[Sebastianbf]

You can also have gapless playback on iPod using Rockbox.

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by astranovus dont understand why people don't take time to choose their music before they set off, rather than randomly consume

What if you didn't choose the music you actually wanted to listen to as you're going out of the door? Do you have time to wait for your latest rips to migrate over (manually it has to be said on Hi-MD)? Are you comfortable with carrying 5~10 discs which take up more space than the player itself?


I had a ~1000-disc MD library and those three things were the bane of my life. Since I switched to iPod/MP3 players I can kiss all that faff goodbye and it is a musically liberating experience. Randomly consume? Irrelevant. You have the choice how you consume with a high-capacity DAP. With Hi-MD, you only get the same choice as you do with many Flash players (and in fact, ~4Gb Flash players are more versatile since they can be filled a lot faster than Hi-MD).

Quote:

but why the heck would you want to carry all of your songs around with you?

This was the main comment that I heard when I was contemplating a switch over to the iPod three years ago. It was always said by people who had never owned a DAP, only MD.


Quite apart from any comments I have to make about the RH1's capabilities, Hi-MD in general for playback use is an MP3/ATRAC player with some feature misses and very substandard transfer rates. That's all it is. It's sole advantage is excellent recording capability. It just does not make sense these days to go with Hi-MD unless recording is a primary requirement. If you're only going to carry around a couple of discs with you for example, even if you love ATRAC it makes more sense to carry around something like an NW-A1000.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebastianbf You can also have gapless playback on iPod using Rockbox.

Very true. You can also reduce the navigation usability down to Hi-MD levels with Rockbox so Sony grumblers can be right at home

 

[Sparky191]

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32004
http://money.guardian.co.uk/consumer...783814,00.html

I suspect you'd have the same grief with a MD and Sony though.

 

[Tunster]

I have just purchased the new RH1 player. In the eyes of the MD fan, it is more than perfect with features that should of been on MD players at the start of the NetMD revolution.

I did purchase the MZ-N510. A low-end MD player/recorder. Still works today, even 3 years on. There were too many restrictions on the NetMD transfering side and the software was too buggy for the average joe to cope with. Sony did miss the chance to compete with Apple's iPod. But it certainly is now far too late.

You have to now consider the Hi-MD format as a very niche and sound professional market (which it was in the first place). For the public consumer, NetMD was a great step forward, but there were too many flaws and faults (not with the devices entirely).

I did take on the DAP revolution with a Cowon M3, and has lasted me very well for the last 2 years. But, I am fed up with having too much music with me. I just want to take what I most listen to and maybe a few compliations to listen to (as I'm a Radio DJ).

Sound quality is brilliant on the MD equipment I have, but MP3 (now at its peak), ATRAC3/ATRAC3plus and OGG are very on par in higher bitrates (128kbps+). As much as I love my music, the RH1 will serve my needs far more than my DAP.

 

[Sparky191]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tunster ....I am fed up with having too much music with me. ...

I don't understand that at all.

 

[CHOW]

Does the RH1 actually show song titles on the display? Is a HDD DAP too much music and too much information?

 

[Csidinim]

I understand that position. at some point having too many choices removes the focus away from enjoying the music you have and puts it into the weight of selection and obsessing over the menu screens. it sounds stupid but now i use my 20gb as a giant shuffle player. that way all music gets equal listening time despite preference, keeping a good balance of banal to pleasure.

 

[D555]

I have an Archos AV500 loaded up with about 5500 songs (~22GB) -- plenty of space left for growth. While not absolutely necessary, there is something kind of neat about having the bulk of one's CD collection fitting the palm of one's hand and not sounding too shabby.

Don't have to carry around a portable DVD player, either

Paul

 

[nismo96]

As an MD fan and a former iPod owner (3rd gen 10gb), I can say that the replacable battery and gapless playback are my main draw to MD. As an old school mix tape maker I dig HiMD because I like looking at my shelf and seeing the media sitting there. I also keep a copy of all my music on the PC so it's easy to get at for my other devices.

If the OP thinks that a Rockbox'd iPod will suit his needs for a playback device beter, then who's to stop him? I think it's a fine choice and I've even been looking into this option as a companion to my HiMD gear.

 

[dvallere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman Since I switched to iPod/MP3 players I can kiss all that faff goodbye and it is a musically liberating experience.

Amen. I still have a box full of MDs in the car, but after installing an MD head unit I'm not about to go through the hassle of replacing it just to stop using the MDs.

For every other portable scenario, it's daps for me.

 

[BennyBoy]

Sony has a hard drive player. This may be the best of both worlds!

If it worked with my Mac I would have got one instead of an Ipod.

 

[BennyBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman I've always found the assertion that MD's are more durable questionable. Portable MD's are just as delicate as HDD-based players and react to drops just as badly. Certainly the media is more durable, but then it needs to be as it takes as long to transfer one album in PCM to Hi-MD as it takes to half-fill an iPod with Lossless.

I have more than one MD player thats going on 10 years of age and works and sounds as good as new. I'd bet a large sum that an Ipod would never make it to the ripe old age of 10.

 

[Sebastianbf]

^ I think that a HiMD (or MD) will last longer than an Ipod , but it really depends. I have had portable minidiscs that were good for 5 years and I have had anothers that had last 1 year and a half (and I really care them).

 

[Tunster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky191 I don't understand that at all.

As much as that sounds weird, I'm planning in just taking the music I want with me, rahter than my whole collection. Probably, I only listen to 10%, or probably less of the collection I have on my DAP.

MD still is a big use for me in the radio world. Very good quality, quick editing, great portability and very good reliability.

I do have a feeling my DAP's HD is going to go soon, and unfortunately....thats the biggest downfalls of HD based players. You lose everything if the HD goes.

 

[Sparky191]

The idea of HD dap is that you always have what you want with you. Regardless if you change your mind in the middle of your journey. Basically you don't have to plan ahead.

How do you loose everything? You have your CD's and you have the library on the computer where you put the track onto your HD in the first place. You'll probably say people delete the tracks once the transfer them. But I don't get that either. You don't copy a CD onto a MD and throw the CD away do you? Or delete it out of SS?

Recording and editing, yeah its great. That how I use my MD/HiMD. Be handy if all that functionality was on a HD though