MXD-D400

[bluecrab]

I recently bought the Sony MXD-D400 deck. This is the big (and I mean big) deck that does CD>MD at copying at up to 4X. I bought it mainly for that reason and also because of its LP2 ability. In general, I'm happy with the deck.

However, I have a couple of questions.

The first is about LP2 quality. While some say that the difference between LP2 and standard mode is either undetectable or negligible, I have not found that to be so, EXCEPT on my portables via headphones. In that case I really cannot tell the difference or it is small enough to be of no concern.

But when I record using LP2 and play back through my main system, it seems to me that the LP2 is JUST good enough to listen to. Differences seem to be particularly noticeable in certain vocal passages, as well as any loud or complex parts of short duration. Have others noticed this about LP2? I am feeling like I will be fine with LP2 for portable use, but for home use - not really.

The other question is about hi-speed copy quality. I thought I detected some differences in an MD made at hi-speed from the source CD. These were not as noticeable as LP2, but still there, I thought. Then again, perhaps that's just me. It doesn't seem there should be any difference no matter whether the copy is made at 1x or 4x. So I was just wondering if anyone else who has this unit, or any other MD unit that does hi-speed copying, has ever had that experience?

[Christopher]

Welcome to the forums! :happy:

There is indeed a difference between a real-time dub and a high-speed dub. For the absolute best recording, it has to be done in real time. Now, I don't think I have my wires crossed when I say this, but when you use a 2x/4x type of recording, you're actually using a lesser version of ATRAC than the one you'd use in the 1:1 scenario since you're utilizing different processors. The differences are very slim, but it is noticeable if your ears are tuned to such.

I agree about LP2 sounding fine in portables, but in a home system the differences between it and SP are very noticeable! It just doesn't sound right to me sometimes, but I've learned to accept it.

btw - I own a SD-NX10 bookshelf.

[bluecrab]

Thanks. I couldn't find any mention of the different ATRACs in the manual, but I did find it in the minidisc.org equipment browser for the quite similar MXD-D40. You are correct. Although the D40 has ATRAC-R and the D-400 ATRAC-S, I am sure it's the same result, in that you get the better ATRAC in real-time copy only. I wonder, then, exactly what ATRAC I'm actually getting with the hi-speed copy!

This situation is unfortunate, but I will have to live with it. When I really need high-quality, high-speed copies I can use my Aiwa CD-R, which of course simply transfers bits as they are, at whatever speed. I can then at a later time, if I need to, copy at 1X to MD (I have an SCMS stripper that makes this possible).

I also find that the hi-speed copies are fine for the Clarion MD in my truck, although that doesn't do LP2. Thanks again for your response, it was most helpful!

[marcoleavitt]

I just bought this deck too. Why is it so big? What's in there that needs so much space? It's heavy too. UPS listed the shipping at 22 lbs. Not a problem I guess. I'm more curious than anything.

[KJ_Palmer]

I'm not quite sure, the size is one thing that put me off the MXD-D400 (and it's not easily obtainable here). A heavier chassis is supposed to give better isolation from vibrations and so on, but then it's hardly a high-end deck. The MDX-D40 (it's predecessor) is much narrower, the same depth as any other deck, and lighter at under 5kg. Shame it doesn't play audio CD-RW like the D400 though....

[MDX-400]

Thanks. I couldn't find any mention of the different ATRACs in the manual, but I did find it in the minidisc.org equipment browser for the quite similar MXD-D40. You are correct. Although the D40 has ATRAC-R and the D-400 ATRAC-S, I am sure it's the same result, in that you get the better ATRAC in real-time copy only. I wonder, then, exactly what ATRAC I'm actually getting with the hi-speed copy!

I think you *may* be getting a little confused with ATRAC types (it isn't your fault really, more the fault of Sony's way of marketing them)...

ATRAC Type-S incorporates ATRAC Type-R and adds another enhancement for ATRAC3 (different from ATRAC 3.0 which is just a previous revision of ATRAC and has nothing to do with ATRAC3). The enhancement for ATRAC3 (MDLP) is for playback of ATRAC3/MDLP tracks alone. That is "Type-S" is only effective during playback of LP2 or LP4 tracks. Therefore you'd only get the enhancement when playing back MDLP tracks on a unit with Type-S (like the D400).

ATRAC Type-R is really ATRAC[1] version 5.0. This affects the recording and playback of SP tracks (it has no relevance to ATRAC3 & MDLP). The quality of SP recordings is heavily dependant on the ATRAC revision. Type-R being the best you can get.

When you record at high-speed in ANY Sony deck/unit that allows it, the recording ATRAC will revert to a previous version. So for a Type-R enabled deck like yours the recording will be done in ATRAC 4.5 on a high-speed recording, not ATRAC Type-R (which would be used on a realtime recording).

However, the difference between the 4.5 and Type-R is really not very audible. From my experience it seems the high frequencies are very *slightly* better sounding on a Type-R recording vs. a 4.5. But you may be getting other factors coming in such as the ability of the CD drive to read CDs at high speed (especially with scratched/damaged CDs) as well as the way in which the remainder of the decks circuitry handles the digital audio at high speed. I don't think you should hear much difference, but you may... If so you may want to stick to realtime recordings.

As for any differences in ATRAC3 recordings (MDLP) at higher speeds, I don't know that there should be any difference as ATRAC3 is always encoded to the same standard, I believe. Any differences here in recording quality might point out to other shortcomings of the deck at highspeed, like those noted above.

Finally as for the differences being heard through your home audio setup but not through the portable + headphones, this may be dependant on the headphones you're using. I would think it would usually be the other way around, but the case may be that your home setup outdoes your portable/headphones combo to the degree where you start to hear the sonic differences with LP2.