oscillik Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 well, after years of iPod and MP3 / Apple AAC use (and various disappointments from Apple's shoddy hardware quality) i've finally jumped in with both feet into Minidisc. i've had a MZ-N10 for a while and due to the remote being useless and its battery failure a while back, i never really paid much attention to the format. my MZ-RH1 arrived today, which i'd been eyeing up for a few weeks now. i thought i'd better get one before the stocks start running out. i'm definitely not disappointed. i'll mainly be using this to record my burgeoning vinyl collection, and at the moment i'm just using standard 80min MDs formatted in Hi-MD mode. hopefully i can grab enough Hi-MD discs in future to be able to record in Linear PCM. so far the only pre-recorded mindisc i own is the GESCOM Minidisc release. i never really fully appreciated the zero-seek time until actually hearing it properly. it's quite funny that the iPod only recently acquired this capability (and even then, only on the relatively newer models). i would like to think i have a good ear for detail, i've been a sound engineer and musician for the past 10 years as a personal hobby, with (albeit unrealistic) aspirations to be a professional sound engineer or musician. with my admittedly limited tests i'm really impressed with the audio quality. i've only had the unit since about 12:30pm so not really had much of a chance to test stuff out. so far i've recorded a couple of tracks from vinyl, and a whole cd (Boards of Canada - Aquarius 7" and autechre - Quaristice). i think these will prove to be a good test of the format, however i plan to record autechre's Draft 7.30 from vinyl to really test it out! i'm really looking forward to using my minidisc recorder to it's full potential, and i hope that in time i can contribute something to this forum. it's such a shame that this format never picked up momentum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Welcome to the forums and congratulations on your new acquisition - . Stick around and hopefully you find this a useful resource and place to exchange ideas and meet some like minded people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomzilla Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 make sure you purchase some extra batteries also...g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscillik Posted September 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 thanks for the welcome guys well, i've tested a transfer from my existing digital library (which is all in Apple AAC format due to my initial adoption of the iPod) to the MZ-RH1 using SonicStage. i had the settings auto-convert the AAC file to 256kbps Hi-SP (ATRAC3plus) and i must say that the result is a bit disappointing...although i'm very sure this is more than likely due to the transcoding needing to be done. i'm trying the same track from the vinyl as a direct line-in, recording at the same setting...just to see if it was the transcoding that was at fault. update: oh dear, looks like it is the lossy compression artefacts i can hear. it's acceptable for now, but it looks like i'm definitely gonna want to try to get hold of some actual Hi-MD discs for Linear PCM recording Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 well, i've tested a transfer from my existing digital library (which is all in Apple AAC format due to my initial adoption of the iPod) to the MZ-RH1 using SonicStage. i had the settings auto-convert the AAC file to 256kbps Hi-SP (ATRAC3plus) What was the bitrate for the AAC files? iTunes downloads at 128kbps definitely won't survive the transcoding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscillik Posted September 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 What was the bitrate for the AAC files? iTunes downloads at 128kbps definitely won't survive the transcoding. nope, i've never bought any music on the iTunes store, i've always ripped my own cd's at 160Kbps AAC. (iTunes store, at least used to be, very low quality and DRM'd to the balls) i have confirmed though that it is the ATRAC3plus compression artefacts and not a transcoding issue. just finished recording the same track as Linear PCM and it's perfect. wish i had spent money on some Hi-MDs now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 i would like to think i have a good ear for detail, i've been a sound engineer and musician for the past 10 years as a personal hobby, with (albeit unrealistic) aspirations to be a professional sound engineer or musician. i'm really looking forward to using my minidisc recorder to it's full potential, and i hope that in time i can contribute something to this forum. it's such a shame that this format never picked up momentum. I really appreciate this guy's Humility ...... and ability to see exactly where he is , vs ; where he visions himself to be . Oscilik , Nice to meet you , I spent 30 years in the music business , and was and Audio engineer and Performing musician , also doing studio sessions I build and repair guitars ...... And you have no idea , how many times that someone who has only maybe 1 year of experience and very limited knowledge , would try and place themselves on a platform for all to see . The advent of the internet and search engines , has made everyone an expert , without having any real experience .......... it saddens me greatly . So to hear you speak in this way is a breath of fresh air . Thank you . PM me anytime . What do you play by the way ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscillik Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 I really appreciate this guy's Humility ...... and ability to see exactly where he is , vs ; where he visions himself to be . Oscilik , Nice to meet you , I spent 30 years in the music business , and was and Audio engineer and Performing musician , also doing studio sessions I build and repair guitars ...... And you have no idea , how many times that someone who has only maybe 1 year of experience and very limited knowledge , would try and place themselves on a platform for all to see . The advent of the internet and search engines , has made everyone an expert , without having any real experience .......... it saddens me greatly . So to hear you speak in this way is a breath of fresh air . Thank you . PM me anytime . What do you play by the way ? hi there TC, thank you for the welcome. it definitely seems like you've had a lot more experience than i have, my only experience so far has been my 3 years at college studying Music Technology at the Halton College in Widnes, Cheshire (UK) where i helped out with various recording sessions for the bands at the college and i also did my own personal production and engineering work. outside of college i've been working with a few musicians here and there, in a collaborative capacity. only one of those side projects is still "up-and-running" at the moment. as for what i can play, i am an electronic musician and as such i stick to synthesizers and drum machines. i was lucky enough to own (and stupid enough to sell!) a rather respectable collection of hardware synthesizers and drum machines. the only hardware equipment i still own are my Akai S6000 sampler (which i'm trying to sell at the moment) and my Yamaha AW4416 audio workstation. i'm keeping hold of that as long as i can though, i trained on the Yamaha O2R96 at college, and the AW4416 is a nice slimmed down version of that. i also extend to you the courtesy of PM anytime, although i'm sure there's little you would like to ask me if you ever want my opinions on autechre's work, i'll be happy to ramble on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscillik Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 after more playing about with my new toy, i'm really impressed with the clarity of the audio coming out of this thing! compared to the iPod it really does shine. even at low volumes, everything is extremely clear. and i'm already really appreciating the on-board editing features. it's very simple and easy. i've been getting a few people scoffing at my decision to switch over to Minidisc, but i'll certainly be championing this format! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 O2 R , was a Nice small mixer , Full Automation , and Digital Pathway throughout . lots of Busses , and flexible signal path routing, Coupled with Lexicon , and Adat XLT's or Protools , it is a good intro to Engineering indeed . I will just say this , I have had my hands on a Sony MP3056 at one point , have used Allen and Heath , and many others ,....Good times . The RH1 , is one of my Favorite machines as well , an AT-822 mic with it , and Wow ....... some serious sound capture . Nice to meet you to . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscillik Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 O2 R , was a Nice small mixer , Full Automation , and Digital Pathway throughout . lots of Busses , and flexible signal path routing, Coupled with Lexicon , and Adat XLT's or Protools , it is a good intro to Engineering indeed . I will just say this , I have had my hands on a Sony MP3056 at one point , have used Allen and Heath , and many others ,....Good times . The RH1 , is one of my Favorite machines as well , an AT-822 mic with it , and Wow ....... some serious sound capture . Nice to meet you to . yeah we had an Allen & Heath G3 desk in the analogue suite, where we'd train on the ADATs. the O2R was in the suite that was hooked up to an Akai DR16 for hard disk recording. i still loved the O2R more though, due to the automation capabilities. but the analogue suite had the Nord Lead 2....and that synth is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 yeah we had an Allen & Heath G3 desk in the analogue suite, where we'd train on the ADATs. the O2R was in the suite that was hooked up to an Akai DR16 for hard disk recording. i still loved the O2R more though, due to the automation capabilities. but the analogue suite had the Nord Lead 2....and that synth is great! My Ex wife of Many years ago stole my Minimoog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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