Anyone still use Minidisc, NetMD or Hi-MD???

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Chris_G, May 8, 2013.

  1. gazatthebop

    gazatthebop Forum Resident

    Location:
    manchester
    i bought a Sony MZ-RH1 to record concerts but soon after bought a digital 24 bit recorder. The sony box has stayed in a cupboard since.
     
  2. PhilBiker

    PhilBiker sh.tv member number 666

    Location:
    Northern VA, USA
    You may want to look up eBay prices on that unit. :-O
     
  3. PhilBiker

    PhilBiker sh.tv member number 666

    Location:
    Northern VA, USA
    That's Jason Beiler from Saigon Kick. If he's coming to your town and you're a fan - go see him! Current acoustic tour is fantastic!
     
  4. gazatthebop

    gazatthebop Forum Resident

    Location:
    manchester
    yes i'm aware, i have a sony JA555ES here too that's said to be a holy grail for some.
     
    PhilBiker likes this.
  5. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca

    I had one of those and a JA333ES and I couldn't tell much, if any, difference between the two. Well, the 555 was heavier if you had to pick it up. I think that Sony sold ES MD recorders by the pound.... ;) They both died and are gone now. The 333 lasted considerably longer.
     
    PhilBiker likes this.
  6. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    I have an MD player (Teac - Japan) and a bunch of Minis.

    Got them for free off of CList!
     
  7. gazatthebop

    gazatthebop Forum Resident

    Location:
    manchester

    i had the 333 too, sold it last year and got back what i paid for it. From memory the 333 had the long play feature otherwise very similar.
     
  8. ShallowMemory

    ShallowMemory Classical Princess

    Location:
    GB
    Back in the game having got the power unit for the MZ-NH700 Hi-MD portable from 2004 which when you fight the AGC on default makes great recordings and a supply of industrial batteries for the Sharp MT 270H as the power input no longer works but does have superior ergonomics and name stamping.
    For those in Great Britain and Europe, the fisual optical toslink to mini toslink IC is superb and dirt cheap having tried it making excellent copies from a spare Technics SLPS 670 cdp. Link: Fisual Mini Toslink to Standard Toslink Cable - Pro Install Series 0.5m | eBay (also AVpro are on Amazon.co.uk)
     
  9. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Out shopping today and, lo and behold, a Minidisc MZ-NE410 for sale, with five 74 minute discs included. $20 and I don't think I've ever seen one used so what the hell, I picked it up (worst case I could re-sell it and get my money back). Works fine, in great condition and I actually did get the semi-homebrew software out there running on my Win7 VM. Takes WMA lossless as input (only lossless format I believe with tagging that the software will accept) and I can get about three albums on each disc with not too much effort.

    An interesting experiment but, in the end, I certainly can't see it replacing my daily DAP. The main deal-breaker is simply the amount of music it can hold with one disc, which I figure equates to around 250MB or so if comparing to 256kbps AAC's. Plus of course the non-backlit scrolling text LCD screen screams early 2000's. Still, it has style, long battery life and that old school "let's see how much electronics we can jam into a small little box" charm to it.
     
    clhboa, PhilBiker and Bhob like this.
  10. Sergeant Pepper

    Sergeant Pepper Forum Resident

    I've recorded lots of concerts with my portable Sharp minidisc recorder and a professional microphone.
     
    PhilBiker likes this.
  11. patientenkollektiv

    patientenkollektiv Forum Resident

    Location:
    Liverpool
    Due to being an impoverished student during the MiniDisc/DCC Wars and perfectly happy with CDs & cassettes, I never took up either format. I remember a few years later, when Sony did their second big push of MiniDisc, investigating with interest but had my doubts as the long-term availability so, again, didn't bother.

    Fast forward too many years to 2018 and the fact that I still number tapes and records among my preferred music formats means I'm always picking up interesting bits of hardware and was given this by a friend. It's in beautiful condition, CD and tuner both fully working.

    [​IMG]


    It didn't come with any discs, but the Facebook post I made thanking my pal for the gift yielded an unexpected bonus - my friend Belle popped up offering me two dozen minidiscs (no idea if they're blank, pre-recorded, new used etc though) and two portable minidisc players which I'm picking up tomorrow. Looking forward to having a play with this format.
     
  12. BruceS

    BruceS El Sirviente del Gato

    Location:
    Reading, MA US
    =======
    This should be fun for you. I'm phasing out of MD, although it will have a place here until all units die. That's a nice gift. That unit appears to have ATRAC 4.5 (CXD-2654R) per SM. It should make good-sounding recordings. There may even have been a cassette module available with that DHC-MD373. I recently put some tape (CS) onto MD myself (and then onto CD-RW and then into iTunes). You can't REC onto the Pre-REC MDs.
    Enjoy!
     
  13. CrazyCatz

    CrazyCatz Great shot kid. Don't get cocky!

    Have Fun, it is/was a Great format ..and perfect for playing around with. I still have a full sized Sony Deck and couple of portables..
     
    patientenkollektiv likes this.
  14. MGSeveral

    MGSeveral Augm

    I have one of those units you can download from, and have been going through various old discs and doing so. Sometimes it's easier than recording lps direct to the laptop
     
  15. c0nd3stav3l

    c0nd3stav3l Member

    Location:
    Portugal
    I have exactly the same model as you and I have also some Hi-MD discs (around 24) that, at the time, I used for some compilations and for directo copies of friend CD's.
    i have two gum stick batteries, but what I'm seeing is that after 30 minutes of charge on the base charger, the red light turns off as if it would have completed charge (which I know can not be true since I remember it took something like 2 hours to fully charge these gum sticks); after that, if I unplug from the base and start the MZ-NH1, everything works perfect for around 2/3 hours, then the battery dies.
    Any clue of the issue might be on the batteries or on the charger itself?
    Also, I'm considering to revive this unit and thinking of ways I could use it nowadays - the immediate thought is to direct copy some Hi-Res FLACs I have bought and then listen to that on the car, because there is no other way I could listen to those on the car.... any other ideas?

    Cheers,
    Filipe
     
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  16. MGSeveral

    MGSeveral Augm

    Just now, went to a car boot sale, they had a very similar unit to the one in the pic above, but a car stereo version.
     
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  17. DrZhivago

    DrZhivago Hedonist

    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Hi Filipe,

    What you observe is degradation of your gum stick battery. Unfortunately, there's a finite number of charge cycles until the end of useful life of your 4LIPMW. I bought a couple of spares back in the day. Very expensive and hard to find these days.


    Regards
     
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  18. Bhob

    Bhob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta Ga
    They're still for sale new all over eBay, but don't seem to be any better then the older ones. Best use I've been able to get from charging new ones overnight is about 2-3 hours. They're not expensive if you just have to have them.
     
    CrazyCatz likes this.
  19. patientenkollektiv

    patientenkollektiv Forum Resident

    Location:
    Liverpool
    Thanks for this informative reply. I've been tempted to join this forum a few times in the past (usually when my search for the answer to an obscure music-related question led me to some thread on here!) but only joined because of this thread. I'm glad I did!

    You're right, there was a cassette module available for this unit and there are some for sale on eBay in fact, although my needs in that format are already served well so I'm not tempted. I was pleased to note that, as per usual with old Sony units, the manual is downloadable from the Sony website so I'm looking forward to learning more. Your comment about ATRAC 4.5 (CXD-2654R) per SM means nothing to me so I have a lot to learn!

    I picked up my second haul today, liberated from the back of one of my mate Belle's cupboards. Two dozen minidiscs, all blank with her favourite teenage music on. Nirvana, Spice Girls, Linkin Park and Joe Satriani all feature heavily! Great fun. And these two beauties, both tested and playing well!

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  20. minidiscfan

    minidiscfan Member

    Location:
    united kingdom
     
  21. minidiscfan

    minidiscfan Member

    Location:
    united kingdom
    Hi
    Still a great fan of Minidisc and try to keep the format alive. I am building a new website for retro audio with Minidisc as the main theme. Your comments would be appreciated. miniaudiobooks.co.uk . Been a minidisc fanatic since 2009 and if there is anyway I can help please do not hesitate to drop me a line
     
  22. thirstygerry

    thirstygerry New Member

    Location:
    BE
    Great to see people aren't willing to ditch the Minidisc format just yet!
    Let us know when the new website goes live!
     
  23. dharmabumstead

    dharmabumstead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pacific Northwest
    I've got a Sony MDS-E12 rackmount minidisc deck in my audio stack (running through the DAC on an Oppo BDP-105D). I initially got it for playback only, but out of curiosity I recorded one of my needledrops (The Young Person's Guide to King Crimson) to a new blank MD via the deck's coax input. I am astounded at how good the ATRAC R Type encoding sounds! Light years better than the ATRAC 3 I remember from back in the heyday. Very impressed.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2018
    kyouki, LA2019, Duke Fame and 4 others like this.
  24. pscreed

    pscreed Upstanding Member

    Location:
    Land of the Free
    This is the one failed format from my audio past that I miss... it was so elegant. Still have a Sony MDS-JB930 in the rack. What a machine.

    I’m a tech professional, I have Roon, I run an 8TB NAS, I’ve spent mega$$$ on network and computer audiophilia.

    MD didn’t even require a PC. If only it was lossless... if only...
     
    PhilBiker likes this.
  25. Bhob

    Bhob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta Ga
    I can be if you use HI MD.
     
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