Tanya Nu wrote:
> Hi all- this is a very basic minidisc question that I cant seem to find t=
he
> answer to, and I feel I should already know it anyway. But that is:
>
> Can a headphone output always serve as a line output? I feel like the ans=
wer
> is a resounding maybe.
>
> Im poring over the very informative minidisc.org specs for all Sony model=
s.
> I encounter either: headphone out, headphone/line out OR line out separat=
e
> from headphone out.
>
> This relates to my earlier message regarding "No Output" which is how
> Crutchfield describes a unit with only a headphone output. And I feel lik=
e
> it would be more ideal to have either a dedicated line out or a
> headphone/line out, if in fact there is a difference between headphone/li=
ne
> out and plain old headphone out.
A headphone output has gone through more circuitry, more modification,
and probably won't meet the official voltage standards for a line out.
But, with careful adjustment of the volume control and turning off any
bass boost, etc. it can be used. I guess that comes out just a bit
better than the resounding maybe. Once you figure out the settings it
should work fairly consistently. Over many years I've used them when needed=
.
Note that a number of newer Sony minidiscs have a switchable
headphone/line out. It's the same jack, but can be switched between.
Though less convenient, those generally work ok.
Part of how this came about is the demand for smaller and smaller units.
The stealth concert tapers love them getting smaller, but I doubt many
nature recordists do. As you get smaller, the space for connectors
becomes more limited. In the case of netMD minidiscs, they had to find a
place for the USB.
Note that netMD minidiscs are all about distributing copyrighted,
encoded music. In general they probably are not where to look. There are
some newer Sony MD's that are not netMD, and do have mic inputs. Looks a
little like Sony may split the MD lines into netMD and regular recorder,
or at least that can be hoped.
Walt
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