[oghoter]

My new 80 gb Tosh has given no problems so far. Perhaps a 120 gb disk is in reach. This means a Mr1 more on its feet, more in line with its other capabilities. You can bring along the best with this one. I find it matches well with tubed equipment, both SET and OTL, though I have not done strict testing yet. A main point for me, is that it can bring my best setup sound to my secondary locations. I can listen to my vinyl away from home. I know of no setup, agreeably priced, that does it better.

 

[Reima]

This seems to be the player I have been looking as I would like to have SADC SQ when travelling. I see that there are some negative reviews of the player/recorder on the Musician's Friend website (link below). Should I be concerned about the converter noise when going beyond 44.1 khz?
RC
Buy Korg MR-1 Mobile Recorder | Professional | Musician's Friend

 

[taperted]

I believe he is referring to noise when recording, using the unit's preamps. If you use an external preamp and record line-in, you should be fine. Just don't use the MR-1 to add gain.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Reima /img/forum/go_quote.gif This seems to be the player I have been looking as I would like to have SADC SQ when travelling. I see that there are some negative reviews of the player/recorder on the Musician's Friend website (link below). Should I be concerned about the converter noise when going beyond 44.1 khz? RC Buy Korg MR-1 Mobile Recorder | Professional | Musician's Friend

 

[Reima]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedyun /img/forum/go_quote.gif I believe he is referring to noise when recording, using the unit's preamps. If you use an external preamp and record line-in, you should be fine. Just don't use the MR-1 to add gain.

So there should be no problem with DSD playback?
RC

 

[taperted]

I can only report from personal experience. When I record something at 1-bit, it sounds fine. When I dither it to 16-bit or 24-bit at 44.1 or 96 (using the Audiogate software), I don't detect any hiss, buzz or other noises.

If you go to Sonic Studios, he does a series of technical tests on the MR-1:

KORG MR-1 Tech Review

You can see with the measurement equipment, he can detect noise going from mic-in or line-in, but the noise is out of audible range.

I have not tested the unit recording to 24-bit or 16-bit, so there may be issues with the A/D converter that the Musician's Friend Reviewer is referring to. Even so, it seems that he is using the unit to record something for scientific experiments, so inaudible noise may be a concern for whatever he is measuring.

Anyway, I think the value of the MR-1 as a playback unit is if you are able to record a source in DSD, then play it back in DSD. For example, vinyl on an audiophile turntable, or from a live recording of a performance (however, I am not sure if there is any additional value in recording a CD to DSD). If used as such, the playback is very stunning, and I doubt you will be dissatisfied with sound quality, despite reports of "noise."

I've been very happy with the unit, except for the battery life.




Quote:

Originally Posted by Reima /img/forum/go_quote.gif So there should be no problem with DSD playback? RC

 

[oghoter]

Agree with Tedyun, and I guess most users in this thread. We wouldn't have bothered with extending the battery and disk capacity of the thing if its wasnt for the superior dsd sound. Perhaps there is a bit of harshness in my MR-1 dsd recordings, but it is clearly superior to everything else i've tried, including a recent tet-a-tet with my Revox A77 analog recorder, and various PCM digital formats. Record dsd, playback dsd - to get the best.

 

[oghoter]

Encouraged by the MR1 hdd extension plus the equally excellent Jade amp, i have taken the plunge investing in the new sony zx1 speakers. Is this a great match, like I suspect? I'll keep you notified.

 

[taperted]

Has anyone using the CF-mod tried recording a DSD stream (I use DFF format) yet?

I can make short recordings, but when I try to do an extended, eg., 1.5 h, then stop the recording, I get a "Drive Error." The resulting PROJ file cannot be loaded into Audiogate, and about half of the individual segments are corrupted.

Just wondering if this is a limitation of the Compact Flash, or if it is something with my adapter and/or CF card. I am using the StarTech adapter, with a Transcend 133x, or a Lexar Professional 300x (UDMA).

TIA

Ted

 

[oghoter]

Some more active speaker experience. Although the zx1s at first sounded boomy, this is decreasing. These will sound even better than the z500s i now believe, when fully run in. They keep a somwhat dark quality, though much more fleshed-out spectrumwise than the z500s. What is best - jury is out, at the moment, Both improve a lot with Audoitailor Jade OTL amplification and hi-res souce like dsd from vinyl through MR1. Sum so far, a fascinating speaker, certainly improves with context and source, single-driver may be the way to go. In the pic I use aluminium leftovers from my main rig to stand and damp the ZX1. Does it work out? Absolutely. Use what you have. The idea is to position and damp the speakers.

 

[alrmad]

Have just found this thread! After digitizing +300 lps over the last year with the MR-1, there hasn't been a single problem with the unit. My source is Rega P9/Lyra Argo i/Holif BattRiaa. When A/B'ing during recording (levels matched with my pre-amp) I am very hard pressed to hear any differences! I recently got a pair of Denon AH-D7000s moded by Lawton Audio. My impressions of the built-in headphone amp are entirely positive. I can run the Denon's very well directly from the Korg, by no means does it fall much behind compared to my HeadRoom Cosmic Ref. amp.
I find Korg's AudioGate software easy to use and the latest features included from ver 2.0.1 like normalizing and creating DSD-discs really show Korg is trying to cater for their niche-consumers' needs.
Two brothers of mine are doing the same with their larger vinyl collections, so I'm saving up to get the Sony SCD-5400ES to play back their recordings.
This rocks!!!

 

[Podtweaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedyun /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone using the CF-mod tried recording a DSD stream (I use DFF format) yet? I can make short recordings, but when I try to do an extended, eg., 1.5 h, then stop the recording, I get a "Drive Error." The resulting PROJ file cannot be loaded into Audiogate, and about half of the individual segments are corrupted. Just wondering if this is a limitation of the Compact Flash, or if it is something with my adapter and/or CF card. I am using the StarTech adapter, with a Transcend 133x, or a Lexar Professional 300x (UDMA). TIA Ted

Ted, I don't know if this will help any, but I had a "Drive Error" pop up on one of my early test DSD recordings that I was unaware occurred until I stopped it. The funny thing is I was able to record the same thing successfuly the next try, for the life of me I can't remember what settings I changed on the Korg(or if it was file size capacity related, as I increased my HDD capacity to 80g & I don't remember if the test rec was before or after the drive change!). The Korg may not be able to allocate enough space for w/o a larger drive capacity for long DSD recordings. Hopefully I'm wrong about this, check your settings & give it another try anyway. Oghoter, I apologize for not getting back to you, I've had some personal problems to deal w/ (that I've been stupidly not dealing w/ & am still not)( I'm not well versed w/ active speakers) & my response today was just a means to relax some! Sorry!

 

[oghoter]

Ted, are you recording beyond hardware limit? No more space on disk?
Almrad, great news, good to hear . "There hasn't been a single problem with the unit" - my experience also, fingering around to get the 80gb hard disk in. Btw this is very much worth it, follow the advice on this thread.
To you all - why hasn't the Mr1 received more recognition? E g where is the positive Stereophile review? Agree with Almrad, "this rocks!!" It goes beyond anything digital i've heard before. Almost painfree, and that says a lot, in this small package.

 

[Podtweaker]

I think the MR1 is probably more well known among musicians than it is among music listeners. Home recording of music in the "digital" age(beyond transfering files from one device to another) is'nt nearly as commonly done as it was in years past. That this little wonder is also a phoenomenal sounding portable playback device was never the focus of how this item is marketted ! I think it may be blind luck that many of us came across mention of this device & were curious enough to pursue it because we were intrigued by some stated feature! For me it was that it could record DSD, I was'nt aware that it is as small as it is & that it's playback capabilities could approach serious home system listenning quality! Now we know!

 

[oghoter]

>That this little wonder is also a phenomenal sounding portable playback device was never the focus of how this item is marketed

Well said. Agree with Podtweakers observations. Still, I would like a comparison in Stereophile etc., since they do write well on inferior formats. In my experience, DSD sound is better than PCM sound. Even higher PCM sound 24/96. With PCM at 24/192, I am not so sure, but the impression is that DSD still wins out. Bluray? Dont know, but perhaps case of same.

Is DSD without problems? No. There is a bit of harshness and technicality, but it is much harder to locate than in PCM, and the overall soundscape is wider and more focused. "Out of the tunnel" is one typical effect of going from PCM to DSD.

Possibly most of the DSD format problems are cured by running it double-speed, like the top of the line Korg DSD recorder, which I hope we will see in a future MR2. According to what I have read on the net, DSD problems are very minor at double speed, compared to anything the PCM division has come up with, but I haven't tested it personally.

 

[gsawdy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oghoter /img/forum/go_quote.gif >That this little wonder is also a phenomenal sounding portable playback device was never the focus of how this item is marketed ................................ Is DSD without problems? No. There is a bit of harshness and technicality, but it is much harder to locate than in PCM, and the overall soundscape is wider and more focused. "Out of the tunnel" is one typical effect of going from PCM to DSD. Possibly most of the DSD format problems are cured by running it double-speed.................................

I am very interested in understanding the day-in, day-out experience with this unit.

Can you and others be more specific about the "harshness and technicality"? Is it fatiguing? sharp? brittle? Have you compared music for PRAT or musicality (I know very subjective!) on the Korg against a lossless file via another player?

Has the conversion to DCD been a hassell? limited storage a big pain in the ... or just a slight nuisance.

Also can anyone tell me if the headphones are active when recording is on pause. I have a high frequency hearing loss which makes going to plays and other public events almost impossible to enjoy. I'm wondering if putting the Korg in record/standby or pause would enable me to use the builtin mics and get sufficient volume to enable me to hear the dialogue. I'd use IEMs. Any thoughts on how well this would work?

I appreciate any and all thoughts, TIA,

George