OK... here goes.
There is basically very little difference between the R70 and R90 in terms
of important features.
The USB recording thingy is just a USB plug on one end with a digital to
analogue converter in the middle and a normal analogue 3.5mm jack plug on
the other end. AFAIK, it does not do MD->computer transfers of any sort.
I don't know if this device is compatible with a Mac (somebody else should
know). So, MP3 capability in this case means that the recorder comes with
a device which will allow you to do analogue transfers of MP3 files by
playing them on your computer and recording them as if they were CDs or
other media on the MD.
Both recorders have an optical SPDIF input socket, so they are both
equally able to be able to be connected digitally to a computer. Note
that the SPDIF standard only allows recording at 1x playback speed.
Neither has a digital output plug so it is not possible to record
digitally from MD->computer with these units. If you require this
functionality then you will almost definitely need a full-size home deck.
Check out the MDCP (http://www.minidisc.org/) for info on what the
extra $100 for the R90 over the R70 gets you, but it isn't much. Mainly
better battery life, and a nicer remote (AFAIK, the R70 has the
older-style remote similar to the R55? If it doesn't then disregard
that comment). Note that both have the same basic recording capabilities.
If you want digital recording from computer->MD only, then Sony are
supposed to be releasing a digital version of their USB thing (it may do
MD->computer as well, does anybody have any recent information?) a bit
later this year. The best way to do digital computer-MD transfers is to
invest in a sound card with this capability (eg the Soundblaster Live or
an Aureal Vortex2 card), however AFAIK, most of these will not work with a
Mac. There are a variety of USB solutions available, but these are often
expensive. See the MDCP news archives and equipment lists for more
information.
I assume you have been reading the recent posts on End Search, so you will
no doubt know about what is, probably, the worst problem with Sony units.
The advantage of the Sharp (and others) recorders is that they don't have
this misfeature. Also, the R70 and R90 don't have illumination on the
main LCD display (they do on the remote, but not on the main unit), which
could prove problematic if you want to, for example, do recordings in the
dark, as the remote doesn't have a recording level indicator on it.
Jonathan
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word
"unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
