[Schizeophonic]

Hello all,

First of all I must say that I hate this site, it has ruined my bank account statement. However, the advice i have recieved on this site has been great and so are the people that populate these message boards.

I am looking to get into minidisc and would like an entry level unit to get me into the MD format. At first i have looked at the NETmd players (NE410), and then an Sony MZ-R30, and then a Sharp MD MT90. I can get all of these for under 100, but i can't decide.

What i want most out of the MD player is portability and sound quality. The net md seems to have great battery life, but i dont think i can record from anywhere but a computer. Also it doesnt have SP to record music (correct me if wrong). I don't know much about the R30, and the Sharp player sounds like an excellent choice as well, but both of these players cannot record from a computer (again correct me if wrong). Most of my music is on cd however, and i dont find this to be a big drawback. I believe i would most likely copy music via the optical out on my reciever. Can you record from the optical out on a reciever, or does it have to come from the cd player. My cd player only has analog out. Also, do you think i would miss having MDLP??? Also if any of you have any other ideas for MD units let me know. I am looking for the best deal for under 100? I don't care about buying used.

One last thing. I lot of people mention the software for NETMD is terrible. I have read that you can use real one to record md's off the computer, and that it eliminates the copyright/stupidity issues with the whole sony transfer process. So i don't find the software issues to be a obstacle in enjoying netmd.

Let me know what you think, and if i have blatantly ommited or overlooked any MD issues, be easy on me since i don't know much about the format.

Thanks

 

[D-EJ915]

If you haven't been there, the Minidisc T-Station Superboard is a really helpful place.

Quote:

A lot of people mention the software for NETMD is terrible

It's really not that bad if you have a decently fast computer (runs really speedily on my Athlon XP 1600+). I don't ever copy the music to more than 1 MD, so I don't have a problem with the "Check-In/Check-Out" system that most people do...If I really want an SP recording (OpenMG sends fake SP, which is really LP2) I will just record from my optical out on my D-EJ915 or D-E880.

 

[D-EJ915]

Oh, and dcg is selling his R50 In this thread, it's $90 dollars including shipping, but Money-Order only.

 

[Schizeophonic]

Yeah, I saw that. Thats where the idea for the Sharp MD MT90 came from. I thought about the R50, but thought the sharp respresented a great value. Am i wrong do think this???

 

[D-EJ915]

I've never used either one and haven't heard much about the sharp, but the R50 is supposedly "godlike" as far as MD units go, I'm sorry I can't help you any more than this.

 

[Schizeophonic]

Ok, so it looks like the R50 is now a contender also. I will be reading about the R50 and let anyone know if i come to any definite conclusions.

 

[Schizeophonic]

Well, thanks for the input D-EJ915. I am off to sleep and will think about it and decide tommorow after reading the replies i get in the morning. I am thinking that it might just be better to get the R50 since i would hate to think ... hmmm... for 20 more dollars i couldve gotten an R50..... and then eventually buy it anyway. However i am a poor poor college student and if i could make do with the sharp i will......... Thanks for the input.

 

[matheis]

Schizeophonic
let's see, the sony r30, r50, and sharp mt90 are old md recorders and, while they should sound better than most modern md portables, i'm not sure the recordings they'll produce will be quite up to snuff. they use antiquated versions of atrac. the ne410 should have sony's latest version of atrac, i'm guesiing it's got type r but didn't see confirmation of that on minidisc.org or the tboard's product page. the ne410 won't sound good, though, if my experience with low-end sony md portables is any indicator. i had an n505, which sounded pretty bad! the best-case scenario for old-skool portables, and one which i think most md enthusiasts collecting them adhere to, is to purchase modern equipment to record with and use the old-skool units for playback only...part for charm and part for the more powerful amps they had.
if i were you, i'd save up a bit more and try to snag myself a mid- to high-level md portable. the sony r9xx recorders should be good. you can probably pick up a sony r900 or 909 for a decent price on ebay. i've owned the sharp mt877, which was a very nice recorder. it's a couple years old right now and shouldn't be too much on ebay, either. putting up a "want to buy" post in the "gear for trade or sale" foum here would be a good idea, too!
good luck!
nikolaus

 

[Superbaldguy]

Dear Schizeophonic,

The MZ-R50 has a superb line output which is the ideal companion for a headphone amp. The R50 is built like a tank, has a beautiful design, and will last for years.

However, as Nikolaus says, its recording quality with the older ATRACs isn't nearly as good as some of the units he mentions. Plus, the R50 does not support MDLP and has a rather poor battery life on only about 7 hours. The R50 is a sweet machine if you have some Type-R recordings and want to use an amp, but you don't have any Type-R stuff (yet) so you won't get the full advanatges of this erstwhile classic.

The MZ-R909 is a great unit and would be my recommendation, as I think it's still around, brand-new. It has MDLP, ATRAC Type-R, long battery life and is nicely made.

I might still nab the R50 and try to get a newer machine to make better recordings. Do you own a PCDP with an optical out? This works very well with the R909.

 

[Schizeophonic]

Hmmm... This is getting more and more complicated. I checked out those two units you reccomended. The sharp Mt877 and the sony 9XX and i can find both of those for under 100. However I have something new to add. I don't have an optical out on my reciever, so i don't know if minidisc is the way to go. Is there any way to record minidiscs that might compare to an optical out?

 

[Helloween]

Quote:

Originally posted by Schizeophonic Hmmm... This is getting more and more complicated. I checked out those two units you reccomended. The sharp Mt877 and the sony 9XX and i can find both of those for under 100. However I have something new to add. I don't have an optical out on my reciever, so i don't know if minidisc is the way to go. Is there any way to record minidiscs that might compare to an optical out?

You only need to have an optical out on the cd player...if you dont have a cd player with optical out, do you happen to own a DVD player? Most, if not all, DVD players have a optical out.

 

[Schizeophonic]

I have a really old cd player, it only has analog out. However i have a ps2 with an optical out, but i have heard that its quality is pretty bad. Do you htink i could get by with the ps2 optical out?

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally posted by Schizeophonic I have a really old cd player, it only has analog out. However i have a ps2 with an optical out, but i have heard that its quality is pretty bad. Do you htink i could get by with the ps2 optical out?

i don't see why not, bits is bits, right? atrac1 type r is a great codec, and the r50 uses atrac1 version 4 (or atrac 4), which is only one generation behind type r (4 -> 4.5 -> r). with atrac 4 you will not get any of the "burbling" or artifacting earlier atrac schemes had. the big advantage type r has over atrac 4 is a more extended treble. otherwise, atrac 4 is perfectly acceptable--it has shall we say, its own charm.

the big advantage to the r50 is the line out. why? because down the line when you upgrade to a type r minidisc deck, and buy a portable amp, you will be one happy camper.

plus the r50 can run off of aa batteries with the well-designed battery pack, which does not block the line-out (*ahem* d777).

 

[D-EJ915]

Quote:

Originally posted by redshifter the well-designed battery pack, which does not block the line-out (*ahem* d777).

This is why they did away with that and put a cable in between them on the newer models.

The main reason why everybody became obsessed with the R50 is it's true Line-Out, which is supposedly really good.

 

[Schizeophonic]

Thanks for the input redshifter, I really like everything about the R50 except for its battery life, but i think it has a rechargeable battery pack which makes it all ok. I mainly plan to use the minidisc player when i walk to class and dont need a really long battery life. I just don't want to have to pay for a lot of batteries. Of course i guess i could just use rechargebles, but then i would have to get a charger which adds to the cost.

. Have you had any experience with the Sharp MT90?? I don't really plan on using the line out. I was just going to use the headphone out. However i know how things go on head-fi (at first i got the headphones, then thought hmmm it would be nice to have this ... and this ... and this and so forth), and it would be nice to have one of those in case i decided to add an amp. Also I have a pair of V6's, Sony CD780's, and Koss KSC-35's. Anyone know if these headphones... (mainly the Koss and Sony V6) would mate well with the players that have been mentioned?