atheodo

I upgraded to Vista Ultimate 64-bit this weekend. Sonicstage 4.3 works under the 64-bit edition and I am able to upload/download from my HiMD unit. Windows has a Windowsx86 directory (I guess that is the 32-bit directory with drivers, etc.). Sonicstage and the associated driver got installed under that directory. My HiMD worked with the first attempt, and unlike previous versions of windows/sonicstage I was not prompted to restart my computer upon first connect.

Don't both with MP3s on the RH10; they sound really flat. Besides, if you convert MP3s to Atrac, you will lose more sound and the result won't be good at all.

SS 4 will let you burn CDs using the lossless base, so no need for real time recording. The only platform that we are still stuck with real recording is MacOSX and Unix/Linux; hopefully Sony will be addressing the Mac community pretty soon.

SS 3.4 and the Atrac Lossless format are unebelievable. The sound quality is the best sound I have heard in a portable player ever. I am also re-ripping all my CDs, dare I say for the last time, what else they would come up with now that we have lossless? Also, I am transfering @ 352 bit rate on the HiMd now. My music sounds as if I am carrying a hiFi unit with me everywhere I go. Way to Go Sony!!!! Finally, they are getting it. Now, we are missing one last piece. APPLE/MACOSX support for the HiMd platform for music transfers. I know we can upload PCM recordings with the right equirment, but come on guys, we need to cross that last threshold, and then the world will have a shot at perfection :-)

Recordings on non Hi-MD media can never be uploaded; the only way to get these recordings on the Mac is via GarageBand and MD-HeadPhone--->MAC Analog Audio Input Port Recording on Hi-MD media can be uploaded to the Mac as follows, again you have to use GarageBand Upload the Recording to a Windows PC using Sonic Stage; make sure the Windows PC has an optical out port (you can get a usb based soundcard with optical out ports) connect the Windows PC Optical Out to the Mac Optical In; Essentially, you will use Garageband to record in real time the MD track playing through your soundcard on the Windows PC; however since this will go optical to optical you are not losing anything in translation. Once, you have recorded the track with GarageBand, you can export to Itunes in AIFF format which is loseless; then you can either maintain the file at uncompressed format, or use Apple Losless, so it's more manageable. Result, you have a digital recording transfered from windows to our beloved MAC. The other way to do it, again only for your Hi-Md recordings, is to by an M series Recorder, however Hi-Md recordings recorded with the M series recorder in PCM mode can be uploaded; existing Hi-Md recordings that have been recorded with prior Hi-Md units will not upload on the Mac. At least that's my understanding from reading the Sony literature, someone please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks

My wish list is either gives Mac Support, or drop and play native MP3 support. If they do that, then sonicstage becomes irrelevant; my Mac recognizes my HiMD already as an extra drive, so I cold drag and drop my MP3s and then listen to my music. I will be in heaven if they do that. :-)

You never "transfer" music back to your computer; when you check-in music from your recorder to the computer, you are resetting the transfer rights (this is very rare now, since the new 2.x sonicstage most songs have unlimited transfers to minidisc) and you are deleting the song from the minidisc. Unfortunately, you will have to rebuild. Songs bought from connect can be downloaded again free of charge.

all high end products come in a box (black); this the first class indication of sony; I got mine a couple weeks ago, and I fall in love since I opened the box and touched it; the sound is incredible; but I don't use the earphones that came with it; I use the high end shure ones.

It depends how complex the music is. If we are talking about mostly vocals, you should be ok, if we are talking about new age; electronic music; you might have trouble. If you have the original CDs your best bet will be to reburn directly in Sonicstage. I know sounds like a lot of trouble, but it worths it trust me if you are after high fidelity. If you don't have the original CDs, then go ahead and convert a few with Sonicstage and do a comparison; if you are not satisfied; you can burn a CD and then import the tracks to SS from the CD in Hi-SP mode. I always use Hi-SP mode, because it has excellent fidelity.

I just got my Hi-MD just a couple days ago. When the original CD is available, or a lossless extract, Hi-SP is the only way to go. I listen to a lot of classical and new age instrucmental music, so I need very high quality retention, and the MD has never let me down. I used SP with my non-hi-md unit. I use lower bit rates (LP2) when I buy songs from Connect. I am usingHi-LP for audio books. You can burn a lot of audiobooks in a single 1GB disk. I play the audiobooks from my mac overnight while the recorder is recording inrea time. When I get up in the morning I have my audio book burned already. PS. I have digital out from my mac, so now worries about no sound recording, since the MD is in synch mode when the recording is done via the digital in plug.