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Future proofing our Minidisc lifestyle.

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l2ob

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Like many of you, I have decided that Minidisc is a format thats useful for one reason or another. With that in mind I've been buying some MD players, MD recorders and Blank MDs for the hopes that I can continue to use the format for many years to come.

The mechanical and electronic complexity of these MD units are mind blowing. needless to say im scared 20-40yrs from now some or all of these MD units may not even work due to age, ware & tear, etc.

Obviously aside from buying the most recent model (MZ-M200) I have been looking into getting some MD units that might have a bit more robust. The MZ-R50 & MZ-R37 seem to get praise for being tank like.

I have a handfull of random units I found for cheap on eBay but at this point im woundering if buying 1 or 2 specific models over and over as I come across them is a better idea. Im doubting a "comeback" for MD like vinyl had. So I think it might be smarter to buy up some of the most reliable models, use them till they all start breaking and then repair them as they break with other broken donor units.

Ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions?

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My future choices will be to get more decks. SP only with type R or MDLP type S decks.

Mobile units : 

- to save your money, SP +/- MDLP units (Hi-MD are more expensive)

- I prefer a SP than a MDLP recording (comptability, better quality)

- old and solid units for listening with AA side battery if you can

- one or two more recent units with type R for recording  SP, or MDLP type S if you record and and listen to MDLP.

- a large stock of MD blanks (more than 100) + storage

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I mostly agree with PhilippeC except that I do like the MDLP machines just because I can put more audio on them if I want to. My ears can't tell the difference between SP and LP2 anyway. I do have a couple of Hi-MD units but one is used to record a radio program every week and the other is a backup and my MZ-M200 is used to upload to my computer. I have about 300 or so blanks so I should be alright there (although sometimes that doesn't seem like it will be enough). I also agree with the AA battery because I don't think those will be going anywhere anytime soon.

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What decks & portables models are most recommended?

 

My only deck right now is a (basically new) MXD-D3. Just got it off eBay last week, literally not a single scratch and the display is super bright. I never owned one but I wanted one soooo bad in the early 2000s. My original Deck was the MDS-JE320, I got back in 97 or 98 which just finally died, despite my best efforts to repair it. The Issue was grinding gears and eject problems. It played & recorded fine though. This however is one reason im scared to invest in more "Decks". Ideally i think they are better for recording with stronger lasers but the complex loading mechanisms likely failures make me lean toward the portables, but on the other side of things the portables cons are weaker lasers and motors due to size constraints.

 

I am with you on SP. the only MDLP unit i "had" was a MZ-N505. Personally I thought anything but SP sounded like crappy MP3s And as far a HI-MD goes... i have no experience with the 1 GB MDs. I did grab a MZ-M200 strictly for backing up some of my irreplaceable MDs to my PC (which kind of re-spawned the MD format into my life) but I have no urge to start down the HI-MD road for compatibility & cost reasons.

 

sorry not trying to ramble...

 

ive been looking for blanks. best price i can find is on ebay. $18 shipped for a 10 pack of the 74min Neige made by Sony. they are boring, but they seem to do the job.

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What decks & portables models are most recommended?

 

My only deck right now is a (basically new) MXD-D3. Just got it off eBay last week, literally not a single scratch and the display is super bright. I never owned one but I wanted one soooo bad in the early 2000s. My original Deck was the MDS-JE320, I got back in 97 or 98 which just finally died, despite my best efforts to repair it. The Issue was grinding gears and eject problems. It played & recorded fine though. This however is one reason im scared to invest in more "Decks". Ideally i think they are better for recording with stronger lasers but the complex loading mechanisms likely failures make me lean toward the portables, but on the other side of things the portables cons are weaker lasers and motors due to size constraints.

 

I am with you on SP. the only MDLP unit i "had" was a MZ-N505. Personally I thought anything but SP sounded like crappy MP3s And as far a HI-MD goes... i have no experience with the 1 GB MDs. I did grab a MZ-M200 strictly for backing up some of my irreplaceable MDs to my PC (which kind of re-spawned the MD format into my life) but I have no urge to start down the HI-MD road for compatibility & cost reasons.

 

sorry not trying to ramble...

 

ive been looking for blanks. best price i can find is on ebay. $18 shipped for a 10 pack of the 74min Neige made by Sony. they are boring, but they seem to do the job.

Decks - Sony QS models 930,940,980

blanks - are the any freecycler orgs  where  you you ask for free  2nd hand blanks

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cool, thank for the replies. 

 

I'm pretty much limited to eBay (sadly...) as Minidisc was never really popular in the states let alone in my area. I never see any gear around at local pawn shops ect...

 

Even around 2005 I still had people randomly ask what me "what is that?" when referring to my Music collection. Even at the formats peak in the states (around the early 2000s), I was lucky to find a section Blanks at my local Big name Electronics stores. All that was ever stocked was a few 5 packs of the the Sony color collection and Maxell gold. I dont even think i seen a portable aside from the MZ-N505 & MZ-N510 until I got an eBay account. Its like you would think i lived on a secluded island or something instead of a major City.  :rolleyes:

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"The mechanical and electronic complexity of these MD units are mind blowing. needless to say im scared 20-40yrs from now some or all of these MD units may not even work due to age, ware & tear, etc."

 

My 15 year old JB930QS was successfully repaired a couple of months ago, spare optical units  and probably other components are still available, but for how long?

I have a 16 year old JB920QS which has worked perfectly since purchase. There are plenty of the QS models available on Ebay UK, but the shipping costs to NE Ohio would be very expensive.

 

As for portables, my only experience is the MZR55 which I purchased soon after the JB920QS. I have recently purchased 3 MZR55 from EbayUK, one has been well used and is scuffed front/back but the sides are near perfect.

 

As an aside, I undertook a long train journey recently, and listened to 4 hours of music using the gum-stick battery and 2 rechargeable NiMh AA batteries.

Upon recharging, the batteries needed a total of 1600mAh to bring them back to full charge. So 2x2400mAh+1400mAh equals 6200mAh, less about 10% unusable charge gives about 13-14 hours playback at approx. 400mAh. The joys of having an intelligent battery charger!

 

Kieron. 

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