Klarinet Archive - Posting 000862.txt from 2004/07

From: "Noel Taylor" <r.n.taylor@-----.uk>
Subj: RE: [kl] microphone
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 04:50:37 -0400


I agree with Andy's remarks about the ease of use on the controls. My
minidisk is really fiddly - I would have preferred less features in favour
of one-touch controls. He also mentions that not all MD's have a mike level
input. There is another complication - the majority of MD's with microphone
level input use a kind of phantom power requiring special microphones wired
to receive a small amount of power from the MD itself (I think the Sony mike
someone mentioned is that sort). Most of these microphones aren't great
quality, but they'll work well with MD equipment because they are designed
to do so. MD's will work with ordinary electret microphones - despite dire
warnings about not using them, so that opens a huge range. The best quality
solution - but outside your budget - is to get a smallish portable pre-amp
that can also supply, if necessary, phantom power - then you can use any
microphone you want. I suppose, someone buying from now who already had a
good microphone could buy a cheaper MD with only line input and put the
saved money into one of these pre-amps. I'm not sure how long MD's will be
around now that MP3 recorders are becoming affordable....

Noel Taylor

-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Raibeck [mailto:klari_1@-----.com]
Sent: 22 July 2004 02:16
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] microphone

By and large, I would agree with your assessment. They are all pretty good,
and
how much you wish to spend might depend on whether you need the latest &
greatest, and which bells and whistles you want.

One important factor to consider is battery life. The longer, the better.

Another factor might be ease of use. Usually the MD units have very sparse
controls, and those with a richer feature set will require knowing how to
manipulate just a few buttons to access those features. How easy the
controls
are to navigate (and remember) could be a factor for you.

I'm not certain whether a microphone input is a standard feature, but
consider
that as well. Don't assume it's there if it's not in the specifications.

An optical line-in jack is another good feature for making quality CD (or
other
stereo system component) --> MD recordings. If you don't plan on doing CD
-->
MD recording, then maybe this is not important for you. Again, I am not sure
whether this is a standard feature, but it is pretty common.

Backlit display on the main unit - another feature that you may or may not
care
about.

Many units come with a quasi-remote control that is wired between the
headphones and the main unit. Backlit display on the remote may also be
something to consider.

Lastly, make sure you purchase a MiniDisc *recorder* model. There are models
that are just players, and I suspect those are not what you want.

Regards,

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