HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: lbr@holos0.uucp (Len Reed)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Mobile Fidelity....
Date: 11 Dec 92 22:32:40 GMT
Organization: Holos Software, Inc.

In article <SS.92Dec10144819@wpi.WPI.EDU> ss@wpi.WPI.EDU (Scott Streeter) writes:
>>>>>> On 10 Dec 92 19:17:13 GMT, kmr4@po.CWRU.edu (Keith M. Ryan) said:
>
>kmr4> IMHO: it has nothing to do with the gold plating. I remember
>kmr4> reading an interview of some MF excecutive. He stated that the
>kmr4> real reason that they are more expensive is that they pay alot
>kmr4> for the most origional master copies.

>I thought the gold made a better surface for the laser to ride on,
>producing less of a need for error correction.

You are seriously confused.

1) The laser doesn't "ride" on the surface.  The laser shines focused
   light onto the surface where it is either reflected back clearly
   or scattered (to make the 1's and 0's).
2) Error correction is just that: correction.  If the errors are corrected
   before digital-to-analog conversion then they're not errors any more.

Anyway, no one has offered any reason to believe that gold discs would
produce fewer raw errors, perhaps leading to fewer uncorrectable errors.
Since disc players are made with aluminum discs in mind, it seems likely
that gold discs would be no better, and perhaps worse, than aluminum ones.
It reminds me of those idiot CD rings that add mass to the discs: they
only reason they don't break players or make for more errors is that there's
enough tolerance in the players that they aren't adversely affected.
I suspect gold discs are the same.
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: keivjam@elof.iit.edu (James Keivom)
Subject: WHY NOT USE A BIGGER DISK FOR SONY MD?
Organization: Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 92 06:28:08 GMT

 i heard the sony md disk is 2" square.  wouldnt it have been better
to make the cartridge about the same size as a cd(a bit smaller for
convienience) and get rid of the compression system.  

also, how many megs does the md disk hold?  how come they got the 
price low.  i mean, 74 minutes of sound for $12.  if they could 
enlarge the disk and make it hold 74 min of cd quality sound, then
that would be impressive.  as for now, i am not sure. 


Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: gfl@herahera.cc.bellcore.com (lenahan,grant f)
Subject: quiet current sources.  Any ideas?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 20:32:05 GMT

I need to modify an input buffer for lower noise.

Can anyone suggest a method for making a _quiet_
15-ish mA constant current source?  The olde zener-
bipolar solution is proving noisy.

I am well aware of saturating JFETs to maintain Idss;
the only problem here is that JFETS are kinda "sloppy",
and I don't know how to specify anything close to 15 mA.
Mostly, I see specs of min=10, max=40.  Oh, great.

Effective filters for the B-E junction of my current
contraption would also be wellcome.

Thanks, fellow netters.  Feel free to e-mail me
directly at:

gfl@hera.cc.bellcore.com

Grant
From: mjf9968@rigel.tamu.edu (Pi(3.143832666))
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: CD Sound Quality
Date: 19 Dec 1992 08:24 CST
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: rigel.tamu.edu
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    

In article <1992Dec19.113749.8088@leland.Stanford.EDU>, kong@leland.Stanford.EDU (Kong Kritayakirana) writes...
>> 99% of the audio buying public has already been suckered into
>> thinking that CD sound is the be-all end-all of sound quality.  They are
>> mistaken.     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>   Although we can definitely engineer a better medium for holding music, I
>   think we can say we have perfectly satisfied our ears with 44.1kHz x 16bit
>   data for each channel. Who the hell can tell the difference between 96dB
[digital babble deletia]
>   and we definitely can cure jitter by putting the crystal of the DAC system
>   IN THE DAC box, not in the transport box. The whole jitter scene then
>   becomes a nonissue.

	Further proof of how one-track-minded people have become
	about the storage and reproduction of music.

	Obviously yet another "critical listener" who auditioned
	a $200 CD player versus a $200 phono set-up and decided
	that digital was inherently better.

	Living better through chemistry,
	Mike "Pi" Freeman
	MJF9968@rigel.tamu.edu

	PS--  I've been wondering: wouldn't it be possible to
		have a optical, analog format?  Isn't that
		effectively what LD's are?  Would such a format
		give us the best of both worlds: durability,
		convenience, *and* sound quality?

Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: gfl@herahera.cc.bellcore.com (lenahan,grant f)
Subject: Re: Mr. Pierce responds to Re: Class C amplifiers, says Mr. Pierce.
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 17:26:00 GMT
Summary: reality and Bob Carver (no relation)

(Henry A. Pasternack) writes:
> the cases I cited. If it looks like class C, sounds like class C, notches
> like class C, it ain't class B, regardless of what the engineer intended.

Hey, great idea.  Lets go into business selling 1000 watt pure
class-A amplifiers that, by pure coincidence, don't meet those
specs.

> Can anyone confirm my memory that this generation of Phase Linear was Bob
> Carver's handywork?

Yep.  It was Bob.

Grant
gfl@hera.cc.bellcore.com


Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: schuster@panix.com (Michael Schuster)
Subject: Re: Test signals on a CD?
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 13:17:54 GMT
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix & Internet, NYC

In article <50336@shamash.cdc.com> gkc@freddie.udev.cdc.com (gordon k chace) writes:
>Long ago, far away, I borrowed a test recording on an LP.  This produced
>various tone sweeps and warbles and white/pink noises, so that with one's
>ears or with the help of a handheld sound level meter, one could try out
>different placement of speakers in one's home and adjust treble, etc.

There is a great variety of such discs available - most imported and
available only through sub-specialty dealers. Try:

	db Systems
	Main street, PO Box 460
	Rindge Center, NH 03461

	603-899-5121


-- 
_______________________________Mike Schuster________________________________
NY Pub. Access UNIX/Internet: schuster@panix.com | 70346.1745@CompuServe.COM
The Portal (R) System: schuster@shell.portal.com | MCI Mail,GEnie: MSCHUSTER
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: stevan@alchemy.tn.cornell.edu (Stevan Vidic)
Subject: Re: MiniCD's
Organization: Alchemy International
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 22:33:11 GMT

In article <Bz9KIJ.HwB@acsu.buffalo.edu> v114qgu3@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Henri Defense) writes:
>
>	The idea of the digital music cartridge was very interesting.  However,
>here's a technologically and econmically feasible idea I think audio consumers
>should push: MagnetoOptical MiniCD's.
>	One of the reasons why CD's have to be so "large" is the high wavelength
>of the laser used.  Currently the lasers are infrared (970 nm).  This places a
>limit on how small the CD's pits or MD's Kerr spots are.  I've read that JVC 
>and/or Philips have tried using visible blue lasers of higher frequency, which
>can read smaller pits.  Apparently, by switching to blue lasers, it was possible
>to cram all the data on a 4 3/4" CD onto a disc MiniDisc-sized.

True, Sony has one too.  However, the special laser requires cryogenic
cooling - not very practical for widespread use.  Also, the tolerancies
required to manufacture these half-pit CDs far exceed the capabilities of
today's pressing plants.  Same goes for CD players that would read them -
virtually dust-free environment is needed and it would be difficult to
ensure their reliability.

>	Although I am not certain if the size of the Kerr spots on a magneto-
>optical disc can be shrunk using a higher frequency "heating" laser, I think we
>shouldn't set our sights on re-recordable CD's, but on MiniCD's using MiniDisc 
>technology and higher frequency lasers.
>	
>	I'd welcome any comments.

Noble goals indeed.  Unfortunately, it appears that data compression based
on pcycho-acoustics (models of human hearing) is taking over as new
approach (DCC, MD).  Possible refinements will most likely focus on 
improving the data compression algorithms rather than inventing new
technology that would emphasize sound quality (remember, the majority of
consumers could care less about sound quality loss that DCC and MD carry
relative to CD).

Regards,
Stevan
From: grego@bit.UUCP (Greg Sanguinetti)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Magneplanars again...
Date: 13 Dec 92 02:07:44 GMT
Article-I.D.: bit.529
Reply-To: grego@bit.UUCP (Grego Sanguinetti)
Organization: BIT  Portland, OR

In article <sikorsky.724086181@ee.ualberta.ca> sikorsky@ee.ualberta.ca (Mike Sikorsky) writes:
>As I mentioned to John, the bass response is something I'm concerned
>about; placement is absolutely critical? (I would think so)
>
Yes, subwoofers are advised when you can, especially with the SMGa's. The bass
is there and sounds good but not as rich as a good box speaker bass CAN be.
Being a bass player, I am particular to the bass sound!

>Hmmm...what else...Well made?  Good product for the money? 

Mine are well made, great product for the money (bang for buck is their biggest
feature).

>Would Maggie owners ever consider going back to box/cone designs?

I'm currently hooked on planner type speakers for my stereo and video system.
Of course not for musical or sound reinforcement applications.

Get 'em, then tell us how much you like 'em.
-grego
-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grego Sanguinetti, Bipolar Integrated Technology | Water, water everywhere,
grego@bit.uucp or grego%bit%ogi.cse.edu          | but I'd rather drink
or bit!grego@ogi.cse.edu or ...!ogicse!bit!grego | beer.
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: cka52397@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Slartibartfast)
Subject: Re: Digital Music Cartridges?
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 05:46:42 GMT

In article <1ggnk1INNrgt@uniwa.uwa.edu.au> scott@psy.uwa.oz.au (Scott Fisher) writes:
>cka52397@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Slartibartfast) writes:
>>: 	Hey, here's an idea about a medium for digital audio.  How about a
>>: cartridge, such as a video game cartridge, that has stored music info.  How
>>: much memory would that take?  The new cartridges would have no moving parts,
>>: and nothing to scratch/bend/warp/break.  Any comments on this idea?
>
>What about the electrical contacts of both the cart and the playback unit.
>Having lived with Synth and video games that use cartridges I think the
>issue of contact integrety needs to be solved.  
>_______________________________________________________________________________
>Scott Fisher [scott@psy.uwa.oz.au]  PH: Aus [61] Perth (09) Local (380 3272).                
	I think that this could be solved by using parts of a higher quality
than current Nintendo Cartridges, ie better quality plasitics...  I know that
the silicon would be expensive for now, but in a few years, eprom chips 
could go for fairly cheap...  I think that if Science can come up with the
CD encoding system, and overcome the various obstacles associated with it,
making a more sturdy video game cartridge would be slightly less tricky.


-- 
 Chintan Amin  The University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign  c-amin1@uiuc.edu
  "Public speaking is very easy!" <-- Quayle 10/88  ;-)
  "Unfortunately, the people of Louisiana are not racists" <-- Quayle, 10/12/90
NeXTMail Accepted  Go Illini *Holiday Bowl* Go Capitals Go Tarheels Go Cowboys
From: barberi@watson.bms.com (DEB BARBERI)
Subject: Stereo Speaker Recommendation
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.4-b1  
Keywords: stereo speakers help
Organization: Bristol Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 22:53:00 GMT

I hope this is the proper forum for this question...  I would like to get a 
second pair of speakers for my stereo.   I am not very knowledgeable about 
stereo equipment.  I would like to get small speakers that can be mounted on the 
wall and would like the best quality I can get for $200 - $400 max.  Here is 
what I have now:

Harman/Kardon Amplifier? (PM645 Vxi)
Harman/Kardon Tuner  TU911
Harman/Kardon EQ8 Graphic Equalizer
Sonic Studio Lab 110 speakers (60W?)
JVC TD-V62 stereo cassette deck
Sony 508ESD CD  

Can someone recommend speakers?  Also, would it be better to buy locally or 
are there mail order sources I can contact?  Someone mentioned that Radio 
Shack had small speakers that might be pretty good?  Comments?

Thanks in advance!

Deb Barberi

barberi@bms.com
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: eddys@citrus.SAC.CA.US ( Steve Eddy )
Subject: Re: PMI BUF-03
Organization: Citrus Grove Public Access ( 916 ) 381-5822    Sacramento CA.  USA
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 01:32:36 GMT
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Distribution: na

cmk@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Chiu Kwong) writes:
: Hi, does anyone know where I can buy PMI BUF-03 buffers for a resonable 
: amount of money?    Sonic Frontiers in Canada wants CAN$80 each for them!
: 
: Thanks!
 
   Newark Electronics carries the PMI BUF-03 in several flavors. Here is a
list of their Ontario outlets:
 
237 Consortium Court
London, Ont.
N6E 2S8
1-800-265-7570
(519) 685-4280
FAX: (519) 685-7104

1625 Trinity Dr.
Mississauga, Ont.
L5T 1W9
1-800-263-7043
(416) 670-7799
FAX: (416) 670-4187

6185 Ordan Dr.
Mississauga, Ont.
L5T 2E1
1-800-387-6917
(416) 675-2274
FAX: (416) 657-2274

1400 Bayly St.
Offic Mall 2
Pickering, Ont.
L1W 3R2
(416) 839-9634
FAX: (416) 839-8456

   Hope this helps.

se

-- 

# Where no man has gone before.                   eddys@citrus.SAC.CA.US
#   *default* .sig file                      csusac.ecs.csus.edu!citrus!eddys
# The undiscovered land.                                   /\../\
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: ebail@ctp.com (Erik Bailey)
Subject: Re: Mobile Fidelity....
Organization: Cambridge Technology Partners
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 17:11:39 GMT

In article <1992Dec14.172739.26180@oakhill.sps.mot.com> rvkl60@aus18a25.sps.mot.com (Tom Mathes) writes:
>I own a few of these discs. (MFSL)

Me too, including _Dark Side_ and _The Wall_. I, too, like them better,
although I agree with you re: tape hiss. Also they seem to be recorded at a
lower level.

>If you *really* like the musical piece, buy the MF release.  To
>me, it's worth the money if you want the best possible sound.

I agree. But the *real* question is: how do the MFSL (or, for that matter,
the original discs) compare to the new remastered box set?

--Erik

-- 
Erik Bailey   | Cambridge Technology Partners      | The usual disclaimer
              | 304 Vassar St., Cambridge MA 02139 | applies: this post is
ebail@ctp.com | (617) 374-8418                     | mine, not my employer's.
      /earth is 98% full; please remove any excess inhabitants.
From: gfl@herahera.cc.bellcore.com (lenahan,grant f)
Subject: Re: question on pre-amplifiers
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 22:32:15 GMT
Summary: Z matching again
	 \

> >I have a fairly
> >good quality CD player (Luxman DZ 121, I believe, though I could be
> >off by a digit in the model number).  I was driving a Hafler power amp
> >from it.  I was bothered by a lack of highs.  By inserting a preamp
> >(also Hafler), the highs appeared.  
>
Well, there are several possibilities:

1. The Hafler emphasized the highs

2. The Luxman had a high output impedance which, for one or
another reason, was selectively attenuated when wired to your 
amp (maybe the variable volume out was unbuffered???).  Thus,
inserting a preamp, ANY preamp, fixed the Z-matching.

3. The Hafler distorted the highs, making them obvious.
To you, desireable, maybe to me annoying.

And probaly more that I haven't considered.  I don't think much
of unbuffered passive preamps though, and have had similar 
experiences with them several times (loss of highs / lows /
dynamics / etc.).  Of course, really good active preamps cost
a lot, so trade offs are inevitable.

Grant
From: lairdb@crash.cts.com (Laird P. Broadfield)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Books for the blind gadget?  Help!
Date: 14 Dec 92 02:38:39 GMT
Followup-To: lairdb@crash.cts.com
Organization: "Well, a head on top, an arm on each side, two legs...."

Need some help/advice here, gang: my grandmother, who has from the local
library a "books-on-tape" gadget that allows her to listen to specially-
created books-on-tape for the blind, is having no end of trouble with
the player lately.

She's used the program for about four years, during which she's had three
or four of the machines die on her (about par for the course, apparently.)
Over the last few weeks, though, she's been through five of the things,
without a single one lasting for more than three hours of use.  Being 
quite an intelligent Little Old Lady, she's done a great job of detecting,
eliminating possibilities one-by-one, and by the time she was done 
narrating the events to me I was quite convinced that whatever the
problem is, it's endemic to the machines, rather than to something she's
doing to them.  This is borne out by the librarian's remarks to her that
several other people who have recently got machines are having similar 
problems.

Unfortunately, she's about 2000 miles away, so I can't just pop in and
help figure out what's up.  I realize that the machine is running 4 mono
tracks on something that looks like a regular casette, and I suspect that
it's at a slower than usual speed (particularly since her machine has a
speed switch (marked 15/16 on one side and 17/8 on the other) as well
as a vary-speed dial).  From the facts, I think that the refurb center
where these things go to get refurbished is doing something wrong to
them, but no solid facts.

I suppose the specific questions are:
 What does anybody suggest for getting it fixed *right*?
 Are these things available commercially (we could just get her a proper
  one that would last)?
 What exactly is different about these; is it a proper casette at a 
  different speed, or is it something really strange?
 Any other suggestions?

Thanks!!  (BTW, I can describe the failure mode if anybody thinks it would
help, but it's not like she's about to tear the thing open and fix it
herself, even if we knew what was wrong.)


-- 
Laird P. Broadfield     lairdb@crash.cts.com    ...{ucsd, nosc}!crash!lairdb
Hi!  I'm a shareware signature!  Send $5 if you use me, send $10 for manual!
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: kong@leland.Stanford.EDU (Kong Kritayakirana)
Subject: Re: Amp Distortion vs. Source Distortion
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 09:50:59 GMT


On Fri, 11 Dec 1992 23:35:45 GMT sloan@iastate.edu (Eric R Sloan) writes:

>The other night I came home to find the most horrible distortion I had ever
>heard coming from the speakers. Under investigation, I discovered that the
>distortion was not coming from the amp, but that the certain type of music
>he listens to uses a lot of distortion for effect (My Life With the Thrill-
>Kill Cult,  Ministry, Nine-inch-Nails, etc...) 
>
>My Question is "Will this distortion on the sorce material fry the speakers
>as easy as a clipping amp?"

I assume your friend is playing the music from tape or CD. Then the answer is
NO if your amp is not clipping. The reason speakers get fried is because of
high order harmonics above 20kHz going to the speakers. If the source is CD or
tape, the output of non-distorting amp will be bandlimited to 20kHz. Unless
your amp have much more power than your speakers can handle, no damage will 
result from listening to any type of "annoying" music.

Kong
From: drp@reed.Eng.Sun.COM (Darrell Parham)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: questions on new digital formats
Date: 15 Dec 1992 20:24:09 GMT
Organization: Sun
NNTP-Posting-Host: reed

I have some questions about the new recordable digital formats
(MD, DCC, DAT):

- The claim is that you can play analog cassettes in DCC
  machines. Can you also record analog cassettes in DCC
  machines? I would like the capability of recording
  cassettes for friends who might not have DCC yet?

- I am under the impression that a magnetic format like
  tape will degrade over time, while this isn't much of
  a problem with an optical format like CD's.
  Do people generally agree with this?
  How do the Mini-Disks fare in this respect?
  I hear they use a combination of magnetic and
  optical recording (which I have a poor understanding of)
  Could one expect them to degrade over time very much?
  Would this differ between pre-recorded and home-recorded
  mini-disks (is the same mechanism used) ?
  Is degradation less of an issue with any digital format
  than it is with an analog format?

Any comments?
Thanks.

Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: yuen@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Geoffrey L Yuen)
Subject: Doc, Doc, my CD player can't locate the tracks
Keywords: CD player malady
Reply-To: yuen@casbah.acns.nwu.edu
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 17:26:24 GMT

Have this Onyko CD player for 4 yrs and it recently started to say 
"No disk" even when there's one in. The first time it happened, I
sort of wiggled the sliding disc-holding cartridge and the problem
went away. The same cure did nothing though last week when the 
problem arose the second time. So i opened the thing and found the 
disc wasn't spinning after the cartridge moved in. After cleaning up
dust and turning the spinning motor (not the track reading motor that
moves the laser) a few rounds, the disc spins again. 
	 BUT NOW, the thing will take from 2 minutes to an indefinite 
amount of time to find the 1st track (although the initial # of tracks 
& time info was displayed), if it finds it at all.  Other symptoms 
include:

1. it has not find any subsequent tracks (on a number of disks)
2. if it finds the first track, then it will continue to play the other
   tracks normally
3. can use fast reverse & fast forward (FR & FF) but not next or last 
   tracks - however, during FR & FF the sounds were very different 
   from before

I sort of think some misalignment between the spinning motor & the laser 
has occured so the servo mechanism cannot operate (the reading motor is
working), but manually aligning and twisting any corners did not help.

Any clues from you audio gurus out there ?

Thanks much in advance
- - Geoff



Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: jjhg6518@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (John Jay Harvey)
Subject: optical cd output
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 15:53:07 GMT

I have a SONY D-303 Discman with an optical digital output. Does anyone know
where I could obtain information about interfacing this device to a PC. I would
like to know the specifications for the output port and any interfacing 
cables that might be necessary. Thanks for your help.

					John Harvey
					Department of Biochemistry
					University of Illinois
					harvey@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu
-- 
John Jay Harvey.
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: joe@avs.com (Joe Peterson)
Subject: Re: WHY NOT USE A BIGGER DISK FOR SONY MD?
Organization: Advanced Visual Systems Inc.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 14:38:01 GMT

James Keivom (keivjam@elof.iit.edu) wrote:
:  i heard the sony md disk is 2" square.  wouldnt it have been better
: to make the cartridge about the same size as a cd(a bit smaller for
: convienience) and get rid of the compression system.  

: also, how many megs does the md disk hold?  how come they got the 
: price low.  i mean, 74 minutes of sound for $12.  if they could 
: enlarge the disk and make it hold 74 min of cd quality sound, then
: that would be impressive.  as for now, i am not sure. 

If I understand it correctly, the compression is required NOT because they
wanted to make a smaller disc, but because writing to the media takes longer
than reading from a CD, and they needed a lower bit rate.  Since a lower
bit rate also means less data, why not make the disc smaller too!

						Joe

Newsgroups: rec.audio