[DesmondDavidH]

A Hi-MD to be precise. Am I crazy? I think I'll try to look to a used model on ebay. Why? I don't want to afford more than... say... a used 2gb Nano. With much less it seems I can afford a Hi-MD with 3+ discs... and the demand is very very low = very low prices.

How do they sound with an Alessandro MS-2i? I'm ready to trash (ok not exactly trash) the remote-display-thing... I have no problem with it.
Anybody knows something about this model: Sony MZ-NH900?

Thanks!

 

[stargirl]

if you're serious about minidisc...well personally i don't know much about minidisc anymore...however i used to be very interested in it. i had a minidisc player and it served me quite well for about a year, then i moved on to the rio carbon pearl, which has also served me for about a year because i think i'm going to grab an iPod with video sometime soon...i'm just waiting to see if prices will drop after macworld.

anyways the point of this post is to tell you about a great website i used to use all the time and that was really really useful in my search for a minidisc player.
http://www.minidisc.org/equipment_browser.html
minidisc.org itself is actually quite good.

then there is http://www.audiotstation.com/ which has changed since i've last been, but is probably still a great resource.

good luck in your search!
i still use my mindisc player to take to camp and snowboard with. the thing really won't die. they're so sturdy. and the rio will probably still travel with me a lot too, until it actually dies (its starting to go crazy, likei need to reset it once a week, thats why i'm getting a new ipod)

 

[MrJoshua]

My friend got a top top top of the line HIMD for his birthday a couple of months ago... Apparently the last model of portable minidisc that Sony are making. Anyway, I cant remember the model number right now, but trust me, it sounds absolutely stunning.

I kid you not, it has a really nice digital amp inside it and it rocks.

 

[hYdrociTy]

minidisk rocks..Ive got two classic md and one himd players... They don't sound bad at all.. especially the himd @ wave. Since they all seem to have optical digital out, they fit in my audiophile chain with no problem if you invest in an external dac.

 

[fredman22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DesmondDavidH /img/forum/go_quote.gif A Hi-MD to be precise. Am I crazy? I think I'll try to look to a used model on ebay. Why? I don't want to afford more than... say... a used 2gb Nano. With much less it seems I can afford a Hi-MD with 3+ discs... and the demand is very very low = very low prices. How do they sound with an Alessandro MS-2i? I'm ready to trash (ok not exactly trash) the remote-display-thing... I have no problem with it. Anybody knows something about this model: Sony MZ-NH900? Thanks!

I've been into MD/HiMD for awhile now, and also own an NH900 as well as an updated RH10 (model before the current only model RH1). The NH900 is a great model, for me its worst caveat was the small LCD screen impossible to read in all but the best light; however it came with an excellent single-line remote as well as an external batt case. MD is best if you get the majority of your music from CDs or you like to record live. If you're thinking to convert a bunch of downloaded MP3s it's not the best choice. Best results are source > Atrac (from lossless and HiSP down to a higher capacity/lower quality HiLP). The '900 is a good choice as it featured a switchable line out/headphone out for amping (I personally think an amp is not necessary but that's me). The Sony Digital Engine outputs at 5mw/5mw which used to be a lot but now is average, and its output is a bit bassier than most with two setable custom sound settings via the 6-band equalizer that works pretty good. I use mine almost daily at home driving the sig stuff below, usually the UM2s. The batt pack comes in handy playing lossless and probably runs 12-15 hrs. Lastly, Sonic Stage software has improved and all but disabled DRM for minidisc, so you can make as many copies of minidisc CDs as you feel. You still have to screw around with a temporary library on your hard drive, but it's not too bad. Simple Burner is still offered for HISP/HiLP that is a drag/drop affair for quickly recording CDs/cuts at those speeds (WAV/lossless require SonicStage). Again if you already have a bunch of stuff in MP3 you might want to look elsewhere, but it works brilliantly for me and the sound compares well to any portable device out there. Good luck.

 

[DesmondDavidH]

MrJoshua:
It should be the one with the OLED display... it's beautiful but it cost an arm!

stargirl:
Thanks for the links.

fredman22:
I have something like 1/12 of my library on original CDs (I still buy my very favourite albums), then I have a small collection of loseless FLACs (like 5%), and obviosly most of it is lossy: mostly MP3 and AAC. The idea of re-encode a file is far from ideal but I can live with it. Now it's just matter of finding a good 900.

 

[SoundGoon]

You are not crazy at all!! Especially if you are a musician! MiniDisc is a gift from the heavens when it comes to giving musicians an awesome portable recording device! I have the MZ-N10, which is/was Sony's top of the line "regular" (not HiMD) player/recorder, and have had it for a little over 2 years now with no complaints. Minidisc is an overlooked medium (unfortunately), but that allows for the price to be good, which is great for us starving artists

. I am not overly familiar with teh model that you're talking about, but I have read most of what there is to read on it and I would suggest going for it, especially with HiMD. If you don't mind carrying some little discs around with you when you want to listen to something else or you run out of disc space when recording, than MiniDisc is head and shoulders above any MP3 player. Plus, I kinda like the fact that you can touch what you have recorder, as strange as that sounds; I realize that some MP3 players can record as well, but I like being able to take it out of the player, and have it tangibly and not worry about a tiny harddrive failing on me or accidentally deleting it. Anyways, go for it!

 

[MrJoshua]

Now that it's the morning and I don't have a couple of glasses of wine inside my head, I remembered that it's the MZ-RH1 that he got... FAN TAS TIC:

 

[camille]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hYdrociTy /img/forum/go_quote.gif minidisk rocks..Ive got two classic md and one himd players... They don't sound bad at all.. especially the himd @ wave. Since they all seem to have optical digital out, they fit in my audiophile chain with no problem if you invest in an external dac.

are you referring to the decks or the portables? cuz the recent Hi-MD portable units (the hi-end/flagship ones) only sport an analog line-out.

i would agree that the format itself is great, and they dont sound too bad either, but when NetMD was released, it was just downhill from there. sony really dropped the ball there, and now they're the only one left in a sinking ship.

the RH1 was something else though. too little too late it seems. it just didn't give me things the iPod had already given me; i mean seriously, where is the Unicode, Sony???? and SSCP still didnt get it done.

but hey, still got gapless and great sound; i'll give em that.

 

[tattoou2]

Had an RH10 for a while. Nothing wrong with HiMD. Actually liked it a lot. Sound was superb.

 

[Sparky191]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DesmondDavidH /img/forum/go_quote.gif A Hi-MD to be precise. Am I crazy? I think I'll try to look to a used model on ebay. Why? I don't want to afford more than... say... a used 2gb Nano. With much less it seems I can afford a Hi-MD with 3+ discs... and the demand is very very low = very low prices. How do they sound with an Alessandro MS-2i? I'm ready to trash (ok not exactly trash) the remote-display-thing... I have no problem with it. Anybody knows something about this model: Sony MZ-NH900? Thanks!

HiMD sounds great, and I use one for recording alot, and think its great, but I don't use it as a MP3 player for the following reasons. Transfers take too long, the screens don't display enough information, often there's no back light and the menus/controls aren't that intuitive. SonicStage is not the slickest of applications either, though I've had no problems with it. It also hasn't a lot of capacity so you'll end up swapping discs a bit. But if you can live with all that, they are great.

I didn't think HiMD was all that cheap. The older NetMD's are, and the old non HiMD disc's are cheap. I used MD's a lot before Net MD and liked the format. I wouldn't spend too much on one though.

 

[colonelkernel8]

I have a NetMD player...an MZ-N510. Its for sale if you want it.

Oh wait, its not Hi-MD. My bad. If anyone else is interested, its for sale still.

 

[fredman22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by camille /img/forum/go_quote.gif are you referring to the decks or the portables? cuz the recent Hi-MD portable units (the hi-end/flagship ones) only sport an analog line-out. i would agree that the format itself is great, and they dont sound too bad either, but when NetMD was released, it was just downhill from there. sony really dropped the ball there, and now they're the only one left in a sinking ship. the RH1 was something else though. too little too late it seems. it just didn't give me things the iPod had already given me; i mean seriously, where is the Unicode, Sony???? and SSCP still didnt get it done. but hey, still got gapless and great sound; i'll give em that.

Not to start a debate or anything, but most people recall old SS or MD quirks that have long been improved upon:

1. The new RH1 restores line out; it went away with the RH10 but has been restored in the new model and was also present in the model he's talking about - the NH900.

2. Atrac actually improved after netMD - which was a disaster as it tried to compete with MP3/ipod (and largely due to the original clunky SS software). HiSP actually slightly improves on original SP sound quality while almost doubling capacity. Lossless allows about 105 min on an MD80, and 5.5 hrs on a 1GB disc.

3. The Sony Connect crap has never been that good, and I don't see it ever competing with iTunes. But after you move to a lossless or high-quality codec, both iTunes and SS are simply a joke anyway - downloading over-compressed music is simply not high fidelity.

MD is clearly not for everybody, particularly a music listener who enjoys downloading MP3s as a main means of music access. But, if you're migrating to lossless files and want to consider an alternative to high-quality reproduction in a portable (I hesitate to use the term 'audiophile') or need its obvious live recording benefits - and you don't mind swapping portable media- it can become worth the extra fuss as it's still one of the best.

Note: All Sony's Atrac devices are compatible, but the HD units are battery hogs (like anything else employing lossless), and the flash players are only up to 2GB (a 4GB or 5GB for lossless would be pretty sweet). Cheers.

 

[bangraman]

You know, I've read a lot about the 'superior sound quality' of the 'HD Digital Amp' of the RH1.


This might explain rather a lot.
Measuring device: RME Fireface 800, 24/96.
32 ohm load
EQ is flat on both devices. Really.
Nano is a 2G, UK-supplied model, apparently restricted (maximum volume is less than the RH1).

In every other respect, the RH1 is sonically worse than the Nano - or in fact, most other 'top tier' MP3 players out today including the iRiver H320, Creative Zen Vision M, iPod 5.5G and iAudio X5.


The 'HD digital amp' is there because Sony needs to eke out a usable battery life for people used to the huge battery life of MD players - and the digital amp is one of the ways they went about improving the battery life of the RH1 over the NH1. It doesn't confer any sonic advantage in terms of the cleanliness of the output signal, in fact the opposite compared to the more 'normally' amped modesl from Apple, Creative, iRiver and iAudio. The Hi-MD transport is noticeably more power-hungry than the previous generation transport and and even with the power-saving features the RH1 only averages around 10 hours of playback a charge on SP.


Loading is much slower than a flash player, and navigation is tricker than large-screened players. Unless you record, it makes very little sense to buy an RH1 these days. Sure, it's a very nice looking piece of kit but it just doesn't withstand the benefit analysis for the vast majority of people who just listen.


Happy New Year, everyone

 

[MrJoshua]

Interesting stuff Bangraman...

I auditioned the RH1 with my SF5Pro's and thought it sounded impressive and punchy... Now I see why.