freddyjollo

well how much junk have you got not a lot and what can u sell it for? if u buy hardware at budget prices you can easily sell it back at no loss or even a profit? I bought 2 very nice 2nd JB940 decks a few years ago in London, no postage pay on collect for approx £70 each in mint condition. Seems like I can easily get my money back now - I saw one go for £140 on Ebay recently.I also have a JB980 that goes for higher that I can nearly get back what I paid for it new long time ago. Its hard to know whats best to do, its a bit of a jump in the dark. I bought a Dawes 1-down cycle in 1999 mainly as I got a 20% discount from the then YHA shop in London - I didnt need the bike and in fact for years I didnt use it as it didnt really fit. A year or so ago after my main bike was vandalised I had to use this or nothing, in the end I found all I had to do was to spend £60 on a few bits and I now think it is the best bike I have ever had. I had in the past nearly sold it as a lemon, glad I didnt. So maybe at the back of your mind there is a thought for the future. As long as the cash not needed for some thing else then some times taking a chance worth it? I suppose you need to compare your actions with other ones - this a habitual way of reacting or an abberration. I tend to buy stuff incase I may need it some times I get it wrong lol re the bike I at the time got a load of spares, was a silly idea then but now is a good idea as the bits have changed and cant be got so all turned out fine. If you really feel BAD about it then stop!

I did the "record radio" along time ago using a tuner, deck and timer. Never again en mass. lol I have many/most of the comedies and dramas incl scifi from the BBC on md.( about 50 GB on PC) I am glad I have them, but what an effort. The boring bit was editing the start and end padding off. really laborious using the edit function on decks. After I got an MZ-RH1 i copied to my pc and used Sony AudioStudio which will read and write atrac files - can be got cheap off ebay to do that. Still a real chore but better. I (used to) listen to them thru my notebook from a small nas. So really the md was now redundant. but I still use it to record important telephone converstions & have the md as backup - I think they are prob more reliable as a backup than hd or cd/dvd? And you can get loads into an old LP case - where I store mine - a very compact soln. So i bet many people are in the same boat as you trying to find a new way to justify md. I think the first to go would be my decks, never the portables as they dont take up much space and I am not that hard up for cash. Once they are gone they are gone?.

I think the Sharp budget MT-88 & 99 are the best made portables - solid ally case that is quite thick, mostly metal, very little plastic. I have 3 of these things bought from a clearout of Argos UK long time ago, I thought then that if they last me 3 years each I have 10 years of use - the first one still going strong & the other 2 untouched other than now and then give them a bit of use to make sure they dont degrade. The one I have been using all these years looks a bit tatty from all the finger touching. Has a very nice clear display also. Compare that to the Sony NH 600 and you see how cheap and nasty this later budget model is, even if it sounds good - and the display is not good.

some kind of hi resitance you are over comming? maybe the coating on the battery to stop corrosion>

ah u want display cases. I gave up on that idea long time ago, attracts too much dust? then to clean all those dscs...

ah the cables - buying them and getting ones you like can be a real irritation, can drive you mad & make your pocket light

I think you have gone down the right path in keeping a sound you like. It can take quite a time to get things he way you want them.I bought and still have but will probably soon sell a Tag Mclaren pre/power separates amps that was their version of the Audiolab amps I now have. Cant say I like the Tag sound. Audiolab have both traditional amps like I have and the newer digital input version in their line up, one even with a cd player thrown in. I think the digital version is aimed more at home cinema like the one sfpb has. I bet it must weight a ton sfpb? You must have tried pumping the md thru the dac by now, let us know what you think in comparison to using the md inbuilt dac

if u can find some old LP storage cases they work well

ok if u have an all in one box then yes in principle u are cutting back on cables. I would like to get the Audiolab digital preamp that follow this thinking. But alas cost too much for me. But still useing the external dac a good solution if you dont? if you just have a normal amplifier. In damns case he already has the very well regarded external dac so feeding it the digtal output from his md deck should be a vast improvement without any extra cabling? the analogue cable to amp from the dac rather than the md deck

have u ever use a head cleaner md? might be worth a try before you start fiddling around with adjustments?

what about just use one channel from the stereo record player? if its mono then they should be the same? what happens if u just pump a mono signal from one channel into just one phono socket of the md using the mono record settings?

The point I was trying to make re the Sony md decks of the QS level - I assume there is analogue amplifer circuitry between the DAC circuit and the plugs that take the signal to the amplifier proper? It is this internal amplifier stage not the DAC its self that is not likley to be top rate? If I am wrong in this assumption of internal analogue amplifier circuitry not in the dac then ok point taken. re componentisation - in this case you arent adding another analogue cable - the connection between md and the external dac will be digital so wont suffer the issues u mention ( though it may suffer others - timeing and jitter what ever that it lol)?

The point I was trying to make was that if u use it to convert from digital to analogue then it goes thru the analogue audio circuitry also - which is just ok no more than that? the limiting factor is the analogue audio circuitry out side the dac chip? - unless the chip is more or less connected to the sockets direct? well that may have been the list price( I think it was though more like £300) for the 940 but I got mine new for I think £230 and also the later 980 at a similar price. re the arcam, well it seems u have the best at the price that blows away any oppostion eg the older Musical Fidelity M1 & only the Audiolab M1 at £600 is better. I cant see how the JB940 dac gets a lookin in that company..lucky u.

I think those people are misguided - re the 920 & 930 - the DAC maybe the best in the world , the audio circuitry in those md they then go thru are not?

Not just a matter of preference but also superior? the JB90 sold for about £250 in the UK 10 years ago or so? How much of that money went on the audio circuits - not too much I bet, with cheap components. I always thought the sound was a bit heavy & sluggish. You dont say which Arcam dac you have but they have made some really good dacs, the latest one is supposed to be a cracker & a benchmark soundwise.

why not? If I could afford an Audiolab DAC-Preamp I would also do that. In your case you will get a consistancy of sound comparable to your cd player as you not only using the DAC but also the audio circuitry of it, which may be better than the MD's? Would then be interresting to run am A_B test switching between the 2 usin a common recording? Another thing you can eliminate thereby is a pair of analogue cables ( from the MD ) . That cant be a bad thing? I would like to make all my inputs to my preamp digital and then just one analogue cable to the power amp from the preamp and one from the dac to the (pre ) amp? That will give as good as it can be?

yes the keyboard shortcups emulate the AMS knob that sticks in your case. Have a look asap

here is a image of the keyboard shortcuts to control sony 940 mini disc https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7021/6788074131_d3be122213_z.jpg save it and view bigger. The problem maybe getting a ps2 keyboard - though maybe a usb one will come with an adapter

If u want best quality then stick to the freeview box as they do use a higher bit rate on some channels. this has been a bone of contention with those who have DAB tuners - some thing to do with lack of space in the radio spectrum ( some even are mono on DAB but stereo on Freeview ) dont know if true of the channel u use. I dont record much from radio any more but when there is a good programme I will use my MS Media centre as I have added a tv tuner card to my pc - that does much the same as a freeview box. I then use optical out to minidisc. Most of my recordings in the old days were using a DAB tuner and a timer for my deck - really messy if u want to record more than one programme! re editng on a deck, if u add a key board u can use that to do editing I believe.

You dont say what you want to record - speech or music? BBC radio is not very high bit rate. The best is I think 190kbs typicaly 128 or less? I think radio on Freeview a bit higher. Either way the encoding standard is archaic I believe. I wouldnt even think of doing it analogue unless you have to - just use an optical connection. I have never heard any issues arising from sampling rate differences, but then I have only been recording spoken word shows from what is now called Radio 4 extra - I have most of the comedies and many of the dramas on md, I think about 50 GB

for re recording BBC radio, none. But at some stage you may want to edit the start and end bits, there the deck maybe easier. What you are contemplating doing is a joyless endless task. - I used to do that for films. In future you might like to record in real time the programmes as they are broadcast, onto md. I used to do that from my dab radio and deck using a time switch to turn the md deck on and off. Thats the only way you can do it now since radiodownloader has been nobbled by the BBC scared that it would damage their new iplayer. If you dont know Radiodownloader it might be worth a look at as it still has some functionality. http://nerdoftheherd.com/tools/radiodld/?utm_source=Radio+Downloader+0.26.2.0&utm_medium=desktop&utm_campaign=About+Dialog+Link This produces mp3, if u get a netmd u can then transfer to md easy.

I used to be an addict looking for bargain Sony 940 decks in particular. I now think some time oh I should get rid of some but then I think once gone not likely to be ever replaced and I 'll regret it - interests come and go and ... come back & they are such nice machines? Now mini disc addiction is quite low in the scheme of things - Now consider Record Nuts, I mean the LP type. Some real lunatics have rooms of the things, the floor boards creaking under the weight and god nows what would happen if there was a fire......So take comfort and if you are nagged by a partner tell them that it could be worse, far far worse.....

well I assume they sell for that? that must be recent prices make me smile if I want to sell my 4 decks - 3 x 940 and 1 x980. I bought 2 of the almost mint 940's about 3 years ago both the UK special edition for £70 each in London pay on pickup so no postage - one the nice silver version. Seems like prices have gone up the way house price have lol

dont know about that being a bargain - £130 for a JB930 way too high - or am I out of touch? I sold my jb930 here some time ago for £70 I think. Any way atleast you know it is alright now, unlike when u buy 2nd hand, nice to know that they can atleast be repaired! at not too high a price any other comments any one about normal prices for QS mid range decks?

well the economist got it wrong about DCC - the cheapo not so cheap version of DAT lol? That now seems a silly thing to have developed? any one here ever try one? we should be ever so glad this forum not now called DCC Digital Compact Cassette Forum? How many tapes would still be useable all these years later? heads worn out. very few I think. Thankyou Sony for taking a gamble.You made a durable gem.