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Re: ATRAC (Sharp) artifacts?

Subject: Re: ATRAC (Sharp) artifacts?
From: Walter Knapp <>
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2002 16:01:02 -0500
Aaron Ximm wrote:
>>seems to make any difference. A friend who uses a Sony MD assures me he
>>has recorded water/rain many times and never had this problem.
> 
> 
> For the record, I never had trouble with my sharp MT66 like this (and made
> water/white-noise-esque recordings with it too...)... or my Sharp 831 or
> 720 come to think of it...

I would have to say the same both Sony MZ-R30's and the HHb Portadisc 
record rain just fine. You can listen to some mp3's of rain recorded 
with the Portadisc on the SASS page:
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/sass_mkh110.html

Note that the originals (in aiff format) are even cleaner, mp3 does 
throw things off a little.

As a matter of procedure, could everybody refrain from titling all 
minidisc problems as ATRAC problems? Those titles are with us forever in 
the archives of the internet, people searching about ATRAC artifacts 
will have them all pop up. Some don't even bother to read what's said, 
just count how many hits they find and call that evidence of flaws in 
ATRAC compression.

Walt





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>From   Tue Mar  8 18:23:08 2005
Message: 4
Date: Thu, 26 Dec 2002 20:18:15 -0000
From: "oryoki2000 <>" <>
Subject: Re: New to the scene...

Dear rob, 

The Marantz CDR300 is a high quality CD recorder with many pro 
features.  It records in CD-Audio format so its recordings can be 
played back in any CD player as well as in almost all computer CD 
drives.  During recording, the analog audio stream is digitized using 
16 bit samples, 44,100 samples per second, and is recorded in an 
uncompressed format so 74 minutes of audio (mono or stereo) fits on a 
standard CD.  The CDR300 also supports CD-Text, so text labels such 
as track name and artist information can be added to a recording.

Unfortunately, the CDR300 is very heavy.  The unit weighs 7 lbs and 
must be placed on a level surface to operate properly, so it is not 
suitable for operation while being carried around.  The CDR300 has no 
internal batteries, either.  It can be operated on 120v AC, or from 
an external 12 volt battery pack, which must weigh an extra couple of 
pounds.

So it seems to me that the CDR300 is best suited for "on location" 
recording, where lots of equipment will be carried a short distance 
from the vehicle and set up on tables, rather than true field 
recording.

For field use today, many recordists prefer a minidisc recorder.  
Minidiscs offer the best combination of sound quality, portability, 
proven field reliability, and low prices for both recorder and disc.  
In the opinion of recordists who have studied minidisc, their 
standard ATRAC compression, which results in a 75% reduction of file 
storage space needed for recording, causes no discernable loss of 
audio quality.   There is some controversy in this area, but in 
practice the minidisc is as good as any field recorder, and better 
than most.

Most minidisc recordists use pocket-size consumer units from Sony or 
Sharp that cost about $250 new. If you need professional features 
like XLR mic inputs, 48vdc phantom power and "time shift" recording 
capability, the $1400 HHB Portadisc is the preferred choice.

Incidentally, Bernie Krause's book "Wild Soundscapes" is an excellent 
source of information and advice about field recording the sounds of 
natural environments.





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