The Low Volta

if you get the NH900, upgrade to a 1450mAh gumstick (very cheap from GP Powerbank or something alike) and carry the AA add-on with you for emergencies or really long recordings, the battery life isn't that bad hm, what use are 40hours of batt life when you can only carry a couple of hours of music 'cause of space limitations ah, you really mean uploading as in digital, faster than realtime MD->PC? Then I guess there is no such possibility with sharp MD's (at least as far as I know)... only the analogue realtime transfer (actually rerecording) from line out on the MD to line in on the PC. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I really don't think that Sharp ever supported digital transfers, just like any pre-Hi-MD... by the way, read a bit on these forums...as there is already a (actually two) way(s) to convert that one-time-only uploadable recording to wav without DRM-crud so you can edit, burn, download,... your own recording as much and as many times as you like... greetings, Volta

haha, all my live music recording has indeed been limited to mono recordings with a lousy Sony mono mic which has a response of 100Hz-15kHz, without an attenuator or batt-box... so you will not be surprised that I have only taped 2 shows (rather just as a test whether I could get the recorder in and could stay stealth during the entire show, it also was handy for learning to check levels etc but I didn't expect any results), and that both results were horrifying to say the least But I have listened to recordings made by friends who use (old and much overpaid) N-Am equipment, so I know how stereo should sound Unfortumately their mics are nearly finished (and so are their recorders) so now it's up to me to continue our little concert-memorabilia legacy... therefore I was searching for some good binaurals and a way to keep 'em stealth in a good position (not quite sure about the last point: the Soundman binaurals really look like earplugs, so could just go with the 'earplugs against hearing damage'-look and explanation or try my mic-cap idea I've been brooding on for some time [attachmentid=329] but the design still has to be adapted to the Soundman-elements as it was originally designed for SP-BMC2's)

ok, just reacted 'cause I was quoted right above the 'simple' part, looked to be directed at me well I agree, both machines are great... and both have their own pros and contras...so ppl should chosse by their needs. The format is still young, so let's hope the Sony ppl who are brave enough to read these forums learn their lessons and combine all pros in one moderately priced mega-Hi-MD...and ditch the cons while they are at it I mean, a combination of the good aspects of the NH900 (line out, backwards compatibility,...) and of the RH10 (OLED/MP3-support but without the strange behaviour in the higher frequencies please,...), available all over the world with full accessories (and also without for the cheapos) and with an easily removable Eurocapping (without would be illegal here ) would sell brilliantly... All 9000+ MDCF-members would get one I guess , I know I would! If they would clean up SS in the proces and add real-SP-transfer possibilities to SS and SB they could even forget about the backwards compatibility and make the units cheaper to produce... but well, we'll just keep on dreaming, 'cause it's actually more likely that Sony abandons the format than that they will create one player that really answers all consumer needs I'm afraid...but I don't think either one will happen in any near future Greetings and no hard feelings, Volta

after a bit of hardware troubles at the beginning (but Sony fixed my NH900 ) never had any troubles again: - not with Hi-MD discs - not with MDs (formatted Hi-MD or not) - not even with SS (wow, knock on wood!) Greetings, Volta *edit: I just looked at an old post of myself and it seems that I have had 1 (one) gap in playback...

dude, no need to be condescending hm, I would say, you buy an MP3 player that isn't crippled when playing MP3's, like the RH10 is (see this recent thread) read some posts here on MDCF, in which quite a number of ppl mention the amount of MD's they have recorded in SP and still record that way just because they can't transfer real SP (which is only a software limitation, I agree)...these ppl really won't buy 2nd gen just because of this 'no more real SP at all' limitation... or you are recording stealthly and are very glad only to pull out the remote and keep the player well hidden, the lit-LCD-remote just works as a charm and allows any action except for entering the recording-menu (which can be avoided, see my post up higher)-> NH900 wins, unless you import a RH10 from Japan I agree on that first part, but this is besides the question, see my reasons for real SP-support above but as you said, that is just you...and there are a lot of other ppl again, as you said, that is your opinion, for me the choice for NH900 is just as obvious, as only and really only the OLED on the RH10 is something I miss on the NH900... ah, and if one would like to play through a HiFi (by line out) then...wait a minute, the RH10 hasn't got a 'line out'... so perhaps the NH900 is just that bit more versatile if you couldn't be bothered with MP3 these are also only my personal views (I have never tried to pretend otherwise), I just tried to inform someone who asked for personal views... if I have offended you by replying that the Hi-SP(256bps)><SP(292bps) discussion is not relevant here but rather the difference between real SP(292)><fake SP(132), I'm sorry... but it's jus no good buying the newest if it won't do what you need so I just tried to inform him to the best of my personal knowledge (read my posts again, you will find positive points of the RH10 mentioned also) greetings, Volta

Like a lot of others here on MDCF, I got my Hi-MD for recording. My first need was to record interviews, lectures and discussions for my university work (and masters thesis), but gradually, after reading MDCF for a bit I got to see the live music recoding potential of MD. I decided to throw myself onto this aspect, as I'm a frequent festival and club visitor and Belgium has some of the best festivals/clubs in Europe, and Dutch/French and even British ones are also within reach. But soon my urge was tempered a bit! As a poor student my budget wasn't really big to start with and especially after buying my NH900 (when it was still €250) and a new portable (so SS would run and other things) it was really low. So naturally the very cheap SoundPro' BMC2's caught my attention, but then horror struck me: after adding all extra costs (shipping, import taxes VAT) the BMC2's ($39) and a battery box ($49) would cost me $170!! The CS binaurals - which I liked better but are more pricy - really didn't fit my budget anymore because of this anti-import behaviour. I had almost given up on live-recording until I stumbled upon Soundman (a German mic manufacturer) after reading someone mentioning them here on MDCF. They are German so shipment within the EU is not bothered by any import-crippling-taxes. They do ship overseas and will apply reduced prices (minus the 16% VAT) when doing so (and also have overseas dealers). Just take a look at the different models on their site... they look like brilliant little binaural mics, with good frequency response and S/N ratio. For taping live music of the harder type or in small/loud clubs (like I would like to do), the Klassik version's max SPL (108/128dB) might be a bit risky, but they do have a special Rock version which is 22dB less sensitive. You can get the mics separately or with a battery box (the A3 adapter) which has an additional -20dB switch to reduce the risk of clipping when recording close to the max SPL (the 128dB mentioned above is with the -20dB switch on). They aren't as cheap as the BMC2's, but if you remember how much the low-cost mics actually cost when importing, they aren't that expensive either (about €195 for the Klassik or Pop/AV and €247 for the Rock version, both times A3 adapter included). And besides, I'm pretty sure that they will be 'not just good' but 'really brilliant' or 'outstanding'... as has been confirmed by the BBC and the RTBF (PSB from the French speaking part of Belgium) who both use these mics. Correspondence (in English or German) with 'Soundman' Rolf himself has been easy and he will honestly advise the best model for your needs, if you mention what you want to record. I have just ordered me a pair of OKMII-R(ock) and A3 and went a bit over the top by ordering the OKMI (speech) mic too as I'm fed up with my Sony mono mic (whose unnatural soundcolor makes listening back to interviews a pain in the behind). As soon as I've had a chance to do some serious recording (won't be right away, as I'm very busy writing my thesis, I've even had to resell my ticket to a brilliant festival ) I will post some clips and I promise to write a very thorough review of the little mics as well (but keep in mind, they will be my first stereo mics, so a real comparisson will be impossible)... But I'm so sure they will be just fine, no even better, that I thought I'd share my views already... they appear to be comparable to the top (midrange costwise) mics you can get from N-Am, but my fellow Europeans, without the extra import costs, you can get so much more bang for your buck (euh euro)... Sorry for this commercial ranting, but I'm really delighted by this find Greetings, Volta P.S.: if someone is convinced and beats me to a clean recording with these babies...feel free to post your clips/review, I will add my insights later anyway...

no problem, didn't mean to sound so harsh...but we've seen a lot of doubleposts/threads lately so, apologies more than accepted and welcome to MDCF, hope we can help you with your questions/problems greetings, Volta

on the other hand... if you don't need MP3 support (I don't, won't and would rather be seen dead than with MP3's ) and you can live without the beautifull OLED (I can, but only just ), why give up the qualities, compactness, (at least partly) metallic feel, backwards compatibility, line out, ... of the NH900

the real problem is that older machines (like car-MD-players, HiFi-modules etc...) aren't Hi-MD and can't play Hi-SP. So they need SP as the only other decent option. Now real SP is 292bps fake Sp or revamped LP2 is 132bps...you would hear the difference between those two wouldn't you (especially with classically trained ears)? So the equation SP><Hi-SP is totally besides the question, its SP(292)><LP2(132)...

I just saw that A440 gave a much better response in the oher thread with quite exactly the same name you also started... please don't double post! (not with single posts, threads or anything) It is not only annoying, but will actually lessen the chances of getting a good answer: some ppl outright ignore double posters, others do answer, but as the discussion is split up, it won't be as constructive as when held in just one place! So for your and our sake, don't double post again... Greetings, Volta

indeed! slipped my mind

here's mine, there is some doubling as I upgraded from a small to a widescreen, but was too lazy to make a new 1440x900 one...

as far as I know, Hi-MD recorders only have optical IN, not optical OUT greetings, Volta

none unless you buy a Hi-MD unit to use the 1gig discs with

it is a bit... There have been a lot of complaints about it (see this section of MDCF for a number of issues) but then again, it is much more stable and reliable than it used to be... and as I said, there are also a lot of workarounds for some of the remaining strange things (read the Live Recording and Software/FAQ's for a better understanding...) but as I said, then you would lose the option of uploading digitally through USB I use the free (open source) Audacity, which can be downloaded from the downloads sections here on MDCF. It is quite easy to use, and has visual cut'n'paste or drag'n'drop editing possibilities... as it's free, just try it and remove it if you don't like it... I live in Europe, and 'cause of some law output of portable players has to be limited (or capped) to prevent hearing damage. This is of course not bad in itself, but when one upgrades ones earphones to a more Hi-Fi model, the output voltage can be too low to drive the 'phones properly. Thanks to some smart ppl here on MDCF (and the help of some service manuals) we Europeans are now able to change the regional setting of our players to N-Am or Asia,which aren't "Eurocapped" in any way... so now I can not only use my small and very portable earbuds but also my nice and cosy big sennheiser 'phones when listening in my student lodgings... greetings, Volta

If you want to upload digitally (faster than realtime through USB) then a Hi-MD-recorder is your only option (MZ-NH700, NH800, NH900, NH1 or MZ-RH710, RH910 or RH10) and this will only work on PC (Windows). They will record in PCM (wav) Hi-SP,... but those two are the most interesting for music. They will upload to PC, convert to wav and whatever you like and be burnable to CD. Don't get any model with a D in the name (download only, no line in/mic in) or the NH600 (only line in, no mic in) With older MD-recorders (even the NetMD's with a USB connection!!), your only option is to record analogue (line out on MD to line in on PC) in realtime...

Hi-MD-discs (1gig) only work in Hi-MD players, read the FAQ's please

Ivan is right, only realtime analogue recording is possible...but look at the bright side: there won't be any copyright issues greetings, Volta

but if you want (very) good (broadcast) quality and especially very little background/machine noise you will have to use a mic that can be separated some distance from the recorder

could you specify your needs a bit more...like: do you need to have the recordings on PC? price range? backwards compatibility? what method to play recordings back (need dedicated line out)? color ? and so on... greetings, Volta

no probs...it has helped me on a lot of occasions, so I'm glad to chip in...

I agree... I'm spend way too much time here but I'm working on my masters thesis and have MDCF open in the background... and believe me, breathing down your neck is much more pleasant than writing a thesis but I do like MDCF a lot, it is very helpfull and mostly gives clear answers...and I would like to keep it that way, so no double posting (of single pots/topics or questions) please

again, search a bit brefore you ask, or ask in those threads I suggested! I do not own an RH10 (but a NH900 with line out) so I wouldn't know the EQ question is not striaghtforward, look for the "Hatrick 2nd gen destination codes" (or something) thread, the you'll see why

flexis, just search a bit before you ask... there are currently A LOT of threads that adress this question like right here or here knowledge requires effort! Volta

I would be very surprised if the MD->Hi-MD way would result in cleaner recordings, as they both would mean that the incoming signal is simply recorded in wav, only in one way by the PC, in the other way by the Hi-MD (in PCM)... don't know how much that will differ. If the old recordings have a bit of lenght, he could also be tempted t use sonething other than PCM when going MD->Hi-MD, which would result in quality loss (possibly only very little, but it definitely won't be 'cleaner)... but there is another, more important reason to go directly into PC... as MD->Hi-MD inserts a number of extra stages (MD->Hi-MD->SS->convert to wav) each of which (and especially the SS one) have been know to produce faults or even to plainly refuse to work at all. I agree that Hi-MD is a great recording apparatus, but it especially shines in situations where it would be impossible to carry a PC with you... I would say, just use the way with the least vulnerabilities (unless of course your soundcard is really bad ) but then again...this wouldn't hurt anybody and it will make you sleep better at night, as you know in stead of assume you've used the best way greetings, Volta