New Portable System...

[Vertigo-1]

Well now...if the 909 is going to have a 5mw amp (I knew Sony wouldn't drop that low on their recorders

), then there's no doubt about it. Get a 909. And I'll be seeing you in line.

 

[Neruda]

but jude, I don't think a pair of e888's will let you hear the different between 320k or even 256k and minidisc. I don't even think they'd let you hear the difference between CD and minidisc. in portable situations, it hardly matters at all. besides, if the amp inside an MD player is crappy, what's the point?

aaanyhoo, I do suppose that if you don't care about a large portable music library than MD could be better. I just don't see it myself

. But that's me!

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by Neruda in portable situations, it hardly matters at all.

My portable rig has the definition enough to expose such things (Radio Shack CD-3904 portable CDP, JMT-built CHA47 and/or HeadRoom Total Airhead, custom mini-to-mini interconnect using Canare Star Quad L-4E6S cable and Canare F-12 mini plugs, and Sony MDR-V6's and/or Sennheiser HD-600's).

Yeah, I know -- not too portable when you consider that I carry so many CD's around. But I've gotta have it!

And when I use the Sennheiser HD-600's, they have to be carried around in still another case (Pelican 1200).

 

[coolvij]

with my 888s, I can easily tell the difference between MDs and MP3s...both burned to a CD. ATRAC and MP3 are just different....and I like ATRAC better....

 

[Flumpus]

At work, so gotta make this kinda short...

If I get the 909 I won't be getting the TA. Probably just gonna go with 888's. And I don't like mp3's neruda

I'll probably never have an mp3 player.

I'm thinkni' more and more about what jude said...the ety's + ta + 580 would sound great. But there's just something about the 909 that makes me say "WOW, I WANT ONE!" hehe...

More later... back to work!

 

[Neruda]

that's cool flumpus

 

[thomas]

Quote:

But there's just something about the 909 that makes me say "WOW, I WANT ONE!" hehe.

Unfotunately, MDs seem to be designed so that every time a new model comes out, it must add somthing that makes previous ones seem obsolete. THe 909 adds type R, the 900 adds MDLP, the 90/91 doesn't break down within 6 months, the R55 is very small, etc..

So when next years models, with NET MD! come out, it will allow you to transfer files from your computer at high speeds, making the 909 seem obsolete... then the next year, they'll probably add the 650meg MDs (ok just wishfull thinking), and you'll never be satisfied... And even when you have the latest model, if you compare them with older models like the Sony R50 or Sharp 821, you'll realize that they don't do very much more, and certainly don't sound better....

I would go with old, cheep MD recorder (sharp 821 rules!), with a TA and ety's, you'll be much more satisfied in the long run...

 

[chadbang]

If there is something about the 909 that's says "I must have it!", then buy it. If you get anything less, you won't get that glowing pride of ownership you get when you buy the best. I'd still consider factoring in a TA into the monetary equation. (You know you'll want that extra power at some point. Maybe when you're working at your desk and want to plug in a bigger phone). Look around until you snag a great deal. I think Sony is really rocking people with the price tag on their top MD players (I know, coughing up for my R900 hurt.) Now as far as other portables, a portable HD recorder/player that gives you a Wav or Aiff option - rather than Mp3 - that would rock.I'd take 8 hours of full cd quality material over 80 hours of mp3 sound anyday.

 

[thomas]

Quote:

If there is something about the 909 that's says "I must have it!", then buy it. If you get anything less, you won't get that glowing pride of ownership you get when you buy the be

While I agree that you should get the best that you can afford, so you won't want to upgrade later on, i don't think there really that much change in MDs other than the cosmetics. If they came out with revolutionary technologies once every 5 years or so, that would be reasonable, but when somthing brand new comes out every year, it makes you wonder. It seems to me that these new features are designed to draw attention/outdo their competetors (my MD is ___ er than yours) and to make old units seem obsolete, rather than offering anything new...

 

[Vertigo-1]

thomas, you forgot two other common yearly MD trends. The battery life keeps getting longer...and the internal amp keeps getting weaker.

The more I read these threads, the more I keep thinking I should hunt down and corner a Sony R50 or a Sharp 831...but doesn't that R50 have a 5mw amp too only? It seems that's all Sony put in all along...

 

[Flumpus]

Well, I'm leaning more and more towards a cd player/ta combo. With the ety er4s of course... Throw in an airbag and I'm set

Now, if I go this way, should I get the 580 from headroom? Or should I maybe look around for a good deal on the 780? Maybe look for an import model? I've heard those have some cool features, not sure though.

Anyway, the reasoning behind my decision about the md vs. cd is simple. I've done the md thing, and I love the convinience and portability. However, I'm kinda wanting to try something new, and I know that the cd player with a ta and ety's would blow away the sound of any md player and 888's... I may get some 888's too, just to have as headphones I can just throw on quickly. I'm pumped

I wonder if Todd is in the office today...

Thanks for all the comments guys, especially jude who kept popping up in my mind talking about carrying 100 cds and how cool that would be

Oh, and I also might carry my hd600's around every once in while with this combo... just like jude

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

but doesn't that R50 have a 5mw amp too only?

Yep

Quote:

I know that the cd player with a ta and ety's would blow away the sound of any md player and 888's

Well, sure... but more because of the Ety's than because of the CD

Seriously, though -- you should be considering headphones and portable separately. The Ety's will blow the 888s away. Not even a contest. However, between MD and CD, it really depends on how/where you'll be listening.

Everyone here knows

that I firmly believe in the hierarchy of sound quality: CD is empirically better than MD, which is empirically better than MP3. However, I'm also a realist -- sometimes it just doesn't matter. I used to have the Airhead and Etys (ER4S), and the truth is that when you're walking around, or when you're "portable" in a noise environement, there really isn't a lot of difference between CD and MD -- they both sound great.

(On a separate note, with high bitrates, the same could be argued for MP3 vs. MD. Although the transitive property does not apply

While CD and MD are pretty close in these environments, and MD and MP3 are fairly close, CD and MP3 are not close... you can tell immediately with Etys.)

 

[coolvij]

Well, if Flumpus is willing to bring 100 CDs (!) around, a PCDP makes a LOT more sense. MacDEF, you have to remember that he'd lose the pure convenience of being able to use his existing CDs in his portable setup - MDs would require a real-time recording for every one of his CDs...

And if he's even CONSIDERING a TA for "portable" use, IMHO MD makes no sense. Unless all he means by "portable" is "able to be stuffed into one's pockets."

 

[Flumpus]

If I go MD then I'll get the R909, and the 888's. I can't afford the ety's on top of the 909...that's why i'm leaning more towards the cdp instead of md. I'm gonna call todd tomorrow, and i'll see how that goes

 

[Tim D]

I'm not too confident in the latest greatest Pana's. They really haven't been getting the best reviews in comparison to old stuff.

Maybe get a D-777? Whereas the newest Sony recorder might have had improvement in sound with its Type-R...portable CD players really don't advance much besides actually getting worse IMO!

I'm not sure but those latest greatest Pana's is going to end up with you sticking an amp through the headphone jack of the pana which is digitally volume controlled. I don't think they even have line-outs anymore.