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Small Radio-station Needs Your Guiding!

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El Eddie

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I work at a radiostation called k103 (www.k103.se) and we are planning on buying 2 or 3 minidisc-recorders for interviews. What can you guys recommend?

The units need to be easy to use, not necessarily Hi-md but good quality.  smile.gif

could you specify your needs a bit more...like:

do you need to have the recordings on PC? price range? backwards compatibility? what method to play recordings back (need dedicated line out)? color tongue.gif ? and so on...

greetings, Volta

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built-in stereo mic

but if you want (very) good (broadcast) quality and especially very little background/machine noise you will have to use a mic that can be separated some distance from the recorder

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Unless you want to do all your transfers in real time, get Hi-MD in the MZ-NH or MZ-RH series. Any model except NH-600, NH-600D or DH10, which are for downloading music, not mic recording. The other models all have mic jacks.

On NetMD, your best quality is SP, and you get 80 minutes per 80-minute disc. On Hi-MD, your second-best (but fine for interviews) quality is Hi-SP, and you get almost 2 1/2 hours per 80-minute disc. And you have to record analog out of the headphone jack.

You will need outboard microphones, but you probably have them if you were using cassette recorders.

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get a NetMD model like MZ-N707 or MZ-N9xx. Those are NetMD recorders, so you can play back your recordings on your PC through SonicStage and get a (realtime) digital recording with TotalRecorder.

I beg your pardon? When did this luxury happen? My NetMD (MZ-N1) wouldn't let me play tracks through SS over USB. The USB traffic on NetMD is ONE-WAY ONLY - PC>MD.

You can't even use Hi-MD to play these back over USB!

Whichever NetMD you have, the only option for a digital upload is through an MD deck with a digital output - the alternative of course, being an analog playback.

Or did I dream all that?

Edited by Wedge
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Or did I dream all that?

No, I was dreaming. I got a little too excited when SS 3.1 actually displayed the contents of an old MD. Sorry about that.

Anyway, there's still WinNetMD for the NetMD units, which uses SonicStage to control the playback and records (out of the headphone jack) each track on the MD as a separate file.I guess Sony still can't figure out how to do that.

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but if you want (very) good (broadcast) quality and especially very little background/machine noise you will have to use a mic that can be separated some distance from the recorder

Note that "broadcast quality" in radio terms is WAY, WAY below the standards followed for just about anything else.

Common radio setup [CBC reporters carry this stuff]:

* MZ-R57 recorder

* 3.5mm -> XLR adapter [with bracket, screwed onto the bottom of the MD]

* AKG dynamic omnidirectional mic [handheld reporter's mic, response drops at 15kHz]

MD settings: HIGH mic sens, AGC on NORMAL

By my experience, most actual radio recordists are about as far from purist recordists as one can possibly get. Their goal is to get the sound, period, even if it means compressing/limiting the crap out of it, using a mediochre but extremely durable omni mic, &c.

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  • 7 months later...

Thanx for your help! :D

I was thinking of a unit that was:

-easy to record with

-not necessary to upload digitally

-with standard batteries, (maybe)dont know how good internal batteries are in older models

-essentially, a god recorder unit

ps: Ill check MZ-R57

Edited by El Eddie
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-easy to record with

-not necessary to upload digitally

-with standard batteries, (maybe)dont know how good internal batteries are in older models

-essentially, a god recorder unit

ps: Ill check MZ-R57

I recommend the 57 [and and its little-brother model, the 37, for the following reasons:

* durable metal case

* record/option controls are switches and buttons, rather than using menus

* manual level control can be enabled without using a menu

* they use AA batteries [2]

* actual line output, not just headphone out

My friend still uses her MZ-R37 for stringer/freelance work, and compared to either my NH700 or RH10 it is built like a tank, and with the exception of titling and editing, its controls are much more direct-access and easier to use than any of the current generation.

If they would take an R57 or R37 case and put HiMD guts into it, I'd buy it in a second.

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Note that you will have to find old models like the R37 and R57 used, looking in places like Ebay. If they've sat in someone's closet for 10 years, great. If they've been knocked around, not so great. Look carefully at condition and consider whether the seller is trustworthy.

I never had a double-digit R model, but I also found the MZ-R700 had nice big controls and was a good solid unit for recording--still with no upload capability.

For a new recorder, the NH700 will suit all your needs, including running for a long time on an AA battery (a Duracell or a longer-life rechargeable than the included one).

Minidisc-Canada

http://www.minidisc-canada.com/shopdisplay...iniDisc+Players

and www.minidisco.com

have good deals on it.

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The NH900 will work well for you to, and Minidisco, minidisccanada, as well as some people out of Australia have them as well, check ithe classifieds, fraesus may still have some, IMHO Hi-MD is the way to go because at some point you are going to want to do a digital upload, as well you may be able to do line recordings as well if you have access to mixing boards.

Happy hunting

Bob

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