KJ_Palmer

In the UK, places like Woolworths, MVC, Dixons, Virgin, Maplins even Borders sell lens cleaners, and I've seen some in independent electrical/audio retailers. Maybe we're spoiled here somewhat in London, but you should find some by shopping around. Your recording unit might be mis-tracking causing bad sectors, so it might be worth getting a head cleaner as well. I think TDK do a combined head/lens cleaner. But also make sure your recording unit (JE640?) is on on stable, flat surface and doesn't get subjected to shocks as this could cause bad sectoring.

The UK N710 is, I'm sorry to say, 1.2mW (x2).

The R500 can only record in realtime. For faster than realtime recording (usually 32x downloading) you need a NetMD recorder. The Sony MZ-N510 is a good basic NetMD recorder and costs ~$150. If you want live recording too you'd be looking at the MZ-N710. The files are 'universal' or at least can be made to play on any MD unit.

If it's a Sony MZ-R500 then you can record to it. The simplest way is by using a stereo line lead (3.5mm jacks). You can get that cheaply from Radioshack or a similar audio retailer. Plug one end into a line out on your PC, the other end into the line in on your MD. Press record and play on your MD unit, and play your PC tracks. If you have an optical output on your PC you can record with a digital optical cable, which will give you better results.

Also, the N10 has a microphone input (the 610 doesn't). The N10 runs off a rechargeable (built in) Li-ion battery, the 610 takes just an AA.

No problem. Even so, the hacked line out is useful. It sounds pretty good even on my old R500, and it's handy to be able to switch in a button press (or two), rather than fiddling with the volume etc 8) .

No, these are 'true' line outs, with dedicated circuitry to bypass the headphone amp. The hacked line outs go through the headphone circuits, but with volume at max and any bass/treble settings turned off.

N707 = great unit, nice features, good looks, a classic. Can't fault it. I think the RM-MC11EL remote would work with the N707.

The Pioneer MJ-D508 doesn't have MDLP (no deck released before 2002 would have), but has a nice signal processing feature for noisy analogue sources. I'd suggest the Sony MDS-JB980 (£250 and 'Special UK edition') as probably the best home deck going, or failing that the JE780 (~£220), which virtually the same features set. If money's tight the JE480 (~£120) is an excellent basic deck (no NetMD though). All these have MDLP and ATRAC Type S. If you're after a CD-MD combo deck, the MXD-D400 looks a good choice, but not sure if it's available in the shops yet. I'm going to check on friday... MDLP recording is in stereo by the way.

Most MD recorders don't have a microphone, but most do have a microphone input jack for an external mic (that you buy separately). Some don't have a mic-in jack though, so beware of these, usually the lowest end models like the Sony MZ-N510, and of course playback only models don't either. The only current models (to my knowledge) with a built in microphone are the Sony MZ-B100 (stereo) and MZ-B10 (mono). These are the so-called 'business' machines. Hope that helps.

Only full size MD decks currently have optical outputs, they cost about the same as decent portable recorders. See, eg. http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MDS-JE780.html You could also digitally transfer to PC using the ouput out of one of these.

If your band is very loud, you probably need a battery box from Sound Professionals or suchlike to avoid distortion. I use the ECM907 microphone for recording classical orchestral music, and it works very well without a battery box, but then the volume is of course much lower than rock music.

The MZ-S1 http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-S1.html has a line in, but no mic-in.

Maplins in the UK do some nice cheap MD storage racks that hold 20 (I think) MD's. There's several in the London area and elsewhere.

The output from record players is generally very low, unless it has a built in pre-amplifier. If not, and you are trying to connect it to a line or auxiliary input, you will need to buy a phono pre-amp suitable for turntables, to boost the signal to line level. These can be bought (fairly) cheaply from audio retailers. If, however you have an external amplifier with a phono stage, connect your turntable to that, but then ONLY if you're sure your turntable isn't amplified itself. Hope that makes sense...

The Sharp MD-MT290 is the mic-in version of the 270, and only a little more expensive. I'd recommend this model for live recording.

I aso use Sennheisser MX500, and they wipe the floor with the Sony stock buds.

Yes, there are decks with digital outs, this is the only way to transfer from MD digitally. Only Sony make MD decks nowadays. Try looking for the MDS-JE780 or JB980, or the slightly older JE770/JB940.

After the 65 minutes, the remaining 20% takes about 3 hours. I believe you don't run the risk of overcharging, so I usually start charging last thing at night, leave it on and in the morning it's done.

No problem, enjoy your new MD!

Hi. Assuming you use 80 minutes MD blanks here's what you can record: You can record up to 3 hours 20 minutes on an MD, ie. 5 hours 20 mins. SP = highest (near CD) quality: 80 minutes stereo. Mono = same quality as SP, but monaural : 160 minutes mono. LP2 = lower (but quite good) quality : 160 minutes stereo. LP4 = lowest quality : 320 minutes (joint) stereo. How long they record and playback is machine dependant, but for recent MD recorders expect something like 40 hours playback and 20 hours recording time and a single charge/battery. Also as they quality goes down, the recording/playback life goes up, ie. much more life with LP4 than SP. Only the business recorders by Sony have built in mikes/speakers, ie. MZ-B10 and B100. I use the B10 for recording my own musical efforts and I'd say it's a worthy investment. Kevin

I use combine and divide and move quite a bit. For recording from the radio divide (and delete) is invaluable for getting rid of unwanted adverts, chat etc. I can then move similar tracks together and for classical music I can combine different movements together seamlessly. Couldn't live without this editability.

That's right, in fact you can mix all modes on the same disk - SP, LP2/4 and mono if you like. You just can't join two separate tracks recorded in different modes.

I use both these mics. The 'Music' and 'Voice' (or whatever) switches on the 717 are handy, probably similar to the wide/narrow angle on the 907. The 717 is much smaller, and can use the plug in power, whereas the 907 needs the AA battery to power it. I'm not really a microphone expert, and I haven't got the specs on me, but I slightly prefer the 907 when stealth or portability isn't required. I can't tell much difference in the quality though, they're probably about the same, and they both seem to give very nice results .

It would sound fine, I do plenty of digital MD-MD dubs and they sound great. But in absolutely terms a CD-MD dub will always produce a more faithful recording because the level of compression is single, not double.