I want to share some of my experiences recording MP3s onto Minidiscs. Hopefully you will find it noteworthy and share with others. I'd also like to see an increase in the popularity within the US of this recording format. As you know, MDs offers greater versatility than MP3. The sound quality of MDs are comparable to CDs and blank MDs are definitely a lot cheaper than the solid state memory that MP3 players require. I own a Sony MZ-R90 and I could not be any happier.

As for my setup, I prefer to record digitally either through my DVD player which has an optical output or through my Pentium III PC with SoundBlaster Live soundcard. For my soundcard I bought the optional Digital Optical I/O Daughter Card from Creative Labs. It also includes the new Live!Ware 3.0 software and the Digital I/O module which has separate Optical TOS Link Inputs and Outputs & SPDIF Inputs and Outputs. The installation of the new drivers and the card itself was a breeze. For my MP3 player I use the latest version of WinAmp. To insert tracks automatically as I record, I use the "gen_pause" plugin (version 2.3). A pause of 2 seconds is sufficient, however, in certain circumstances it may insert a very brief additional track.

As for the sound quality of the recordings, there is a distinct difference from analog recordings. There's no hiss or background noise. My fellow coworkers are MD aficianados too and I've let them listen to my digitally recorded MDs (via SB Live). They've agreed with my assessments. Although the output of SB Live is fixed at 48 KHz, the signal is not adversely affected after downsampling to 44.1 KHz. (I studied DSP for my Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering -- Go Gators!!)

That's my input! Cassette tapes are antiquated!

Neil Ebuen