KJ_Palmer

Nope, you'd better stay put. Obviously those French bureaucrats don't like music very much - first the volume restriction thing then this. The rest of the EU countries are bound to follow suit, and Sony'll probably release euro-wide DRM copyright compliant devices. Not the best news for portable music I'm afraid.

Under Tools/Options in SS3.3, there is a button which allows you to delete all 'temporary' ATRAC files that were created when transferring WMA,MP3, PCM files etc to ATRAC devices. I think that would take some of the donkey work out for you. 48kbps sounds dreadful, though some people think it's OK. I doubt it's as good as a well encoded 128 MP3. I wouldnt go anywhere near it (48k)myself...

The NW-HD5 can be switched to line out mode while the remote is connected, so perhaps there's reason to believe the A1000/3000 do too..?

Well, sorry for the rolleyes, lamewing, but really my point is that no drag & drop is not a big hardship for me, which is why I personally don't mind using the software or Sony equipment. Also I need gapless playback for classical music and so on, which (I believe) is not offered by most other players. Yep, that's right greg. Love the 30GB HD5, to be honest though I think it's very similar to the 20GB version, bit heavier maybe, and only comes in 'silver' livery, which is a shame as it's my least favourite colour. The buttons are black with red-ish lettering, no cracking with them (so far) though. Actually I bought a black skin for it as I dislike the silver so much, but I'll post some pics up soon, both skinned and naked... Cheers

I don't see that drag and drop is such a big issue - not enough to not buy a Sony on anyway. Once you've selected your tracks to transfer, you just hit the transfer button.. I'm quite happy with the HD5 and the way it seamlessly fits into my existing ATRAC/Sonicstage collection and Hi-MD setup, nothing to reconvert. I'll doubtless consider a new generation Sony DAP too in a while when the software improves. If I'd had endless problems with Sony gear I wouldn't be buying any more, but as I haven't I'm happy to carry on with them.

I'm using 352k in my recordings these days, but just to be 'on the safe side'. Really speaking for portable use there is little practical difference between 352k and 256k. At home with decent headphones I often imagine I can tell the difference, but I dont have any 'scientific' data to back that up... SP (292k) is mostly relevent for older (non-Hi-MD) MD units and was the best quality available on minidisc until last year. Like 352k it's practically indistinguishable from an original CD if recorded 'realtime' and digitally. 1st generation Hi-MD units could play and record in realtime to SP, though the latest Hi-MDs can only play back SP. As SP is (sadly) not downloadable, the Sony network walkmans can't play SP at all...

Other decks with MDLP and digital (optical) outputs are (all Sony): MDS-JB980 MDS-JE780 MDS-JE770 MDS-JE640 and the 'ultimate' MDLP deck MDS-JA333ES. You may be able to pick some of these up cheaply on ebay, and possibly decks by other manufacturers...

Pardon my ignorance, but what is this 'EQ trick' that everyone's referring to? Does that just mean turning the EQ settings up to increase volume. Ive been doing that for ages with MD...

Well, I'm only on 56k modem at home (which wasn't an option), though ISDN (or whatever) at work, which is where I mainly go online.. I really must update at home to broadband sometime, but haven't got round to it yet...

Audacity will normalise files as well. In fact so will Sonicstage 3.3, but only when writing to a CD-R. I do that regularly, and it seems to work quite well...

A few since last time: Broken Flowers The Beat That My Heart Skipped (De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté) The Libertine Seperate Lies

You're welcome, Zep Bad news, I'm afraid there are no optical outs for these units. Only full size decks have them (the more expensive ones too, like the Sony MDS-JB980). Also, I'm not sure what you mean by the rectangular port - do you mean the remote control port? The headphone would plug into the other end of the remote. You may be able to order a suitable remote from Sharp's website, or one may turn up on ebay. You should get one specially for 1bit/Auvi units as the normal 3-pole Sharp remotes won't work properly... Sorry, but I'm using mine...

Hi. Well, yes I have CD and MD decks with optical out. This connection gives better results than 'downloading' to the DR-420 via USB, but the drawback is that you have to record in real time. Having said that, I do most of my CD-MD recording via a special deck (MXD-D40) which also gives superior results. One point to note is that if you use the USB connection to record you can only achieve a maxium of LP2 quality (132kbps), though that's fine for most people...

Not quite. You still can't capture 'legacy' format recordings that way - ie. SP, LP2/4 or mono, whether recorded by NetMD or Hi-MD. 2-way USB traffic is disabled for such formats. You can only use USB as input for Hi-MD format data - Hi-SP, Hi-LP, PCM and (I think) MP3 is also available with Sonicstage 3.3. And yes, digital recordings are also playable through USB.

I'd be careful if you're thinking of buying MD or other Sony gear from the UK, as you'll be getting heavily Euro volume-crippled goods, which isn't always defeatable. Maybe this is partly why they're being sold off on ebay. Anything pre-2002 (MZ-N10 generation) should be fine though...

Not sure if it's physically impossible for NetMD to upload, though I can't think why it would be. Surely its all held as 1's and 0's on the discs, like Hi-MD. Presumably you'd need a full Type-R codec on the host PC to interpret/convert the data for SP recordings, which I'm not sure is available. You can't use NetMD as it stands to play through USB and recorder by Total Recorder etc., as again this function is only available via Hi-MD units (and only with Hi-MD formats). You can use an MD deck's optical out to make digital transfers though...

Hi. I've got the IM-DR420, which is very similar to your DR400 (only difference is the mic in and remote I believe). The 1 bit refers to Sharp's own 'Auvi' digital amp which is meant to be more efficient and cleaner/clearer than a normal amp. This might be the tinniness you're hearing, as Sharps amps are usually swamped with bass. The 4 pole is supposed to give better stereo separation, though this claim is somewhat dubious. Overall though I'm quite pleased with the Sharp's sound, though really I like the typical Sony sound a wee bit more. Have you tried using the equaliser to modify the bass and treble settings - I've found that helps... I've only used the stock buds with the DR420, but there are some Sharp 4-pole headphones that are supposed to be good. You can also use normal 3-pole phones too, but thereby won't get the benefit of the 1-bit sound.

Compaq laptop, Window XP home edition 1.6GHz Celeron 512MB Ram 80GB hard drive - 40 GB free Mostly used for TV, word processing, some graphics/scanning, internet, Sonicstage (quite heavily) and other music-related applications. Have SS3.3 installed. No probelms with it (yet) - seems reliable and stable enough.

Sorry Alexx, hope it wasn't me either. You're right, we should all make an effort to be nice and helpful to to each other...

Mine is a caricature/sketch of the Italian Baroque composer Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725), father of the arguably more famous harpsichordist Domenico. Immensely important in classical music as he is credited (contentiously) to have created the first keyboard concertos and modern opera sinfonias.

An ATRAC file recorded in PCM for padding is still lossy ATRAC data. The recompression to ATRAC of your PCM file will still involve a transcoding stage, so the resulting file will not be the equivalent of the original MD track. It will still be a second generation ATRAC file with potential generational loss. If you're worried about loss of quality you'll have to leave it in PCM format.

I was thinking about getting a Hi-MD deck last month, and I'll definitely get one if they become available in the UK, but otherwise I don't think I want to go through the hassle of importing. I think the portables sound fine through line out into the hi-fi, and the decks dont seem to add that much to the format. I've got a 4 CD multi-deck and a Yamaha HD1300 deck to do large scale PCM jukeboxing at home, so I'm having a hard time convincing myself I need a Hi-MD deck as well. Hi-MD for all-round portable use is unbeatable though... :-)

I believe very high and low frequencies are the first things to go. So look out (well listen) for thinning of the bass lines and definition of things like cymbal crashes. This happens even with relatively mild compression (like 256k). Also compression reduces the 'full-bodiness' of the music, so a lot of the 'air' and 'presence' goes, and similar vague terms. A common artifact is a more metallic grating effect, which as I mentioned can set my teeth on edge. I'm sure some of our more technically minded regulars can put it in more scientific terms, but this is why I'm not too keen on heavy audio compression...

No offence, BTW... - I meant the Hi-Fi system may need tuning up, or speakers repositioning, or new cables maybe, or blowing dust/cobwebs out of the circuits. If you like 48kbps, then fine, though, good for you, you'll get a lot of tracks into a 20Gb DAP. It usually sets my teeth on edge, so I use 256k minimally..

I'm sorry, but yes, I think you must have... Well, either that or your system needs tuning up.