BearBoy

I suppose the fact that they have them on their website and they're readily available from Amazon.co.jp doesn't necessarily mean they're still in production. Might just have some existing stocks still available? Did the person at Tapeheads have a source for Sony stopping production?

There are photos of all three types (MDW80T, MDW80BC and MDW80NED) on this site: https://juri.su/minidisc.htm Shows the packaging, discs and stickers. Given that it looks as though Sony are still making/selling the MDW80Ts, I wonder if there is any chance of them releasing any 30th Anniversary specials this year?

I quite like the minimalist design of the MDW80Ts 🙂 but I imagine some might find them rather dull compared to the more colourful discs from the past (especially some of the more exotic ones @Richard has in his collection). I seem to recall someone posting up the differences between the MDW80T and MDW80BC discs at one point. From what I remember, I think you may have got fewer stickers with the "Basic" ones but aside from that, and the printing on the disc caddy, they were pretty much identical. I don' have any of the MDW80BCs but I do have some of the later Neige discs (MDW80NED) and they are, Neige logo aside, identical to the MDW80Ts. The MDW80Ts are the only normal MDs still listed on Sony's Japanese website (https://www.sony.jp/rec-media/products/MDW80T/) but interestingly they also still have the MMD-140B MD Data discs for sale (https://www.sony.jp/rec-media/products/MMD-140B/).

Yeah, they are individually wrapped in cardboard boxes of 5. All my MDW80Ts have come like this (I've bought 50-60 of them, I think, over the past few years). Yours looked like they weren't in cardboard boxes?

Haha. I wish. No, it is just an unnecessarily large box for 20 MiniDiscs. Very painless process tbh and works out cheaper than any of the eBay sellers I have seen with these particular discs.

Well, it turned up early! Not such a "small" box either 😆

A sudden increase in demand from the UK is pushing MD prices up! 😃 The prices seem to fluctuate a bit. When I purchased mine on Thursday, the initial quoted price was ￥3,760, although this went up to ¥4,102 when I checked out. Not sure if this was Amazon factoring in the taxes? Just looked now and the price is showing as ¥3,600, although this goes up to ¥3,928 if I proceed to checkout. This is from a different seller to the one I purchased from but still shipped by Amazon. I had a similar thing with my credit card initially blocking the purchase but once I confirmed to them it was legitimate things seem to go through okay. I seem to recall the last things I bought from Amazon.co.jp arrived sooner than their quoted delivery date so maybe they'll turn up before next Friday.

Thanks for taking the time to do that @Richard It’s a fantastic looking player. in other news, my own “small box from Japan” is in transit. Currently predicted to be here next Friday.

That lasted about an hour before I started getting the error message again.

Cheers @Richard At least it’s not just me. I cleared out the cache on my iPhone XR and it’s working on that now.

Anyone else having issues with the site since its latest resurrection? On my PC (Windows 10) I can, once bypassing all the security warnings about the certificate expiry, access the site okay using Edge but with Chrome I get: On one of my phones (iPhone 12 using Safari) I can, once bypassing all the security warnings about the certificate expiry, access the site okay but on my other phone (iPhone XR using safari) I get: Access via this phone has been working on and off since the site came back up but has been "off" for about 3 days now. Anyone else experienced anything similar? Any suggestions (I'd rather be using Chrome on my PC and the iPhone XR as the iPhone 12 is my work phone).

That's correct, you do. The disc title shows up as something like: 0;Disc Name//1-4;Group 1 Name//5-8;Group 2 Name//9-12;Group 3 Name// The discs will still play without any issues in my MDS-JB940, it's just that the grouping disappears. i.e. it's not like trying to play an LP2 disc in an SP only machine.

Yeah, when I bought my MDS-JB940 I didn't do my research fully and had assumed that MDLP automatically meant the inclusion of the Group functionality. I thought I was getting a back up/partner to my MDS-JB980 minus the NetMD (which I had no interest in at the time tbh) and Type S but with better connectivity (coax digital output and dual optical inputs). I use the Group function a lot these days so it's a pity the 940 isn't compatible.

I cannot find any of those on MiniDisc.org either but the C17 and C31 are on the MiniDisc Wiki (although the picture they have of the C31 is a "Cinnamoroll" special edition). Having googled the "normal" C31, it's a very distinctive looking machine. I really like the look of the C17. I take it these players would most likely need to be imported from Japan?

I am sure that is probably true for the most part but sadly not in the case of my MDS-JB940 🙁

Are they very rare @Richard? I can't find any reference to them on either MiniDisc.org or the MiniDisc Wiki. Do they have the Group function that many of the Sony MDLP portables have?

That's a lovely looking machine @Richard Is the casing aluminum or plastic? Or a mixture of both?

Would like to see some pictures of the XM-B22P if you get a chance @Richard. Seem to recall you got it when the site was having issues with uploading photos? That seems to be fixed now given @kgallen's photos above.

I'm not really very familiar with any non-Sony machines but just Googled that one and it's a lovely looking device. Look forward to seeing some pictures when it arrives.

Thanks @Richard Worth bearing in mind for things more expensive than a few blank discs. Were you buying MiniDisc related stuff? If so, anything interesting?

I've used quite a few since I last counted them up so you're probably not too far short @kgallen That's not intended as an incentive for you to buy any more though... 😆

🤣 Whilst this site was "off-air" I don't think I purchased anything MiniDisc related. It's been back, what, a week? and I've bought 20 blanks I don't really need 😆 Not to mention that my watchlist on eBay seems to have grown... I'll try to do a "stock take" tomorrow and see how many blanks I've actually got. Last time I checked I had about 300 sealed ones. Realistically, that's probably more than I'll ever need.

Spot on.

Yeah, I hope that if there is any VAT to be applied then the limit is quite a bit over £60 as I spent £66 earlier 🤣

That's useful to know @Richard In my experience, if you order anything from any of the international Amazon sites that is shipped by them, they take care of all of the relevant taxes so you don't get a nasty surprise when the postman/courier turns up at your door.