[chewmanji]

I've decided to keep and use my Sony MZ-R37 MD recorder. I'm using them with my SR80's and it sounds pretty good, albeit only on recordings done with an optical input.

I have a few questions.

1) I was reading the specs, and I noticed that is said the headphone output was rated at 5mW + 5mW. What's the diff between 5mW + 5 mW and just saying 10mW?

2) When a MD is recorded from CD, how much actual quality suffers through compression? Cuz I've noticed that my MD doesn't sound quite as good as CDs through my laptop or my home stereo.

3) Also, I used Synchro Record for my optical recordings, and on playback the level meter is completely maxed out. Should Synchro Record be recording at such high levels?

Alright, those are my questions.

Oh yeah, the manual simply says the R37 has ATRAC, so I'm not quite sure what version of ATRAC it is.

 

[coolvij]

Hmmm....

1) A 10 mw would be shown as 10 mw - left and right channel (10 mw + 10 mw). The MZ-37 has a 5 mw output, left and right channel each (5 mw + 5 mw).

2) The difference is small, but ATRAC compression is defintely noticeable with good headphones. The thing you have to remember is - MD is meant for portable use. Portably, I DOUBT you could tell the difference unless you've Etys or something like that with a high level of detail AND isolation. It's actually amazing how good MD sounds when you consider how bad it *could* sound and still get away with it...

3) The recording level meter can be ignored, basically, when you are syc. rec. OPTICALLY - digital recordings are digital. There is no possibility of distortion or the such, unless present in the original digital recording. Now - if your recording meter was maxed out with ANALOG recordings, you shoud be worried

The R37 has ATRAC 4.0 I *think* - I am pretty sure that the newer models (R500, etc) have ATRAC 4.5, but am not sure if you have it.

BTW, what laptop do u have - most have terrible headphone jacks. Or, rather, the comp. is too noisy to appreciate the usually mediocre headphone jack. MDs, OTH, usually have awesome jacks, tho very weak ones.....

 

[chewmanji]

I have an old IBM Pentium 133. I agree that it doesn't have the best headphone jack in the world; there's audible distortion and noise when the music is quiet or nonexistant...however, when the volume is up loud enough to cover up the noise, IMHO it sounds better than my MD. I think I'm going to have to do some more A/B comparisons tho.

Thanks for the info coolvij.

 

[Tim D]

Try getting an amp for the Grados and your MD will easily beat your laptop. The only reason your laptop may sound better now is because it has a beefy albiet noisy jack. A decent amp will give your MD player a beefy and no noise jack.

My R30 actually sounds better than my Panasonic portable CD player with anti-shock on...and pretty much the same without. If you have an amp at least you can eliminate the default jack from the comparison and compare them more on the virtue of their line-out/DAC performance.

I might go ahead and try a different recording to see if I can hear differences more easily between my panasonic portable and md player...but for portable use it doesn't matter. There are plenty of people have a hard enough time hearing anti-shock degredation on their Panasonics and that is a HUGE difference compared to the difference between MD and CD.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

1) I was reading the specs, and I noticed that is said the headphone output was rated at 5mW + 5mW. What's the diff between 5mW + 5 mW and just saying 10mW?

In the audio world, most power ratings are "per channel" -- when you see an amp, it will usually be spec'd at "40W per channel." Same with portables.

Quote:

2) When a MD is recorded from CD, how much actual quality suffers through compression? Cuz I've noticed that my MD doesn't sound quite as good as CDs through my laptop or my home stereo.

How are you playing MD through your laptop? I find that hard to believe (that it would sound worse) unless you're comparing MP3s or if all your recordings are analog rather than digital.

MD (ATRAC) compression is "lossy" but whether you can hear that loss or not depends on your equipment and listening environment. In most portable environments, you won't hear the difference. Likewise, on standard headphones or mass-market stereos, you probably won't hear the difference. However, with a good headphone setup, or with a good stereo, the difference is plainly audible, as it is with any compression-based audio system.

Quote:

3) Also, I used Synchro Record for my optical recordings, and on playback the level meter is completely maxed out. Should Synchro Record be recording at such high levels?

The level meter doesn't matter for optical recordings. It is only relevant for analog recordings.

Quote:

Oh yeah, the manual simply says the R37 has ATRAC, so I'm not quite sure what version of ATRAC it is.

It's an older version. Sony doesn't disclose ATRAC versions unless it uses Type R (only the very newest machines).

 

[chewmanji]

Quote:

How are you playing MD through your laptop? I find that hard to believe (that it would sound worse) unless you're comparing MP3s or if all your recordings are analog rather than digital.

Just to clear it up a little: I meant playing CDs on my laptop in comparison to MDs through my MD.

And thanks for the replies.