I still have a Sony MDS-JE510 deck which I bought new way back when. Unfortunately it suffers from the 'grinding noises' issue (with the display flicking between Eject and Welcome) but other than that, it works fine and still using it. I have just snaffled a NetMD MZ-707 Type-R in very good condition from eBay - just waiting for it to arrive There seems to be quite a bit of interest again in the MD format (I hope so) - most of the players/recorders fetching quite a price if in good condition.
I changed the band in my deck over the weekend (have been using it as a DAC for the appleTV), still works great
I've not had fade issues, but I don't really refer to it that much, I use it mostly for uploading recordings that I make on more 'standard' minidisc recorders. It's just a pain to charge it up so it can work away from the laptop, and the price/availability of batteries. Is there a modern day equivalent of SonicStage?
You might want to look at Platinum-MD - Supports upload MP3/WAV/FLAC files direct to a compatible NetMD recorder and Full quality SP recording. I believe Platinum-MD gets around some of the SonicStage restrictions. I have not tried it yet but I will do so when my MZ-N707 arrives from eBay
On some units, the issue manifests itself over time, and you may notice that certain parts of the display have gone dim, or the display has dimmed to the point where you can hardly see it. On the other hand, you may not experience the issue at all
Ah, I think I tried this back in the day, didn't work and naused up my SonicStage. I did get SS working again though. However, when I get around to a new laptop, I will look at this again and keep the old laptop as backup/safety.. Cheers!
You're welcome. It has been fairly recently updated but yes, it will disable SonicStage from having access to the device because of the need to use Zadig to install the WinUSB driver - there is a note about this and how to revert back. I'm going to give it a go before I try SonicStage... There is the SonicStage Digital Archive here which has been put up last month - you can get the various versions of SonicStage and OpenMG Jukebox, etc. Might be worth a poke around.
I wondered whether those MiniDisc users here had a preference for using the on-board DAC or sending the digital signal to an external DAC? On the one hand, a really good modern DAC will likely best the 90s technology contained in most players, so sending a S/PDIF signal to an external DAC seems the logical thing to do. On the other hand, you could argue that part of the point in using a 'legacy' format like this is to hear it as it would have been heard back in the day and therefore it's best to use the on-board DAC and use the analogue outputs. I'm no MiniDisc guru but a thought has occurred to me. I could be totally wrong here but I'm assuming that a MiniDisc player's on-board DAC converts ATRAC straight to analogue but it sends PCM via the digital output and therefore there's an additional conversion stage involved? Most likely a flawed assumption?!
I had a Sony desktop PC with MD built in back in the day. PCV-MXS20. For the time it was a nice desktop. I did use the MD feature but not nearly as much as my stand alone equipment for playback and recording. It came with speakers that actually sounded really good for a PC. It even had TOS-LINK In/Out which was kind of cutting edge at the time...
I have a portable player / recorder that I use occasionally. Sony MZ-S1. Fortunately in excellent condition. This model was built as a tank, it is extremely solid although very heavy (although it is the model made for sports fans! ) For a long time I have only used it occasionally as an audio player. I have not been able to use this as a recorder for some time because Sony left users with no driver updates for current Windows platforms. On Friday after so much searching I managed to find a driver compatible with Windows 10 and bingo! works perfectly. Yesterday I started to record some new Md and I had an entertaining day ! I needed to organize my Md library and now it is a real possibility.
I do not know if your problem is the use of the device on your computers (laptop or desktop) or the Sonystage program, this video was very useful to me about two days ago. There is a link that allows you to install a compatible version of sonystage and the driver that allows you to use the MdPlayer in addition to being recognized by Windows 8 or 10. The video is in Spanish but the process is illustrated quite well and is not difficult at all. It also works perfectly ! Good vibes !
Admittedly, I don’t know that much about the format. Maybe someone can educate me. What is the appeal in the modern world? With an iPhone for example, you can have a ton of compressed music, stream, or have a very good amount of lossless music. What would MD offer?
Focus. And physicality. You could make a playlist on put it on minidisc. You could hold it in your hand. You could reorder it, shuffle it, but it would still be a finite playlist. And you wouldnt poke around to other songs outside the playlist of songs on the disc. You can also record radio shows and other things pretty easily. Admittedly, it is a little archaic, but it goes back to an older way of interacting with your music collection. IMO.
I see. Respectfully, sounds like mostly nostalgia to me, much like the cassette revival. Oh well, enjoy the music, peace.