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KJ_Palmer

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Everything posted by KJ_Palmer

  1. Indeed, though it does still help to keep this forum active...
  2. Yes indeed, forgot about the ah10. Looks quite nice too. Shame Sony had to go and ditch the format. http://gizmodo.com/100323/sony-cmt+ah10-microcomponent-hi+mdcdcassette
  3. Onkyo also produced a couple of micro systems including Hi-MD and CD sections and a radio, the X-N7/N9 and B7/B8 bookshelf systems. Nothing too special in themselves (apart from the Hi-MD!), but they do allow the home user proper integration into the hi-fi set up or use as stand-alones. They occasionally pop up on eBay etc, and are quite pricey. Nothing much from Sony I think, except the LAM-X1 micro. The link to the Minidisc.org equipment browser is http://www.minidisc.org/equipment_browser.html
  4. It's a clamp filter with a ferrite core for absorption of high-frequency EMC (Electromagnetic charge?). The one you have is at least removable, on later models some are hard wired into remotes and power supplies. Simply annoying extra bulk. I'd remove it, but put it somewhere safe just in case...
  5. I'm led to believe that the Sony's EU volume cap is undefeatable on another forum I visit (AVForums). If anyone has details to the contrary there are plenty of people there who would be very grateful. The Sansa players, on the other hand, do indeed make this very easy from the menu.
  6. The Sony MP3 players have very good ratings for sound quality, though the EU models are all heavily volume capped (which unlike MD units can't be defeated), so best to avoid buying from here and import instead. Personally I havent tried any of these players, though I do have the Sony PCM-M10 digital recorder, which is a great recorder with MD-like facilities, however is lacking somewhat as a player. I have tried several other MP3 players over the years and eventually almost settled on Sansa's Clip+ and Clip zip. Most reviews were favourable about these little players, the sound quality decent, and it was certainly handy to have 40GB of music (8GB plus 32GB SDHC card) in a tiny package. But I've now given these to my nieces and gone back to MD full time for portable usage, with no regrets, and acquired a couple of Hi-MD home systems. For me it's still the best all-rounder.
  7. In a word, it's about uploading. Specifically, legacy uploading. Those of us who have been using MD before Hi-MD was introduced in 2004 had no way directly of transferring our legacy (SP or MDLP) recordings to computer before the RH1 came along, apart from real-time re-recording either directly onto a computer or via CD-R recorder. Even today, many still use legacy MD decks for recording (radio shows and so on), and upload them with their RH1, which no other MD unit can do. Other features of the RH1 are marginal, and indeed the RH10/910 and other recorders outdo the RH1 in other areas. For example the RH1's little display doesn't show title information, which is a huge disappointment. By contrast the RH10/910 has a huge 7 line display that shows more info than you could shake a stick at (which is quite a lot). Personally, I was never quite happy with the RH10's analogue-like sound, preferring the RH1's crisp sounding amp, which is nearer to my favourite's the NH900. I also believe the RH1 has a faster transfer rate and and superior recording facilities, though I've never used it for recording. However, the ability to upload particularly SP recordings (albeit in a different format) was what many older MD users craved, and practically begged Sony to provide, for many years and at last it arrived in the shape of the RH1. Hence the 'holy grail' idea.
  8. I'd recommend the Sony MZ-NH700 (or NHF800 - same unit plus radio) for this. An absolute workhorse in terms of reliability and sounds great too.
  9. Well, good luck - they are rare now it seems, so snap one up if it comes along!
  10. It's the digital amp on the NH900 that makes the real difference, compared to the (RH)710 and RH10/910. As you say, crisper and cleaner, although I can tweak the EQ of the latter to sound more than acceptable with my Sennheiser earphones. In general though think all the 2nd generation Hi-MD recorders were pretty lacklustre sounding compared to the first generation, including the non-digitally amped (I think) NH700/NHF800, and of course the RH1. The black RH710 is a very nice looking unit though, and sounds OK.
  11. The all black NH900's were pretty standard over here in the UK, along with the silver/black ones (not so nice IMO). I've got two black ones - sorry neither are for sale. Maybe worth checking on eBay UK.
  12. If you're still looking for 1GB Hi-MD blanks, there's several lots of 2 new/unopened discs on eBay UK at the moment: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=hi-md+blanks&_sacat=0&_from=R40 Just got a couple myself, £15 each disc, so by no means cheap, but that seems the going rate now. Sorry, don't have any 'spares' myself..
  13. I bought Sergio's (sescoscuba) five 1GB first generation Hi-MD discs shown in his MD's for sale thread The transaction went extremely smoothly and quickly and communications were swift and very friendly. A pleasure to deal with - highly recommended! Thanks!!
  14. Verbatim CD-Rs have worked very well for me in the MXD-D40 and other players. I'd avoid no-name or 'supermarket' branded CDs however tempting the price.
  15. Said it before, but I'd like a Hi-MD version of the MZ-B10, i.e. portable with built in speaker and mics, pitch/speed control, running off AA batteries. Improvements on the B10 would include shuffle playback, EQ and uploading capabilities.
  16. Sorry Stephen can you do that for me too - ie. merge KJ_Palmer with Barock1, or rename to the latter to the former. I changed my name once and they couldn't change it back then... Thanks!
  17. Probably just as well, I've never liked the term and have never used it, Sony or not. Personal CD (tape, MD etc) player/recorder seems to cover it adequately.
  18. No need in the end, the 100V plug arrived late today. I'll keep the 110V one in case I ever get some US equipment, or give it away to someone here who may need one. Thanks for your help btw on this Stephen, much appreciated as I'm pretty clueless with electrics. Anyway, the Onkyo FR-7XR is plugged in, hooked up, and working fine! Few more pics below: First impressions: MD loading and playback is pretty smooth though not entirely silent. Little bit of mechanical noise from the MD drive motor, though not quite as much from as from the neighbouring MXD-D40, which is hardly noisy. I think I've read the other Onkyo decks have the same noise issue. Title scrolling is quite smooth, can't complain, though 12 characters is never going to be enough for long 'classical' track names, and more than one line to display artist etc as well would have been nice, as would an indication of bit rate . CD section is rather basic. CD-R/RW but no MP3 playback, or CD-Text which is a shame, but functions well enough within its limits. Radio. Can pick up some AM and FM stations but nothing above 90 MHz on FM, which is where most of the UK stations broadcast. Maybe I can work out how to set it to World/US band, but I'm not too worried. Remote control seems to work well enough, and is fairly intuitive to use. Have experience with Onkyo remotes which must help. Will probably get minimal use anyway. Well, so far so good, at least it works and does what I wanted it for, which is basically as a deck to play my Hi-MDs on. Oh, and it sounded very nice with a 352kbps compilation.
  19. Well, actually I do still have my step down UK-110V transformer from Amazon. Been sorely tempted to try it, but then again best not tempt fate, n'est-ce pas?...
  20. Thanks Az, was a nice surprise to get the box in the post so soon. It's fairly compact, smaller than I thought/feared. Would have preferred a black finish to match my other separates but the silver looks quite nice by their side. For the moment I've hooked it to the Denon Amp via the Onkyo's Tape in/out loop. The Denon drives some mid sized Eltax speakers, and also has a Sony MXD-D40 attached. Probably won't be the final configuration, but if it works, why not.. Looks to be in very near-perfect condition, no marks of note though the LED screen looks a little smudged. Hopefully that will scub up nicely. I've screwed a small indoor FM aerial to the Onkyos' FM input, in the hope that will do the job. If not the Denon's receiver is fine. But - I'm still waiting for the 100V transformer to turn up, so don't yet know if it actually works....
  21. Just arrived. Here are some pics. Apologies for the poor photography.
  22. Ah thanks - I see you linked it earlier... Thanks, I might just wait a while as I'm overspent this month. I've got 10 or so 1GB blanks I could be getting on with for now.
  23. Yes indeed. Found this transformer: http://www.airlinktransformers.com/japanese_100V_voltage_converters/14-JA0050.html Surely that would be OK..?
  24. To be on the safe side I'll look for a 100V transformer. Blimey no wonder I held out from getting a Japanese deck for so long. Thanks anyway.
  25. Ok, now I'm worried Stephen. This is the one I got from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co...ils_o03_s00_i00 Its rated output staes 110V / 85W on the transformer itself. I thought there was a certain tolerance level (eg. +/- 10%) but of course I don't want to risk frying my lovely new Hi-MD box. Do you think I should return it?
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