Hi there,
I should actually start by saying thank-you, because it's here at VinylAudio.net where I learned a lot about the Korg MR-2000S.
Let me try to make a long story short... I got a great deal on a Tascam DAT recorder last year, and listened to my old DAT tapes again, and made a couple nice mix tapes. I just loved the idea that I don't need to turn on a computer, click here and there, updates, restart, battery empty etc. With the DAT recorder it just meant power on, press play, and done.
But eventually I got a little tired of the rewinding and forwarding of tape, and started to check out the latest greatest studio recorders. I also researched many of the network streamers that are out today (from a few $ to a few thousand!). But in video reviews it often seemed that they had a long boot-up time, or slow menus, and other limitations. And hardly any of those record, so my choices became smaller. The Tascam DA-3000 seemed the best choice for recording, since SD/CF cards are cheap and mean unlimited storage, but I didn't like that the Tascam cannot read MP3s, which would be convenient at times (without having to convert to WAV). And as a pure "Player" I found the Korg also quicker and better to use. Plus, it comes with the free AudioGate software, so conversion from DSD to 24bit/192khz is easy.
Well, so I decided to get the Korg. On eBay is a Japanese dealer that sells these still new, and the newest model has a 128GB SSD Drive built in. At VinylAudio I learned about the possibility to upgrade to a bigger drive, which I may do at a later point. But for now 128GB will be fine.
It took barely 7 days and the Korg arrived; brand new, in a nice sleek black design. And the voltage is actually universal now, so I can use it in Europe, when I move back there in a couple of years, without a transformer (Another thing the Tascam can't do).
But let's cut to the chase: I did some test recordings of some Vinyl, and it's really as good as everyone says—it's extremely difficult to differentiate between the original and the DSD recording. I tried a few different amps/pre-amps (I have an older Musical Fidelity X-150, an even older Yamaha A-700, a Sansui AU-5500 [fully restored], and a Nakamichi CA-5). While I like the Sansui amp the most at line-level, I did find the Nakamichi phono Pre-amp clearer sounding. So I now do all my recordings with the Nakamichi (in the living room), and then move the Korg back to the Office where I have the Sansui.
The sound quality is amazing! Great open and clear sound. I like a lot of different music, but prefer stuff that's played by humans, especially with lots of drums and percussion (I am a drummer myself). It's amazing how much more especially percussion comes through on Vinyl; cymbals, congas etc. are just so real now, loving it.
At the moment I am still trying to work out my "system". I am set on the Nakamichi, but I am hunting for a better turntable. Mine runs a tiny bit slow... and with some cartridges and certain vinyl albums I get a lot of sibilance.
I would love to exchange some more tips and tricks for vinyl ripping. Oh, I forgot to mention, I found ClickRepair, and am quite happy with it. I tried a couple other programs, but ClickRepair, after tweaking the settings a bit, took away hardly anything from the music, except the clicks of course.
If anyone has some suggestions to the sibilance problems, that would be great. I can post some examples of that dilemma.
Well, it did become a longer post than intended, I hope it wasn't too boring!
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