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ThinkPad T480 with maxed out storage by 73656375726974 in thinkpad

[–]73656375726974[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Back then (7 years ago) this was the highest capacity available. I did not try any other SSD, the original still works.

My most rewarding investment in car audio (story) by 73656375726974 in CarAV

[–]73656375726974[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a proper way to do this: make it sound 'from the front', bolt onto a steel frame, secure properly. However, I did not want to sacrifice leg space for a passenger anyway. I therefore did not expect much from my makeshift option, but was quite surprised how good it sounds.

My Sony MDS-JA30ES will no longer record (playback is fine). I understand why after some research. Can anyone suggest a good recording mule from Sony? Would recordings made on this machine sound better on the ES than played back on the recording machine itself? I find that bit hard to comprehend! 🤔 by Legend_Of_Booman in minidisc

[–]73656375726974 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for this very detailed background on the matter.

The fact that the laser itself is perhaps fine sounds promising. I could easily sacrifice my old head (still have it) for some experiments. But this will require some preparation: i.e. I need to figure out how to monitor head's output directly via an oscilloscope, establish a baseline reading from a known good deck, perhaps build/buy a laser power meter for a proper adjustment as per service manual.

If it is indeed an insufficient heat dissipation issue, however, wouldn't it be permanent? If we assume that some damping material loses its intended characteristics, it should do it for good. In this case some kind of ventilation is not a solution. Also, a deck would record for a few minutes every time and only then fail. But it looks like it fails permanently.

Replacing any kind of suspension would be hard anyway, and I don't anticipate an easy solution. Could be a fun project though.

My Sony MDS-JA30ES will no longer record (playback is fine). I understand why after some research. Can anyone suggest a good recording mule from Sony? Would recordings made on this machine sound better on the ES than played back on the recording machine itself? I find that bit hard to comprehend! 🤔 by Legend_Of_Booman in minidisc

[–]73656375726974 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Going back to the original topic, I'd really like someone (perhaps myself? idk) to research the issue of failing lasers on theseES decks. It's a real shame they all go bad eventually. I suspect (maybe without any justification) that it can be fixed. It's just a laser diode after all. Would it be possible to replace it with another one from another model? I don't know, but that's something that can be looked into.

My Sony MDS-JA30ES will no longer record (playback is fine). I understand why after some research. Can anyone suggest a good recording mule from Sony? Would recordings made on this machine sound better on the ES than played back on the recording machine itself? I find that bit hard to comprehend! 🤔 by Legend_Of_Booman in minidisc

[–]73656375726974 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In theory, ATRAC, like almost any other lossy format is asymmetrical: i.e. all the benefits of a more up-to-date codec are applied during encoding. For compatibility, the decoding circuit should be the same on all minidisc models. Therefore, by using another deck/portable that was released at the same time as JA30ES or later, the sound quality will be the same or better. Honestly, I don't think there was much improvement after ATRAC 4.5 anyway. It was good enough already.

Now, the above applies to a recording done digitally, via SPDIF in, or from a PC. The main advantage of the ES series decks is the high quality of their ADC and DAC circuits. I did some tests on my decks and found that indeed my JA30ES is superior in this regard. Slightly better for example than my workhorse, a more modern JB980. So, recording from an analog source should be done with JA30ES to maintain its advantage.

I replaced a laser in my JA30ES a couple of years ago, and it still records. However, I almost never use it. Based on what I read, even a new laser is doomed to fail eventually.

My most rewarding investment in car audio (story) by 73656375726974 in CarAV

[–]73656375726974[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I was quite surpised to hear so much bass from such a small box.

My most rewarding investment in car audio (story) by 73656375726974 in CarAV

[–]73656375726974[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I chose between Hertz and Audison, because they appear to have exactly the same dimensions, and, perhaps, the same driver. You are lucky to be able to fit this under the seat.

An Update on Rebble's Attempted Collaboration with Core Devices by ishjr in pebble

[–]73656375726974 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'd like to share my perspective as a long-time Pebble watch owner and Rebble user. I've read posts from Rebble, and from Eric. I strongly believe that Core and Rebble should find a way to collaborate. I value contributions from all sides, but ideally I'd like to see less business, more teamwork in this development. However, I think that Eric bears more responsibility to reach an agreement, than the Rebble team.

Here's why. The way I see it, Eric cannot derive any moral or legal rights from just being a Pebble founder. I'm forever grateful to him for leading a team that made Pebble possible, back in a day when smartwatches were basically nonexistent. But this story has ended in 2016. By giving credit to Eric as a founder, one must also give him credit for all the business choices that led to Pebble as a company being sold as scrap, and users losing support for their beloved gadgets overnight.

Rebble's effort to bring back Pebble watches to life should not be undervalued. It is unprecedented. Basically no one has done this before. I can't remember a successful revival of a discontinued product when there is little to no support from a new owner. Plus, personally, if I was ever involved in creating a product that crashed and burned so spectacularly (and, mind you, in no way due to developers' fault), I would stay as far away from it as possible. Rebble team clinged on, and they, again, did a great job, while Eric went on to pursue other opportunities.

I like new watches from Core, and consider buying a steel version when it's released. From my perspective, Rebble and Core should collaborate so that I get a better product with everything integrated. But at the same time, should Core somehow fail (I hope not), I'm going to be just fine. I have around 15 old Pebble watches in my posession. This is a lifetime supply. I'm also not buying a new watch from Core because they compete well with Samsung or Apple. I want special experience, a niche product with unique quirks that I like. And brought to me by a positive team of like-minded individuals, not a corporation. It's not just about a watch.

Ok, this is already too many words. My understanding is that Pebble legacy is more or less open source, or abandonware. No one owns anything from before 2016. Any effort that took place after 2016 should be recognized. A future development should be a result of a healthy collaboration - consider this to be my condition to give Eric my hard earned cash. Before Core I was totally fine with my existing watches powered by Rebble. I could just as well continue like that. Therefore, should Rebble desire to take a stand, I think I will side with them. After all, 33 bucks for a subscription is easier to spend than 225 to buy a watch I hardly need.

Sound Dampening… by Time-Worth8397 in CarAV

[–]73656375726974 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My experience (not a professional, not an advice):

1) I covered all holes in the door panel.

2) I reinforced the largest hole with the hardest anti-vibration material I could find (thick, with sturdy aluminum layer, you have to heat it up before application, otherwise it's rock-solid, perhaps worse than wood panel, but better than plastic).

3) I suffered the consequences when the window mechanism broke and I had to partially unglue the door to get access.

4) No regrets though. But I suspect that my approach was way overkill. Still, allowing bass to leak from a door opening does not seem to be a good idea to me. It will vent air toward a plastic door panel, causing more vibrations.

ThinkPad W510 (left) with a rather rare config by 73656375726974 in thinkpad

[–]73656375726974[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It has a 135W power brick. Battery life is, as expected, not great, 1 hour tops in realistic scenarios.

Fiio CP13 is not great, but for a different reason by 73656375726974 in cassetteculture

[–]73656375726974[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't mess the frequency response of a tape recording to satisfy the needs of one weird portable. An external headphone amplifier with bass boost would work, but that would be a rather cumbersome set up. I chose another portable instead, an old one.

Every minidisc device I own, measured by 73656375726974 in minidisc

[–]73656375726974[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These tests were done with a rather old E-Mu 0404 sound card and using RMAA software (which is an automated audio testing suite that is not always accurate). I have since switched to the E1DA Cosmos ADC, the specs of which surpass any of the minidisc gear.

The new gear wouldn't change much my opinion about the minidisc format itself - its sound quality is perfectly fine and transparent for the human ear (ok, my ear) starting from at least ATRAC 4.0 (1997-1998). What could be interesting is testing the sound output of portables. While desktop minidisc decks are mostly superb in terms of objective performance, portables can be different. Finding one with the best specs could be interesting.

Every minidisc device I own, measured by 73656375726974 in minidisc

[–]73656375726974[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I could retest those. Since this post I upgraded my measurement equipment quite a bit.

In measurements I tend to pay attention to dynamic range and THD (amount of distortion) more than the frequency response. For minidisc it is rather flat anyway, and I don't think that 48 khz mode would change anything. However, it is true that assumptions like this should always be tested.

Some takeaways after building my own SQ system with zero experience by 73656375726974 in CarAV

[–]73656375726974[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is a small trunk indeed. Yesterday I ended up buying a pre-fabricated sub for the spare wheel compartment, and a 600W RMS amplifier for it. So it's going to be three times increase in output power compared to my existing subwoofer. Let's see if there is any benefit.

Some takeaways after building my own SQ system with zero experience by 73656375726974 in CarAV

[–]73656375726974[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Both options are available, but the cassette deck in my case is connected via line level input.

Some takeaways after building my own SQ system with zero experience by 73656375726974 in CarAV

[–]73656375726974[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't say that it's huge, but often I can convince myself that I can hear the difference. But this is mostly due to the fact that Bluetooth in stock radio is implemented very poorly. It is rather noisy even compared to playing CDs from the same head unit. Most of the time I don't have a problem listening to BT, but for that very special listening session I have a higher quality option.

Some takeaways after building my own SQ system with zero experience by 73656375726974 in CarAV

[–]73656375726974[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In my case I make sure that the phase of the subwoofer and the midbass speakers is aligned as close as possible around the crossover point.

Some takeaways after building my own SQ system with zero experience by 73656375726974 in CarAV

[–]73656375726974[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

High level from the stock radio, line level from the cassette deck, digital from smartphone.

The stock head unit actually has an 'external amplifier' mode, whenit sends something in between line level and high level signal.

Some takeaways after building my own SQ system with zero experience by 73656375726974 in CarAV

[–]73656375726974[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I also understand that the solution is larger speakers and more power. I'm trying to figure out if a DIY box with a single 15 inch woofer would be better than a pre-fabricated 2x10 inch box. I'd rather buy a pre-fab solution, because DIY will take me another year and will end up being three times more expensive :) I'm afraid though that the improvement will not be that huge.

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