IDM Mailing Archive

Please give me a quick recommendation, oh good IDM people! I have never worked with MD, but somebody in need of quick cash is offering a 6-month old Sony minidisc player/recorder for what sounds like a good price, compared to what they go for new. Do I want this device? Is it yet ANOTHER format to fiddle with? Will it Betamax, or is it here to stay? Is the consumable media expensive or is it readily available? I need to make a decision by tomorrow morning, and am relying on your collective advice. Advance thanks, much appreciated. I * --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

Hi there...

quoted 10 lines Please give me a quick recommendation, oh good IDM people!

> Please give me a quick recommendation, oh good IDM people! > > I have never worked with MD, but somebody in need of quick cash is > offering a 6-month old Sony minidisc player/recorder for what sounds > like a good price, compared to what they go for new. > > Do I want this device? Is it yet ANOTHER format to fiddle with? > Will it Betamax, or is it here to stay? Is the consumable media > expensive or is it readily available? >

Do you want it? Well... depends on what you want to achieve with it. It makes an excellent digital recorder, coupled with a nice mic... I use mine often to record shows and samples for later processing and music creation. Super clean. Extremely portable and reliable. Very easy to shuffle play track order which can be nice for getting rough ideas on composition. Once I have my MD filled up, I usually dump the samples to keep onto my Mac and just reuse the MD media over and over again. I also like to ability to record from the computer or CD using digital cable to get an exact copy. Yes, I guess it is another format to fiddle with. I really don't think it will Betamax... seems like I've been using mine for almost a decade now... the media is readily available (they even carry MD's at my local supermarket) and a whole box of them are cheap, and I think I've been recording over and over with the same original 10 or MD for years and years now... no loss in quality. Let me know what you decide '-) joel --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

At 10:34 AM 30/01/02, Irene McC wrote:

quoted 5 lines I have never worked with MD, but somebody in need of quick cash is

>I have never worked with MD, but somebody in need of quick cash is >offering a 6-month old Sony minidisc player/recorder for what sounds >like a good price, compared to what they go for new. > >Do I want this device? Is it yet ANOTHER format to fiddle with?

Personally, I love my portable MiniDisc. I bought it a couple of years ago to replace both a failing CD Walkman and a failing tape deck, and haven't regretted it in the least. I record MP3s and vinyl to it for portable listening, and sometimes use it during DJ sets to play with on-the-fly loops and such.

quoted 1 line Will it Betamax, or is it here to stay?

>Will it Betamax, or is it here to stay?

The format is popular enough in Japan (and the UK to a lesser extent) that I don't think it'll ever disappear. The main reason it didn't catch on strongly when it was first introduced a decade or so ago is because Sony foolishly pushed it as a new pre-recorded medium in most territories at a time when everyone was still busy getting used to CDs. If they had instead pushed it as a great replacement for cassettes (i.e. "you used to record your records to cassettes - why not record your new digital CDs to digital MDs?"), it might've caught on a bit stronger. Advertising over the past few years has emphasized this recordable aspect more strongly, and aside from a handful of titles, the major labels have given up on releasing albums on MD. So I think it's found a niche as a higher quality and more efficient replacement for cassettes.

quoted 1 line Is the consumable media expensive or is it readily available?

>Is the consumable media expensive or is it readily available?

I think this depends on where you're located. In Canada (or more specifically, Toronto), there are a lot of electronics stors that sell blank MDs, although they are a little pricey (usually around CDN$5 per disc). I mainly buy my blanks from an online store in Montreal, and get together with a couple of friends who also have MDs so we can order 100 at a time and get the best price - it think it was around CDN$3.50 a disc last time we ordered. I'd recommend checking out http://www.minidisc.org/ - there is LOADS of material there about everything you could ever want to know about MDs. I'm sure there's a section somewhere or other about the availability and prices of blank MDs in South Africa. Greg :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Greg Clow ::: greg@stainedproductions.com ::::::::: concert & event promotions ::: http://www.stainedproductions.com :::::: electronic music radio & reviews ::: http://www.feedbackmonitor.com ::: electronic/experimental record label ::: http://www.pieheadrecords.com ::::::::: 158 Close Ave. 2nd Floor ::: Toronto, Ontario M6K 2V5 ::: Canada --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

--- Greg Clow <greg@stainedproductions.com> wrote:

quoted 9 lines Personally, I love my portable MiniDisc. I bought it

> Personally, I love my portable MiniDisc. I bought it > a couple of years ago > to replace both a failing CD Walkman and a failing > tape deck, and haven't > regretted it in the least. I record MP3s and vinyl > to it for portable > listening, and sometimes use it during DJ sets to > play with on-the-fly > loops and such.

I think MD is very useful for people involved in music making. However, mine is quickly gathering dust on the shelf. I bought it for n5MD releases, and that's all I've used it for. (I'd be willing to sell it, except now that I own a couple of MDs, I need it if I ever want to play or copy them again.) The thing is, if you have a ton of music (or in my case, all of my music) in MP3 format, it's much more convenient to burn 3 or 4 CD-RW discs at 8x than to sit around recording audio to your MD player. So I think the usefulness of MD is highly dependent on what technology you already use. I guess if you're used to MD and don't have a CD-RW drive or don't use your computer much for audio-related activities, it could be worth it. I like the idea of shuffling audio without pauses between the tracks. Anyway, I'd say, go for it if you really intend to start using the format, or if you make music and need something for recording and sampling. It really is a high quality replacement for cassette in that respect. But if you can already do everything you need, as far as music and audio go, to and don't really see yourself starting to do more, don't bother. .adam __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

Yes you should buy it, they are excellent. You can get a nifty mic for about $US40 to record shows. I have several bootlegs and they are great. They are also very small and the discs are cheapish and can be reused millions of times. BTW they record using a compression system called ATRAC 3: some details about it: http://hem.passagen.se/telis/?noframe -i --- Irene McC <substar@iafrica.com> wrote:

quoted 23 lines Please give me a quick recommendation, oh good IDM people!

> Please give me a quick recommendation, oh good IDM people! > > I have never worked with MD, but somebody in need of quick cash is > offering a 6-month old Sony minidisc player/recorder for what sounds > like a good price, compared to what they go for new. > > Do I want this device? Is it yet ANOTHER format to fiddle with? > Will it Betamax, or is it here to stay? Is the consumable media > expensive or is it readily available? > > I need to make a decision by tomorrow morning, and am relying on your > collective advice. > > Advance thanks, much appreciated. > > I > * > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org > For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org >

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I love my minidiscs (I have a MD deck and Portable Player) because in my opinion they are so versatile and useful. Its true that its easier to record bulk mp3s onto a cd but portable cd players are too big and you can get some miniscule MD player/recorders now. I record stuff onto MD and take it out with me and its pretty hassle free. I got my MD player back in '98 (when they weren't too common) and I have seen them go from strength to strength and especially useful is the fact you get track names coming up. Quality wise, the sound is excellent (not even worth comparing to 128kbps mp3) and only the real music buffs can tell any difference. Hope that helps, Ben ----- Original Message ----- From: "Irene McC" <substar@iafrica.com> To: <idm-m@yahoogroups.com>; <idm@hyperreal.org> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2002 3:34 PM Subject: [idm] OT : minidisc advice

quoted 24 lines Please give me a quick recommendation, oh good IDM people!

> Please give me a quick recommendation, oh good IDM people! > > I have never worked with MD, but somebody in need of quick cash is > offering a 6-month old Sony minidisc player/recorder for what sounds > like a good price, compared to what they go for new. > > Do I want this device? Is it yet ANOTHER format to fiddle with? > Will it Betamax, or is it here to stay? Is the consumable media > expensive or is it readily available? > > I need to make a decision by tomorrow morning, and am relying on your > collective advice. > > Advance thanks, much appreciated. > > I > * > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org > For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org > >

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--- Ben Browett <ben@eskimo.force9.co.uk> wrote:

quoted 2 lines wise, the sound is excellent (not even worth

> wise, the sound is excellent (not even worth > comparing to 128kbps mp3) and

Who uses 128kbps anymore? Seriously? Besides places like EMusic who either don't know any better or have to for some reason... 192kbps, maybe, at least. LAME VBR preferred And once 1.0 finally arrives, a hi quality Ogg! back to the topic, MD is just too inconvenient for me and CD size is not an issue if you're already using CDs and are comfortable with it Pbbbtt! .adam ===== .Adam http://www.damek.org/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

On 30 Jan 2002 at 12:28, Adam Piontek wrote:

quoted 1 line LAME VBR preferred

> LAME VBR preferred

Is this *really* better than a fixed, say, 192? I * --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

On Thu, 31 Jan 2002, Irene McC wrote:

quoted 1 line Is this *really* better than a fixed, say, 192?

> Is this *really* better than a fixed, say, 192?

Can it hurt? You lower the bitrate for some parts that are easier to encode, and raise it for parts that are harder. If the quality is high enough, you might average 192 still, but you'll have a better sounding mp3. If the quality is lower, the average bitrate will be lower, but it will still sound as good. Bottom line: The quality/size ratio of a VBR file will always better if you have a good encoder. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

if you make a VBR file you are punching the midrange of the sound right in the gut. 192 is if you just want a "useful" mp3, but it must be accepted that the first generation mp3 must have a higher bitrate than that for real quality. so, it depends on what you are aiming for. if you really want quality, use LAME, but at 256 CBR with true stereo, as joint stereo also messes up a file for manipulation during playback or remixing later on... lower bit rates and joint stereo are no good if you really, really appreciate the track or tracks in question... for more coommon tracks or brute4 archival purposes, you can use 192 just fine though... many people even use 160k for vinyl, which is kind of a twisted rationale if you ask me, if we recall that vinyl is supposed to have a wider dynamic range compared to CD even if it also has more noise... therefore vinyl should also be ripped at a higher rate... a friend says even a vinyl mp3 will still sound "warm" and have good definition... On Thursday, January 31, 2002, at 02:36 , No one in particular wrote:

quoted 18 lines On Thu, 31 Jan 2002, Irene McC wrote:

> On Thu, 31 Jan 2002, Irene McC wrote: > >> Is this *really* better than a fixed, say, 192? > > Can it hurt? You lower the bitrate for some parts that are easier to > encode, and raise it for parts that are harder. If the quality is high > enough, you might average 192 still, but you'll have a better sounding > mp3. If the quality is lower, the average bitrate will be lower, but it > will still sound as good. > > Bottom line: The quality/size ratio of a VBR file will always better if > you have a good encoder. > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org > For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org >

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quoted 1 line I agree that getting a CD burner/writer as opposed to a MD for recording

> I agree that getting a CD burner/writer as opposed to a MD for recording

of

quoted 4 lines MP3s makes a lot of sense now. But when I got my MD recorder about 2.5

> MP3s makes a lot of sense now. But when I got my MD recorder about 2.5 > years ago, CD burners were a lot more expensive, and CD-RW wasn't very > common at all (if it even existed in the commerical market, I can't > remember for sure). So MD was my preferred option at the time.

i have a CD writer, but personally, i like the MD for compilations. i tend to get tired of listening to the same tracks at times, so the MD is perfect -- i can dump tracks when i'm sick of them and just pile on new material. complete albums/eps usually get put on CDRs though... as for the portable/deck debate, i like my deck. i still haven't figured out how to record/cut/do anything with my portable unit... its just easier with the deck and keyboard (a black ibm workserver keyboard to match -- you wouldn't believe how how hard it is to find a black ps/2 keyboard that will fit into a stereo cabinet!). i don't know how you guys can enter your track titles with those arrows on the portables... later... Edwin Wong [ suction@rogers.com ] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

quoted 4 lines Who uses 128kbps anymore?

> Who uses 128kbps anymore? > > Seriously? Besides places like EMusic who either > don't know any better or have to for some reason...

I;ve always found emusic's mp3s to be pretty damn good quality, regardless of the bitrate. -- www.mmt.cx --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

What about the portable hard-disk style recorders with multi-gig drives? These kind of things seem like they'd be ripe to take over... - cutups ----- Original Message ----- From: "Adam Piontek" <adam@damek.org> To: <idm@hyperreal.org>; <idm-m@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2002 11:46 AM Subject: [idm] Re: [idm-m] OT : minidisc advice

quoted 52 lines --- Greg Clow <greg@stainedproductions.com> wrote:

> --- Greg Clow <greg@stainedproductions.com> wrote: > > Personally, I love my portable MiniDisc. I bought it > > a couple of years ago > > to replace both a failing CD Walkman and a failing > > tape deck, and haven't > > regretted it in the least. I record MP3s and vinyl > > to it for portable > > listening, and sometimes use it during DJ sets to > > play with on-the-fly > > loops and such. > > I think MD is very useful for people involved in music > making. However, mine is quickly gathering dust on > the shelf. I bought it for n5MD releases, and that's > all I've used it for. (I'd be willing to sell it, > except now that I own a couple of MDs, I need it if I > ever want to play or copy them again.) > > The thing is, if you have a ton of music (or in my > case, all of my music) in MP3 format, it's much more > convenient to burn 3 or 4 CD-RW discs at 8x than to > sit around recording audio to your MD player. > > So I think the usefulness of MD is highly dependent on > what technology you already use. I guess if you're > used to MD and don't have a CD-RW drive or don't use > your computer much for audio-related activities, it > could be worth it. I like the idea of shuffling audio > without pauses between the tracks. > > Anyway, I'd say, go for it if you really intend to > start using the format, or if you make music and need > something for recording and sampling. It really is a > high quality replacement for cassette in that respect. > > But if you can already do everything you need, as far > as music and audio go, to and don't really see > yourself starting to do more, don't bother. > > .adam > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! > http://auctions.yahoo.com > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org > For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org > >

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--- cutups <cutup@andythepooh.com> wrote:

quoted 3 lines What about the portable hard-disk style recorders

> What about the portable hard-disk style recorders > with multi-gig drives? These kind of things > seem like they'd be ripe to take over...

Maybe when they become more cost-effective than removable media such as cdr or cd-rw... i have a feeling that, if i could carry around more than 15-20 CDs worth of music (ie, my whole collection on a HD), I'd never be able to decid what to listen to! .adam __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

Well I'm sorry if I offended you, but us 56k'ers don't always want to be too choosy...... (Just makin' a comparison) ? Ben ----- Original Message ----- From: "Adam Piontek" <adam@damek.org> To: <idm@hyperreal.org> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2002 8:28 PM Subject: Re: [idm] OT : minidisc advice

quoted 37 lines --- Ben Browett <ben@eskimo.force9.co.uk> wrote:

> --- Ben Browett <ben@eskimo.force9.co.uk> wrote: > > wise, the sound is excellent (not even worth > > comparing to 128kbps mp3) and > > Who uses 128kbps anymore? > > Seriously? Besides places like EMusic who either > don't know any better or have to for some reason... > > 192kbps, maybe, at least. > > LAME VBR preferred > > And once 1.0 finally arrives, a hi quality Ogg! > > back to the topic, MD is just too inconvenient for me > and CD size is not an issue if you're already using > CDs and are comfortable with it > Pbbbtt! > > .adam > > ===== > .Adam > http://www.damek.org/ > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! > http://auctions.yahoo.com > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org > For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org > >

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Seem to remember a lot of discussion about Freescha on this list a few months ago. I downloaded 'Kids Fill the Floor' from someone on Soulseek and want to buy it. I can't find it anywhere, including forcedexposure.com.. Can anyone tell me how to get my hands on this album? Thanks in advance. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org