Minidisc MZ-RH1 versus Sony NWZ-A829 SQ

[JasonA]

Hi
I am currently using a Sony MZ-RH1 minidisc and usually record using linear PCM (wav) or ATRAC lossless 352.
I am considering purchasing a Sony NWZ-A829 or similar media player and would probably still record using linear PCM (wav).

Could anyone let me know if the sound quality of the Sony NWZ-A829 would be comparable, better or worse than the minidisc (recording at the same bit rate). ie is the sound hardware on the Sony NWZ-A829 comparable to the minidisc.
I would greatly appreciate input from people who have used minidisc players.

 

[shigzeo]

some love one so to them it is better sq. some love the other: so it is better.

someone needs to compare the same recording from line in with them. my a828 is amazing and recorded an rmaa test file from my touch and then i uploaded that file to wav and rmaa it and it was recorded as far as i can tell: flawlessly.

unless you are professional, i can not really see you seeing any difference even if there is one. if there isn't one and you see it or anyone sees it: that is par for headfi.

 

[ricthaman]

well,

I am a long time MiniDisc user. I used Severel MD devices such as the MZ-N707, MZ-NH900 and the suspect in question, the MZ-RH1.

In the same time I also owned the Walkman line of sony, from the NW-A1200 to the NW-Z618 and NW-Z8xx series.

The SQ on the MiniDisc Units, and especially on the MZ-RH1, is way different then the NW models. They have a better seperation, better tonality, they sound more neutral, they are more crisp sounding and they have more dynamics.

I think that if your only concerned about SQ, you should stick to the MiniDisc line. The NW line of sony sounds teriffic, but the MZ-RH1 has a finesse. You can hear it with acoustical music like jazz, bleus and soul. A nice ballad will also show the MZ-RH1's qualities.

just my 2 cents.

Rgds,

ric

 

[shigzeo]

i have owned md since 1999 as well and i am of the opposite opinion: when i changed to ipod in 2007, i found it to be a bit step up in terms of power if not finesse. more details in the bass and top end, a less smeary amp sound.

for playback, i would not go back to md. for pure recording and field work that does not need a bloody computer: md is irreplaceable. sq however, i feel is completely subjective as I did not feel that md stood up to most good mp3 players and many of my former md mates too thought that. but maybe if you come to md now or recently as 5 years ago, you may think differently as they already were a dying breed and the rarity counts for sq often.

for recording though: the nwz have a huge huge plus over sony md recorders: no mechanical noise that seemed to plague their units. my sharp and even panasonic units did better field recording just because less mechanical noise. with the nwz series: none at all and they record very well and up to 8gb of pcm is much better than switching disks every 1:40. i hated to switch disks in middle of concert or just go to lower bitrate.

the new recorders i feel are just way better for recording even if they have no editing capabilities

 

[jant71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricthaman /img/forum/go_quote.gif well, I am a long time MiniDisc user. I used Severel MD devices such as the MZ-N707, MZ-NH900 and the suspect in question, the MZ-RH1. In the same time I also owned the Walkman line of sony, from the NW-A1200 to the NW-Z618 and NW-Z8xx series. The SQ on the MiniDisc Units, and especially on the MZ-RH1, is way different then the NW models. They have a better seperation, better tonality, they sound more neutral, they are more crisp sounding and they have more dynamics. I think that if your only concerned about SQ, you should stick to the MiniDisc line. The NW line of sony sounds teriffic, but the MZ-RH1 has a finesse. You can hear it with acoustical music like jazz, bleus and soul. A nice ballad will also show the MZ-RH1's qualities. just my 2 cents. Rgds, ric

X2. The NWHD/NWE/NWZ all fell short of MD sound quality. The output stage is much better. The sound signature may be similar but the soundstage/image texture, tone, and dynamics just doesn't match them.

 

[Beyerfan70]

Without a shadow of a doubt the Rh1 is the best in both recording quality and playback.
There is nothing portable that sounds any better.

 

[JasonA]

I would like to thank everyone for their feedback for this thread

I will keep using my MD player and keep swapping discs which is the only real inconvenience.
I have been really happy with Minidisc players over the years especially using the RH1 with Shure SE530 earphones.

Cheers and thanks again for your input

 

[shigzeo]

the recording of the rh1 is bad if you use mic in. you need a pre amp otherwise you get both treble and bass roll off as well as terrible stereo performance.

if you can, buy a cheap ic and battery box or preamp and you will get pristine quality recordings: the level almost of line in recordings

 

[fredman22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonA /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi I am currently using a Sony MZ-RH1 minidisc and usually record using linear PCM (wav) or ATRAC lossless 352. I am considering purchasing a Sony NWZ-A829 or similar media player and would probably still record using linear PCM (wav). Could anyone let me know if the sound quality of the Sony NWZ-A829 would be comparable, better or worse than the minidisc (recording at the same bit rate). ie is the sound hardware on the Sony NWZ-A829 comparable to the minidisc. I would greatly appreciate input from people who have used minidisc players.

I use a couple of the older (well, they're all older) models, the RH-10 & the NH-900. I got an A829 a month or so ago to see if it is comparable. I say it is comparable, albeit a little 'cooler' than my MDs (mostly via UM2s, but also a bit with Ety 4Ps), but I felt I had to use AAC350 to get there (YMMV) and it's a space hog. A 3 minute A352 file is about 3MB; an AAC350 equivalent is from 6-8MB, so the 16GB capacity is effectively halved, making it about the same as my A1200. Gapped playback is the second issue with the A829, and I'm hoping that might be addressed with a firmware upgrade. I do have to say, however, that the ergonomics of the A829 blow away any MD gear I've seen or used - it's just compact and handy! As I've said in another thread, if they'd reinstate an Atrac version for N.A with a capacity of 32Gb or better, it'd be just about perfect! Cheers.

 

[GeoffW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricthaman /img/forum/go_quote.gif well, In the same time I also owned the Walkman line of sony, from the NW-A1200 to the NW-Z618 and NW-Z8xx series. The SQ on the MiniDisc Units, and especially on the MZ-RH1, is way different then the NW models. They have a better seperation, better tonality, they sound more neutral, they are more crisp sounding and they have more dynamics. ric

Do you also mean the NWZ-a82X or a72X series? They sound quite different from the a61X (and I suspect the a81X as well). The separation is excellent, and the soundstage is very wide (audiophile quality, to me). With all enhancements turned off (including normalization) and properly equalized, the tone, detail, and neutrality are also significantly better. In fact, if the THD was just a tad better, I would classify these players as low-end audiophile grade. Not that the THD is bad at all, just not quite at the level of detail of my audiophile equipment. It's the only significant weakness that jumps out at me. And I'm listening with Sony CD3000 headphones.

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

my rh1 sounds great.

But let me see what happens when i pull a linout of my fuze and amp it with a predator

 

[nofarewell]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricthaman /img/forum/go_quote.gif well, In the same time I also owned the Walkman line of sony, from the NW-A1200 to the NW-Z618 and NW-Z8xx series. The SQ on the MiniDisc Units, and especially on the MZ-RH1, is way different then the NW models. They have a better seperation, better tonality, they sound more neutral, they are more crisp sounding and they have more dynamics. ric

Do you also mean the NWZ-a82X or a72X series? They sound quite different from the a61X (and I suspect the a81X as well). The separation is excellent, and the soundstage is very wide (audiophile quality, to me). With all enhancements turned off (including normalization) and properly equalized, the tone, detail, and neutrality are also significantly better. In fact, if the THD was just a tad better, I would classify these players as low-end audiophile grade. Not that the THD is bad at all, just not quite at the level of detail of my audiophile equipment. It's the only significant weakness that jumps out at me. And I'm listening with Sony CD3000 headphones.

Sorry for resurrecting, but I couldn't agree more. My A829 even reacted better to amping than a Sony NW-ZX100, which is a later TOTL model. Also the NW-ZX100 had narrower soundstage. The NWZ-A82X is still a good player if you know how to set it up (not that hard to do that either.)

 

[Nacmy]

I used the RH1 and wanted to record uncompressed WAV desperately for my compilations so I bought a Cowon S9. I would say the SQ was just as good and the Jeteffects was bliss. It had more organic bass which I was blown away by. I've been buying Cowons and other Microsd card Devices ever since. It's good enough compared to the RH1 days. Full bodied sound, more sophisticated dynamics. I hardly use the RH1 anymore. It seems like a 'smaller' more crude or raw electronic device.

 

[nofarewell]

I used the RH1 and wanted to record uncompressed WAV desperately for my compilations so I bought a Cowon S9. I would say the SQ was just as good and the Jeteffects was bliss. It had more organic bass which I was blown away by. I've been buying Cowons and other Microsd card Devices ever since. It's good enough compared to the RH1 days. Full bodied sound, more sophisticated dynamics. I hardly use the RH1 anymore. It seems like a 'smaller' more crude or raw electronic device.

Which Cowons since? I had the D2 and the iAudio 9, eventually the NWZ-A829 seemed better for me. The D2 had already been broken, and while the i9 had a better output than the Sony, it had a colder presentation. Although I loved that too. I guess when we speak of Cowons these days, we refer to the higher end models that subsequently came to the market.

 

[Nacmy]

I buy whatever is reasonable from Cowon. Not the smaller or older ones. I have the J3, X7, X9 (cheaper but not bad), Plenue D3, A5, Z2, Plenue D and D2 (new ones), J, V, Plenue 2, P1, R2. I like them all. The more expensive ones provide a nicer sound, more satisfying I guess but I really enjoy the cheaper ones but I don't buy the ones that don't have Jeteffects presets like the old D2+ or ones that are not peaked Cowon types like the iAudio9. I don't think they are a good idea. I had one of the original Cowons O5 or something, that was so terrible. You have to buy the peaked Cowon company devices with all of the Jeteffect presets. They're pretty much perfect. Without the Jeteffects presets, the sound is stupid. I use BBE MP, Headphone 1, Club, Pop, and Techno presets basically and I'm really happy.