I know the first thing you're going to type is, "You can't!" But before you type that let me tell you that I bought one of those mzr37 minidisc recorders from the days before Sony cracked down on this issue... anyway, on the side of the unit it has optical in and line out... the line out can plug into a pc interface for usb or I suppose you could run the mini plug to a spdif adapter and run it into the sound card like that... FYI I have the Audigy2 (I know, I KNOW I should have got the dmx6fire... let it go)... Anyway how do you guys do it?

Thanks for the help. I've been running the line out to a mic in on the card but I think that's abandoning the digital concept...

Tell me about the dmx6fire. I've only researched it briefly, but from what I've heard it's a great card.

I also have an Audigy2 Platinum card (the firewire comes in handy), but I'd like to switch to something more pro.

Its still gonna pass thru the D/A converters on its way out of the MZR-37 anyway.Since these units do not have an optical out only in.your best bet would be to get a MD deck that has coax/optical outputs to connect to your PC. IMHO if the audio is recorded well going into the PC most listeners would not be able to tell it was an analog transfer. Unless they are blessed with "Golden Ears".

Andrew, to be honest I don't really know anything about the Terratec card, just that it's supposed to be the best in that price range... actually I've been pretty happy with the Audigy2P so I don't care when I upgrade, but eventually I will... Andrew I'll wager a guess here 'cause I'm thinking you are probably a lot like me in this case. I'll bet you were blown away by the Audigy2P when you first listened to it for the first week to a month... but the sound is so good that it makes you wonder how much better it can be and then you read about how that Terratec is "way better" at least in the specs... so on goes the madness... no? That's why I want one.

When you first get into dv you hear everybody stating the lousy state of audio for dv cams... the truth is (again, in MY opinion) that it's FAR EASIER to get pro sounding audio then to get pro LOOKING video. For any lower-end prosumer cams, such as trv900, you will be capable of putting down audio that will BLOW people away in comparison to the video they see on the screen (when using md).

I use the md and I can put really good sound into the computer using my previously mentioned method... but it just bugs me that the ONLY reason I upgraded to the Audigy2P was for the digital inputs that the MZR-37 SPECIFICALLY is supposed to be able to use... that's why I posted the original question.

Everybody told me that the mzr-37 is the last Sony md capable of digital output... I just can't tell exactly how that is done, even though it should be obvious. Maybe it's the usb output, but I haven't been able to get any programs to recognize it yet...

Maybe you should call up the folks at www.minidisco.com. They would know exactly how to do this. If you truly have optical out, maybe your computer can’t recognize your unit because of copyprotection. Minidisco sells a box (M-Audio CO3) that will supposedly strip off the copy protection coding. This same box converts between AES/EBU, S/PDIF Coax and TOSlink digital connections. What’s the input on your card, by the way? If you manage to get this to work, please give us an update. This is something I would like to find out how to make work as well.

Well, originally I wanted a well priced 24/96 solution, I knew the original Audigy was bogus, and discovered the A2 only supports the ASIO1 standard. I'd have to get the A2 eX for to get what the Audigy2 promised to deliver. Also, it's stuck internally at 48K sampling, whereas real sound cards are variable, onboard.

Vegas has choked a number of times due to Creative's crappy ASIO driver work and it's aforementioned 48K sampling (or 96K, but both are fixed). I've fixed the Vegas issue, but it's stupid because my XL1S records at 44.1K, it then has to be resampled to 48K, and then to finish a project, resample back to 44.1. It's just silly. I should have bought a real pro sound card from the get-go.

The one notable feature I've used is the onboard FireWire port, since my motherboard's onboard firewire shares resources with my onboard RAID controller (I think you can see where I'm going... :) )

A pro sound card will also have a lower noise floor. I'll have to check the specs again but I think the dmx reigns over the A2 here as well.

An excellent source of information on MiniDisc equipment is www.minidisc.org. You'll find information about the MZ-R37 here: http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-R37.html.

This information says the 37 does not have optical out.

If you're considering a deck, as was suggested above, you'll find some on eBay. After identifying the model on eBay, go back to minidisc.org to confirm that model's configuration.

Audio can handle A/D conversions a lot better than video does. I wouldn't even worry about keeping it all digital because no one will notice the difference. If anything it will take an edge of the audio and warm the sound.

Ben Lynn

the mdh-10 can upload digitally - it has a scsi interface


http://www.minidisc.org/mdh10/04-05.html