Posted by Kenneth Sloan on February 23, 2004 at 12:54:27:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Minidisc recorders posted by Mary Ann on February 23, 2004 at 09:54:04:
Well, Mary Ann has better ears than I do (she's a horn player) - but I've been happy with the AT-822. Of course, I also paid $100 less for the AT than she did for the Rode. I got the Sharp 480 and the AT-822 as a package deal for under $500 (roughly $250 for each).
Mary Ann - is your "_Very_ much higher quality" based on listening alone (not that I discount that) or something quantifiable in the specs.
I'm beginning to think you may have gotten a bad one - everyone else seems pleased with theirs.
for completeness...the AT-822 uses a single AA battery. The Sharp 480 supplies "plug-in power", which (by my limited reading) does not appreciably affect the AT-822, but is useful for the latest generation of mics (esp. "stealth" mikes).
After some tinkering, my "field" kit is now a Hamilton wire music stand, a mic clip intended for percussion (at least, I found it in the percussion section) connected to yet another "mic clip" used in reverse. Together, the two clips give me a pair of "jaws" - one fits the stand and the other fits the mid. The percussion mic clip was the only thing I could find that would clamp onto the very thin shaft of the Hamilton stand - I drove one poor salesman crazy while browsing in his music store in Tuscaloosa. I didn't know what I wanted (except that I didn't want any of the things he showed me) until I found the *perfect* widget hiding in the drum section. I use the 1 meter cable that came with the mic and drop the Sharp 480 into a tasteful denim bag (looks like a tote bag for Barby) that I found at Michael's (generic arts&crafts chain). A Chivas bag would be even more tasteful, but the denim tote holds it's shape better and is perfectly sized to the MD player.
BTW - the "immediate access to recording level" proved very useful at Tuscaloosa. I was recording a "Sprectrum" concert given by the music department as part of a high school Honor Band weekend (recruit...recruit...recruit...). For most of the concert the sound level was "tasteful". For the frenzied finale, the entire Million Dollar Band filled the aisles, and the balconies, and the stage, and...every empty space in the auditorium and played at full "football field" volume.
I found it useful to turn down the level...several times...