Soundbox

Today, I had a call to say that my workmate had bought in his MDS-JB980 to pass over to me. I opened the box and it looks unused - not a mark. There is a CD with it too in a wrapper that is unopened and also the remote is unused. It is a heavy machine and looks really nice. So, is it very similar to my JE510 to use or is there anything to watch out for? I only have room for one seperate unit and am struggling with myself whether to put my trusted JE510 unit into storage and use the new machine or save the JB980 until the 510 breaks down (maybe years and years away...). Anyway, any user experiences from this unit are appreciated. PS. It says it is a Net MD. I have never known about this before - is it a gimick or is it any good?

Thanks for the comments. I will be going to Maplins on Saturday so will have a look what they have. I am pretty sure what type I need I think. To tell you the truth stereo is not always needed and a good mono mike can work well for single instruments (where a stereo mike would give emphasis to any noise present). Ian

Thanks for the input. Looking through the machines available I do like the look of the MZ-RH1. What is that like for line output quality compared to my MZ-R30? I can see me spending some money on equipment and disks as it all looks so tempting! Ian

A very quick question here - I could not find this in previous discussions, I have a mono lapel microphone (Realistic - a Tandy product) which gives a good solid sound on my tape recorder. When plugged into my MZ-R30 it only records to one channel, and when mono is selected I get a recording with a much reduced level due to mono mixing both the live and the shorted channel. Would it cause impedance problems or amplifier imbalance if I fit a stereo plug with both left and right channels shorted together to give sound on left and right? If anyone has any thoughts on this to share I would appreciate it. Thanks, Ian

Thank you for the comments. Yes, I think I will get the MZ-R50 fixed (I used to fix the MZ-R1 model in my Mastercare days but sadly I don't work there any more). Any UK based repairers that come recommended? I have been mainly using my MZ-R30 over the years and that is a solid machine too - anyone here own that model? My 510 has not given a problem as of yet - what is it that goes wrong with them? I will have the 980 I think because it is not often that I see any decks for sale from someone I know. Does the 980 have the mono problem? I never knew of that issue, but I mainly use mono to record a music programme and then edit out the talking and still be able to fill an 80 minute CD. It does seem from my limited reading so far that modern MD users work in conjunction with a computer, however it was the fact that I could do editing, copying and recording without a computer that made MD special, however Sony must move with the times and use in conjunction with a computer is probably helpful at times. Anyway, I have a lot of learning to do as I have just been in my own MZ-R30 and 510 world for 13 years now. Thank you again.

Firstly, let me introduce myself as a new user here. I used to work for Dixons (electronic chain) repair centre in the UK and in 1997 we were offered the MZ-R30 at half price as a special staff promotion (