Oddity Archive: Episode 120 – Minidisc

It’s (100% showtune-free) Musical March (read: Audio Geek March, “Musical March” is just a lot catchier) in Archiveland! Let’s kick it off with a little reevaluation of a format that I’ve bashed in the past.

Recording/Playback notes:

(SP Mode)
iPod (AAC @256kbps – ripped from original CD) – emphasizes lossy parts of signal
CD (via ANALOG input) – slightly emphasizes things like tape saturation in original recording, slight rolloff in mid/upper range
CD (IN-SYSTEM DUB) – perfect/near-perfect copy of CD
Radio – slightly lossy, emphasizes lossy parts of signal from stations that stream their content
Cassette – somewhat lossy in mid and upper range

(Further optical tests – CD)
SP Mode – perfect/near-perfect copy of CD
LP2 – akin to moderate-to-high-bitrate mp3
LP4 – akin to low-to-moderate-bitrate mp3
Mono – surprisingly solid (and not lossy) mono folddown of stereo recordings
NOTE: Also did same set of tests via ANALOG inputs—very small notch down in quality.

Further analog-source tests:
(128kbps mp3)
SP Mode – near-perfect duplicate of existing file
LP2 – notch below existing quality
LP4 – very lossy, stereo image almost non-existant
Mono – decent mono folddown—only loss is carried over from original

(Vinyl – mediocre vinyl stock, poor mastering)
SP – definite lossy parts of mid and upper range (much more pronounced in cymbals than any other format)
LP2 – low-to-moderate loss
LP4 – moderate-to-major loss, near-mono (ironically, far less harsh high-end)
Mono – emphasizes high-end distortion

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