ZosoIV

Lossy codecs can cause sometimes clipping on loud peaks that are close to 0dB - even if the actual peak on the CD is less than 0dB. IIRC, it has to do with how scalefactors are calculated. That's why when using MP3, for example, I always send my files through Replay Gain and set the peaks to 89dB - you might be able to do the same with Wav Gain and import the wav files into SS for encoding to ATRAC.

Yup; it's soon to be my new baby :-)

You've obviously missed my point. Equipment does not make an encoder any more or less transparent - were not talking about tapes and analog noisefloors here. A piss-poor 128kbps MP3 will sound just as bad on a high-end system as it does on an iPod, just as a perfectly-encoded LAME --preset insane encoding will be just as transparent to the ear on a high-end system as it will be on an iPod. Coders work with masking curves, quanitization, and noise-shaping - you either hear the distortion caused by these processes because they are over the ATH (absolute threshold of hearing), or you don't. If anything, it's the other way around - cheaper DAC's and crappy shelf-systems are more likely to make an MP3 sound bad by virtue or decoding it improperly or adding noise. Again, that's not the MP3's fault. There is plenty of proof for this phenomenon - visit hydrogrenaudio.org, for example. LAME was tuned on crappy laptop speakers yet performs just as well on high-end headphones. And in actuality, there's a lot of high-end, "audiophile" stuff out there (like tube amps) that people say sounds "better," yet is objectively worse than more modestly-priced gear because it mangles and changes the signal. Making blanket statements, like saying that MP3's in general sound badly, is like saying that ATRAC sucks because you've heard LP4 and it sounds bad. Compressed audio, when done correctly, can provide the same listening experience as PCM, regardless of whether that's on an iPod or a home stereo. If somebody wants to prove me otherwise, feel free to submit some ABX results to this thread showing a statistically-significant difference between a group of 320kbps MP3s and the originals played back on their stereo. It can be done for killer samples, but in the other 99% of cases, it can't. And I guarantee that ATRAC would likely be worse in killer cases – compared to LAME, it's a poorly-tuned for a codec with so much technical potential (which is opposite of MP3, a codec with technical limitations but highly-tweaked tunings).

That certainly is a blanket statement, and is simply untrue. MP3 is very capable of being completely transparent to the PCM source with the right encoder (LAME) and the right settings. The fact that compressed audio can be transparent has been proven time and time again by ITU listening tests as well as the extensive testing done at hydrogenaudio.org. It's been my experience that those who claim otherwise are usually quite surprised when they do an actual ABX test and can't hear as well as they claim. Also, equipment has nothing to do with the quality of compressed audio. I have high-end gear and would be damned if I could ABX a decoded LAME -V0 --vbr new mp3, going from the S/PDIF output on my computer to the input on my amp, compared to the same song played back on my SACD player.

MD's, like all other lossy codecs, don't have a bitdepth until decoded to PCM. The compressed data on the disc is in floating-point. If playing back an MD recorded from a CD, the output signal will at best be equivalent to 16 bits because that's what was put into the encoder - regardless of your output settings. All that will be up past the 16th bit is silent padding, quanitization noise, or both. The only time I could see using a higher output on the JB920 is for discs recorded via the analog or mic in, which *may* have slightly more than 16-bits equivalent resolution in terms of dynamic range (though very unlikely - tapes and records certainly don't, and who here has a mic that can record a 108dB signal without distortion?). If you're really lucky and do an outstanding analog recording on a deck with very quiet inputs, the result could, at certain frequencies, be better than 16-bits. Possible in theory, doubtful in practice. And that’s to say nothing of the effects of ATRAC, which introduces a lot of pre-echo and quantization noise at certain frequencies, as well as a reduction in dynamic range. In short, the output setting should have no discernable effect on sound quality in a blind comparison.

PM sent.

As mentioned in my other thread, I'm getting rid of my non Hi-MD recorders due to lack of use. One of them is this silver MZ-N505. The 505 lacks a mic input, but will record from the line-in or USB via SonicStage or Simple Burner. It's a much nicer unit than some of the downloaders that came after it (ie, 400-series). I don't have any use for it anymore. It's in excellent condition - I actually bought it second-hand and hardly even touched it. In any case, it’s in great shape. I'm looking for $25 for this unit, plus about $6 for Priority Mail shipping. Interested? Send me a PM.

Now that I have an NH1 and won't dare record anything other than PCM, my older units are collecting dust. One of them is an Aiwa AM-F70 recorder, a model famous for its back-lit buttons and on-unit display. The recorder itself is in awesome condition, nearly flawless. The unit comes with a working remote, "swoops" earbuds, and a battery box. The original Li-Ion battery gave up the ghost a long time ago, so it's not included. This is practically a collector’s item – I just don’t have the room to keep stuff I don’t use. Want it? I'm willing to part with this classic for $30, plus $6 for Priority Mail shipping. PM me if you're interested.

Square waves are difficult to correctly reproduce with 16-bit, 44.1kHz PCM, let alone compressed ATRAC audio. The question is, will you be able to hear the distortion? Only your ears can tell you - don't rely on spectrograms and scopes to determine how something sounds; pictures can be misleading when it comes to audio.

To the above poster: NetMD formatted MiniDiscs don't use FAT or NTFS, and the MZ-R900 doesn't even connect to a computer to begin with. To answer the original poster's question, I believe you might be able to get back everything on the disc (minus what was recorded over) via TOC cloning. For this, you'll need a deck capable of TOC cloning, and a full disc recorded in the same mode as you used on your MZ-R900 (I’m assuming LP2?). Basically, what you would do is insert the full disc (i.e., dummy disc) into the deck. Go into "edit" and change a character or something in one of your track's names. Now, you will have to make the deck enter into service mode (see the MiniDisc.org entries on TOC cloning to determine what to do for your particular model of deck – on my deck, you hold the AMS knob in for about 10 seconds). Once in test mode, the disc will eject. Now, insert your botched MZ-R900 disc. Unplug the deck and plug it back in again...and viola! The MZ-R900 disc will contain a cloned table of contents from your full disc. This will allow you to access later areas of the disc that were not written over by your MZ-R900. Of course, the track marks and lengths will be all wrong (as they match the dummy disc, not the material on your MZ-R900 disc), but that can easily be fixed.

Try http://bestbuy.partsearch.com/ProductDetai...p;ModelID=47175 and http://www.partstore.com/sl/lamps-batterie...BatLIB-902.html . The first URL links to a battery for 58 dollars; the second is 99. Either way, it's just not worth it to get a new battery - I have an AM-F70 and haven't owned a working Li-ion battery for years. For the price it costs to get a battery for such an outdated recorder, you could practically buy another.

Native MP3 playback is already possible on 2nd and 3rd generation Hi-MD units, though the second generation units applied a lowpass that made MP3s sound "dull." The new MZ-RH1 corrects this. As for Ogg, it's not possible - unlike many MP3 players, MD codecs are hard-wired on a DSP, so it's not simply a matter of flashing new decoder firmware. Also, Ogg Vorbis is computationally more difficult to decode than ATRAC or MP3 and its current fixed-point decoder ("Tremor") is not known for being energy efficient. Considering the small batteries on Hi-MD units, this would ensure short playing times if one were even able to hack an Ogg decoder on board. Also, it's unlikely that Sony would even allow Hi-MD hardware to decode audio files dumped onto a disc without DRM.

The NH1 (and presumably RH1) have extremely low noisefloors due to their “HD” digital amps. While the sound is very neutral, like most other audio players I've heard, my NH1 is DEAD silent in between notes. This is especially striking through my new Sennheiser HD-595 headphones in PCM mode. I have not had the same experience with iPods or even older MD units (MZ-R900, MZ-N505, etc).

While there is no doubt that flash-based recorders will someday become the norm, they are in their infancy right now and fraught with issues. On the other hand, MiniDisc is a very mature and time-tested format. I'd go with the RH1 until newer (and better) flash recorders hit the market.

I had a Denon DMD-1300 deck that did the same thing - 80 minute discs, with their tighter track pitch, resulted in skipping, dropouts, and TOC-writing problems. 74-minute blanks worked without issue.

I have very sensitive hearing and have owned both the NH1 and older, non digital-amped units. In my opinion, there's not much difference - maybe the digital amps on the NH1 and RH1 are a bit crisper and exhibit a complete absence of hiss, but it's a subtle difference when even discernable. The artifacts from the ATRAC compression at bitrates lower than 256kbps are likely to be louder than any nuances you'll hear between amps, IMO. If you're like me and stick to PCM for all recordings, then perhaps the digital amps might reveal some very low-level detail that would normally be lost to amplifier hiss. Once you use ATRAC or MP3, though, you introduce quantization noise, pre-echo and timing artifacts, and much of that very fragile, almost imperceptible detail is lost anyway.

Best Buy usually is never the best deal for any electronics item, period - I've always been able to find items online for less. With the possible exception of DVD's and sale items, Best Buy's prices usually reflect MSRP.

Interesting, but very far off in my case. Then again, I tend to make a bad Pieces, too

The optical input jack takes a mini TOSLINK plug, which looks like a little finger. Most optical cables purchased at a store will come with an adapter that clips on to the end of the cable, thereby alowing you to go from a regular TOSLINK jack to the 1/8" input on your recorder.

Better get a label maker and mark the inputs/outputs for future reference

I'm almost willing to bet that this means BestBuy will carry the item in their warehouse, but not in thier physical stores. That's the way they've handled some other units in the past, not to mention 1GB blanks. I'd wish they'd at least carry the Hi-MD blanks in the stores. I mean, how much shelf space does a couple of discs take up?

1GB Hi-MD discs hold between 45 hours (48kbps ATRAC3plus) and 94 minutes (1411kbps 16-bit LPCM) of audio. If you're used to using LP2 on MDLP discs, you'll get about 17 hours of LP2-encoded tracks on a 1GB Hi-MD, or roughly 250 4-minute tracks. For non-critical listening (i.e., on the bus, etc) you might be able to get away with Hi-LP (64kbps), which would give you something closer to 500 tracks or 34 hours on a single disc. DH710's can be found on eBay every now and then for about $120.

This might sound incredibly stupid, but have you replaced the battery lately? I wouldn't be surprised if Hi-MD discs need a higher current to write than standard MD discs because of the whole DWDD layer and all.

Because the N505 was the unit that recorded it. If the track pitch or some other idiosyncrasy unique to the N505 was off, chance are better that it would play back in the unit it originated from (i.e., the 505) as opposed to another unit with (presumably) different adjustments. Like I said, I just think your NE410 is probably a piece of crap. It might have a bad optical pickup, a poor drive mechanism, a buggy EPROM, etc. It does sound like there's some software issues possibly going on here as well. Have you tried using Simple Burner instead of SS? Make an audio CD disc image of your MP3 files, then mount the image as a virtual drive (Nero works). You'll then "see" the virtual CD in Simple Burner and will be able to transfer it to the unit sans SonicStage. I'm not sure this will make a difference, though.