Future MD Technology Expectations
Aug 14, 2002 at 11:02 PM Post #16 of 38
Quote:

Originally posted by Magicthyse


No, even a braindead jackass knows that anyone can get a deal - however for comparison's sake, retail is a good place to start.

ipod 10Gb with remote = $300.


well, those prices were retail!
 
Aug 14, 2002 at 11:20 PM Post #17 of 38
Quote:

Originally posted by meithkiller
What I'd like to see within 3-5 years is an MD that can hold about 3 gig and can connect via firewire to a PC and essentially function as a removeable drive. Of course it would also need to be backwards compatible with today's MD and MDLP formats.


/me looks at the Fujitsu 1.3GB FireWire magneto-optical drive sitting on his desk
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I can get 5 1.3GB disks for about $70. And that was last year's model, with support for 1.3GB, 640MB, 230MB, and 128MB discs -- this year's supports 2.3GB discs, as well.

MiniDisc is *exactly* the same thing, just with a smaller disc.
 
Aug 14, 2002 at 11:24 PM Post #18 of 38
For the record, I have an MZ-E501. I have an MD-MT821. My last two recorders were the N1 and the N707 (NetMD sucks). I have a DHC-MD595. I have a MDS-JE770. I had two actually, but one broke rather early and I've returned it for a credit against the MDS-JE780 which should be with me soon. And there's an IM-MT880 on the way. (I'm hedging my bets with NetMD, in case Sony wakes up and smells the coffee - but I'm not using those craptastic Sony portables for recording)

So I'm not exactly a non-MD user. But my main use for it is recording and uploading said recordings.

I also have a Sony D-CJ01.

The D-CJ01 gets used every time I want to hear my own CD's - be it in actual CD format or MP3's. Although I have the ability now to record titled MP3's at a speed comparable to a decent NetMD setup, thanks to the DHC-MD595 (Use Nero to burn MP3's with CD-TEXT titles on a CD-RW, stick in 595, and go), I rarely use it.

It's still too much hassle when I know I can burn 4.5 hours of SP-quality music onto one CD in 6 minutes (those CD's taking about 10 minutes to rip at the most in the first place at 320K) - which means I can put together compilations literally at the same time as brushing my teeth in the mornings. Plus there's no disc to swap for the entire day, and the D-CJ01 occupies less or the same amount of space than an MD player + 6-disc hard case. Sure, it's a bit heavier. But as a hassle-free way of enjoying high quality music, it rules. Until, that is, I get an iPod.

Here's a list of 'stuff MD has to do over the next 2 years for me to take it seriously' that I wrote elsewhere

a) Adopt high-capacity MD, which is already available (640MB).
b) Adopt option for no compression recording as well as SP and LP2/LP4.
c) High-speed upload capability for own recorded MD's - Block others by some means for copyright? I don't care.
d) Native MP3 support in firmware for NetMD downloaded material to dispense with ATRAC conversion time
e) More juice with Li-ion/Poly cell.
f) 3-4x present power amp with EQ.
g) Much faster transport mechanism to better match USB2.0 device transfer speeds and to further improve anti-skip
and of course:
h) full backwards compatibility
i) Below $350 (In 2004 $).
 
Aug 15, 2002 at 1:33 PM Post #19 of 38
Quote:

Originally posted by gloco
On another note, MD players sound far better than any pcdp


okay.. is this because of the inherent transfer from a cd to md (unless you have any actual md albums, which i have, although i'm pretty sure nobody here has), or because of the compression involved with using an md (as oppose to any cd, which are uncompressed)? or perhaps the atrac gods just make it so..

on a different note, i went in my local mac store in my mall last night and i actually got to touch/play with the display ipod they had there. of course they had it hooked up to some new-age designed ****ty jbl sound system (but at least it looks pretty!), but it seems like quite a little machine. i found it funny that not one salesperson talked to me, probably because i was carrying around the microsoft keyboard i had just bought.. hehe
 
Aug 15, 2002 at 4:13 PM Post #20 of 38
Quote:

Originally posted by grinch


okay.. is this because of the inherent transfer from a cd to md (unless you have any actual md albums, which i have, although i'm pretty sure nobody here has), or because of the compression involved with using an md (as oppose to any cd, which are uncompressed)? or perhaps the atrac gods just make it so..


No, it has to do with the fact that the headphone jack on pcdp's sound like turd while my Md unit sounds like flowers
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Aug 15, 2002 at 10:42 PM Post #21 of 38
Quote:

Originally posted by grinch
okay.. is this because of the inherent transfer from a cd to md (unless you have any actual md albums, which i have, although i'm pretty sure nobody here has)


I don't agree that a portable MD inherently sounds better than PCDP -- some do, some don't.

But I do own some actual pre-recorded MDs
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Aug 15, 2002 at 11:14 PM Post #22 of 38
Bah.... Vinyl is still the way to go

throw an AT440ML cartridge on this baby, and you have the ultimate in portable audio...

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Aug 15, 2002 at 11:36 PM Post #23 of 38
Quote:

Originally posted by gloco


No, it has to do with the fact that the headphone jack on pcdp's sound like turd while my Md unit sounds like flowers
biggrin.gif


Isn't that only because you invest in turdy pcdp's?
 
Aug 16, 2002 at 12:00 AM Post #24 of 38
Quote:

Originally posted by Magicthyse


Isn't that only because you invest in turdy pcdp's?


so, the 25S is turd eh? Take a look at the pcdp's i own, all of em are units that are nearly a decade old.

Figure it out.
 
Aug 16, 2002 at 12:13 AM Post #25 of 38
I have.

I think you need to figure it out IMO.
 
Aug 16, 2002 at 12:21 AM Post #26 of 38
Quote:

Originally posted by Magicthyse
I have.

I think you need to figure it out IMO.


Apparently, you don't know jack squat about older pcdp's.
 
Aug 16, 2002 at 12:51 AM Post #27 of 38
I even had a D-25. Crapped out on me in about 6 months as I recall.

I know all about older PCDP's - I know that the 'P' component is largely missing.

Also, how can you evaluate products you don't even have? You don't have a D-CJ01 or a SlimX, and you don't have a current MD. Old gear is all very well but it's not always available.
 
Aug 16, 2002 at 1:06 AM Post #28 of 38
Quote:

Originally posted by Magicthyse
IAlso, how can you evaluate products you don't even have? You don't have a D-CJ01 or a SlimX, and you don't have a current MD. Old gear is all very well but it's not always available.


Where did i evaluate a slimx or a d-cj01? Did i miss anything?

The MZE75 MD player is from 2000, thats not exactly old technology, granted, it sounds just as good, if not better than the current 3.5mW MD units out there. The deck i use is from this year. That's not old.

I really don't understand where your coming from.
 
Aug 16, 2002 at 3:39 AM Post #29 of 38
Fight, fight, fight.........

What were you guys talking about again? Oh yeah MD expectations. MD is all good for sound quality for audiophiles. But remember the majority of people don't have experience with good sounding headphones. Many don't even know about headphone amps. MD is dead for the majority. It may be revived if Sony stops being bitchy about their ATRAC format, fixes their transfer software on NetMD, and bring the prices down on their MD players. What I would really like to see is actually putting any kind of data on a MD such as mp3's and ogg vorbis files. That would be the biggest improvement.
 
Aug 16, 2002 at 1:26 PM Post #30 of 38
YES, Gloco, the Sony D25S is a turd. While there are certainly many PCDPs that sound worse, most of the Sony and Panasonic players made after them have better DACs. As to the amp and headphone jack, you may not have heard about this but there are portable headphone amps.

There are two reasons why some MD players sound better than many/most/all portable CD players: more power to the headphone jack and a better quality DAC.

But does this mean the format is better? Of course not. We just live in a world that unfortunately largely does not value sound quality in its portable CD players as much as other things (like low cost and thinner size). MD's have a different audience so they can focus their priorities differently.

The real solution to either is a portable dac/headphone amp combination. I've had the luxury of auditioning a prototype of one implementation of this idea. If you want portable and quality, regardless of whether your media is CD, MD or MP3, this is/will be THE solution.
 

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