hi-SP. Try and see, unless your mics are spread far apart, it won't be very noticeable.

http://www.arkon.com/fmtransmitter.html (look for the SF100 details on this page) I have a used SF100 that I want to sell. I now have a Aiwa deck with Line In AUX so this is not needed. It works off the cigarette lighter power adapter plus it has about 3 different power adapters for your portable music player. In other words, this will not only transmit your tunes but can also power your player off the same source. This works better than the iRock and it doesn't need batteries. I paid $26 at Best Buy but you can have it shipped to your place for $12 plus shipping (probably about $4 or so would cover). Shipping to USA only. I will consider Canada but it will be more. If interested, send me a PM.

Your old MD were recording with a NetMD or older generation and not in Hi-MD format; therefore, you CANNOT upload those older files. Sorry. Only Hi-MD format files can be uploaded (only 1 time upload due to DRM). Hope that helps.

I have to agree, the 40ELK is very easy to use with one hand and I thought the small cylinder one that shipped with my NH900 was very hard to use because it was too small!

Sorry to read about your files. One question, what do you mean "so something like 20 tracks between 2 discs were now marked as "Not Playable" on the HiMD unit and did not transfer into my library in SS."? I have never had any problems with SS transferring those tracks of silence that are occasionally automatically entered due to low recording level. SS wouldn't transfer them at all? Or you told it not to transfer those tracks? Sorry again but I would like to find out more about the problem you had.

I will vouch for SP. They know their stuff and sell quality products, especially for MD and portable recording prosumer types. Thanks for the info Syrius

It's definitely well worth the price and a damn shame Sony doesn't include it with the NH900 in the US. You can also look at www.bargaining4all.com www.audiocubes.com I got mine from bargaining4all and it's come in handy many times recording live shows. I wouldn't do it any other way since the NH900 has no backlit function on the unit itself. Again, definitely recommended if you are doing any live recording (you can monitor and adjust the recording levels with it once you switch to manual recording levels)

You CANNOT transfer via USB to PC with Hi-MD WITHOUT Sonic Stage. There is no way (yet) to do that. Sony's DRM prevents you by adding encryption to the HMA files. You can't even upload to another computer once it's completed the first time. Sorry. Congratulations on your NH700. My suggestion, buy a bunch of standard MDs and reformat them to Hi-MD and just keep recording until you get back to your PC with your field recordings. You can get 160 minutes in Hi-SP with the standard MDs.

Hey that's cool. I will try this at home tonight. So, it simply list the audio tracks in a text format? The problems occur when you use the mic in or the line in? Or both? So that means this only works when you recorded something from SS via USB? I'm interested and confused. Thanks for more info and thanks for making something like this, even if it is very beta.

The Hi-MD can play and record everything that the NetMD can play and record. Plus, the Hi-MD will allow you to upload what you record with your MD back to the PC using Sonic Stage software. You CANNOT upload using Sonic Stage with NetMD. You need to use alternative uploading methods for NetMD. Try optical inputs from a deck to your PC or simply a miniplug from the headphone of the NetMD to the computer line in and capture the signal from the soundcard. Not the best but it's the easiest method.

Thanks for the info Dex, I will try that trick the next go-round. I ususally just line out to my RCA inputs on the Creative Audigy and make a analog backup if it's really important. If there were other tapers there or whatever, I don't make a backup before I upload anymore since SS 2.3 has proved to be stable and the 1 large PCM file problem has been avoided.

Love that translation: "Audio playback of astonishment makes also that new quality is pulled out possible" And the long haul playback recording! Too bad about the digital output, Sony probably said "I don't think so, Sonic Stage and its lovely DRM does such a fine job with that already..."

Very Nice indeed. Very compact and sleek. Very nice, did I already say that? Looks like there may be decks and Hi-MD recorders from folks other than Sony in 2005 afterall. Unless this is a Sony incognito?? Ok, Sharp, whatcha got? Thanks for the info.

Look into a mic stand with a short boom that you could center over the table. I got one at a local music shop for less than $20 used. Works great for what you are doing. That would at least be more stable for the mic and offering more flexibility for mic positions,etc.

What's your price? I bid on this item on Ebay 5 times but I never made it to your reserve price. If you post a price, you might be able to sell it faster.

I think he was writing about a charger that plugs into the wall and its only function is to charge the battery. It does not connect to your player,etc. It's simply a charger for the battery. Has nothing to do with the MD player. I have the NH900 and I think I get really good battery life with gumsticks and AA combos when recording live shows. Make sure you ditch the battery that ships with the unit. An utter disgrace for a rechargeable battery. Look for a replacement with at least 1400 mAh.

I don't have any experience with that mic or your Sony to be honest but I don't think you would notice much difference, at least enough to warrant buying a new mic,etc. SP makes good products and I am not trying to discount them or Sony. What are the specs for this SP mic? It doesn't list the frequency range or the max SPL. Either way, you are still relying on the mic input of the MD. Here's the most important question, what are you intending to record with your mic? Loud music? Quiet outdoor naturals? If so, you should look into a mic with a battery box, preamp or self-powered to avoid the mic input to avoid that extra noise the mic input will add.

Dex- My experience with the Sharp DR7 and a line extension on an unbalanced miniplug lead to lots of static when I touched the cable during the recording, especially when I touched the cable anywhere near the mic input. Seems to me that the unbalanced miniplugs are just more sensitive. I have not noticed any problems with static on my NH900 and the AT822 like I did with the Sharp but I have used the line in on the Sony with the longer cable and was using the mic input and the longer cable more on the Sharp. Would that make a difference? Not sure. But the AT822 XLR to 2 1/4" plugs to a Y adpater minplug male has yielded very little interference that I have noticed, even when moving the cables during the recording. Maybe I had a very sensitive Sharp DR7 mic input or a bad cable? But, Nickjr the extensions for those are readily available at your local Radio Shack as a headphone extension. I would put some tape around the connection point just to be safe since the connections aren't that secure with the miniplugs.

I would be very, very careful with any extension on the miniplug because the slightest touch or movement generally leads to static. You can buy miniplug extensions at Radio Shack for nothing. Good luck but treat them gently. Maybe some reinforcement and play around with it at home before taking it out.

Thanks Nismo96 Too bad Sony overlooked that AA case. Guess I will hang on to my older case and continue to put the NH900 in sideways.

Does the NH900 WITH extra battery case fit inside that armband case? Not sideways but upright? Just so you know, I have an NH900 and I am interested in finding out before buying that case if it will fit with the extra battery pack on. Thanks.,

Maybe I missed something but I thought Ogg Vorbis was designed specifically for music playback. Also, does FLAC count? BTW, very good info in this thread. I just got a new MP3 car deck that I am enjoying (nice to have a few CDs on 1 CD but the gaps between tracks isn't cool but that is a buffer engineering oversight I think) but the only reason I have that new deck is the frontside AUX input for my Hi-MD

I hear ya Dex! Let'em have it! If I didn't have to use SS, I never would. Plain and simple. When I talk to folks about the joys of MD, I always give the caveat about the awful clumsy SS. I would rather Sony focus on SS than put out new models or offer mp3 playback. Just adding my .02 to Dex's post (man, you really let'em have it and I agree wholeheartedly).

I have a basket of standard MDs by my door that I pick from for my MZ-S1: Steve Kimock Band (various live shows, I think I have 3 plus a DVD that I copied via optical to MD 12-31-03) Derek Trucks Band studio mix Allman Brothers Band studio mix Widespread Panic studio mix U2 studio mix 80's Metal mix: Iron Maiden, Dokken, Sabbath, Scorpions, Def Leppard (this one is for the gym, not the walks in the morning) Umphrey's McGee 12-04-04 (live show I recorded) At least three Derek Trucks Band shows I recorded Jerry Garcia Band Live mix moe. studio mix Rush studio mix That's about all I can remember right now... I really dig being able to grab a different MD for the day depending on where I'm going and what I plan to do there...

I am using SS 2.3 here at home. ?eter on this list gave me his Connect card and I downloaded some James Brown (soundtrack from Black Casear if you need to ) Well, I can't get SS to recognize that I have 2 CD burners. It will only read from both. Nero and Roxio will burn to both without a problem. I checked the registry keys at work where I am also running 2.3 and there is no difference. I did talk to Sony tonight (very little wait time there actually). We went through the CD test and the Hardware Manager,etc. They said there has been some issues lately with burning with SS and that they would get back with me... Neither of the tech support guys wanted to talk about Hi-MD or SS upgrades. One did mention lots of upgrades are in the works, especially for mp3 capability but he would not elaborate. Anybody else having any problems with SS recognizing CDR burners? I can read and rip with SS, just won't transfer to CD or even recognize I have CDR recorders. I was able to transfer all the tracks to my HI-MD without any problem. Weird.