This is my first post so first of all, hello. I am a returning MD user. I used to use a MZR-55 to record live gigs with a T-Mic (I'm a pro musician) and I found it very useful. The results were surprisingly good. I also used / use a Denon deck MD with optical out to transfer the recordings into my mac. But, the MZR-55 broke (it just stopped working out of warranty) and I invested in a portable hard disk recorder / mixing desk / studio. However, I now find myself missing the ease of use of the MD for smaller gigs, plus for recording gigs where I am the side man and not the leader (I only take the portable studio to my own gigs). I travel a lot and would really benefit from a decent portable device to listen to. My wife has an iPod shuffle but I don't like the sound of MP3s. I could get an iPod and move all my CDs onto it using Apple Lossless but it wouldn't record - and I need something that records. Sound quality is important for me. To give you an idea - I simply cannot listen to a WMA file without my ears hurting. I once listened to some napster downloads - they sounded dreadful. MP3 is much better, but not that great. My old MZR-55, however, sounded pretty good when I simply copied a CD to it via optical out to optical in. Atrac works. Hi-MD sounds like the solution but I have a few questions. It is worth noting that as well as a Mac I have a Sony Vaio laptop and have been able to play around with the sonic stage software. 1) If I go the Hi-MD route, will I still be able to record my imported CDs onto standard MD blanks? If so, will I have to do it via the sonic stage software? 2) The sonic stage software is a piece of junk, but I think I understand what I need to do - rip the CD to atrac3, and then transfer to the MD. Is this correct? 3) Podcasting - I'm no fan of MP3 for music but I do listen to a lot of podcasts which, as you probably know, are just MP3s. Would I just import these into SS from iTunes and then drop them onto the MDs? 4) How much room is there, in MB, on a standard MD. I have never had to know this previously, but, since SS wants everything to be imported and then thrown out again to the MD I presume I know need to know. This will also decide at what bit rate I import the CDs and I'm earger to get started on the importing! 5) Will I be able to play the Hi-MDs and standard MDs recorded using the Hi-MD portable on my old Denon single play MD deck? 6) I'm reading a lot about Sony using DRM. I thought this was just a microshaft thing. Clearly it is a problem for a lot of people. But, if all I am doing is recording live in with a T-Mic, or downloading ripped CDs to a MD, will it be a problem for me? I can't see a situation where I am going to run into trouble, or am I missing something. 7) If I rip a CD to SS at the highest Atrac 3 setting will it sound as good as my old MZR-55 (which I presume was just converting to Atrac on the fly when I recorded CDs on to it via the digital input)? 8) Gapless recordings are important for me as I own a lot of live CDs. If I rip these CDs to SS and then dump them to the MD will they still play gapless as they should so? Sorry for so many questions, I look forward to your thoughts, Ashley Morgan
