Hudson

I have a spare BMW E46 headunit which is the MD53 unit which was a cost option on BMWs from the 90'S, The car has now gone and i wondered if there would be a market for this, ebay has none on !

I agree i think the PCM test would be fairer, but with the costs of those units going skywards it makes no sense really. I got my MD units and discs when prices were low, but recently they seem to have gone through the roof. But given its the quality of the music that counts, i am impressed with the various lossless formats that are out there, i guess i just discounted the the hard drive / digital / mp3 type machines, until now.

Well i never thought that the MP3 type player and downloads could compete with my MD units ..... until now ! I have just bought a used Iphone 3gs and although its a great phone come computer it appears to also a very good music player. I have my CD's loaded onto my MD's in SP, and one cd to each md, so the SQ is very good indeed, i listen to them via a Sony MD909 and an MZ1 and through some very expensive £200 headphones so i think i can pick out all the various subtle changeds in tone and the slight inclusion of some of the instruments that you can not often hear with the more compressed formats or through cheaper headphones. Well, as a test (since i have my Iphone anyways) i thought i would put one of my favourite cd's (Kate Bush - The Kick Inside) onto the Iphone and just see how it compared. Now i was not going to put it in MP3 as this would not be a fair test, so i loaded the cd into Itunes under the Apple Lossless format and even ticked the slower speed for when you think the cd's may have scratches on etc, i understand this gives maximum SQ. Well i have done a back to back test (with my ears anyways) and i can honestly say that the sound coming from the Iphone is just as good as the same album on one of my Sony ES MD's in SP..... It is that good, i was amazed. If i were pushed i would even be as bold to say it was slightly better, with a tad more bass and a deeper sound (but i may be wrong). Overall though i am really impressed. I will still keep MD because i just love it, and i want MD in my BMW (I already have the E46 MD53 unit which i will fit soon) but this simple test has really opened my eyes to what SQ you can get from other more easier to use machines.... or in this case phones !

cheers for that pal.

Just how much better (if any) is the 555 compared to the 50ES. And how much in uk pounds would a 50es cost ? Ta

Cheers pal, will do that, did you use anything special to clean the door contact ?

Playing a disc and after about 15-25 mins, it suddenly stopped and made one loud ''beep'' sound, then would not work for a bit, screen is all blank, after a min or so, i pressed play again and it started from where it had stopped ??? Any ideas ?

Wow, i never thought there would be this many posts when i start it. I finally found a full sized unit to record my CD's on, i got the 640, should be just fine for what i want.

I think the volume knob is universal from all the Business units, i thought it would fit all the E46 units, i did not think different country models would matter. I will post a picture up when i get it..... prices for these, brand new from BMW are close to £800 !!!

I am still into Minidisc and like the SQ combined with the portability it offers, so i have been looking to replace my standard tape/radio headunit on my car for a while, but thought i would never find the MD53 unit that was an option with my car............ until Ebay that is.... and a cheeky £10 bid. Bloody won the thing, good nick with just a volume knob missing..... really chuffed to bits.

Cheers pal, i think that is what i have done, because now there is a ..... quiet bit in the middle of a track !!! Cheers for the manual,

Hi Guys, Just been playing my my MD unit and because i don't have a manual i think i may have '' wiped '' a bit of one of my MD's !!! I pressed the recessed button at the tip of the remote control (at the end of the volume/track bit of it), i suspect this may have set it to record ? Also on the MD's how do i protect them, i have seen a little plastic tab, should this be open or closed to prevent recording ? Ta guys, that will teach me to not touch before i know what the hell i am doing !!!!

I am into Minidisc and post on a regular basis over the road, but i don't know who else to ask, its silver, mint, boxed and like new. Given it's capacity (ie not that much) is it worth anything these days or should i just put it back in the loft and wait a 100 years !!!

.... what is EAC ? I am a bit old fashioned and tend to just pop my cd in the player and pres sync record and away i go....

Cheers for that, i think i will stick with buying in the UK given the voltage side and the import side, the costs of the units makes it a little bit of overkill, now if your talking about the 50 or 555 ES decks then that is different. Cheers for the info.

That is an excellent review of decks that only the lucky of us will be able to own, i would love the 50ES.... To match my ES amp !

The pc side of things is not on the horizon, i will only be recording from my CD collection in SP.

Cheers for that, it is really cheap, my playback model is the 909 and the N1, but i can not justify spending over £200 for a 980 just to record my 100 cd's. So i am looking for an easy solution to recording my cds in the best quality i can.

Just checking the spec of this machine, would it record from a CD to MD in SP at a decent quality, say compared to a full sized unit like the 940/980 or even a portable unit with type s on it. Ta

Cheers guys, i will buy it then, i have been looking at a QS-980 full sized unit but at the moment (with today to go) its on ebay at £205 !!! Bloody hell thats getting close to what it cost new. I only want to copy about 100 cd's onto MD then that will be it, after this it will not be used that much, so paying close to £250 (when the auction ends) does seem a bit much. Should i be looking at Type S for recording in SP ?

Not heard much about them, no interested in the Net Md bit just the usual sound quality with SP playback and recording, any opinions ?

Some of the nicer, higher end MD recorders do seem to be keeping good prices when they come up, and mint examples with boxes etc really do attract a lot of interest, the trade sort of item which is a bit tatty etc normally does not sell, ie they have to be mine or forget it.

Cheers for all this, just out of interest, would a 980 deck record a cd in sp better than say a portable unit would record the same cd ? Would the sq be better.

I would love the 555es but finding one in the uk is virtually impossible, i am just about to bid on a mint 940 which for my purposes i think will be more than enough, if an ES model ever comes up on Ebay i will try and get it but they do hold a real high premium.

Cheers guys for all the info, i think i will set my sights on the 940, they go for a little less than the 980 and as said i dont need the net md features of the unit, so i think the 940 is the one for me.