bluecrab Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 I recently recorded 26 songs from a web site to my MXD-D40 deck via my Mac's headphone out. The songs, as far as I can tell, were not in a file format - you had to play them to get them. Not a problem, and I recorded them in SP mode. They sound decent enough - perhaps 128 kbps MP3s - but I not too cleverly hoped they'd fit on one 74 minute MD. They don't, and I now have 24 tracks on on MD and 2 on another. My question is whether to re-record all the tracks onto one 80 minute disc or whether to copy (digitally) them all MD>MD onto one disc. Popular opinion seems to be that 2nd generation MD will sound just like the original MD, but I'd still like to ask if anyone would have had a similar experience. My inclination is to play it safe and re-record, but it's kind of tedious so I thought I'd ask about it.BTW, is there an easily usable and inexpensive device that would enable me to play via USB out and have the device convert the signal to optical or coax format? If there is such a device, does it actually result in a higher-quality recording than headphone out? It would have to be an external device in this case, not a card.Thanks for any help or ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ_Palmer Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 (edited) You're always better off re-recording from the original to MD, as there will always be some generational quality reduction to a lossy compression format like ATRAC. This may be especially noticeable if the original was of fairly low quality as in this case.The Xitel MD-USB Port would give excellent digital recordings, providing your Mac's OS is up to it, far better than headphone out, which is obviously only analogue. See here for one on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Xitel-MiniDisc-MD-Port...6QQcmdZViewItem Edited September 12, 2007 by Borat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrab Posted September 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 Thanks. I may alreay have one of those Xitel things...I'll just have to look in the Big Box of Miscellaneous MD Stuff in my basement to see if I got one with any of the used MD gear I've bought over the years. In any case I'll probably re-record. It's not THAT bad - at least the Music Sync on the MD deck's remote works fine even using the headphone out as I/P to the deck. It's just having to play and record one song at a time that's tedious! My Mac OS is 10.3.9 on this particular machine, so unless that's too current a version, it s/b OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyIvan Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 I have recorded from one MD to another. I was hard pressed to save some material and usually don't do that. I must say I was impressed with the quality considering the circumstances. Keep in mind the original MD was recorded from CD optically in SP mode then rerecorded from the line out on my deck to the line in on my Aiwa Portable which is an SP only unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 You're always better off re-recording from the original to MD, as there will always be some generational quality reduction to a lossy compression format like ATRAC. This may be especially noticeable if the original was of fairly low quality as in this case.The Xitel MD-USB Port would give excellent digital recordings, providing your Mac's OS is up to it, far better than headphone out, which is obviously only analogue. See here for one on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Xitel-MiniDisc-MD-Port...6QQcmdZViewItemIt depends on what Mac he has , the soundcard in most modern Macs is 32 bit float 96khz . The headphone out is practically pristine. It also doubles as an Optcal Output , so if his is the Combo out , he could use the Toslink cable , that is what I do on my Macbook Pro . He doesnt need and extra soundcard . You need to go listen to a Mac . It isnt the Macs that sound bad , it is the iPods . Most Audio Studios , and Video production facilities , are ........... ALL on Macs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philippeb Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 I now have 24 tracks on on MD and 2 on another. My question is whether to re-record all the tracks onto one 80 minute disc or whether to copy (digitally) them all MD>MD onto one disc.The Sony MDS-W1 double deck moves tracks between MD (SCMS free, lossless, 4x speed). There is one on ebay.com: item number 280151955515. In my opinion, this the best unit ever built by Sony. With a little help of service mode, it can also duplicate MDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrab Posted September 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 The Sony MDS-W1 double deck moves tracks between MD (SCMS free, lossless, 4x speed). There is one on ebay.com: item number 280151955515. In my opinion, this the best unit ever built by Sony. With a little help of service mode, it can also duplicate MDs.If the seller accepted PayPal, I'd buy it today!I have a 1.25 ghz eMac. Mac OS 10.3.9. I tried a mini-optical out from the headphone out to a full-size optical in on my MXD-D40 - no signal (Din Unlock). MD input was set correctly. It looks like this particular model does not have the combo headphone out :-( I may try this on a more recent Mac and see what happens, it's just that the eMac is the most convenient one for me to use.Then I tried a Xitel MD-Port AN1 USB to optical in. That resulted in the same thing. I wouldn't think there's anything I have to set on the Mac to get either the Xitel or the headphone (in digital mode) to work, but if you know something I do not, or if it's obvious I'm missing something, please let me know.The headphone out does sound pretty good, I think I saw that it has 90 db s/n. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicBringer Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 (edited) I have recorded from one MD to another.Me too..!! I used to do it a lot. I'd record a radio programme onto old style MD (not HiMD) and re-record tracks using a MD deck and MD portable player. No problem and sound quality remained good. Edited September 13, 2007 by MusicBringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 (edited) If the seller accepted PayPal, I'd buy it today!I have a 1.25 ghz eMac. Mac OS 10.3.9. I tried a mini-optical out from the headphone out to a full-size optical in on my MXD-D40 - no signal (Din Unlock). MD input was set correctly. It looks like this particular model does not have the combo headphone out :-( I may try this on a more recent Mac and see what happens, it's just that the eMac is the most convenient one for me to use.Then I tried a Xitel MD-Port AN1 USB to optical in. That resulted in the same thing. I wouldn't think there's anything I have to set on the Mac to get either the Xitel or the headphone (in digital mode) to work, but if you know something I do not, or if it's obvious I'm missing something, please let me know.The headphone out does sound pretty good, I think I saw that it has 90 db s/n.If the Headphone Jack is White ,it is an Optical Combo jack , The "Din Unlock" means "No Signal " which means itregistered the optical , but nothing was coming out , Do it again just the same way you did before Optical and set the MD the same way and hit plt on the computer , I think you were in Sync Mode . In Sync mode the recorder wont start untill there is a signal at the optical read buffer.just to check , Plug the Toslink cable in to the mac , play the file and see if the other end of the cable is glowing red , if it is you have Optical out . Edited September 13, 2007 by Guitarfxr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrab Posted September 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 If the Headphone Jack is White ,it is an Optical Combo jack , The "Din Unlock" means "No Signal " which means itregistered the optical , but nothing was coming out , Do it again just the same way you did before Optical and set the MD the same way and hit plt on the computer , I think you were in Sync Mode . In Sync mode the recorder wont start untill there is a signal at the optical read buffer.just to check , Plug the Toslink cable in to the mac , play the file and see if the other end of the cable is glowing red , if it is you have Optical out .Some experimentation and research showed that neither of my Mac mini PPCs has the combo out. Probably my Intel mini does, but that machine is currently not being used. I'm not going to set up the Intel just for this purpose, though I want to thank you for you comments - they helped me to figure out what the situation was. I may just record directly from the Mac via the analog headphone out to my HHB CD-R, if only to avoid transcoding. Maybe. Then again, it seemed to me that the MD sounded pretty good. This forum is the best!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Some experimentation and research showed that neither of my Mac mini PPCs has the combo out. Probably my Intel mini does, but that machine is currently not being used. I'm not going to set up the Intel just for this purpose, though I want to thank you for you comments - they helped me to figure out what the situation was. I may just record directly from the Mac via the analog headphone out to my HHB CD-R, if only to avoid transcoding. Maybe. Then again, it seemed to me that the MD sounded pretty good. This forum is the best!!AHH ppc , ok , well if you want optical in/out , the M-Audio Transit , USB sound Module is great , and works with Mac , the driver is also Univeral Binary and has adjustable gain over a pretty wide range , Input Gain as well as Out I have one just to take with me if I have to use someone elses computer for live stuff, but I have used it on The Macbook Pro , and it sounds very good. http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Transit-main.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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