When I've had MD's go bad it was because they developed multiple drop-outs. I have some I left short because every time I recorded one more track it was full of drop-outs. I've recorded well over 1000 MD's and only thrown away 5 or less.
Have a Sharp portable recorder....but can' t find a replacement battery .....so it has to be plugged in.....plus I have about 100 discs ...mostly of a San Francisco radio show called Tangents.......at some point need to transfer them to the computer...but it will have to be in real time....ugh!!!
Boy I bought into MiniDisc like it was the next coming. It is STILL good but not worth the effort. Compression is still hard to be at peace with.
Considering the format is 30 years old, I feel its 90% of the way to being as good as CD sound wise, and my deck only has ATRAC 4.5 - always had great results recording optically on my JE520 that's been like tank since I bought it about 10 years ago from eBay. If you are just enjoying the music you don't notice the compression in the same way as an MP3. Still see it as one of the great lost formats - I think back in the day people didn't want to splash $150-200 on a portable which is why it failed - everyone who ever saw me with my rucksack full of discs and whatever portable I had at the time (too many to list here) was intrigued and loved what the saw and heard - they just couldn't justify the expense.
I commented earlier that "not everything always makes it through." While that could be true of ATRAC, the specific issue I was thinking of turned out to be my aging ears. I still have 3 operating MD decks, once had 11.
For sure when you listen critically you're absolutely right not everything makes it through. It's still an engaging listen and if you're doing something else I certainly don't notice - the discs I have go back to 1997 and they still work splendidly - so the technology is well done. Will probably get in trouble so can't say too much but I used to record concerts on a Panasonic SJ-MR220 and sell the recordings on eBay in the days before the algorithms picked things up - so unless someone reported you it would be ok.
Back in the late 90s, I recorded a [contra dance] band (w/permission) at a music & dance festtival. I used a portable that I plugged into the soundboard. The performance starts. I'm sitting there with 'phones and get things going. One of the band members, who's playing a mandolin and apparently wasn't told that I was just there on my own, comes over and asks me to adjust his sound. There was nothing I could do, what the the actual sound person being who-knows-where. But I did manage to get the band's entire session, a recording I might still have on that same minidisc (I edited it for transfer to CD).
A few people here have asked how I make the labels I use for my Minidiscs. I used to use Fellowes Neat-O Minidisc Labels, but they haven't been manufactured for years and I ran out of my supply of those some time ago. Since then, I have tried lots of other ways to make labels and the best option I have found is to use Avery 2" x 2" Square Glossy White Labels. They're not ideal in that they're not quite as tall as I'd like, and I have to trim the width down to just under 1 3/8," but that's easy to do. The nice thing is that you get great-quality photo reproduction on labels that are glossy, durable and smear-resistant. They also have good adhesive, so unlike other labels I have tried these don't curl up at the edges and get caught in the player. Also, the template for these labels is online, so you don't need to buy special software. You can also print just one label at a time, despite the cutting and trimming that's necessary. Since the labels are spaced apart on the sheet, you can make the vertical cut down the right side of each label to trim the width (using a razor blade or X-Acto knife) and it won't damage the other labels, which means you can do print one at a time and save all the others for later use. You get 10 sheets, each with 12 labels, for a total of 120 labels, for just $16 on Amazon. Then you can use Avery template 94107 to import photos or text. Yeah, it's too bad these labels aren't pre-sized to the perfect dimensions for Minidisc, but with minimal effort you can still make nice, custom labels with these. Amazon.com: Avery Square Labels with Sure Feed, 2" x 2", 120 Glossy White Labels (36476): Office Products
Here's a close-up of two discs with those above-mentioned Avery labels. As you can see, they're a bit on the short side, being just 2" tall , but they still look decent at that size.
Clark, if I thought I could get away with it, I'd kidnap you and not let you go till my 1000 or so MD's were customized.....
Like these labels, but ordering one pack is "unavailable", and I don't have 1000 minidiscs so the big pack at £90 is too pricey for me. I'm guessing its easier if you are in the US?
Amazon UK has these: Avery Square Labels with Sure Feed, 2" x 2", 120 Glossy White Labels (36476): Office Products Best Wishes, David
I am trying out my Sony MDS-E10 as a DAC. I've been listening to my recently acquired Kanto TUK powereds (+ Kanto 8 sub), using the optical and USB inputs. Source has been iTunes ALAC and Amazon HD from a Macbook Pro. Although the TUKs sound very good, I wondered if they could do even better. Question was, how to feed their RCA inputs? My MDS-E10 was kind of just lying around with nothing to do, so I figured why not give it shot as a DAC? Path was MBP opt. out > E10 opt. in, and then E10 RCA out to Kanto RCA in. I was astounded at the quality of the sound this produced. (You just hit REC on the E10 with no MD in it, and it goes into monitor mode.) Just for fun, I also played a legacy MD I'd recorded way back when. More astonishment. I'll keep at it this way for a bit. I may try a standalone external DAC, but not just yet, given the outcome so far. For the chip-aware, the E10's DAC is the AK4524.
