[altie]

OK, so here's the situation. I've been without a portable CD player or anything of the sort for quite some time after a stupid mistake playing around with simulating a higher headphone impedance. I don't want to get into that

. So anyhow, now that school is about to start back up, I want to get something that will be, if possible, even more portable than my old CD player as well as having a longer battery life. Of course, I'm also concerned about sound quality.

I'd like to keep the price right around $100. This limits my options obviously. It's pretty easy to find minidisc player/recorders on eBay for less than that, so I'm wondering if there's anything to worry about with that kind of purchase. Are newer minidisc recorders significantly better than older ones? I know about g-shock and all that jazz, but I'm curious just why some of these things sell for $300 while others go for $50 that look comparable.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[williamgoody]

Hi. The big thing about the newer models, depending on whether you get a sony or otherwise, is increased battery life and mdlp capability. On older models there's three settings for recording, sp and mono (twice the playback time), with the mono level not sounding very good at all. With mdlp there is an lp recording mode, which gives you twice the time with sound quality a shade behind lp. Again various models could offer you features like bass boost, maybe bass and trebel settings, etc. Not too long ago I saw that Tower Records had the sony md500 models(with mdlp and bass boost) on sale for $74.99. Other than this, the cheapest you could get a new model for would be around $150.00 (mzn505). If you go for an older model, go with the mz50, talked about as the best allaround pmd on these boards.

 

[altie]

Thanks for the response, that answers exactly what I was asking.

I've got two more questions now:

1) Would the Etymotic ER-6 be a good choice for use with a MD player, and if so, how much are specially molded plugs for them?

2) I remember hearing back in the day that MDs are not as susceptible to skipping as CDs, meaning that as little as 10-second shock protection is sufficient for, say, jogging with one. Some of the more attractive deals on eBay don't come with G-shock, so I'm curious just how mobile I could get with one of these before it would be likely to start cutting out.

 

[williamgoody]

Well I use the ety 4p's and don't have any experience with the 6's. The 4p's sound superb and give awesome isolation, and from what I've read then 6's are just a shade below the 4p's, but apparently are a little harder to fit in the ear and get a good seal with (depending on who you talk to). Keep in mind that with the md players, the headphone jack is not all that powerful. I have the mzr900 and it drives the 4p's well, but I'm not sure if the 6's are harder to drive than the 4p's (a la tha 4s's). As far as the shock protection, I guess the question to ask is how active do you intend to be? I have an older mzr-70 without G protection, which never skipped on me (walking, in the gym), but I didn't run or mountain climb with them either. Even so I believe it to be smewhat hard to make the player skip. And md players have only been around for some 6-8 years (I believe) and will have good shock protection regardless.

 

[williamgoody]

Quote:

sound quality a shade behind lp

Sorry, I meant to say a shade behind sp mode in my previous response soncerning sound quality. IMHO, if sp mode were a 10, lp would be a 9, and mono would be a 6.

 

[Braver]

Quote:

Originally posted by altie things sell for $300 while others go for $50 that look comparable.

a couple of points:
players are cheaper (but you'll need a recorder).
NetMD recorders are more expensive
the more expensive ones give you generally better size, weight, remote and battery-life

for basic functionality you'll be fine with a Sharp MD-MT180. they're basically the best value, should be around $140 if you shop around. no remote tho, and you might need to buy an optical cable if you want to do digital recordings. if you LP2 recordings, you should get around 80 seconds shockresistance; plenty for whatever purpose you had in mind.

if you don't want MDLP (more music on a disc) capability, check Ebay or something for some nice older models. anything Sharp or Sony should be good (just make sure they're not too old or heavily used ofcourse).