"Zigakly" writes:

"C.J.Patten" wrote in message
...
Howdy. Looking at MiniDisc and flash based recorders.

Do all MD recorders have mic-preamps on their audio inputs?

I realize some units don't have *any* kind of audio inputs so I'm limiting
this question to portable units that have inputs.

Any concerns I should have about the quality of different MD recorders for
mic recording? (specifically thinking of the analog section - I understand
the data is stored in the same format)

I was considering flash based recorders such as the Creative Nomad Jukebox
3
but all the ones I've looked at don't have mic-pre-amps ... and the idea
of
buying another "gizmo" starts to increase the cost of these flash based
recorders beyond my means.

I've looked at the Neuros and Marantz units - waaaaay out of my league.

Thanks,
Chris



All minijack mic inputs suck. Even when they're not getting overloaded by
any relatively high input (record level doesn't prevent it either), they
still typically do more harm than good. If you're stealthing there's not
much choice, and good quality solutions start at around $500, but if you
have the space a Nomad Jukebox 3 and a Behringer MXB1002 is very tough to
beat for even 3x the price. At loud shows a self-powered mic can typically
be plugged straight into the line input and the results are comparable a
basic mixer preamp.

Can you say the specific problems with the mic premaps? Are they too noisy?
Do they distort somehow? Do they overload (not sure what this means)? I seem
to get OK results using a Sony HiMD model 800 setting "mic gain" to low, and
setting "rec level" to manual. I'm running AT853 and Sennheiser MKE2. I'm
taping moderately loud rock/folk music (from the audience). I am *not* using
plug in power. Instead I have a separate (self-made) power module that powers
the mics ("three wire" powering, running the FET as a source follower).

One thing I have noticed is that there appears to be some kind of
"compression" effect going on, but I can't identify it exactly. The mic and
line in on loud signals and they somehow sound a bit different. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Richard