The Li-Ion battery in my MZ-R30 is kaput. I've seen some non-Sony equivalents on EBay and was wondering if anyone has used an aftermarket battery for their MD's and if so are you happy with them? http://www.ebay.com/itm/171312586756?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Lately, I've transferred some of my favorite Books On Tape to Minidisc for when I'm out walking... Here's a set of discs that include two audiobooks tied to Ken Burns' documentaries: "The National Parks" and "The West." For both of these, I mixed in music from their respective soundtrack albums to add a bit more life to the narratives.
Once again, I'm reminded of how attractive minidiscs can look. Especially with the minidisc-form-fitting cases!
True. Even those old Sony 74-minute discs look pretty good. In the past, I've always recorded in the highest quality mode, giving me 74 minutes or 80 minutes of playing time in stereo. For these audiobooks, I figured that was overkill, and since "The National Parks" book is the unabridged 13-hour version, and I wanted to mix in all of that soundtrack music from the film, I opted for the LP2 recording mode, doubling my recording time. They still sound great!
Bought a Sony NE410 recently as I wanted something portable that hopefully sounded better than my iPhone or other MP3 player. I can play FLAC files on the iPhone but somehow I still didn't like the sound. Although the Sony plays compressed ATRAC it sounds way better through my Audio Technica M40 headphones. Craigslist purchase for $50 and came with 40 blank disks. Do these things have a better DAC so sound better?
When ATRAC was developed they really did the research on psychoacoustic phenomena and what sounds good, not just what measures as good. Most of the Sony and other Minidiscs do seem to have decent electronics as far as overall noise and distortion. But what I have noticed is that recording to MD just makes many sources sound better somehow. Purists probably shudder, but a good MD recording is like ear candy to MD lovers. Especially true for rock or electronica, maybe rap (I am not a fan). They seem to have optimized it for popular music. Hard to explain--you have to experience it. I recorded the Stones' "Forty Licks" CDs to MD and that is where I prefer to enjoy it, using ATRAC 2. I have a Sony MXD-400 deck which makes it easy--CD drawer and MD slot, just do a transfer and it detects the gaps and makes a great MD. Most of my listening is vinyl, by far, but I do enjoy MDs when I can, including on a Sony portable MD plugged into the car stereo 1/8" input.
They really shouldn't sound better than today's DACs. But I used to have some people tell me that they preferred the sound of my minidisc player. I often wondered if the ATRAC system got rid of some high frequency distortion beyond what people could consciously hear. I have nothing to back this "theory" up. Edit: BuddhaBob said it better, while I was writing.
Haven't messed with one in years but I loved it. We used them at the radio station I worked at until 2005 (then I got a real job). We used them for backing up commercials and stations sweepers/ID's. We also had a portable one we took to clients so they could record their commercials -- you know the commercials I am talking about, the car dealerships where the GM/owner/top salesmen have such huge egos they like to hear their own voice when clearly they sound like crap. Anyway, those types of guys were impressed that we could bring MD to them and let them record their commercials at the dealership. This is what we had: I don't remember what kind of portable one we used, probably a Sony.
These look terrific Clark - as always - the colours on the labels on the discs themselves look so vibrant. You done any other collections at all recently? Best Wishes, David
I just walked past my mini disc deck this morning, (Sony MDS-JE510) sitting in its box on a shelf and thought, "there's something else I need to sell".....and the first thread that catches my eye is this one. I'll test it first and maybe give it a shot here in the classifieds.
I just replaced my 15 year- old Alpine minidisc deck in my 19 year-old BMW Z3 last weekend. The new deck is very versatile, with Bluetooth, a USB input compatible with flash drives, iPods, iPhones, iPads, etc. It sounds great, but I remember my excitement at being able to chuck my cassettes for minidisc digital recordings that I could make myself, rerecord and rerecord again. Amazing. A little sad at my progress.
I just put together two Minidisc compilations of so-called "hippie" music (well, actually the music is more like the sort of 'sunshine-pop' stuff that made it onto AM radio) from the late 1960s and early 1970s. To add to the AM-radio feel of these compilations, between each of the songs I dropped in various call-letter jingles from the radio station I used to listen to back in that era: KSTT. Then I created cover art and label art similar to what radio stations used back then as covers for those station-branded LPs that were issued as promotional pieces or contest give-aways. Invariably, those albums featured generic cover art of a young girl along with prominent placement of the station's logo... I couldn't find many hippie-chick photos from that era and had to settle for more modern-day shots of singers and actresses in hippie wardrobe! But it definitely added to the vibe I was trying to achieve.
Here are set lists for the two compilations above: SATURDAY IN THE PARK Beautiful Morning Good Morning, Starshine Come Saturday Morning Sweet City Woman Tracy Yellow River This Girl’s In Love With You I Believe In Music Out In The Country Are You Ready? Stoned Soul Picnic Give A Damn I’ll Never Find Another You Carrie Anne You, Baby The Rain, The Park & Other Things Walkin’ In The Rain (Jay & The Americans version) Rain On The Roof Jingle Jangle Reach Out Of The Darkness Lazy Day Saturday In The Park Never-Ending Song Of Love It’s So Nice To Be With You Make It With You ANOTHER PARK, ANOTHER SUNDAY Early In The Morning Here Comes The Sun (Ritchie Havens version) Sunday Morning (Sid & Susie cover version of the Velvet Underground song) Sunday Mornin’ (the Spanky & Our Gang song) Beautiful Sunday The Morning Of My Life I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep Grazing In The Grass Ooh, Child Baby, Now That I’ve Found You Day By Day I Don’t Know How To Love Him Trains And Boats And Planes Groovin’ On A Sunday Afternoon Beg, Steal Or Borrow I’d Like To Get To Know You Make Your Own Kind Of Music Go Where You Wanna Go I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (The Hilltop Singers version) We Gotta Get You A Woman Pleasant Valley Sunday Daydream Rings (Lobo version) Pieces Of April Another Park, Another Sunday Sunday Will Never Be The Same
That is true! I noticed it too. Can't listen to music on my smartphone, sound is not great comparing to MD,even FLAC.
Hi everyone. I just scored a Sony MDS-W1 Double MiniDisc recorder deck like the picture below. I got it on cragslist for $25 plus shipping, with remote. Hopefully it all works good.
Good One. I keep looking for a couple of specific items on ebay UK but no luck yet. Maybe someday. Best Wishes, David
Use Craigslist my friend. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I find on their, really cheap. Last I got 5 Sony MD2000 minidiscs for about $1 each. Resold them on ebay for a lot.
Thanks Chris - hadn't thought of using 'Craigslist'. Maybe something will turn up. Best Wishes, David
I just happened on this very long-running thread; it is almost a work of art at this point. I even recognized a name or two from the Sony Insider Minidisc Forum. I'd like to add that I currently have 8 MD decks comprising 6 distinct units and two brands. Sony: MDS-JA20ES, MDS-JB930, MDS-JB940, MXD-D400 (2: 1 US model and 1 JPN model), MXD-D40 (2). Kenwood: MD-2070 Of these 8 decks, 7 are in current use. Back in the late 1990s, I decided on MD as my main digital medium and I really have never looked back. I am, however, looking forward to still more years of using this gear. A few portables, too, and 4 car head units (2 in use). What a Craigslist find you have there, Chris! I have been looking for an MDS-W1 for a long time...no luck yet. And Clark...that is an amazing comp of sunshine pop. The covers aren't too bad, either ;-) Just had to say something as long as this thread keeps on keepin' on. Best to all, Bruce
Thanks everyone. I got the MDS-W1 a couple days ago, and it looks great and so far works perfectly. I haven't tried all the functions, but all the lights work on the display. The only thing is there are some scratches on the top of the casing, which is a dull gold like color, and I want to polish or wax it and make it look better. Any recommendations? Thanks.
Wow! What a trip down memory lane. I used to have this bad boy right here: I bought it for around $1,000 when it first came out (can't recall the exact price), fascinated by the idea that I could make digital compilation discs. I was just starting my DJ company, and this was a dream come true. I believe this model may have had the first version of ATRAC, which sounded pretty good but not perfect. A 256kbps mp3 today sounds clearer than the MD recordings I was able to make back then. There was nothing wrong with the sound quality, but it did leave behind some compression artifacts that may have been improved with ATRAC 2. I also see that future models may have allowed the user to select different bitrates (or even lossless); however, this unit had a fixed bitrate, and I'm not sure what it was. I never owned another MD recorder or player after this one. Instead, I bought a PC and CD burner in 1997 and left my MiniDiscs to collect dust on a shelf. I finally sold the player and all of my blank discs in the mid-2000s.
I just got into minidisc recently, having totally missed out on the technology back when it was introduced. Being a fan of small objects that do big things I would've been all over this. I already have a large collection of tape and disc Walkmans, a few Watchmans, a 10th anniversary portable DAT recorder (though I'm scared to use it for fear of breaking it), and have now added 5 players or player/recorders to my new collection. I currently have all Sonys, a MZ-E33, MZ-NE410, MZ-E40, MZ-R55 (my current favorite), and a M-Z1, all in excellent condition and purchased from eBay for less than $50 each. I use at least one of them every couple of days. I love the sound. I've been recording Target CDs, Japanese, German, and early 80s pressings that I've also recently started collecting. Since the M-Z1 is a little big for portability, and the battery is gone, and apparently is no longer available anywhere, I plan to make it a part of my 2 channel stereo for recording from CDs and LPs. I do need a second optical cable to complete the connection to the system. Does anyone know where I might be able to acquire one? eBay has been useless so far.
Yes, I still keep my mini disc player-recorder (I have more than 80 mini-disc especially with prog-rock and classical music) I use it to stream music ... much less than before but still use it.
