[fbleagh]

hi gues im looking at purchasing a minidisc player for portable listening but i ahve a few q's first.
I'm looking at 2 models

sony MZ-N1 - http://www.minidisc.com.au/product_i...products_id=30
sony MZ-707 - http://www.minidisc.com.au/product_i...products_id=94

The biggest feature that interests me is that of NETMD, the whole realtime recording thing is sucky.

1) first off what are the differences between these 2 units ?
2) do they have a good lineout ?
3) is the best you can get via netmd LP2 ??? thats crap
4) can i rip my cd's with something else that suports atrac first and then copy them down to the MD thereby allowing me to get full SP ?
5) is there other tools we can use other than openmg ( or any in development )
6) is simple buner any good ?
7) whats the longest SP minidisc out there ?
8) where is a good place to go for md questions ( forum ? mailing list ? )

that should be all

eheheheh

thanks guys

 

[Superbaldguy]

The MZ-N1 is Sony's "flagship" MiniDisc recorder, and its most expensive, save for the business-oriented MZ-B100. What you get with the top-end models are:

(1) Better build quality and the units are made in Japan.
(2) Long battery life with the NH-14WM cell
(3) More useful features, like adjustable bass/treble controls, to name one...

The N707 shares most of the MZ-N1's basic functions, at a lower price. The OpenMG software seems to work reasonably well on newer PC's with XP, but I've read a lot of complaints of users trying to install with older OS's, like Windows 98.

I would hope that Sony does have an upgrade in the works for the OpenMG package, but who knows? The best transfer rate is still only at the LP2 setting, which matches most mp3's as far as bitrate goes.

You can get 80-minute blanks quite easily, and you have the choice of recording in SP, LP2, LP4 or mono. Of course, SP provides the best audio quality, but I have very satisfying recordings made with LP2.

The best forum for MD questions is the MiniDisc T-Board forum. BTW, you'll find that the sound of MiniDisc is superior to that of mp3's and most everything else....Good luck.

 

[Vertigo-1]

1. Main differences are full magnesium alloy body on the N1 vs. plastic on the 707, longer battery life on N1 through AA battery pack + gumstick (707 only accepts 1 AA, no battery packs), smaller size on N1, more recording features on N1 (like on the fly adjustment of the recording levels), better remote on N1, and bragging rights that you have Sony's current flagship recorder.

2. Only the N1 has a lineout through a menu toggle, and not a hardwired Line Out jack...Sony crippled all their lower end models to include only a Headphone Out, with no menu options to turn the Headphone Out into a Line Out.

3. You can record using SP through NetMD...of course this renders NetMD's faster transfers rather useless. Also note that if you record using SP through NetMD, that it will NOT record using the Type R ATRAC, only 4.5.

4. Not sure what you mean by "something else that uses ATRAC". It sounds as if you'd be easier off just getting a digital optical cable and recording off a portable CDP that has a digital optical out. Again, you'll lose the Type R ATRAC if you record anything though NetMD.

5. I'm sure there's something floating around out there...

6. Simple Burner just rips a CD and automatically converts tracks into ATRAC format to send off to the recorder. It's great as an automated process more than anything. You'd probably be better off ripping with something like EAC actually which provides a more stable ripping environment, and then using the NetMD program to convert the .wav/mp3 into ATRAC to send off to the recorder.

7. 80 mins.

8. Try www.t-station.net www.minidisc.org www.minidiscussion.com

 

[fbleagh]

Hmm ok
the N1 sounds like a much better player.
-the tough casing sounds good for me

hmmm still not sure about the whole netMD thing tho
the specs say that SP transfer should be 2x-4x realtime ( but i think the bitrate is pretty low = half ? )

btw I currently have a nomad jukebox with all my mp3's encoded as 192VBR or 256CBR ( EAC --> LAME ).

I am also trying to find a decent solid state mp3 player ( im trying to get away from bulky devices )


MD looks damned good at but im not sure as i said about the NETMD stuff.

the how bad is the best qual transfer available with openmg ?

 

[Mystyler]

LP2 sounds surprisingly good.
But OpenMG doesn't actually support true SP. It is still LP2 quality but can be played back on non-MDLP units.
On another board, people with NetMD units did some speed tests, and they all transfered at their advertised speeds, except SP didn't transfer at the 2x speed, instead at 1.8x speed...

Also, realtime recording isn't that bad really!

 

[fbleagh]

I think im almost convinced

I've joined a group looking at writing another peice o software for netmd

now im gonna go and try find a nice price on this baby

$750AU ouchies - i think i can do better than that

 

[r3cc0s]

b4 u buy them

there is a few things to kinda remind your self

because it's all about $$$

the n1 is the eliest md player on the market

it's made in japan as well, has a magnesium body and has great battery life and has a nice remote, mic live recordign
and of course has netmd

however.....
if all you do is listen to music?

then the 505 is fine and is a bargin at like $150 or less, compared to the n1,

it has netmd, and has the same amp as the n1
it can also record atrac type r as well

the thing is you don't have a magnesium body, and no mic input
however it does have line inputs, optical input, and the netmd input
as well
it doesn't come with a rechargable battery
but you can put in like a cheap radioshak nicd battery and it will be just as rechargable as the 707

I mean it's the best deal on the market
it has remote inputs as well

but to be honest, who the hell acctuality uses the remote

 

[blr]

Quote:

Originally posted by r3cc0s but to be honest, who the hell acctuality uses the remote

Well, I do (not with N1 though) IMO having a remote brings an extra convinience, and I haven't been able to detect any sound degradation due to the remote.
Another point is that I am not sure but I guess N505 does not even have a remote port, at least the European version. This means that you cannot purchase one separately.

On the whole NetMD issue my humble opinion is that it is simply not worth at present. There are too many limitations to the system. You cannot transfer SP audio with it neighter can you upload music from the portable to your HDD. Perhaps the next generation of hard/software will be more versatile, but if you ask me spare yourself 50 bucks and get the excellent R909. It has everything that N1 has without the NetMD feature.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by r3cc0s but to be honest, who the hell acctuality uses the remote

I always use the remote on my E900

That way I can pack it away somewhere nice and safe.

 

[hokiefritz]

Every one else pretty much covered it, but I guess I'll chime in anyway.

About the remote, I use it all the time as I pack mine away like MacDEF does.

While I would agree that the NetMD has along way to go (and I hope it gets there soon!), just using the Simple Burner to burn CDs at LP2 is extremely convenient and yields very good results. It's worth the extra bucks to me just for that. Of course if someone records exclusively at SP then NetMD is worthless to them.

 

[fbleagh]

Well, I've pretty much decided on the N1

i think i may be able to get it for $500AU ( 250US )
so that is sweet

also on the NETMD thing i decided to doa bit of searching and foudna group who are working on wrintin a new peice of software to work with it

they already have track titling, etc going , they are working on ATRAC uploads now

so hopefully my N1 should be here soon

 

[kerelybonto]

fbleagh, if you haven't bought yet and aren't set on NetMD, check out eBay first. I was going to go for a N707, but I decided to save some cash and bid on a barely used player/recorder for about a third of its retail.

If you can find a good deal, it's worth a shot. Otherwise, let me know how you like your N1.

kerelybonto

 

[fbleagh]

i thought about that but the nice features NetMD offers tips the balance for me

 

[Ken]

I have the net-md 707R
after reading this thread I learn that the top of the line has a line out.
This line out , is there much of an improvement on the lower models headphone out.
Also i expect you cant use bass and treble setting s on line on the top of the line model.

can anyone help

 

[andrzejpw]

what do you mean? You mean theres not equalizer?