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I make a lot of recordings of my band's rehearsals. We play original compositions, so if anybody owns copyrights to this music it is my bandmembers and me! That's why I am extremely annoyed by all the industry's efforts to make recording music difficult and/or expensive. The CD-R drive in my computer happily records music on ordinary-data blank CD-R disks. However, I wish I could use a hi-fi CD recorder, because its A/D converter would be vastly superior to a Sound Blaster card in my PC. Unfortunately, CD recorders take only special audio CD-R disks, where you pay extra for artists' protection. But hey, I am the artist in this case! There has never been a more stupid scheme in the audio industry. I also make compilations of songs from various CDs to one CD-R so that I can listen to recordings featuring a particular drummer or guitarist. I did pay for all the CDs in the first place, and yet what I do is supposedly illegal. Well, shoot me then. Martin Bruczkowski bruczko@pacific.net.sg

Just for the old tape deck in the car

Up until recently I recorded cassettes for my car for family trips. An opera or two really makes trips from New York to Boston pleasant. My son has become interested in recording himself and friends live. We just had my old Teac 360 overhauled, and we are now venturing into this on an experimental basis. If the interest continues, more equipment to follow.

My poor old Nakamichi CR-7a finally croaked. I'll wait a year or so and get either an audio CD recorder or some PC-based "compose-a-CD" software and CD burner (either will be capable of WORM or re-recordable and have HDCD capability). In the meantime, I use a Nakamichi Deck 2.

I use more than one medium to record. Limit your choices to only one does not make sense.

Analog tapes aren't the best medium, but they get the job done. As for copyright laws, they get violated more than speed limits!

I've owned a DAT recorder since '91, and recently bought a CD-R/CD-RW recorder, as the DAT tapes are beginning to "pop."

I love my MiniDisc recorder. You want to know why I would never buy a CD recorder? Because it has absolutely no editing capability. You can only record ONCE on a disc, then it is final. Personally, I don't care if the entire world embraces these CD recorders. I'm doing just fine with my MDs. As far as there being a distinct sound difference between MDs and CDs, that's a crock. If there is any subtle difference, I have yet to find someone who can detect it.

I mostly record FM broadcasts, and I'm considering moving to MD for convenience and editability.

I use my MD recorder to make many compiliations

I record evening radio programs which I listen to during my commute to and from work.

Copyright Law is perhaps among the most complex Law of the Land---gray in some areas while clearly black-and-white in others---and one of the most difficult to enforce. The Law in its purest form precludes the unauthorized reproduction of any material, in any form, without the express permission of the copyright holder. It's clearly stated on the back of every CD, every album. However, the reality of it is that people do record music to tape from sources, et al. It's an issue that has been ongoing for years and is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. There was a case before the Supreme Court a few years ago re. a gentleman who was receiving a cable channel "illegally" on a set in his bedroom. His contention was that they should ". . . keep the damn signals out of his bedroom if they didn't want him to receive them." The Court, as I recall, disagreed.

I love my MD---it's more portable than CD, and lets me bring the best of what I've got wherever I go.

I would rather have homemade cassettes stolen than my CDs when someone breaks into my truck. And frankly, having purchased over 1000 recordings, I can't see how the record companies have much standing to complain about me.

Please respond to jiverson@stereophile.com @ SMTP To: Christopher LIM/MOM/SINGOV@SINGOV cc: Subject: Re: Where are my Stereophile CDs??? Hi Chris, I've contacted the company that sends the CDs and asked them to respond to you as well as let me know what they are doing. I'll do this again and hope they will give you an explanation for what is happening. If you payed with a credit card, you may be able to cancel the charges. JON -- Jon Iverson http://www.stereophile.com http://www.guidetohometheater.com http://www.hifishow.com

Yes, cassette deck. I placed an order for a Sony Cassette Deck with Dolby S (I've read that it sounds better than MD's or even CD's).

Don't make many recordings, but when I want to listen to the music on my LPs (over 70% of my music), I tape them to cassette using a Nakamichi CR-4A. Also have a 20-year-old Pioneer CTF-1000. The Pioneer has a thick metal faceplate, stands about a foot tall, and weighs around 25 lbs. Absolutely gorgeous.

I get good records from Stereophile. No need to record anything.

Any additional coding, for any purpose, that might compromise the quality of audio/video output bothers the hell out of me.

I realize open-reel tape is not your average consumer's choice for recording/playback, but it's my favorite. I have a DVD player and the whole 5.1 setup for movies, but when it comes to music I prefer stereo, and that to be from my trusty Pioneer 10" reel-to-reel. I'm aware the highs roll off some, maybe the soundstage could be a bit better, etc., but for just enjoying the sound and putting together hours of what I want to hear, it's my favorite. However, my crystal ball does see a CD recorder, possibly a dual-tray, in the not too distant future (late next year as prices dip). Keep up the good work on your mag and this wonderful website!

My 15-year-old Sony cassette died. Why can't we have MD w/o compression. JAZ+, anyone?

Cheap and easy, but time consuming...

What about HiFi VHS?

Since the cars still have cassette decks in them I occassionally make tapes for them.

It is somewhat absurd that one could choose only 1 of the above items. My system includes 5 of the above options. I do live professional-quality audio recordings as a hobby using microphones such as Schoeps, B&Ks, Earthworks, and older tube Neumanns. Preamps I use include Sonosax and Lunatec, and a Sonosax SX-PR4 portable 4-channel mixer. A/D conversions, when necessary, are done at 48kHz using an Apogee AD-1000 20-bit D/A converter with UV-22 encoding (in a meager attempt to wrest as much out of the 16-bit medium as possible). Mastering is done to DAT most of the time. We use an HHb PDR-1000 PortaDat and a Tascam DA-P1. CD mastering is done through a Sonic Frontiers SFD-2 Mk.II @ 48kHz analog to the Apogee, and then the Apogee @ 44.1kHz to an HHb CDR-700. It's amazing how good the material can sound compared to the vast majority of works commercially released these days. Really makes you think that many engineers just aren't *listening* to what they produce. It's a pity.

Your survey should allow for more than one recording media.I use MiniDisc and a CD Recorder for the PC.

For the $$$, nothing beats a Hi-Fi VCR.

I would like to get into some better recording gear sometime in the future

I also use MD, DAT, and Cassette.

I always loved reel-to-reel machines but never had the money. For 2-3 years now I've bought ReVox gear---G36, A77, B77, A700---and I started to make tapes for friends and myself. The source is principally vinyl, and I have an opportunity to record a small junior jazz ensemble soon. I prefer by far my A700 to any other consumer digital recording system, simply because the quality is not here. For $800-1000 (and lots of hours to revise and tune it) you get a wonderful sound that 16/44.1 can't match. Nagra D is not for my wallet yet, you know . . . I also make some cassette tapes with my ReVox B215-S, a very nice machine that brings you much more than MiniDisc. It's more than enough quality for listening to music in my car.