vienna Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 hey guys, my old Sharp MD player packed up last week(problems reading TOC) so ive decided to invest in a new one, but im now completely daunted by the number of formats, options, possibilites etc. i basically have a extensive CD collection, a fair number of MDs and i also use my laptop for MP3s. id prefer to stay with MD, but the majority of my music will be in MP3 form and im not willing to sacrifice a double loss in quality. so i thought about purchasing a smaller iPod for mp3s and then invest in a decent MD. (can you confirm that NetMDing MP3s onto MD isnt feasible quality wise?) i like the look of the Sharp DR580, but the dock dependency and inability to use different headphones is a real drawback. im greatly attracted to the DS8 player but i need a recording device. the DR420 looks like a great deal, but i love the sturdier built quality and look of the two above. my immediate questions are: in terms of recording quality, it shouldnt alter greatly between models right? ie quality is source dependent. ie. can i buy something old and then use the DS8 to play it? or is this crazy. where can i buy the DS8, i cant find it anywhere(Europe)? in terms of NetMD, are there any quality issues in copying CDs in SP? (as opposed to recording real time via a non-NetMD USB-Optical output.) would you just get the Sony N910, sacrificing the Sharp 1-bit Amp, to save the hassle!! apologies for such a long post!!! regards, J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ_Palmer Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 Such a lot of questions - I'll try to answer some though... I think it's not a problem to put, say 128 kbs MP3's onto NetMD, even with ATRAC conversion (to LP2) there seem to be be many happy customers. The DR420 is indeed a great deal, and would probably sound very close to the other Sharps you mentioned. I'd go for the DR410 (unless you need mic recording) instead, as I hate the 420's cheap remote and short cord earphones. The 410 has a decent length phone cord (sans remote)... If you use NetMD for SP (rather than real-time + optical) yes there's a significant quality hit - basically you'll just get LP2 in SP's clothing if you pardon the mis-quote. Plus the downloading time isn't that great - you may as well use real-time and maximise quality. Old machines usually have old codecs, which may be inferior. However ATRAC encoders haven't changed significantly since about ATRAC Type-R (2001), so you'd be mostly all right with an old recorder. Finally (!), the 1-bit Sharp amp is truly great, but that "digital" amp in the N910 isn't too shabby either (even in the French, er, I mean Euro version), after a good tweak at the custom settings. In fact I bought a blue N910 today and lovely she is too... So why not spoil yourself and get a DR420/420 and N910. I know I did... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vienna Posted May 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 Such a lot of questions - I'll try to answer some though... I think it's not a problem to put, say 128 kbs MP3's onto NetMD, even with ATRAC conversion (to LP2) there seem to be be many happy customers. The DR420 is indeed a great deal, and would probably sound very close to the other Sharps you mentioned. I'd go for the DR410 (unless you need mic recording) instead, as I hate the 420's cheap remote and short cord earphones. The 410 has a decent length phone cord (sans remote)... well, im rather picky about sound quality(id lay awake at night if i thought id accepted second best!), but if i MDed 256kbs MP3s do you think this would directly compensate for the ATRAC loss or is this not a valid assumption? If you use NetMD for SP (rather than real-time + optical) yes there's a significant quality hit - basically you'll just get LP2 in SP's clothing if you pardon the mis-quote. Plus the downloading time isn't that great - you may as well use real-time and maximise quality. so optical/real time in SP > NetMD in SP => NetMD in LP2...ok, where does optical/RT in LP2 fit in this? equivalent to NetMD i guess. and in relation to the Sharp 410/420, is it possible to buy a better remote? and use 3rd party headphones? (in relation to the polar seperation.) thanks for your reply!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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