[Five]

the first one looks like 128kbps cbr mp3 to me... could be similar wmv/rm codec, who knows, but that does not jive with the lineage he gave, it should have frequency response all the way to the top. I guess I'll retroactively "pull" that one, too bad we didn't catch it sooner. Hopefully a clean version will turn up, maybe try contacting the guy who posted the show for possible leads.

the 2nd one looks as it should for an MD recording, and it is normal to have to take it in thru the analog ins on the soundcard as the only way to get a direct digital transfer on those old MD recordings is by using a standalone deck at considerable extra expense.

Only the newer "Hi-MD" decks are capable of recording lossless (16bit/44.1kHz LPCM WAV) and it has been an exception to the lossless-only rules since there was only etree. We're discussing a cutoff date for newly-recorded MD shows (the lossy ones only) since there are so many more affordable and lossless options available to tapers in this day and age.