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Deck vs PC, and "true SP"

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theblueraja

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I just ordered an MXD-D40 deck, and am very excited about ripping a CD to MD without a computer. I have 2 questions I'm hoping someone can answer.

1) Is there any difference between ripping a CD to Sonic Stage at 132k, then transferring it to an MD in LP2 versus using a deck that dubs/rips a CD to LP2 on an MD?

2) Is dubbing a CD from a CD Player with an optical cable into an MD deck recording it in SP going to be better or the same than if you ripped a CD to MD in SP on a CD/MD combo deck?

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I just ordered an MXD-D40 deck, and am very excited about ripping a CD to MD without a computer. I have 2 questions I'm hoping someone can answer.

1) Is there any difference between ripping a CD to Sonic Stage at 132k, then transferring it to an MD in LP2 versus using a deck that dubs/rips a CD to LP2 on an MD?

2) Is dubbing a CD from a CD Player with an optical cable into an MD deck recording it in SP going to be better or the same than if you ripped a CD to MD in SP on a CD/MD combo deck?

1) It might be possible. I have always believed that the Atrac codec on the hardware side is fundamentally different to the Atrac codec on the software side. No one really knows because Sony gaurds it with total secrecy.

2) The D40 has Atrac type R, which it uses when you record SP either from its own CD player to MD in real time or if you recorded via an external CD drive. However, when you use the 4x speed recording option it uses the lower Atrac 4.5, not Atrac type R. But I doubt the difference is significant to matter that much.

Edited by kino170878
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I second that question, and would like to add, is there a big difference between a realtime and a 4x dub using the combo deck? I'm sure hi-speed dubbing usually has a loss, but we are talking digital here, so you never know... thoughts?

Well thats the difference right there, with HighSpeed dubbing the unit can't use its advanced Type-R Atrac encoder, it uses an older variant, which wont sound as good, but I'm not sure how much difference there is, try them both :)

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Well its all Non Hi-MD so no there is no PCM being written to MD, however, when dubbing 1x SP the player takes the PCM from the CD and transcodes it into SP through a Type R encoding chip, but when you dub a PCM CD to a MD at a increased speed, it is unable to use that Type-R encoder, instead it uses a older encoder, capable of handling the increased workload that highspeed dubbing introduces. I think.

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I think 4.5 is perfectly fine myself. Heck even Atrac 4.0 which my old MZ-R37 uses seems fine to me. Unless you are obsessed with listening out for the slightest differences under laboratory conditions I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Incidentally, the MDS-W1 double deck can take raw Atrac SP data and copy it at 4x speed. How it manages to do that I will never know. There are times when I wish I could hire an electronics specialist to take the unit apart (I have two so I can spare one) and to carefully figure out a way to replicate the lossless copying procedure into a software program. I would call it 'LegacyStage' just to infuriate Sony!

Edited by kino170878
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I think 4.5 is perfectly fine myself.
I concur. I cannot tell the difference between ATRAC 4.5 and Type R. Newer ATRAC3 codecs sound worse, colder and more aggressive to my ears.

Incidentally, the MDS-W1 double deck can take raw Atrac SP data and copy it at 4x speed.
The MDS-W1 is definitely the most precious deck ever made.

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If it had the option for LP2, I'd agree.

Not sure why I'd care about that - LP2 is not a format for archiving, so the defragging and stuff it does is of no particular interest. SP, OTOH is another matter. Armed with one of these, the MD becomes a nice place to actually archive things, albeit only 80 minutes at a time.

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Not sure why I'd care about that - LP2 is not a format for archiving, so the defragging and stuff it does is of no particular interest. SP, OTOH is another matter. Armed with one of these, the MD becomes a nice place to actually archive things, albeit only 80 minutes at a time.

Archive?? Are you serious? How about .wav or FLAC on some portable HD's backed up... a lot less space, and even better quality.

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I concur. I cannot tell the difference between ATRAC 4.5 and Type R. Newer ATRAC3 codecs sound worse, colder and more aggressive to my ears.

I only use SP, never LP.

I have got a Sony CMT-DC500MD, which is able to copy from a CD to a MD like a MDM-D3, but in 1x or 2x speed, not in 4x.

How could I know which chip is used when I choose 1x or 2x speed ? Could the quality of the encoding be different ?

The MDS-W1 is definitely the most precious deck ever made.

I hope I will have one, one day...

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