Sparky191 Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 I've a bunch of stuff on cassette. In the past I used to record it to my Sharp MD SR60 and then record it back on to the PC as a wav. I found this cleaned up the cassette recordind nicely. I now have a Sony MZ-G750 which I'm experiementing with. My initial thoughts are that I prefer the sound of the Sharp. Seems richer and fuller somehow. However the LP2 mode would make a lot easier. Since I could record more in one sitting. Of course the alternative is to record direct to PC. But then I'd lose the compression of the MD recording which I think is improving the sound of these old recordings. Also dragging the PC and Cassette deck together is a lot of hassle. Any thoughts? I see MZ-NH600s in my local store which has a analog and digital line in. I'm wondering would this give me any better options, such as giving me a longer recording time? Would the sound quality be better than the Sharp and the Sony G750? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Tires Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Yes the NH600 will give you a longer recording time. I'd suggest getting it. You can record 34 hours on one Hi-MD disc at Hi-LP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted December 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Yes the NH600 will give you a longer recording time. I'd suggest getting it. You can record 34 hours on one Hi-MD disc at Hi-LP.How long for HiSP? Since I'm loath to degrade these recordings any more than I have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ_Palmer Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 You get 7 hours 55 mins on one 1GB disk for Hi SP (256 kbps). Also, sound quality is at least partially subjective, but I do prefer my Hi-MD units (NH600 and NH900) to either my old Sharps or G750 in that respect.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted December 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Thanks for the info. After some more listening tests, I seem to prefer the Sony, or the sharp and either SP or LP2 mode depending on the track being played. Obviously different units colour the sound differently and sometimes you prefer one over the other. How long does a standard MD give me in HiSP? I think the HiMD would be very handy for recodrding these cassettes. MY cassette unit can play 2 cassettes back to back so thats a lot to record and saves a lot of time. If I got the MZ-NH600s I'd have to source a remote for it. That would bug me. As does the lack of a backlight. Ah well. MD/HiMD 3 steps forward and 2 back with every development. What remotes are compatible? Is there an AM/FM remote compat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ_Palmer Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 You'd get about 140 minutes worth of Hi-SP on an 80 min blank - ie. just under what you'd get in LP2, which seems a pretty good deal. I've tried various old and new remotes with my NH600, starting with the RM-MC11ES. They all seem compatible, though obviously you won't get group functions with the older ones. None of the AM/FM remotes will work with the NH600 - well the radio won't work, the basic functions should... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Why, if your purpose is archival, would you go through the realtime process of copying cassette to MD then again from MD to your computer? Why not just plug the cassette deck into the computer, skipping the extra time spent, and skipping the one generation of lossy encoding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted January 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 From my first post... :smile: ....Of course the alternative is to record direct to PC. But then I'd lose the compression of the MD recording which I think is improving the sound of these old recordings. Also dragging the PC and Cassette deck together is a lot of hassle. ....After some more listening tests I'm starting the think that the Sony G750 recordings are more true to the originals. The Sharps are all coloured. Which I prefer I dunno. I'm also thinking of picking up a walkman so I can use that to record from directly onto the PC. But would the quality suffer too much I wonder. Guess I'll have to test some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 Put straight: any processing in the chain colours sound, especially a pass of lossy compression/decompression. Repeated D/A and A/D conversions are included in this. Straight from the deck to the computer is always best, counting on your sound card having decent A/D conversion. But yes, I digress at the same time - I skimmed the posts, missing your first point there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 but sparky likes the way the compression/recompression hides faults in the cassette recordings in a pleasing way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted January 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 but sparky likes the way the compression/recompression hides faults in the cassette recordings in a pleasing way.I do yes. But I take the point of repeated D/A and A/D conversions. I'm not after the least lossy transfer, but the best sounding one. I hink I'll have to do a lot of listening tests and then decide which compromises are worth taking. Since it will take a lot more time doing it via the MD. At the moment I have a USB MP3+ attached to my laptop and I hope to be picking up a Audigy2 for the desktop later in the day. I wondering if it not just best to pick up a cassete walkman and use that with the PC. That would be handier all around. Since I just leave the desktop recording in the background. Whereas putting the computer beside the casette deck is very awkward. As this is a process I'll be doing for a few weeks I have to consider the practicalities. Incidentally, what do I need to get a digital connection to a Audigy 2 as it only has a 3.5mm digital jack? The USB Mp3+ had toslink connectors which is very handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Tires Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 Radio Shack sell cable ends that fit over the TOSlink connector in order to conver it to a .35mm jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted January 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 Do you think I'd lose much quality recording from a walkman vs an older but high end midi system. Bearing in mind even though I can use dolby noise reduction (B and C) I never do as I feel you lose too much of the range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted January 3, 2005 Report Share Posted January 3, 2005 Most important considerations for copying from cassette [iMO]: 1) transport stability. portables [walkmans] are notoriously bad for this, meaning wow, flutter, and usually also incorrectly-set playback speed. Component decks usually use small flywheels and dual capstans &c. in their transport to ensure that tape motion is as stable as possible. 2) head azimuth [alignment]: the #1 cause of lost high frequencies on playback. With a decent prerecorded cassette and a jeweller's screwdriver one can usually fix this in a minute or two just by listening closely and re-aligning the heads with their set screw. Do -NOT- realign heads on an autereverse/quickreverse deck unless you know what you're doing, though. 3) properly calibrated preamps and Dolby NR [for prerecorded tapes]. Dolby B's proper functioning requires that the player be reproducing signals at the proper level before they get to the NR decoder. Too low or two high will generally ruin the high end. I advise actually -using- Dolby B for playback if the cassette was recorded with it, as you are otherwise just adding emphasis [and compression[ to the high end, artificially sweetening it. This does go to taste, though; improperly-biased recordings may end up sounding totally flat and lifeless, and leaving NR off will sometimes help with this. Also, use the proper EQ setting for playback, i.e. 120us the type I [ferric oxide], type II [chomium dioxide], type III [extinct, ferrichrome], and type IV [metal oxide]. Once again, using the wrong setting will either emphasise or de-emphasise the recording. What I would suggest is looking on eBay or even in pawn shops for a half-decent component cassette deck, which often go for very little money these days. Buying a used deck and paying for a tune-up is worth it and will give great results if you're looking to archive your cassettes. Chances are the midi system, if it really is 'high end' to any degree, will be better than any walkman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted January 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2005 Ok thanks for that info. Cassette idea shelved! Great to get feedback on this. Was looking for a decent seperates tape deck but they seem rarer than hens teeth. Even casette walkman are hard to find now. I think I'll have to go back to the midi. The Mp3+ I have for the laptop isn't good enough after some listening tests. So I'll have to see what better PC Soundcard I can pick up. In the meanwhile I go back to using the Sony MD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.