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I could not have said it more cogently than the above. 20 years on, I have 4 full size decks, 4 portables, 350 + recorded discs and 650+ blank discs. I would not let any of my MD units within a million miles of a PC. Addict ? Kieron.

I do not think the question was "is minidisc obsolete", it was whether or not it was useless. On the obsolescence front, well, of course it is to some extent, the main builder/designer has abandoned it and us. We all know this, it just is what it is. When I listen to music, I listen to music. I'm not ADHD, where I have to have a little movie screen so I can scroll through "album" art, play a game of pong, tweet my vapid friends with wifi what crappy boy band I'm listening to right then. For the purpose of listening to music, minidisc works absolutely fine. Not just fine, but better than any alternative for me. Of course, it's an older system built for us old fogies who remember taping our favorite songs off the radio (and not that satellite radio crap) and listening to them under the sheets on crappy quality headphones late at night, probably while reading a comic book. Or building a mix tape for your girlfriend or road trip. 90% of the pleasure derived was the careful song selection, cueing up the records or cds just right, labelling the cassette box and cassette. It wasn't just turning on "genius" mode in iTunes and copying that playlist to your ipod. Ever see an old Tube driven AM radio? Solid copper base, simple gates, usually a custom built wooden cabinet housing one speaker. Those radios are still going. I hold onto minidisc for the idea of permanence in a disposable world. What is an iPod nano at the end of its life? just more piece of recyclable 200 dollar crap. When your MD player goes bad, your music is fine. Jut buy another player. Well, at least that is the plan. Morning rant over, assume your regular programming.

MiniDisc is not useless; it's obsolete. There is a key difference. Nothing as multifaceted as a MiniDisc recorder can be said to be useless. That said, I think that even if Sony had marketed MiniDisc successfully, it would be obsolescent today because its competitors are more feature-rich. I have difficulty following some of the logic in this thread. MiniDisc and MP3 players both have shuffle functions. It's up to the user whether or not to use them, and absolutely nothing about an MP3 player compels one to do so. It SHOULD go without saying that either is just as capable of playing entire albums chronologically. You're arguing against your perceptions of MP3 users' supposed preferences, which are likely exaggerated and unfounded. The issue was the native functionality of the devices and which better suited the questioner. I still have my MiniDisc players, though I almost exclusively use my MP3 player (and never on shuffle). I may be returning to reporting soon and thus would use my MiniDisc to record, even though my MP3 player has a voice recorder. I also take out MiniDisc sometimes just for nostalgia. Whereas many of you are exalting album listening, I actually got into MiniDisc because it facilitated playlists, but now MP3 players do this better because the track need not be re-uploaded to form the playlist. Album listening has its advantages and purposes, but playlists demonstrate the user's creativity and make for great time travel. In my moments of nostalgia, I can call up playlists of the songs that defined eras I miss. It's a beautiful thing. One of you said you found MP3 players useless because they could not do all the things a MiniDisc player could. That depends on the MP3 player. (Further, it's a bogus statement because any mass storage device that plays music clearly has a twofold desirable purpose.) I actually can edit titles and move files on the go, but let's be honest: It is rare that such an act is of such pressing import that it can't wait until one gets home. My MP3 player is an Archos 5, which, like many MP3 players, has great sound quality, radio, a 250-gigabyte hard drive, a voice recorder, Wi-FI, Web radio and TV, DVR, picture display, and video. Useless because it's an MP3 player? Oh, brother. Much of this stems from your zeal to vindicate the MiniDisc, which I love. Another example is the citation of an intangible such as "cool factor," which lies in the eye of the beholder. Consider that being in the in-crowd like an Apple user can be said to be cool. Also, cool as in different just means anything opposed to the leading product, and that doesn't necessarily mean a MiniDisc. A lesser-known MP3 player can turn heads, but turning heads is not where the joy in product use lies. It is also flawed logic to assert that one likes MiniDisc because one prefers to carry around just a few albums. One can choose to listen to just a few on an MP3 player, first of all. The mere presence of all the other tracks you have neatly stored on the hard drive will not weigh heavily on the mind. Second, both MP3 players and MiniDiscs are mass storage devices. That's like one compulsive overeater defaming another because the other is even worse. That does not make you the icon of restraint; rather, you prefer a lesser example of excess. I do believe there still are real advantages to MiniDisc that relate to its native functionality. It's durable, sounds great, and records. It edges out MP3 in battery life, line-in recording, and usually voice recording. Actually, recording is where its greatest strength is now. Another strength is that different models are tailored to different uses; some have radio, some record and others have a digital amplifier, for instance. I love that my MP3 player works with Windows Media Player, which keeps track of the tracks you have and have not added to the device. Syncing automatically adds the new tracks. If I went back to MinDisc, I'd have to guess where I left off as I tried to upload all the music I have purchased since then to MiniDiscs. Also, I don't have to be bothered with SonicStage or ATRAC anymore, and I am glad. I don't have a second-generation Hi-MD player, so I can't put MP3s on them.

Reading your post is a treat! For one, in a way you've answered your own question. 1) You're appreciating how good it sounds 2) You have the desire to have "rekindled" enthusiasm... why? Because you recognize what a cool format MD really is... it was just poorly marketed and overlooked. 3) You recognize the durability and reliability of these devices. Now, if I may still add a few thoughts of my own. For one, I've heard that the Cowon players offer great sound quality, and anything that's non-iPod gets kudos from me But minidisc simply offers something no other units really offer these days. Let's first look at what mp3 players and the like offer: 1) huge capacity 2) relatively decent sound (they're slowly improving) 3) recording capability (becoming more common) 4) availability - extremely high... you can get one from the grocery store 5) bling - let's face it, video playback, phones, GPS, etc... all in your music player Ok... what does minidisc offer COOL FACTOR. Is that it?? Well until just a few years ago, we could say it has the best sound, it records, etc., but that gap is (oooo I forgot 'gapless', but that just got fixed not long ago too for mp3 players) smaller each passing day. And I'm not even mentioning battery life because nowadays, unless you are on an island, you can have a unit charging anywhere (car, portable battery pack, the office, etc.)... yes, MD has much better battery life, mostly because there is not large illuminated screen sucking juice, but still not really important in today's rechargable world, in my opinion. So what is this cool factor? Let's face it... a small, literally COMPACT disc that is in a PROTECTED plastic shell that can't get scratched, that is REWRITABLE, and INCREDIBLE sound quality and still looks futuristic, retro-punk cool is just downright awesome. This isn't for Generation Y much and certainly not Z, but if you grew up in a time when even burning your own CD-R was exciting, then you can understand part of the thought process behind why minidiscs are so amazing. But even that aside, you might also know how to appreciate ALBUM listening. I hate shuffle-play or being overwelmed by 10,000,000 songs to choose from. I love to grab a couple MDs and go, which with LP2 still gives me like 6 or more albums to choose from. Less is more as far as I'm concerned. Minidisc is DIFFERENT. It is rare now, and for the most part you can only get units now via Ebay... so the HUNT is part of the fun! Show it off to friends, see their reaction. You'll get the "why not iPod?" reaction, but you'll also first get the "wow, what's THAT?" reaction too. One more thought on sound quality. I bought an iPod a while back and tried ripping music to it in "lossless" wav format and it still sounded like complete crap to me. But that's because I like the SOUND SIGNATURE of ATRAC and the Sony units and their built in amps/eq's etc... so you have to see what your ears prefer. I also love making minidisc LABELS and ARTWORK, just like the days of making tape compilations, or CD-Rs with face label printing... check out the threads for MD label art both in this forum and the Audio T-Board. Anyway, plunge into these threads, look around and have fun... and take PICS of your unit! We love that. Welcome to the family. As we are small, and unique, its what draws us closer together