Topic: Im stumped! Need advice on mini disk hardware choice...

[Howid]

I've been hanging out on ebay and read reviews, but now I bring my question to the experts.

Im stumped between three Sony MD recorders.

SONY NetMD MZ-N1

Sony MZ-R700

SONY MINIDISC MZ-R50

I'm kinda leaning towards either the MZ-R50 or the R700. Both get great reviews. I hear more good things about the R50 than most because of its durability.

What do you all use? I want to stay with MiniDisk because of size and expense. In addition to easy mobility and features, I want a good music player that sounds great.

Is there a microphone you like to use too? I eye balled this...

SONY NetMD MZ-N1

Any advice about these or other hardware would be great Thanks!

[Tim]

would a JB3 be too big for you?

[Howid]

Hadnt seen that one, you have a link? Picture?

[pfife]

'bout the size of a discman...

way nicer than a MD player!

[urobouros]

I have an MZ-R909:

http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-R909.html

I am quite pleased with the size for stealthing, you have that pesky disk flip issue.  I really like the external battery pack for use with a AA.  I ended up frying my gumstick battery line as it won't charge nor run off a fully charged battery.  I can still use it and do with the external pack.  It's nice to be able to have batts on hand to throw in when you get low.  I haven't done a formal test, but have recorded for two hours without getting close to running out of battery juice.  That said, I much prefer the jb3 for open taping.  No disks to flip so no gaps in the show.  The built in preamp is better than any MD, IMO, as is the A/D converter.  There are, of course, much better external pre's and ADC's.  But if you don't have the money for an external one, the internals on the jb3 are quite useable; again IMO.  MD's are cheaper tho'.  I think it comes down to how you want to be taping in the future.

[Howid]

'bout the size of a discman...

way nicer than a MD player!

Looked around for this, are there any links handy? Images?

[BJ]

http://www.taperssection.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=32095.0

try this one

[grider]

three letters, two numbers, and one word:   JB3 or D8, don't even waste your money on anything else

[Howid]

...or D8, don't even waste your money on anything else

So, this? http://www.aandcaudio.co.uk/view_product.aspx?ProductID=921

[bhtoque]

I've been hanging out on ebay and read reviews, but now I bring my question to the experts.

Im stumped between three Sony MD recorders.

SONY NetMD MZ-N1

Sony MZ-R700

SONY MINIDISC MZ-R50

I'm kinda leaning towards either the MZ-R50 or the R700. Both get great reviews. I hear more good things about the R50 than most because of its durability.

What do you all use? I want to stay with MiniDisk because of size and expense. In addition to easy mobility and features, I want a good music player that sounds great.

Is there a microphone you like to use too? I eye balled this...

SONY NetMD MZ-N1

Any advice about these or other hardware would be great Thanks!

Been meaning to reply. Best source for MD info is www.minidisc.org Just look at the dates for what you are reading and make sure it is current.

I would suggest you skip any of the net md decks. You'll be paying more for features that don't count for recording and transfering your recordings.

The MZ-R50 is an old (3rd generation) deck. You are right about their durability. Built like a tank. I have one that still works like new after lots of abuse. You might find a used one for sale, but they stopped making them in the late 90's so it will have lots of miles on it. Best to spend a bit more for a new deck.

The 700 or 900 series sony's will do what you want. The 900's have more features, but again if all you want to do is record shows with a mic either will fit the bill.

www.minidisco.com is a good place to shop. Not always the cheapest, but great service/support.

JAson

[Howid]

I found a mint condition R50 at a decent price (160 bucks with 28 mini disks and a couple cases). Should I jump on it? I like the mini disk idea for both live show recording (with good mics) and the music playback (like a bad ass walkman )

[urobouros]

The 909 and 910 will allow you to adjust the levels while recording but only when using mic-in.

[Todd R]

I really don't know enough about the used MD market to comment, but $160 for a used and very old model MD deck doesn't sound too good to me.

You'll probably find around here that overall MD recorders are not held in very high esteem.  Mainly because they cannot record uncompressed audio and instead only record audio through the ATRAC compression algorithm that tosses aside 4/5 of the audio data in order to save on how much data needs to be captured.

As several have pointed out, you might want to consider the Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox 3 -- aka the JB3.  This is marketed as an mp3 jukebox (so you can certainly use it as a "bad ass walkman").  But it also records in .wav format, the same format used with CDRs, which does not suffer from compression algorithms.  It also can record via microphone in, analog line in, and digital in.  Bottom line is, the JB3 is comparable to DAT and far superior in almost all respects over MD.

So without knowing why you only seem to want a MD and not a JB3 or DAT deck (eg, the Sony D8 that was mentioned), it is hard to comment on whether you'd want to jump on the R50 MD for $160.  Which by the way is far more than you'd pay for a used JB3.  If you can find them on ebay, Creative is often selling them directly, new for about $140.

[Howid]

I really don't know enough about the used MD market to comment, but $160 for a used and very old model MD deck doesn't sound too good to me.

You'll probably find around here that overall MD recorders are not held in very high esteem.  Mainly because they cannot record uncompressed audio and instead only record audio through the ATRAC compression algorithm that tosses aside 4/5 of the audio data in order to save on how much data needs to be captured.

As several have pointed out, you might want to consider the Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox 3 -- aka the JB3.  This is marketed as an mp3 jukebox (so you can certainly use it as a "bad ass walkman").  But it also records in .wav format, the same format used with CDRs, which does not suffer from compression algorithms.  It also can record via microphone in, analog line in, and digital in.  Bottom line is, the JB3 is comparable to DAT and far superior in almost all respects over MD.

So without knowing why you only seem to want a MD and not a JB3 or DAT deck (eg, the Sony D8 that was mentioned), it is hard to comment on whether you'd want to jump on the R50 MD for $160.  Which by the way is far more than you'd pay for a used JB3.  If you can find them on ebay, Creative is often selling them directly, new for about $140.

Thank you very much for this info. I've been looking around, reading reviews, etc. I didnt realize the R50 compressed the music to a diferent format. Suppose I should have read better.

Looking on ebay, I found many JB3s. Also saw a forum member here affering one up for sale.

Also, found out I can upgrade the JB3s hardrive to a larger one, which is a nice feature. Mini disks seem too small for my needs. Having to switch cds every 80 minutes would drive me batty, I think.

This is a great forum and Im glad I joined. Thanks all

[BJ]

welcome aboard...you will find a VAST amt of information here...some not even taping related...kinda scary
+t for joining

EDIT:  I think you will be SUPER happy with a JB3....better decision in the long run...IMHO