Korg MR-1: Can this be used as a portable player?

[ziteck]

cf adapter
Quote:

also, do you just copy files from the old hard disk to the CF and then get it work?

just replace cf and start

 

[Podtweaker]

I'm not a tech ,but I'm also curious about the cf32g flash conversion. Is this as simple as swapping out a drive in a DVR, which entailed unplugging the drive & plugging in the new one (at this point the player automatically formatted the the new drive when powered on again) or is this something that should be done by a tech? I did an interesting (although not totally fair) of the same piece of music I have on my Zune 120 & Korg MR-1. I was listening to the end of the 2nd movement of Rachmaninov Sym. Dances(Reference Recordings 24/96 khz download) on the Korg when I noticed a few slight string glissandos that I don't notice on the 16/44.1 versions(well the wma lossless that I use on my Zune anyway). Another thing that I've noticed is that the huge typanni(sp?) whacks are slightly bloated sounding on the standard definition version compared to the high rez version. The whole scale of soft to loud is much greater, many times in orchestral recordings recorded passages are either a bit too loud or a bit too soft w/ standard resolution recordings, where as the hi- rez versions seem to have a dynamic scale that have many incremental steps that are much more easily detected.

 

[qusp]

well i'm interested to hear from anyone with this that has experience with either IMOD/DIYMOD->VCAP->amp or iriver->Dac/amp vs the korg as i'm not going to be using is without an amp and while I have no doubt this thing kills most if not all daps by itself. I wonder how it compares to using an outboard dac rig?? as with rockbox I can play hi-rez on the iriver->D10->Lisa rig and it sounds awqesome. so Podtweaker: do you have experioence with anything of this sort or are you making your recommendartions based on experience solely with Zune HP out?? I had a brief listen the other week and to me it sounded brilliant, but wasnt in ideal circumstances for comparison. I almost pulled the trigger the other day when you said I would love it, but I guess the fact I have 2 awesome sounding rigs already kind-of stopped me.

the CF mod is interesting, how is the EQ on this beasty?? I imagine its pretty good (again didnt get to try that out in the 5 min listen I had. I wonder how this thing would go with a DIYMODed output stage

I would guess it already has a pretty clean lineout, so might be more trouble than its worth, but I think I wouldnt be able to help myself.

 

[qusp]

you will need to buy a CF adapter I would imagine. unless it already has a compatible pinout. as long as its fairly easy to get into, I would think it not too hard for someone to undertake themselves. it will definitely void your warrantu though.

 

[Podtweaker]

Sorry, in my eagerness to describe the sound I was hearing, I didn't really explain what my listening "rigs" were in each case. I don't listen to any of my DAPs unamped or through IEMs. My ear canals don't particularly care to have something in them irregardless of how comfortable the IEM might be & I much prefer the soundstage I can get from full sized "cans". As for amplification I use a Decware Zen Head amp(which a Hi End audio dealer I go to for my home equipment was very impressed with). Out of curiousity I tried an Ipod classic(this gen.) LODed to the amp against the Zune amped & much prefered the sound from the Zune setup amped through my Denon AH-D5000 headphones. Anyone who tells you it isn't worth amping the Zune because it does'nt have a true liine-out is deluding themself as to the sq increase. My guess is they have'nt actually heard this setup or their hearing is radically different then mine. This is a non-issue(unless you own stock in LOD companies!). Now getting to the Korg, (once again amped & through the AH-D5000 phones) the sound is simply more detailed. As picky as I am about equipment I am much pickier about how well a recording was engineered! If you listen to music that warrants the kind of detail playback that I previously have only heard from serious home equipment then the Korg should'nt dissappoint!(I really hate to build something up as much as this, but I'm enjoying this player). The only issue I can see is the short battery playback time. It really does'nt appear this was designed to be used as a "portable" player & is called what it is a "Mobile Recorder". With the help from people over here I'm working on that.

 

[Podtweaker]

I was'nt aware that you could actually play hi-rez files (at least 24bit/88.2 or higher sampling rate) on any other available portable player at this current time. I have'nt actually listened to anything on the Korg that is 16bit/44.1khz for the simple fact that I've only put hi-rez files on it so I don't know if my comparisons are fair. I suppose I will try loading some of these files again after I've down converted them to 24bit/44.1khz or 24/48 depending on the original files, but I'm getting too much of a kick out of listening to actual hi-rez music at this point. I may have to take a ride over to my hi dealer's store to let him listen to my Korg. I think he'll definitely get a kick out of it. There is another whole facet of this player that I eventually want to be able to try & that is it's SACD(which I have a few hundred of) capability. I may have to find one of Sony Vaios that will convert DSD to DSF or DSDiFF . So what's the latest on the HiFi Man 801 will it play 24/96 out of the "shute" or is that still a future software upgrade?

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...the current price is amazing as reduced from over 800 to under $300 only 20gb....

I just checked prices and found the MR-1 for $229 at B&H.

Uh... I think the only reason I haven't pulled the trigger is that B&H isn't accepting orders right now. I'll have to sleep on it, but that's really a good price.

 

[ziteck]

cf adapter
Quote:

also, do you just copy files from the old hard disk to the CF and then get it work?

just replace cf and start

 

[dazzer1975]

just bit the bullet and ordered one, this thing sounds intriguing

 

[Podtweaker]

The only real issue I had w/ my player was the battery playback time. As of yesterday I'm not concerned about this anymore. In my search for a portable power source I came across a local retail store called Batteries Plus(Mt Laurel,NJ) that came up w/ a fairly elegant solution for me, they made me an external rechargable battery for what I was expecting to spend for a commercial product to plug in to. The battery is a 6V 12AH that they put the same adapter the Korg uses on. You will need a small belt (or camcorder case,which is what I use) for it though as it's about 7"x5"x2" & it has some "heft" to it as it's a sealed battery. The guess was that I may get 20hrs play time before charge, but he was'nt sure. Whatever the playback time actually turns out to be I am much more comfortable with things now , as the player is not running off the internal battery(Which is my biggest gripe against all portable players," replace your internal battery" what nonsense!). I had to laugh when I was only charged $12 for tech work! I get a big kick out of proffesionals with integrity!

 

[qusp]

i'm making something like this for myself I think; not that large though; I only need 8-10 hrs charge; thats all my Lisa will last for anyway and I rarely if ever need to play for longer. what is the EQ like??

 

[Podtweaker]

I'm sorry you asked about EQ in previous posts & I didn't respond for the fact I never use EQ so I could'nt give you an accurate answer. It does appear that there is a fairly substantial amount of parameters that can be adjusted for recording . I'm not too sure about EQ for playback unless I'm just not looking for these adjustments. I'll take a look!(but, I'm the guy that didn't realize this was a "USB mass storage device", thank you tremendously!) Wow, I'm kind of suprised that's all the longer the Lisa's charge is good for! (maybe a mod for the Lisa's power supply is next, we are hopelessly nuts are'nt we. Don't answer that!)

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Podtweaker /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sorry you asked about EQ in previous posts & I didn't respond for the fact I never use EQ so I could'nt give you an accurate answer. It does appear that there is a fairly substantial amount of parameters that can be adjusted for recording . I'm not too sure about EQ for playback unless I'm just not looking for these adjustments. I'll take a look!(but, I'm the guy that didn't realize this was a "USB mass storage device", thank you tremendously!) Wow, I'm kind of suprised that's all the longer the Lisa's charge is good for! (maybe a mod for the Lisa's power supply is next, we are hopelessly nuts are'nt we. Don't answer that!)

normally I dont use EQ either, but its nice to have it there as I have several headphones and a couple need a little nudge here and there to bring out the best in them. as for the lisa battery life. if its between having a portable with longer life that doesnt have enough power for a longer time; i'll take the shorter life on one that does a proper job any day. besides I also have the Lisa XP, which has 50+ hrs.

 

[dumbears]

Excuse me, but I'm wondering if it's just me noticing the background noise is pretty great. It's at least greater than what's in iPod Video.

FYI, I got this out from another forum of the ZIF-CF adapter used in Korg MR1. It need to be set as master. Some adapters aren't usable even they worked in iPod CF mod. Perhaps, I may have more info after this coming weekend, since I'll be checking it out myself.

 

[Podtweaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dumbears /img/forum/go_quote.gif Excuse me, but I'm wondering if it's just me noticing the background noise is pretty great. It's at least greater than what's in iPod Video. FYI, I got this out from another forum of the ZIF-CF adapter used in Korg MR1. It need to be set as master. Some adapters aren't usable even they worked in iPod CF mod. Perhaps, I may have more info after this coming weekend, since I'll be checking it out myself.

Playback is very detailed & quiet to me, but I am using an Zen Head portable headphone amp w/ the Korg. Actually I'm pretty floored w/ the sound of the actual hi-rez downloads(some 24bit/88,96 or even 192Khz ) I've transfered to it to see if this little player could really handle this material. Even regular full CD resolution files sound as good as playback I've heard from decent home systems. I may keep 1 or 2 hi-rez files on the player & load the player w/ "plain old CD(16/44.1Khz ) rate" as even at this bit rate this little player sounds "wildly" good to me. I would be very interested in the CF information, as even 16b/44.1 files eat up space very quickly! Please , post whatever you find out! Thanks !