R700 and ATRAC1 Type-R

[RobShaz]

I know all about the old 'R700 --> R900' hack, but it's been mentioned many times here and elsewhere that the R700 has disabled ATRAC1 Type-R, and instead uses 4.5. Has anyone confirmed this /and/ managed to enable Type-R in the firmware? I ask because this would render the R700 back on par as a real time SP recorder, since Type-R was the last evolution of ATRAC1.

[Rob F1UK]

I'm afraid not, that hasn't been mentioned here. The first generation of portables with Type-R was the MZ-N1/R909 generation, not the R900 generation.

[RobShaz]

Originally Posted by Rob F1UK

I'm afraid not, that hasn't been mentioned here. The first generation of portables with Type-R was the MZ-N1/R909 generation, not the R900 generation.

So the posts about this in the archives are totally false? It did seem to make sense, given that the R500, 700 and G750 were actually released in the middle between the R900 and R909.

[Rob F1UK]

Hmm, I can't find a mention of that via a search. Got any links?

What else you refer to was/is simply Sony's release schedule. The R500/R700/G750 are of the same generation as the R900.

The first Sony portable to sport (DSP) Type-R was the R909, which spawned the R701/G755, and led to the N1/N707/N505.

[RobShaz]

Originally Posted by Rob F1UK

Hmm, I can't find a mention of that via a search. Got any links?

What else you refer to was/is simply Sony's release schedule. The R500/R700/G750 are of the same generation as the R900.

The first Sony portable to sport (DSP) Type-R was the R909, which spawned the R701/G755, and led to the N1/N707/N505.

Searching for 'R700 hack' yielded a few threads where it's mentioned, most notably this one: http://www.audiotstation.com/forum/s...ight=r700+hack

The post stating:

As for having selectable ATRAC types through a hack, this isn't the first time! The MZ-R500 and R700 both had ATRAC 4.5 but through a hack you could enable Type-R! The first portable recorder introduced was the year later's R909 I believe so Sony was planning on it for the Rx00 portables but didn't turn it on.

Strangely enough the R900 which has 4.5 did NOT have a means of turning on Type-R because it used a different ATRAC chip. The R500 and R700 actually had Type-R chips with Type-R disabled, probably due to the high-end R900 being released/designed first with an older ATRAC processor. I assume Sony disabled it on the R500/R700 since it just wouldn't be "right" for the lower-end units to have any better features than the top-of-the-line...

I know strictly speaking the Rxx series are all the same generation, but the R900 did predate the R700 by quite a while. The firmware version on both models is the same, however. If anyone has an R909 with 1.3 in the firmware it'd perhaps give more support to this theory. As for the R701 and G755 (and R501), they are literally the exact same units with a different mold. The only supposed difference is Type-R.

[MDX-400]

^Haha that's a quote from me I believe!

Yes the R900 did not have Type-R but the later-produced models, the R500 and R700 did have an ATRAC Type-R IC but with Type-R simply disabled so as not to have a feature the R900 did not. It seems you've checked firmware versions, but that doesn't actually mean much. Because the R500/R700 probably have the same firmware but the R900 I'm betting is slightly different. It's like saying an MZ-R50 has a v1.2 firmware and then saying you found that an N10 has a v1.2 firmware and then saying they are the same firmware because they are the same version number--that doesn't make any sense.

If you check the ATRAC IC part number and the Sony decoder model name for that same IC, you'll find the R900 does indeed use an earlier and different ATRAC IC than the R500/R700.

If you have an R700 or R500, it is definitely a good idea to enable Type-R

[RobShaz]

Originally Posted by MDX-400

^Haha that's a quote from me I believe!

Yes the R900 did not have Type-R but the later-produced models, the R500 and R700 did have an ATRAC Type-R IC but with Type-R simply disabled so as not to have a feature the R900 did not. It seems you've checked firmware versions, but that doesn't actually mean much. Because the R500/R700 probably have the same firmware but the R900 I'm betting is slightly different. It's like saying an MZ-R50 has a v1.2 firmware and then saying you found that an N10 has a v1.2 firmware and then saying they are the same firmware because they are the same version number--that doesn't make any sense.

If you check the ATRAC IC part number and the Sony decoder model name for that same IC, you'll find the R900 does indeed use an earlier and different ATRAC IC than the R500/R700.

Yeah, I suppose that makes sense with regards to the firmware. Firmware and hardware are interchangeable anyway. The N810 and N510 seem to share the same firmware, whereas the 510 lacks much of the hardware. I searched the service manuals of the R700 and R900 and unless I've used the wrong part numbers, the IC part numbers for both units where as follows:

R700:
IC801 8-752-410-50 IC CXD2671-204GA

R900:
IC801 8-752-410-49 IC CXD2671-203GA
CXD2671-201GA (from minidisc.org)


If you have an R700 or R500, it is definitely a good idea to enable Type-R

Have you managed this, and if so, how?

[MDX-400]

Originally Posted by RobShaz

If you have an R700 or R500, it is definitely a good idea to enable Type-R

Have you managed this, and if so, how?

This information seems to have disappeared! I was almost certain it was part of the hack info on minidisc.org but I can't find it there anymore

I definitely recall asking someone who was responsible for developing some part of the hack why this was possible on the R500/R700 as well. Doing a back-search on my posts both here and on Minidisc.org I can't seem to find much mention of it. I did find one link on one thread and I remember now that the page did have a detailed hack table, much like the one on minidisc.org but that page no longer exists!

I've never done it myself because I never had an R700 or R500; you may want to see if you can contact Peter (the guy that posted a lot of the hack info at minidisc.org) to see if he knows/remembers anything about it. I know for sure it was possible, I just don't see the info anywhere anymore

There is the thread on the hack over at minidisc.org which might mention it but it is like 15 pages long so I didn't go through it...

[MDX-400]

Hmm, here is something close... (I'm going through that 16 page thread now, ugh)...

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php...l=hack&st=120#

Scroll to bottom of that page, post #135 continue to next page(s) for more details--follow the discussion.

[RobShaz]

Originally Posted by MDX-400

Hmm, here is something close... (I'm going through that 16 page thread now, ugh)...

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php...l=hack&st=120#

Scroll to bottom of that page, post #135 continue to next page(s) for more details--follow the discussion.

Well found. Those forums are a mess, design wise and posts wise. Navigating through endless posts written in moronic speak weren't fun. However, it seems the values to enable Type-R are:

867 to S67
868 to S01

(For the benefit of people here):

I've tried this out. Service mode, then Vol +, Vol - Vol -. That brings up Keisu 8 00. As the posts states, then press Play then Vol + 5 times, then press Play 7 times. That brings up the rolling numbers xxxS00 and 8 67. That value apparently needs to be changed to S67.

-Pause to write-

Play once goes to xxxS20 and 8 68. Change that to S01 and Pause to save.

That should've enabled Type-R on the Rxx generation of units. My R900 can be hacked this way but since it apparently lacks the hardware I didn't actually set the hack. If anyone else wants to try this on their R700, G750 or R500 and post back that'd be great.

An ideal comparison would be an unhacked R700 versus an R701, and then compare the two again only this time with the R700 hacked.