Thus, when you talk about one format having an advantage over the
other,
the most critical component is how well the *playback* recreates the signal.
It is quite likely that there are minidisc *players* that have superior
filtering and conditioning to DAT players. Before you can make a true
comparison,
you have to first ensure that the playback equipment is equivalent...which is
extremely difficult to do, BTW. (In the world of signal analysis, "harmonic
distortion" is considered to be a great way to use impressive numbers to say
nothing significant).
Touching on something Alan said about the no moving parts recorder:
having sold our souls for digital technology, we still cheat ourselves using
primitive electromechnical forms of playback/recording. As the density of solid
state microelectronics becomes higher, while the price drops through the floor,
we should see within the next decade recordings-on-a-chip. Imagine having
today's CD-quality or better in a player on your wristwatch!
-Robert Shearer