bjsilva

I am in the process of working on such a thing, though I don't know if it'll see the light of day. I'll certainly make it known if it does.

When I first started using a minidisc recorder I used it with the Sony MS907. I eventually bought an Audio Technica AT822 and just recently bought a Rode NT4. I was really looking forward to another noticeable improvement in sound over the AT822 (like the AT822 vs. the MS907), but I haven't had a lot of time to do testing, and I've only done recordings using the internal battery into the mic in. My first impression is that the NT4 has a more natural sound than the AT822 (certainly much superior to the MS907) - the mid-range response is smoother/warmer and it's not as boomy. I really am looking forward to doing some serious recordings, particularly with a preamp. I think I'll probably get the PreSonus Blue Tube, since it's a reasonably priced 2 channel tube preamp, half-rack size. Here's a link if you're interested: http://www.presonus.com/bluetube.html Also, the NT4 is such a nice looking mic!

I can't imagine it will make a big difference, perhaps not even noticeable (though I'm guessing since I have never heard a "regular" digital amp). The line level output of most, if not all, of Sony's MD recorders is a bit low, but I find recordings using the line out to be perfectly fine. But I am personally hoping for a HiMD deck so I can do digital recordings directly to CD.

Niche market, yes. Very few, no (I don't know anyone who uses a Mac as a secondary computer - what's the point!). It wouldn't take too many resources for Sony to provide a bare-bones to/from transfer utility for Mac OS X, so they really have no legitimate excuse. Personally I think it is just political issues - Sony wouldn't hesitate to write software for their own PCs which have a smaller market share than Macs. I think they are missing an opportunity by ignoring the people who would be likely to use minidisc in a home or location recording situation - even SonicStage is not focused for people like this. A simple transfer utility with audio editor (for trimming and splitting) would be ideal.

Personally I think it's unlikely Sony, or anyone else, will never put together something for the Mac. I don't see it coming anytime soon, but at a minimum if people keep working at it I'm sure someone will eventually crack the HiMD scheme which will open up the option for Mac software.

Just as a heads up, in case you haven't seen this (from the AT website for the AT822): BATTERY TYPE 1.5V AA/UM3 Warning: The AT822 is designed for battery operation only. Do not attempt to use when phantom power is present. Possible damage to the microphone may result.

I have the AT822 (though impatiently awaiting the arrival of a Rode NT4), and I thought it didn't support phantom power. Audio Technica's website says "Battery operation only". Maybe you damaged it running it into the Mackie board with phantom power? Or maybe your cable needs to be replaced?

Like you, one of the main reasons I like and use MD is that I can do decent quality recording without a computer. In fact, I am one of the rare folks who despises using the computer to even transfer CDs to MDs (I actually enjoy the real-time experience!). I don't know if anyone can give you concrete evidence that Sony will be making a HiMD deck, but I think I'm not going out on a limb in saying that I'm sure *someone* will. There is a market for it, however small, perhaps Sony wants to leave it to 3rd party?

Hi dantheman, You can record via the MDs line-out to your computer (assuming it has a line-in), or to your CD-recording deck (assuming you have one), or you can upload your recording via SonicStage and then burn it to CD from there.

Hi monomonster, A simple explanation is that Atrac3plus 256 (Hi-SP) will retain more audio information than Atrac3 132 (LP2), that's the difference. "Near CD quality" is somewhat subjective - some may find LP2 very good others may not. Though I've never heard LP2 referred to as "near CD quality". It's a compromise between SP and LP4. Personally, I only use SP (292k) and Hi-SP (256k).

Obviously no one's there to see how slow it is for you, but for PCM it isn't expected to be fast. It'll be faster with smaller files - ie, atrac recordings, particularly hi-lp. You must remember PCM recordings are large, and the HiMD magneto-optical discs aren't fast.

I'm all for the ability to transfer recordings to/from a Mac, and I think Sony's new unit will have success particularly with new buyers, but quite irrelevantly I highly doubt most or all of audiophiles (in the elitist sense of the word) have their computer connected to their hi-fi system - a typical computer's audio system is not an incredibly high-quality one, often quite poor :-)

The NH1 comes with an optical cable, well, at least mine did.

Yes, it is more than I wrote I was just giving the basic ideas. It seems like such a small thing for Sony to make themselves, wish they did!

I have been considering pitching this product to someone who can manufacture it, but so far it is still on hold. I don't believe you can charge the unit via the USB cable, but you can power it. I guess the 2 options are: 1) build a battery box with a female USB connector, regulate the voltage from the battery box to 5V, and plug in the USB-to-custom connector supplied with the NH1 into it. This could be like the external battery compartments that come with other MDs, though more bulky. 2) get hold of the custom connectors on the NH1 and make a cable which has a female power plug on one end and the custom connector on the other and plug that into the supplied AC adaptor.

It might be worthwhile to press stop before you do any erasing, so the system file will write. I was doing some editing once (fooling around with an unimportant recording) and had weird problems when I did a lot of operations without pressing stop. Maybe it's a bug, but now, to be safe, I press stop after most editing operations I do. Haven't had a problem again.

Perhaps you can ask yourself whether you are dissatisfied with your present mics? I'm not familiar with either of the mics, but I suspect if the ones you're looking at cost that much more than your present mics they probably do have something to offer that yours don't. But I say, if you're happy with the quality and convenience of your mics and don't have extra money to try these other ones out, don't worry about it.

So then what would be your personal opinion on such a product? I've read a reasonable amount of posts from people on this forum where the lack of an external battery pack is an issue, some opting for the NH900 simply because of this. However, I have no handle on the MD community as a whole and whether taking the time to develop such a product would be worthwhile.

What about general HiMD sales?

Do you think the units sold is in the millions for the NH1 only? I'm wondering what the market (in potential numbers) is for developing an external battery adapter.

Does anyone know the worldwide sales (est?) figures of the NH1?

Think about ATRAC 1 vs. ATRAC type r - same file size but type r would be of superior quality. The file size just reflects the bit-rate used for encoding (as the other replies pointed out), not how high the quality is going to be. Not all encoders are equal/same at the same bit rate.

Does anyone know the differences in the internals of the various units - as in, the components used for DAC/ADC, mic preamp, etc? Are there varying qualities of the components?

Hey Benjammin, Don't worry about it. Even if the iPod does provide better sound (which would most likely be due to higher mW output than higher quality), it is not as if the NH1 has poor sound. The NH1 is just fine for listening. If you use the Sony MDR-E888 (or similar) I'm sure you'll be very pleased. And since the majority of iPod listeners will be using the default earbuds, your NH1 would sound better!

Surely. If you're at the keyboard and look at the plate (the big metal thing in the piano ) and find the highest pitched bass strings, to the right of that is usually some kind of beam in the plate for strength. If you follow that beam (actually, the highest bass string will usually be ok too) out the back end of the piano, with an imaginary straight line, that is what I mean. Does that make sense? If you're recording an upright then you're on your own