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From: manheimer@nbs-amrf.UUCP (Ken Manheimer)
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Hi-fi floppies?
Message-ID: <374@nbs-amrf.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 19-Jan-85 13:13:48 EST
Article-I.D.: nbs-amrf.374
Posted: Sat Jan 19 13:13:48 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 23-Jan-85 08:33:09 EST
Organization: National Bureau of Standards
Lines: 36

I noticed in a recent issue of Stereo review (~ 2 or 3 issues
back) a single page article/review about a prototype of a new
audio recorder.  The interesting thing about it was the effective
use of a standard computer floppy (I think 5 1/4", single side,
double density) as the recording medium.  With the benefit of what
seemed to be an adaptive sampling technique, over an hour of high
fidelity music could be recorded on a single disk.  (I've seen a
presentation by a computer music wizard who could fit 4 minutes of
high fi per floppy; to play a synthesized version of Pachelbels
canon that he recorded he had to gang two floppy disk "players"
and go through a series of ~ 6 floppies!  The sound was fine, as
far as I could tell, though I was hearing it in a school
auditorium...).  The reviewer said that, while the sound may not
be up to par with CD's, he felt it at least measured up to any
vinyl (or was it any analog medium?) around.  The price mentioned
was somewhere near $1000 (1100?).

Such a thing, if bona fide, has a lot going for it.  Foremost is
the opportunity to use it for record in addition to play back -
the lack of which is what I consider to be CD's chief drawback
(followed closely by their expense).  Why bother with records (CD
or vinyl) and tape decks if you can have both in one?

Has anybody heard more about this?  Unfortunately, I noticed the
article while perusing the store rack, and by the time I decided
to go back and buy it the subsequent months issue had come out.  I
haven't found the issue in my library, and there wasn't too much
info in the article anyway.  I've been holding out on buying a
tape deck and a CD player for a long time now, and maybe this
thing (with the inevitable further improvements and price
reduction) would justify it.

Ken Manheimer		{seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!nbs-amrf!manheimer
			(Existence is influence.  Probably.)