Blank Mds, Go Cheap?
Sep 9, 2002 at 11:26 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 16

SRV

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I've had my sharp md sdr60 for about a month now, and i am very pleased with the sound iam getting.I love that i can just throw this thing in my pocket while walking around, but the five blank MDs i bought with the player just aren't cutting it anymore. So i was wondering is there any real difference between all the blank MDs out there, besides length? If there are no sonic differences, which i doubt there are, are there big durability issues? And as always, iam open to any suggestions on which to buy.
 
Sep 10, 2002 at 12:58 AM Post #2 of 16
Durability. Just handling cheaper discs and comparing the feel of them to a good disc will give you an indication.
 
Sep 10, 2002 at 1:37 AM Post #3 of 16
Some people insist that metal shutters are better than plastic shutters for MD cartridges - they say the plastic ones get caught in equipments more often. I haven't had any problems with the plastic shutters myself.

Edit - And I've had much more problems with Sony than with Maxell, so :p in the general direction of Sverige *giggles*
 
Sep 10, 2002 at 8:49 AM Post #4 of 16
Maxell disks are supposed to be less reliable. I've been using a couple for about a month without problems, but who knows..
 
Sep 10, 2002 at 6:25 PM Post #7 of 16
If you're in Europe, Hi-Space are very reliable and much less expensive than many other brands. Sadly, they stopped distributing them in the U.S. I have over 100 Hi-Space blanks, without a single bad disk.
 
Sep 10, 2002 at 9:06 PM Post #8 of 16
mmm, never seen Hi-Space disks around here. probably not going to find em in the generic music or electronics stores.
 
Sep 12, 2002 at 11:05 PM Post #11 of 16
I was checking out MDs at audiocubes and was checking out the sony blanks, i was thinking about getting the niege blanks, iam guessing there's no difference from year to year. I also checked out the sony prism blank, this blank claims to have a "Shock Absorb Mechanism", is this of any merit or just marketing garbage?
 
Sep 13, 2002 at 6:44 AM Post #12 of 16
'Tis garbage, this so-called shock absorbing mechanism. No difference whatsoever, and won't affect the sound whatsoever.
wink.gif
 
Sep 13, 2002 at 10:57 PM Post #13 of 16
In my experience, Hi Space made the flimsiest and least reliable MD and CD-R media. Their 24k gold CDs were a joke. Some of surfaces were as irregular as rippling bathwater. Even the smooth ones were problematic -- I've never dealt with so many write errors in my life. I even began to doubt my Yamaha burner until I switched to Quantegy.

Hi Space's packaging and product were often beautiful, so I was always sad about hating them. But just today I was placing a clear HS MD in my N1 and thought: The shuttle's so fragile it's a wonder this plays at all.

I'm not trying to contradict anyone here, especially since Hi Space vendors always touted their durability, too -- there's the question of a greater consensus. But the DJs I know *never* use Hi Space for recording sets. And I've read of HS unreliability many times on the MD newsgroup and on MiniDiscussion.org.

Personally, I like TDK and Sony best. Axia and Denon seem fine as well. The shuttles on older Maxells were problematic and clicked in some players, but maybe they've fixed that by now. You'd think so, right?

Neige discs look great and come in really convenient cases that sit in your shirt pocket like cigarette packs. But the only two kinds of MDs that have ever failed me were Hi Space and Sony Neige. Most of my Neige still work, but all of them should, since recording/naming MDs can take time as well as money.

I've never had problems with the two Memorex MDs I own, but at this point, you can get a box of ten 80-minute TDK Music Jack 2002s down the block for $14.99 including tax. They look great, have real jewel cases and last forever, so why settle for Memorex MDs in nasty cases?

HHB looks great and they're trusted in many other areas. But I'm sorry, I refuse to pay three and change for a single purple MD.
 
Sep 13, 2002 at 11:08 PM Post #14 of 16
Quote:

Originally posted by Mystyler
'Tis garbage, this so-called shock absorbing mechanism. No difference whatsoever, and won't affect the sound whatsoever.
wink.gif


yeah, I wonder if it is indeed actually something. I've had some broken disks over the past few years, and they all look pretty much the same on the inside. maybe that shock absorbing stuff is referring to the black paint they put on the cases (TDK doesn't have it)? but really, it is just Sony's marketing ********: not telling lies, but not talking truth either...
 
Sep 14, 2002 at 4:49 AM Post #15 of 16
I've found Hi-Space to be worse than Maxells and memorex.

I dunno where Sony gets that shock absorbing crap from, maybe it is the black paint/plastic on the outside, but the disc inside is the same as a TDK...
And TDK doesn't have shock absorbing "technology".
biggrin.gif
 

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