Hi-MD vs iPod: MZ-NH1 vs iPod Mini reviewed

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROMBUSTERS I have a question about how both devices (Hi-MD and iPod) handle the data aspect of things. As I plan on using it for both. -Can u store both music and data at the same time? (iPod i know u can so my real question is for the Hi-MD, can u have both music [thats playable on the walkman] as well as any data file stored on the same MD?) -Are there any file restrictions? Beyond size that is. -How does assessing and storing these files compare to their music counterparts? -What about a comparison between playing music and reading data off of the devices in battery time? -For the Hi-MD because it doesnt have to convert anything how quickly can it store data? Thanx all.

- yes

- no

- storage is storage. There's no way to view files on the machine itself. It just appears as a disc on the PC once connected with the files/subdirectories you copied on to it.

- If we're talking about some specialised battery-only mode, battery drain will be heavier for reading data off the machines as the drive systems (on either player) will be active all the time and not buffers as with music. Both players however aren't drained of power when working off USB on a PC. The Hi-MD works off USB voltage (but does not charge the battery) and the iPod Mini works off the USB voltage and also charges the battery.

- Hi-MD doesn't have to convert anything for data, neither does the iPod Mini. I think I pointed out the sustained transfer speed of the Hi-MD machines as 450kb/sec, and that of the iPod as 2.3MB/sec.

 

[ROMBUSTERS]

Ok and lastly in regards to the full size vs mini iPod what differences are there besides the storage and battery life?

 

[bangraman]

Faster transfer speeds, apparently different sound (for the 4G) and of course a bigger display.The full size iPods also can record voice quality sound using accessories like the iTalk.

 

[stymie miasma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman And I'll run a 64K ATRAC3+ vs 128K AAC test (the respective defaults for optimum storage use) in due course.

Can't let this thread die, not just yet anyway

Did you ever get around to making this comparrison? Also, using HiMD as a mass-storage device - do Macs (OS X) also recognise the HiMD unit as an external drive?

TIA!

 

[bangraman]

Hi stymie

I suppose it's time I updated the review to include the fact that Sony have finally released the WAV converter and a couple of other things. Hi-MD's UMS component is Mac compatible, but Sonicstage is another matter. You won't be able to dump music onto it, but data- yes.


I haven't done the comparison yet. I will do it, as all of Sony's technical / numeric claims for their current hardware is based around 48K ATRAC3+ and I have the official word that they maintain that it compares on the same level for sound quality as Apple's standard codec claims.

 

[stymie miasma]

Muchos gracias Bangraman! Given my entire music collection is CD-based (except for the few vinyl thingies I have back home), I am having a hard time deciding whether to go HD (biased towards iPod), or HiMD.

If Atrac3+ @ 64Kbps is not overly offensive to my ears, I think a HiMD unit which runs on AA batteries may be just what I need.

Do you believe Sony's claim that Atrac3+ (64K) is equivalent to the old LP2 (Atrac3 @ 132K)?

 

[stymie miasma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stymie miasma Do you believe Sony's claim that Atrac3+ (64K) is equivalent to the old LP2 (Atrac3 @ 132K)?

Google to the rescue...this is actually quite amusing:

Quote:

If you don't believe me, listen carefully to your favorite style of music at 64k. Ignore the hype; ignore me; try it yourself. You know what really did it for me? Loading up a 1GB Hi-MD disk at 64k with 35 hours of music and listening to it on various parts of a trip (usually on a plane or walking through airports) for perhaps 10 hours. I had believed this hype, and expected the 64k miracle to sound good - so it did. Around hour 7 or 8, I snapped like a cat who steps in peanut butter. It stopped being pleasant background noise and I realized I'd been had. "What is this ****? Eww! Get it off me!" I started licking my paws, flipping through tracks on the MD, looking for something that sounded better, but all I could hear was that awful metallic sound that creeps in with sound compression gone too far. It was on every track, from jazz to rock to techno, from guitar to drum to vocalist. Once you key into it, it's like learning any other skill, and you're ruined. Innocence is lost. Source

 

[HardHeadFi]

I know it's 2016 but I don't understand how come some of you even dare to say that iCrap gives better sound than MZ-NH1? LOL!

I got the iCrap in ehmm 2005? Then got the MZ-N10. Compared it straight with iCrap. Verdict? iCrap pissed in its panties and never spoke again. Cowon D2? Naah. Etc. Etc. Last DAP on the list was Shozy Alien. Verdict? Say what you want, but my ears which hear frequencies in higher range close to 30kHz will tell you that Alien is damn close but sound-wise I chose MZ-NH1. We're talking 16 bits 44.1, MD pure direct (EQ & all other sound effects off). As Yamaha put it - Natural Sound. And all those DAPs costing more than even a 1,000$.. well, good luck with them. We're talking portable here so one can never get full-blown sound perfection on the go can they? Even if you had 100% soundproof phones you'd need to close ur eyes to fully use your ears meaning you just gotta turn all the other senses off. And that I wouldn't recommend. Since you're on the go

Addendum - MZ-NH1 found its new home and it will be taken great care of.

 

[Danneq]

I know it's 2016 but I don't understand how come some of you even dare to say that iCrap gives better sound than MZ-NH1? LOL!

I got the iCrap in ehmm 2005? Then got the MZ-N10. Compared it straight with iCrap. Verdict? iCrap pissed in its panties and never spoke again. Cowon D2? Naah. Etc. Etc. Last DAP on the list was Shozy Alien. Verdict? Say what you want, but my ears which hear frequencies in higher range close to 30kHz will tell you that Alien is damn close but sound-wise I chose MZ-NH1. We're talking 16 bits 44.1, MD pure direct (EQ & all other sound effects off). As Yamaha put it - Natural Sound. And all those DAPs costing more than even a 1,000$.. well, good luck with them. We're talking portable here so one can never get full-blown sound perfection on the go can they? Even if you had 100% soundproof phones you'd need to close ur eyes to fully use your ears meaning you just gotta turn all the other senses off. And that I wouldn't recommend. Since you're on the go

Addendum - MZ-NH1 found its new home and it will be taken great care of.

Well, since the last post before you was posted about 12 years ago, these people might have changed their minds.

I have never owned an iPod but I have a collection of (now) vintage MP3 players, mostly between the years 2004-2008. Some of them can sound really really good (especially the old Kenwoods).

I bought a second hand Sony Hi-MD player a few years ago (not MZ NH1). It sounded really good and beat just about all of my MP3-players that I had then. But it was a bit uncomfortable to only have 1GB on the minidisc. I like having a big library available and in the end I didn't use the MD player that much and sold it (and got almost twice as much as I paid 2-3 years earlier).

But yeah, just looking at sound quality, Hi-MD can still compete with the best...

 

[HardHeadFi]

Well yeah I get what you mean. It's a personal preference I suppose. I kinda like playing with data transfer of just a single album. Not to mention that I simple love to record on my MD from my CD player via optical cable. And yes it may sound funny or even crazy to keep those hundred of minidiscs in the storage but I have no issue with that as years ago I used to collect the CDs, hundreds of them, many being Japanese imports. It gave a personal touch to it. For the quick jobs i use my Shozy Alien but real pleasure comes when I grab my MD