KJ_Palmer

The CMT-333NT hasn't got a full equaliser, but you can adjust the bass and treble settings. Otherwise, it's a fairly nice little unit, sound is good if not quite spectacular and quite generously equipped and the price isn't bad at all for what you get. I don't use the NetMD bit, but I suspect that's up to Sony's usual standards :roll:. Very compact, so nice for the bedroom, though if you want better quality you should maybe look at a deck.

Perhaps the dealer knows a hack for decks similar to the N707 etc. hacks. So maybe the JE480 how has JB980 functionality. In which case there should be a setting in the menu to turn Auto Pause On/Off, like the JB980. If you press Menu with the unit stopped, enter the Setup menu and twiddle AMS a few times, you should come to an Auto Pause menu from where you should be able to turn it On/Off (if it works like the JB980). Failing that, you should take the unit back to the dealer for them to reset, as the JE480 isn't supposed to have auto pause.

That's scandalous, there's nothing special about the NF610's line in. You can just use a standard patch cable.

Hi Jonathan, the Sharp IM-DR400/410/420 would be worth looking into. They have 8mw x 2 @32 ohm output, so louder than any Sony. They're fairly new, so I don't know much about them, but I have 3 Sharp non-NetMD's and they're all fabulous . Anyway, have fun looking.

You can expect to pay around £110-£120 for an N510, £150-£160 for the N710 over here. The higher price is what you'd pay in the big chains -Dixons, Argos etc. You can get better prices (if you're willing to haggle) certainly down in London, not sure about sunny Yorkshire 8). You'll certainly get the lower output euro-specs here for the Sony's at least. Why not go for a Sharp instead? They're in plentiful supply over here, and aren't output-capped.

Turning the volume up on your stereo should not affect optical recording, which is usually at a fixed level (same as source), certainly on any 'crappy stereo'. It would affect analogue recording if via a headphone output though. Are you sure you're using an optical cable (sorry for asking)? You could try turning up the rec level on your R909. Here's the manual in pdf for your reference: http://www.minidisc.org/manuals/sony/sony_...r909_manual.pdf LP2 is OK, but the best is still SP recording.

I don't go jogging, but sometimes I run for the bus or train... They (that is the Senn MX500) don't fall out then, the foam pads do a nice job of keeping them in place, and you don't get that hard-plastic feel in your lugs...

Yes, I find the Sony stock earphones too big for my ears too. So, I replaced them, with a set of Sennheisser MX500 earphones. They're smaller, more comfortable (especially with the foam pads) and sound about a million times better!

You get a purer signal to record with digital, as there's no intermediate conversion involved. With analogue the signal is converted from digital to analogue and then back to digital for the recording. This can result in some degradation of the original signal and analogue artifacts such as hiss. If it's done with good cables and equipment, an analogue recording can sound as good a digital, so dont write it off, and of course if you record from an analogue source such as tape or record this will have to be done via analogue. Also, if you want to record a MD with SCMS or CD with copy control, you'll usually need to go analogue. There's also the convenience factor: with digital you just plug in the cables and record, without having to worry about recording levels (unless you want to), whereas with analogue you often have to tweak the levels to get the best results. The maximum recording time is 80 minutes in standard (SP) mode, or roughly 20 songs.

I'd personally avoid the N710, even if you've got super hearing, as it's nice to have that extra boost if needed. The equaliser might help, but inevitably adds distortion as that's in its nature (it's not an amplifier as such). If the N510 is 5mWx2 that's fine, though you won't have a microphone input. One of the older Sony NetMD's might be a better option, such as the N707, which you can still see around London. If you don't need NetMD, any Sharp model would be louder - most have 10mW x 2 (into 32 Ohm). I recent picked up a Sharp MDMT170 at Richer Sounds for £70 and it's fantastic .

No to both of those I'm afraid. The R500 being low-end and old generation recorder is restricted to the basics in it's recording abilities. For faster recording you could consider a newer NetMD recorder, or CD/MD deck/bookshelf system. For proper track marking Sharp units sync much better than Sonys in analogue, although digital (optical) recording would do it if you have the right equipment (as I'm sure you're aware).

There aren't that many units that take a footswitch, only the Sony 'B' series, unless I'm mistaken. The only other current model in that range is the Sony MZ-B100, which is slightly larger, so may have bigger buttons. It's got a remote so that might help. I could check later, I have both models (but no stubby fingers ).

Yes, indeed most (well, a lot of) users replace the stock earphones with better commercial earbuds or headphones. Something like the Sennheisser MX500 (or 300/400) would make excellent replacements.

It's your friend's headphone output that's causing the problem, they're usually very noisy, and not designed for audio transfers. Using the mic in probably won't help, and most likely introduce more distortion by overloading it. I doubt that using your deck would help, unless it's got a recording filter. Much better would be to transfer with a cassette deck/audio system that has a proper line out. If you can't get your hands on one of these, you could try experimenting with sound/volume settings on the boombox until you get a 'best' setting for recording.

Yes, all recorders are more or less equal for digital recording. That is, units made in the last couple of years or so. Anything pre-2000 will have a slightly inferior version of ATRAC. An ATRAC Type R or S equipped deck would be even better, something like he Sony MDS-JE480., which is quite cheap

I copy all my compilations to both MD and CD-R, both using hi-fi decks in real-time - No PC's are involved. I don't consider this an inconvenience - a good compilation deserves some time spent on making it. I could even use 4x recording to speed things up, but it always feels better to hear what you're recording. I only listen to MD on the go - CD is too bulky for that, and the MD's sound great. Even on my home stereo system the MD's get most of the play, as the differences I find to be pretty negligible. The whole HDD thing doesn't appeal to me at all, perhaps when a format comes along that's much better than MD comes along I'll consider changing, but for now it's MD all the way.

No, you can't record from the radio on these units. They're pretty much independent from the MD side of things, just drawing power from the battery. Maybe not such a bad thing as the reception tends to be highly variable on portables.

I'm very disappointed with the v-surround on my E10. I never bother with it now, or any of the other sound modes, apart from the graphic equaliser, which is indeed very good through Sennheisser phones.

The last bar ('over' indicator) should still not light up with optical dubs, though you may get away with it if it only happens rarely. Turn down the digital recording level on your MD to 0 (and the digital output level on your source to 0 if it has one) and you should match the source level correctly.

How about the Sharp MD-MT290. It doesn't major on looks and is a bit chunky, but has great recording features (no NetMD but that doesn't seem a problem) and 10mW x 2 output and decent headphones - perfect for the tube . Either that or an older Sony (eg. MZ-N707) or Sharp if they have any.

Yes, Types S and R are completely compatible with each other. The only thing extra Type S DSP does is to enhance MDLP playback slightly.

Yes, the 410 would fit your needs, if not much else.

Definitely worth it. The 710 in the UK has a feeble 1.2mW headphone output, where the 910 has a not-so-feeble 5mW per channel, and lots of extra features, being a high-end model. Check these specs: MZ-N710 MZ-N910.

You can hack the MZ-R501, I've done mine succesfully. However you should follow the R700/R500 hack rather than the N707 hack. And you won't get group mode, this is for later machines only.

The ECM won't power a line-in. The battery just powers the mic itself, not amplifies the signal. You really need an external microphone pre-amplifer, as the 610 doesn't have one built in. You can get one from Sound Professionals. If you can exchange your 610 for a model with mic-in that might be a cheaper option.