[comp.sys.next] NeXT sound Input

lue@caip.rutgers.edu (lue) (02/15/91)

Hi, I have a cube (030 with 1.0 OS) and I am interested in doing some
recordings from CDs to create some snd files.  I have tried using the
mike input but the background noise is quite high.  I wonder if there
are alternate ways of making snd files from external CD sources.  (I
have also try going from the CD output jack directly into the mike
input jack but the quality if still bad.  I suspect I have some
impedence problems here).  I would appreciate any suggestion your guys
may have.  Thank you.

Lue

brownd@agnes.acc.stolaf.edu (David H. Brown) (02/20/91)

In article <Feb.14.20.57.34.1991.26117@caip.rutgers.edu> lue@caip.rutgers.edu (lue) writes:
>
>Hi, I have a cube (030 with 1.0 OS) and I am interested in doing some
>recordings from CDs to create some snd files.  I have tried using the
>mike input but the background noise is quite high.  I wonder if there
>are alternate ways of making snd files from external CD sources.  (I
>have also try going from the CD output jack directly into the mike
>input jack but the quality if still bad.  I suspect I have some
>impedence problems here).  I would appreciate any suggestion your guys
>may have.  Thank you.
>
>Lue

	The main reason for the microphone's (that's the CODEC, I assume) low
quality is that it only samples at about 8K. The CD goes at about 44K.
(Higher is better. Lots better. Also, the bits per sample is at best half.)

	The best way of making .snd files would be to take a digital out from
a CD player into the NeXT via some port. I don't think anybody's doing this
(yet).

	What some people are doing is releasing products to interface with
the DSP to allow recording at CD quality. I know of two: Digital Ears from
Metaresearch (though I'm still annoyed with them because their software won't
work under 2.0... I know they're working on it.) And the Digital Mic from
Ariel. The Digital Mic includes a real microphone as well as line inputs; the
Digital Ears has only the line inputs. (Sorry I don't have prices... I live
in a blissful undergraduate world in academia where I don't have to worry
about equipment costs... which is just as well because I couldn't afford it.
Oops ... Bandwidth alert.)

	I suppose I should mention that I have no connection with either
company (well, I'd love to keep using our Digital Ears if I could get working
software!) and that if you record CDs in any way, you're probably breaking
copyright laws. But lots of people sampled Phil Collin's gated snare
reverb...

St. Olaf may or may not have nothing    | M M | M M M | M M | M M M | M M |   
to do with the things I talk about.     | M M | M M M | M M | M M M | M M |   
                                        | M M | M M M | M M | M M M | M M |  
Dave Brown: brownd@thor.acc.stolaf.edu  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  
"I _like_ programming the DX-7!"        |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|