greenmachine

It is a USB to optical converter for copying from the PC to MD, not in the other direction and not faster than realtime.

USB connectivity (portables): pre-NetMD - none NetMD - download only HiMD - up-and download of HiMD recordings RH1 - up-and download of all modes, though SP has to be converted to a format that exists outside of MD. Your only option for faster than realtime upload is the RH1.

What format are the tracks in? there may be issues with damaged or variable bitrate mp3s.

I don't think compensating for the ill-effects of compression (AGC) by adding further compression (limiting) would be the best way to deal with the problem. You may want to try a tool working in the opposite direction - an expander - instead. I wouldn't bet on it though. Unlike modest EQing for example, dynamics are not easily restored. You may get even more artificial results. The lack of low frequencies may be an issue of the mic itself and/or mic placement (room acoustics). The bundled Sony mic (if you're using that) rolls off beginning at 100 Hz. AGC may emphasize the problem even more by lowering the volume at sudden peaks like the beat of a bass drum. Suggestion for next time to improve quality: manual levels + better mic = better quality, less post processing.

The NH700 won't remember the manual setting, but it will remember the level setting as long as it's not below 13/30. Otherwise it will revert to this value.

It seems like you have done your homework. Congratulations on your new (?) recorder by the way. Glad you like the mics. The best level setting is hard to know beforehand, but something in the 20/30 region should work well as a rough guess if you cannot use the meters. I agree with A440 to get a higher capacity battery for "the gig" and do all the settings before entering the venue so that you just have to un-pause. In rec-pause mode there's not much current drain (about 50-70 mA, with a 2Ah battery the recorder could be left in rec-pause for about 15-20 hours until half of its capacity would be eaten up). If anything other important to consider should come to my mind before the show, I'll let you know.

The "mic sens hi/low" settings only have an effect when recording via the mic-in, not when recording via line-in. Mic sens "high" is the most sensitive setting, followed by mic sens. "low" - the line-in does not have a preamp behind it, so it's the least sensitive option and best suited for recording strong signals like amplified concerts. The mics are quite sensitive, so you will most likely never need the mic sens "high" setting, just leave in on "low" all the time and choose the input and set the levels manually according to each situation. With the mics on glasses just above the ears, not too far up front, you will get an impressive 3-dimensionality, but since it will be recorded largely just like you heard it at the location, turning of your head during the recording will result in a shifting of the sound (just like you heard it). I don't mean to say you should not express your enjoyment during the performance, just make you aware of the limitations of the setup. When recording via line-in, you will unavoidably get automatic track marks after quiet passages, which you can remove afterwards on the unit or in Sonicstage. I usually prefer to have the original as one continuous track and do the editing afterwards in an audio editor with much greater precision. Be sure to keep one - or better more - copies of the unedited original file in a lossless format, your opinion about the best way of editing may change over time. Enjoy the show.

Nice, but shouldn't the mics point outwards?

How would a pre-MDLP unit - which doesn't know anything about the LP format - be able to handle a wrapped LP2 file? For compatibility reasons it needs to be plain SP mode, which to my knowledge is only achieved by transcoding and thus losing some quality (although minor) yet again.

I thought an attenuator was meant for recorders with mic-in only, without a lower sensitivity input (line-in). Why attenuate a signal and amplify it afterwards instead of recording straight without attenuation or amplification? It would seem to be the more direct and thus higher fidelity way - to me at least.

Or you may get no signal at all - electret mics require "plug in power", which is usually not available at the line-in. A battery box would supply the mics with the necessary voltage, but there would be still no pre-amplification, which usually leads to a (very) low signal unless you record from a really loud source. If you want to record directly to your computer, you will need either a soundcard with a stereo mic input or an external preamplifier connected to the line-in. A MD recorder with mic-in, set to rec-pause (line/headphone out to line-in of the soundcard) may also be used as an external preamp. Or get a Hi-MD to record and upload afterwards. If you want to investigate further on this hardware-related issue, I'd suggest to start a new topic.

Most soundcards have one channel (mono) mic inputs. Do you have a MD or other recording device with a stereo mic input and plug in power?

The right (+) is touching the conductive housing of the capsule?

The relatively high self-noise figure of most small diaphragm mics can be an issue for recording very quiet sounds that require a lot of pre-amplification. In this case you would amplify the self-noise along with the signal. For concert recording or any other higher SPL applications which require little pre-amplification, small diaphragm mics have many advantages over their larger brothers, see here. In fact, I think the self-noise figure is the only weak point of small diaphragm mics, which is really none for recording in louder regions. They're also most of the time way more affordable than their larger brothers, which are mainly used for recording relatively quiet sounds, where self-noise would be an issue. But they have drawbacks as well, see the above link.

Is your computer free of viruses? http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Nice, would it work to open the file by another application (like an audio player/editor) before completely uploaded so that it's in constant use and SonicStage cannot delete it?

Use the line-in when recording from a soundboard.

The internal mic preamp quality of HiMD is quite good actually. Mic + mic placement will make the most significant differences. If I had a HiMD without internal preamp, I'd rather sell it and get one with instead of bothering with an external pre.

I find NiMH rechargeables work best with high current draining devices like HiMD. Even with the supplied low capacity one (700mAh) I can record about one and a half 1GB HiMDs in PCM mode with my NH700. Higher capacity ones can deliver much more than that. Alkalines are not really optimized for high current drain and will appear empty faster (when there is actually plenty of capacity left, but only accessible for low current draining devices). I think it's due to their higher inner resistance.

It's ok to compensate for the peculiarities of the human hearing apparatus, which is less sensitive for very low and high frequencies at lower volumes. At higher volumes, usually no "loudness effect" is needed. Also, no headphone or loudspeaker reproduces perfectly linearly, so it might need some correction as well. Higher end gear usually requires less correction than lower end gear. Also, there is individual listening taste/ability, which may require correction as well. Use whatever sounds good to you, just don't assume it will sound good to everyone.

Oops, fixed it, should work now.

For the best quality, use a 1GB disc (if you can find one) and record in PCM. Recording time and battery life are a bit shorter, but the quality might be worth it.

OT, but as this almost 3 years old test shows, Atrac3 LP2 is quality-wise inferior to any other listed codec, including mp3 (LAME, which has been tuned and improved a lot since 2004). Here are the links: Presentation Results Tests overview

Is the A3 some sort of preamplifier or just a battery box with roll-off and attenuation switches?

Are we talking about distortion caused by the recorder's input or by the mic itself here? A bass roll-off filter works after the mic output, between the mic and the input - it will lower the signal from the mic going to the input, but the filter can't influence the SPL handling of the mic in any way, after all it's just a condenser between mic and input.