KJ_Palmer

OK, I'm glad you sorted that out. Hopefully you won't be without a recorder for too long. The current Sharp MD recorders are very good, I have the IM-DR420, which I think would be ideal for your needs. The microphone recording facilities for Sharps have always been several steps ahead of Sonys, though the gap may be closing. I really couldn't recommend waiting for the Hi-MD. The microphone-enabled ones (NH700/800/900/1) won't be with us till at least July/August, and probably get pushed towards christmas when we get there... It will of course be worth it when they come, but still there are bound to be loads of copying restrictions even then which may or may not be breakable... My advice: keep your Xitel and get a Sharp...

No, sorry, I meant back to the place where you bought it, if that's possible.

Your main problem is that the N510 recorder lacks a microphone input (mic plug-in power). If you can part-exchange it for one with this facility (eg. the N710) then this would be an immediate and probably cheap remedy. A Sharp recorder would be even better for you (eg. MD-MT290 or IM-DR420). There is also the possibility of getting an external battery box or mic-pre-amp from soundprofessionals.com, but you'd be messing about with extra wires, batteries, boxes, not to mention expense...

I've gone for the NH900 too, Chris, in black. For me it offers the best range of facilities for the price. Needed a mic-input as well as standard recording facilities. No downloaders for me. Don't need a good remote (just as well..), and prefer 'normal' batteries + AA backup rather than Li-Ions. Frankly I think it looks better than the NH1 too, if somewhat chunkier. Had the NH700 on pre-order too, but latterly won over by the NH900. Pre-ordered from AVLand (UK). Cheers :cool:

Hi. Yes, you will be able to record in all the "old" Net-MD modes (SP,LP2/4) on a Hi-MD machine by inserting a standard blank and not reformatting it to Hi-MD. A good reason for keeping all of your old equipment...

Well, the shop are more or less spot-on. You will either need a battery box/pre-amp (eg. from Sound Professionals) or an MD recorder with a mic-in. A battery box doesn't amplify the incoming sound - it just provides a microphone with enough power for its own needs to prevent distortion. If your concert is very loud this may be enough to get a reasonable recording. A mic-pre-amp/battery box combo would be more ideal, but expensive. By far better (and fewer wires) would be to get a MD recorder with a mic-in. Any chance of trading your MD-MT180 for a MT190 for example?

Hi. If you got the NF610 you would certainly need some sort of external power - either a battery box or mic pre-amp. If your band is very loud you might get away with a battery box (cheaper option), but your recordings will still be on the quiet side compared to your R70, and you'd need to fiddle around with them on a PC or deck, just to 'normalise' them to decent levels. As you have access to mains power (I assume), however, you could get yourself a cheap mains powered mic pre-amp for use with the NF610. They're cheaper than the tiny battery powered/stealth type pre-amps you get from the likes of Sound Professionals. Somewhere like Radio Shack should have a good-ish one for about $10-$20. Another option is to get either the next Sony model up, the N710, which has mic-in or another brand recorder (preferably Sharp) with a mic-input. The Sharp IM-DR420 would be a good choice if you can get that one.

And to answer one of your other queries, you can delete tracks in the middle of any MD recording. It's difficult to know which MD recorder to recommend for you. About the most rugged recorder is the Sony MZ-S1, but that doesn't have a mic-in. Most other recorders are rather delicate in comparison I think. Perhaps the MZ-N710 could take a bit of rough and tumble? The MiniDisc.Org Equipment Browser should give you a few more ideas...

Hi. Really almost any MD recorder with a microphone input would suit your needs, and all recorders have a line in too. Most are NetMD units these days, but are really no more expensive for it and you can ignore the computery stuff. Please freely use the Minidisc.Org Equipment Browser for ideas, but I have a few suggestions below: I would suggest something like the Sharp IM-DR420 or the Sony MZ-N710. These are easy to use, and fairly well equipped. If you can stretch the budget to the N910 then that will take you up to the next level of quality and facilities...

Line out on the DR7 (or any Sharps) is achieved when the unit is set to the maximum volume (30/30). At that 'volume' all the equaliser settings become ineffective giving a pseudo-line out with impedence matching for an external line-in rather than headphones. Yes, you will need the 4-pole to 3-pole adaptor to use the line out.

Hi. No, not all home units are able to read LP2 recorded discs. You need an MDLP (minidisc long-play) capable machine. MDLP was first introduced in 2000. MDLP capable decks must have the MDLP logo clearly visible on the unit somewhere. The first MDLP decks were the Sony MDS-JE440, JE640 and JE940.

Please don't be abusive NRen2k5... In any case, and I'm not sure I understood correctly, but the final step does say to record the two 2 album MD's to one in mono. Although by that stage I had almost given up the will to live...

Sounds high to me, maybe it's the headphones (and what if you need to go over 30/30?). I always use Sennheiser earbuds (MX300/500) when out and about, or the "Sharpheiser" clones on my DR420. On the train/street I need about 12-17/30 for Sony and 15-21 for Sharps, minus about 20% indoors. I'm quite careful to make my recordings go up to 0dB though...

If you can afford a better one, then build quality and overall reliability are factors to consider. Corners are definitely cut with the lower models, and I've seen a few complaints about peoples' 410's failing after a few weeks. Also, the better models tend to have better sound options and equaliser settings...

Oops, you're right Chris, got carried away there . Yes, ahem, 20 groups is what we know for now...

Hi, yes as far as we know at present Hi-MD will only allow 20 groups, though current group-enabled MD units allow up to 99 groups.

Surprising the link didn't work for you, it just did for me. Anyway, I was referring to the CO3 - Coaxial, Optical, AES/EBU Converter, shown on the Sound Professionals page. Basically, with one of these you can kiss goodbye to SCMS copy restrictions (for personal/own use only, naturally).

I think condenser mics aren't truly 'powered', ie. don't supply a line level voltage, anyway certainly electret condenser mics are fine to use with the built in pre-amps. You could always try plugging your mic into your line input first, and if that doesn't give good volumes/quality, try it in the mic input (with a low rec level setting at first and gradually increase).

The Sony stock earbuds are of notoriously poor quality, and are likely the cause of your trouble. I advise you to get rid of them at once and invest in a good set of replacement earphones. Something like Sennheiser MX300 are cheap, efficient and sound nice (IMO).

Hi. Yes, the current NetMD units won't allow USB transfers from the units to PC. You can use the headphones out on these models and 'transfer' the tracks by recording them on the PC in real-time. Apparently the quality can be quite good this way (I haven't tried it myself). However before going any further, there is a big thing coming very soon in the MD world, in the shape of Hi-MD, which will allow USB uploading. It would obviously be worth your while waiting a month or so for this I should think.

Hi. To answer your questions: 1. It's fine to a leave a disk in the unit for as long as you like. If it's for an extended period it would be best to close the recording tab on the disk itself to prevent accidental recording (like a cassette write protect tab). 2. The rechargeable batteries that Sony provides are usually low capacity nickel cadmiums (I think 700mAh NiCd). Higher capacity NiMH batteries (eg. 2000mAh) would give about 2-3 times longer performance. Not sure if they can be charged in the MD units (I think they can), but anyway it would be better to use an external charger. Commercial AA alkalines would outlast both types of rechargeables of course for playback.

The other post has been deleted... Your problem might well be some dust in the unit. You can try using an MD head cleaner, such as the discwasher, or try a blast of compressed air (but be careful). You (or better, a qualified Pioneer service person) might also be able to take the unit apart and give the laser a proper clean (with alcohol). Hope that helps.

No, none of the new Hi-MD recorders have a built in microphone, you'll have to use an external mic. Note that the only units with a microphone input are: MZ-NH1, NH900, NHF800 and NH700. Traditionally, the Sony "business" MD recorders are the ones with a built in mic/speaker. We may hope to see these next year or so...

Yes, you will have the ability to record SP (or LP2/4) onto standard MDs with the new Hi-MD units.

That's right, felony4th, an SCMS killer or more euphemistically "copy converter", etc. For example one of these babies. Every self-respecting MD (or audio CD-R) fanatic should have one . Looks like they've got a sale on too if you're interested...