are all minidiscs created equal

[WaywardTraveller]

Just wondering....after reading a review where one guy said the design of some Maxell discs was good, but the discs themselves were "the usual Maxell substandard," thought I'd pop this question out.

I always thought that as long as all the zeros and ones were recorded and read properly, the music would appear faithfully...but some people talk about how some discs have stunted high ranges or lack definition in the mid-range or whatever. I'm a newbie to all this, so I ask you: can it be true?

[greenmachine]

Analogue tape/cassettes definitely had their own sound characteristic, but digital media? I don't think so, at least not until errors occur. Maybe some brands are more prone to read/write errors, i don't know.

[WaywardTraveller]

Analogue tape/cassettes definitely had their own sound characteristic, but digital media? I don't think so, at least not until errors occur. Maybe some brands are more prone to read/write errors, i don't know.

Well, I was thinking of this guy's review for example:

http://www.audiocubes.com/product_reviews_...?reviews_id=466

He talks about error-susceptibility, but also about how "Some have a better high end while others give a warm feel to its playback while I find the HHB Pros have all these qualities"...

peace

WaywardTraveller

[jaylen]

Personally, I don't hold much value to most AudioCubes' reviews, especially if it's the 1st and only review. You never know how far people will go and how much BS they'll say just to get that AC $5-off coupon or to cure their boredom. Check out these shady reviews on the outrageously-priced 37LT remote: http://www.audiocubes.com/category/Audio+P...ner_remote.html

As for MD blanks, someone asked a similar question a few months ago. I think the bottom line was there are differences in luck rather than brand or sound differences.

Edit: Here's that old thread. Which are the best brands of MD media?

Edited August 30, 2006 by jaylen

[BobS]

Digital media is just 0s and 1s. Minidisc just stores data. The firmware in the unit turns that data back into audio. It is impossible for a disc to sound "warmer" or "richer" or any other "er".

If the media has a high error rate, then the system error correction takes over. It has one of two results.

It corrects the data, in which case you get the correct number.

It cannot correct the data, in which case masking occurs.

MD, like CD, will take the previous 16 bit block of data and use it to mask if it cannot recover the current 16 bits. Since their are 44,100 of these samples per second, you would not notice a block or two of data. I have seen some tests that show you rarely play an entire CD without some correction (not masking) going on.

The main thing with a blank MD would be the quality of the build. Media that is not prone to errors and shutters that work smoothly. As long as the data can be read, the sound will be the same.

I believe the problem is people looking at MD as an audio recording media. I, like CD audio, is really a data storage media. It is the firmware/software that makes this date audio

[bland10000]

MD, like CD, will take the previous 16 bit block of data and use it to mask if it cannot recover the current 16 bits. Since their are 44,100 of these samples per second, you would not notice a block or two of data. I have seen some tests that show you rarely play an entire CD without some correction (not masking) going on.

Didn't know what those numbers meant when I read them in spec. sheets; now I do.

[sector001]

Personally, I don't hold much value to most AudioCubes' reviews, especially if it's the 1st and only review. You never know how far people will go and how much BS they'll say just to get that AC $5-off coupon or to cure their boredom. Check out these shady reviews on the outrageously-priced 37LT remote: http://www.audiocubes.com/category/Audio+P...ner_remote.html

As for MD blanks, someone asked a similar question a few months ago. I think the bottom line was there are differences in luck rather than brand or sound differences.

Edit: Here's that old thread. Which are the best brands of MD media?

i bought the same remote from ebay for $37 but i had sold off my 800.