BearBoy

I've got a Sony BC-9HP battery charger that, IIRC, I got with my MZ-E30 MiniDisc player. The charger says on it "charge only NH-9WM and NC-6WM". I lost my original NH-9WM battery when my MZ-E30 got stolen many years ago but it looks as though it was a 1200mAh battery. Is there any reason I shouldn't use this charger to charge Vapex gumstick batteries that are 1450mAh? The specs on the back of the BC-9HP say: Input: AC220-230V 7W 50Hz Output: DC1.2V 1.9A Apologies if it's a daft question but I'm no electronics expert...

Ah, sorry. I got the wrong end of the stick completely.

Does your CD player have an optical or coax digital output?

Have you tried making a recording from a digital source? If so, was that more successful? Are you able to playback any MiniDiscs recorded on other machines?

I'd stumbled across that What Hi-Fi forum as well. Wasn't really sure if it was much more than just speculation though. Although, as you point out, it does sound fairly plausible. Does your MDS-JB940 have the "UK Sound Tuned" badge on it Bluecrab? If so, are there any other indications on it anywhere that show it is a UK model? Mine has the model number printed on the back as just MDS-JB940 (where the voltage details/serial number are). It also has another code lower down underneath where the power cord is connected that reads: 4-228-507-41 CED CEK.

I've wondered about that too. My MDS-JB980s both carry the "UK Sound Tuned" badge but my MDS-JB940, which as far as I am aware is a UK model, doesn't. Not sure if the previous owner may have removed it (are they just stickers?) or whether it never had one in the first place. My SCD-XB790 also carries the badge but none of my Sony QS cassette decks do.

Great work Kris. Always good to see a machine saved, especially one as nice as that.

That's correct. The MDS-JB940 also has some filters that can be applied to the analogue output, which are absent on the MDS-JB980.

I've got an MDS-JB940 and two MDS-JB980s. Which is better for you would really depend on how you want to use the deck. The MDS-JB940 has more connectivity options: it has two optical inputs (the MDS-JB980 only has one) and it has both optical and coaxial outputs (the MDS-JB980 only has optical). Both decks are MDLP compatible but only the MDS-JB980 has the Group function. The MDS-JB940 is ATRAC Type R whereas the MDS-JB980 is Type S. Recording quality should be the same on both but playback of MDLP discs should be better on the MDS-JB980. The MDS-JB980 has NetMD. MDS-JB940s tend to be a fair bit cheaper than MDS-JB980s. I have no experience with the Tascam deck you mention but, as a professional deck, it may not enforce SCMS. It also has XLR inputs and outputs. The Tascam website says it uses ATRAC version 3. Not sure how this would compare quality wise with the Sony QS decks.

The battery connections in the MZ-N910 appear to be of a different design to those in the MZ-N710. A quick clean might not be a bad idea though.

I wonder if the MZ-N910 has similar issues? I tried charging mine yesterday and experienced similar symptoms to the OP. Ended up charging the battery in another player, which worked fine. Will have a poke about later.

I've got a few options I can try. My 940 and 980 are both currently set up in my office. Over the last couple of years I've picked up some Sony QS separates from eBay (SACD player, cassette deck and the two MiniDisc decks) that I have connected to a pair of Tannoy active speakers via a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 audio interface. The reason for the query was that I was toying with the idea of moving one of them to, or picking up a third deck for, my living room. Here I would have the option of connecting via the analogue outputs to my Marantz amp, connecting via digital to my Marantz amp or connecting via digital to my Marantz CD player (an SA8005) and using that as the DAC. MDS-JB940s are generally a fair bit cheaper than the MDS-JB980s. I suspect this is mainly due to the NetMD functionality the latter has but I've never used that and it isn't a factor for me here. It really boils down to whether to get an extra 940 (cheaper, more connectivity options) or a 980 (Type-S, group function). I do find the group function really useful, especially for MDLP discs, so I am sort of leaning towards getting another 980, but was wondering whether there would be a difference in sound quality to consider. When I get a chance I'll shift both players to my living room and test out the various options. I could make this part of my test and compare recordings made on different decks (I've also got an MDS-JE500 and a couple of portables I could throw into the mix).

Nice and succinct! Many thanks sfbp.

That looks great NGY - much better than the "cheap and cheerful" 2 way switch I bought. If I decide to mess about with any further connections I might have a go at building one, although I suspect it might be a bit tricky for a total novice. How easy would it be to modify the design to incorporate optical connections too?

Does a Type-S machine provide any improvement in sound quality over a Type-R machine when playing back LP2 recordings via an external DAC? Not sure whether the benefits of Type-S are applied during the digital to analogue conversion within the MiniDisc player or before that point. Specifically talking about the MDS-JB940 and MDS-JB980 if that is relevant.

Thanks for posting this. Nice to read something fairly positive about the format rather than just portraying it as a failure.

I am sure some people would find that video useful. Sometimes a video is easier to follow than a set of written instructions.

Haha

No problem. I am sure the switch you are working on will be a much more refined design. If it doesn't look too tricky I might try making one myself so I could have three inputs.

I opened it up and took a photo for you. As far as I can see there are no electrical components on the underside of the circuit board so I'm guessing that it is nothing more than a mechanical switch with LEDs to indicate which path is selected.

Yes, I've got an old Sony VHS VCR with just such a switch on the remote control. I wondered if the MiniDisc decks were a bit cleverer and had some setting in a menu somewhere that would allow you to differentiate between different machines. Many thanks for the confirmation NGY.

So after receiving my new digital coax switch (http://forums.sonyinsider.com/topic/29423-switch-for-coaxial-digital-cables/), I spent some time this afternoon tidying up my office MiniDisc set up and getting everything connected. At the heart of this is a pair of Sony QS decks: an MDS-JB940 and an MDS-JB980. Both have their original remote controls, an RM-D49M and an RMD10E respectively. Unfortunately both remote controls seem to control both decks (i.e. if I turn on the MDS-JB980 using its remote, the MDS-JB940 turns on as well. If I press play on the MDS-JB940's remote, both decks start playing). Is there anything I can do about this so each remote will only control the appropriate machine? I have checked the manuals for both decks but cannot find any instructions on what to do if you have more than one MiniDisc deck in a set up (which surely cannot have been that uncommon back in the format's heyday). As a last resort I could obviously use some sort of physical obstruction in front of the remote sensor of the machine I didn't want to respond but I was hoping there might be a slightly more high tech solution.

Well, I ordered the two input switcher I linked to above (but from Amazon rather than eBay) and it arrived today. Seems to work fine so far. Also, in case anyone was interested, it works without the power connected, although the input select light doesn't work. Should cut down on the wires...

Interesting, thanks sfbp. Looks like I would be better off with using a switch designed for this purpose rather than a general RCA switcher.

Absolutely no need to apologise. I am endlessly impressed with the technical skills of some of the people on here. Thank you for your very kind offer. I have been having another think about how all my various devices can be connected and I think I can get away with a 2 way switch for now (as long as I don't buy any more decks.....) If that changes though I would certainly be interested in a switch with more inputs/outputs so might get back to you on that. Thanks again.