cvdevol

Is the slowness of USB transfers an MD hardware limitation, or is Sony/SonicStage doing it on purpose? Or both? I mean, jeez, it takes 15 minutes to transfer 40 minutes of WAV files from MD to computer! The large "ATDATA02.HMA" file that is visible when browsing the MD drive in Windows Explorer obviously contains the actual music files, but it seems to be encrypted. Does anyone know how to use this file directly, bypassing Sony software?

The only model I could find online that anyone had in stock was the MZ-M10. The included microphone was also a selling point.

Paid $300 from musiciansfriend.com Pros: Records WAV files. Great recording quality, of course. A very good microphone was included Tiny size, very useful and aesthetically really cool Plays back mp3s (but see cons) Cons: A metal casing would have been nice. Even my old MZN505 had one, and it was only $100!! The LCD is hard to read except in rather bright light. A backlighting button would have been nice. The screw-on external battery pack is clunky and cheap. Too bad it's really needed sometimes. Hi-MD 48 kbps recording would have been nice. This unit only supports 256 and 64 kbps, but 48 kbps would be good for voice recordings, speeches, lectures etc. Playback of mp3s is limited to files with 44.1 kHz sample rate. A serious waste of file size if you want to playback low fidelity (i.e. voice, am radio) recordings. USB transfers are as slow as I remember from my old MZN505. But: I needed it, so I paid for it. It works great. I'm glad I bought it and I'd do it again. Opinion subject to change if unit craps out within an unreasonably short time! So when are the 2GB-capacity minidiscs coming out? ;-)

I have an MZ-M10. My soundcard is an M-Audio 2496 with S/PDIF output (using RCA-type jacks). Can I just get the appropriate cable to digitally record from the computer to the optical jack on the MD, or do I need another piece of hardware to convert signals or something?

I will use it for live audio recording of my band, and editing the recorded tracks on my computer DAW. The included mic has limited low range response, so hopefully I can correct that with eq, in lieu of buying an extra couple of mics.