[fraseyboy]

After deciding that my PSP is too big to be a MP3 player i decided i need a new one...

I looked around on a local online auction site and stumbled upon a MiniDisc player. It was cheaper than most MP3 players. But they are very new to me and I don't know anywhere where you can buy them in a shop (Only online auction sites) or anyone who has one or anything about them.

So, what is it with MiniDisc players? How many songs can they store?
And the most important question...


Shall I get a MiniDisc player or a Mp3 player???

Edit: Is the Aiwa NetMD AM-NX9 a good choice (http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/a...278&permanent= )

 

[YamiTenshi]

It really depends what you want the player for. If you're only planning to listen to music, then you might as well get a mp3 player.

Minidisc players are more often used by people who want to record. Only some of the newer himd models play mp3 natively (and from the issue reports the sound quality is not as good as atrac), other players have to recode them as atrac to be able to play. The himd disc are 1gb each, they're pretty cheap ~$7 a disc so upgrading isn't a problem, but do you want to be carrying so many disc around with you?

I'm not bashing minidisc, I plan to get one eventually. But if you are only planning to listen to music and don't want to carry a lot of disc around you might as well settle for a mp3 player.

Check here for more info.

 

[okay_player]

this is something you will have to research in-depth on your own.

i went through a minidisc phase a while ago... here are my thoughts:
the technology IS pretty cool. i think now-a-days you can get up to 1gb per MD, which is pretty impressive. they are really advancing in terms of all the different things they can do (visit www.minidisco.com for more info) but i feel i must say this: they are VERY fragile. i went through 2 or 3 players (different brands) before i realized they just aren't for me. the slightest bump or knock seemed to mess them up, and getting them repaired was especially expensive and time-consuming.

i think they're pretty good if you do a lot of live recording, but if you're looking to just listen to music, based on my experiences, i'd have to recommend an MP3 player.
a flash mp3 player is generally smaller and has no moving parts which translates into longer life.

another thing to keep in mind (though it may not be valid) is this: mp3 players are far more popular than MD players. there has to be a reason for this.

not trying to knock MD's... they are very cool little machines, i just haven't had much luck with them in the past.


hope this helps.

 

[fraseyboy]

But MP3 players are more expensive...

a 512MB MP3 player is around $120NZ from an online auction site.

A good minidisc player is only $40NZ with 30 minidiscs included.

 

[carsncars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy A good minidisc player is only $40NZ with 30 minidiscs included.

There's a difference.. if it is just a Minidisc/MD player, then it will only hold about 360Mb. Only HiMD holds the 1Gb of storage. Secondley, what's the condition, and is the auction finished?

All in all, MD is a very feasable option.. Cheap(ish), and I've found that it is durable. I use mine for snowboarding.

I find the sound quality, even with MP3, is better than a lot of MP3 players. The only downer for me is the software-- although, SonicStage 3.1 is quite well implemented. It's no iTunes, though.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by carsncars There's a difference.. if it is just a Minidisc/MD player, then it will only hold about 360Mb. Only HiMD holds the 1Gb of storage. Secondley, what's the condition, and is the auction finished? All in all, MD is a very feasable option.. Cheap(ish), and I've found that it is durable. I use mine for snowboarding. I find the sound quality, even with MP3, is better than a lot of MP3 players. The only downer for me is the software-- although, SonicStage 3.1 is quite well implemented. It's no iTunes, though.

So it says to transfer MP3 to a normaly (not HIMD) one you need to do it in realtime, like, if you have 100 hours of MP3's you need to play them all and it converts to ATRAC and puts them on the MiniDisc player...

Is it possible to convert MP3's to ATRAC without doing this?

 

[YamiTenshi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy So it says to transfer MP3 to a normaly (not HIMD) one you need to do it in realtime, like, if you have 100 hours of MP3's you need to play them all and it converts to ATRAC and puts them on the MiniDisc player... Is it possible to convert MP3's to ATRAC without doing this?

Yes, it is possible. But that depends on what type of minidisc player you have. It doesn't seem like you know what you are getting into. I really recommend you click on the link in my previous post. There's a lot of info there about all the different types of minidisc/himd players.

 

[carsncars]

MiniDisc: Original, 1x 'Recording' to Disc.
MiniDisc, NetMD: Still 360Mb, transfers from computer-- faster.
HiMD: 1Gb, transfers from computer.

That's the basic breakdown, I believe... There are a few different types between each of those-- IE, HiMD 1st Generation (Atrac Only) and 2nd Generation (Native MP3).

 

[wwap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy But MP3 players are more expensive... a 512MB MP3 player is around $120NZ from an online auction site. A good minidisc player is only $40NZ with 30 minidiscs included.

A $299 30gb Ipod is equivalent to 40 cd's in WAV format

30 minidiscs are equvalent to 30 cd's in ATRAC3 format which is near WAV quality

another 10 minidiscs will cost you about $15 more

Which means Minidisc is one hell of a great value for portable player

sound quality differences in terms of headphone out,

Minidisc>PCDP>DAP

 

[fraseyboy]

I'm pretty sure the one I'm looking at can coz its NetMD...

 

[carsncars]

Why don't you give us the link? Maybe we'd be a little more helpful.

 

[skudmunky]

Yeah, give us the link. I'm more of a DAP guy myself, but minidisks are cool too. I dont'like the clunkyness of them though, DAPs can get smaller.

 

[carsncars]

Some of the MD players a very slim-- just a bit larger than an MD itself. Most Japanese will buy a normal MD player and Sony's MD-Recorder... MZ-B20 or something. Almost works out cheaper, and the recorder has much better SQ.

 

[lopsang]

I've been a longtime user of MDs, started with MZ-R50, owned a bunch of them along the way.

Nowadays i have a MZ-N510 for snowboarding/working out. I prefer DAPs (currently Rio Karma and Carbon) for their storage capacity. On standard MDs, I can throw in 80mins x 2 = 160 minutes of music(LP2 mode, it sounds good to me btw, im not listening critically when Im working out/snowboarding). Thats enough music for a pretty good playlist... and I actually enjoy making MDs, you have to be more critical about which songs to include on a disc. One of the GREATEST things about the MD is that it uses AA batteries... it works out great for me when Im out snowboarding, and I keep spare batteries in my gym bag anyways.

Transfer speed is nothing to shout about, but I think this has more to do with SonicStage converting mp3 --> atrac. Well the older ones didn't natively support MP3s, I heard the news ones do.

I like having alot of music @ my disposal, and carrying a bunch of MDs is not fun... something you should consider. Having said that, MD's are pretty cool, i still find use for it.

Something else to consider, if gapless is important to you, atrac is gapless. With all MDs, you can place trackmarks, edit trackmarts, etc... its pretty flexible. good for operas, gapless albums, etc.

 

[Dale Caliente!]

Has anyone seen Sony’s Hi-MD Photo Pllayer? A Minidisk player with a 1.3MP digital camera built in.

These mini-disk players also come with remotes and other extras. I'll be sticking around this thread becuase i'm interested in getting one for someone else. A Christmas gift.

The only thing I worry about is some saying about the technology being dead. Then again I don't know anything about mini-disk and i'm going to do a bit of research.