MDX-400

Oh right the 480 and 780. I'm sure (actually I hope) those are coming to the US--perhaps that is why they don't carry the 470 and 770 anymore. I think I was confused at first. I thought the x70 were the latest ones, and that the 770 had the NetMD, but it is the 780 that has it. So really when he was saying JE770 I was thinking about the JE780. (Although, what is the difference between the JE470 and JE480?) But yeah kinda weird how Sony doesn't have any of the new decks on sonystyle.com (SonyStyle USA) right now, they only seem to list the MDS-JE470 @ $200.

Maybe you're right maybe new decks are coming but aren't the 470 and 770 pretty new models? Or maybe it is just Crutchfield that isn't going to carry decks (and maybe MD altoghether) anymore. In Canada I think they stopped selling MD decks last year. Perhaps they are doing the same for 2003 in the US??? That is kinda sad if that happens. I hope this isn't the beginning of the end for MD :cry: I mean MD was never that popular here in North America, but I don't think they need to discontinue NA decks totally... Roland M.

I think the cheapest way to go is to get one from the US. Things in Europe tend to be expensive if you ask me, particularly in Great Britain. Though I'm sure there are good deals anywhere if you know where to look. Canada is horrible for MD prices (and most electronics for the most part). But the US is just across the border and is much cheaper. Here is just one example... I live in Canada, and I purchased a DVD player in the US recently for a total of $217 US shipped (to a US address) and that showed up as $350.xx CDN on my CC. Now the $350 may seem a bit high but considering the model I got it is a bargain. To get the prior year's model in Canada would have cost me around $500 Cdn AND I'd have to "special order" it, whereas in the US it is a "mainstream" model. So I saved ~$150 Cdn and got a newer model. For MD equipment in Toronto Canada though, I'd suggest what others have--the Pacific Mall in Markham or downtown on Yonge St. near the Eaton's Centre. Just remember that at the electronics stores on Yonge you have to bargain with the seller to get a good deal. Other than that I'd stick with the US for better prices unless there is a specific model you are looking for that is only available in Europe. The only problem I can forsee is if you use 220-240V AC in your country. Gear sold in North America is usually sold with 110-120V AC power supplies so you'll either have to get a different AC adaptor or get a converter to use it on AC/charge the batteries if that is the case. Roland M.

LOL. I think what he actually meant that he likes to keep the actual MD UNIT protected/hidden while recording--like being in his pocket, bag, etc. Clueless, you might want to check out your manual for your MD or check your model on the minidisc.org equipment browser and see if it makes any mention of it. Not many recorders had this feature in the past. I remember my Aiwa AM-F70 was pretty much the only MD to allow record starting from the remote when I bought it, but most of the modern Sharp units do have a red record button on the remote like Mystyler mentioned so if don't see the record button on the remote you probably can't do it I don't think.

When recording MP3s isn't there a way to do volume levelling with the NetMD software? I know if I want to do a (realtime) recording via optical output from different music tracks (be it wave, CDA, MP3, etc.), MusicMatch Jukebox has a feature to "volume level" the tracks so you don't get one that is loud and another quite. Don't know if NetMD features this (as I don't have it) but they might want to add such a feature if it is absent.

Perhaps the laser lens is clean but the recording head is dirty??? Just a thought... Might be something else entirely though (like foucus and bias adjust, etc.)

Like Mystlyler said, it is the headphones that are louder themselves, the volume dial doesn't do anything. I.e. You could buy the same model phones w/o the volume control and get the same sound. (Theoretically, the ones w/o the inline control should be ever so slightly louder because there would be no signal loss going through the volume control, which, even when set to full volume will represent a VERY small additional resistance. But this is negligeble).

The mA rating on the adapter is not actually how much it "gives out" but rather how much current can be drawn without the adapter overheating or failing. The 700mA rating simply means that the adapter can supply up to 700mA of current at any voltage set on the switch. So you could have a 2A adapter and use it with a device only requiring 200mA and it would only be outputting the 200mA that the device draws. As for the cutting and reconnecting the old connector, I was actually thinking that the adapter you got was defective and you might find if you exchange it for another it would work. If you do want to cut and solder there is no problem with that but if the wire is damaged somewhere already and you don't fix that part you'll just be cutting the wire and they you won't be able to return/exchange it. My advice is to try an exchange first and then if it still doesn't work then cut/solder the other connector. You are correct you have to determine the correct polarity. Now you might get lucky and get red and black wires inside of both adapters and it would be simple, but somehow I doubt that would happen (but it might). The only thing you can do to accurately determine the polarity is to use a DMM on the wires. First you'd cut the adapter ends (with about an inch or two of wire as well) off on both units. Then using the continuity checker you could testand then connect the wires inside to determine which wire on the plug was the "tip" and which the outer ring on the original AIWA end. Then you'd connect the ends of the wire from the radio shack adapter to the meter's + and - and put it on VDC (and select the range if necessary). Then put the adapters "tip" switch so the tip is positive (+) (what the AIWA requires). Then determine which lead is + and which is - using the DMM. Then you'd connect the wire you know is + to the wire you determined to be the tip on the original adapter plug end. Then solder up the + and - (I recommend using heat shrink instead of tape on the connections. Use shrink around the interior wires and then another peice over the entire connection just like the wire casing). That's it you'd be all set. I'd then double check with the DMM to make sure that you have the tip as + and it should work fine thereafter.

Um, the inline volume control that some headphones have does NOT do anything to increase volume! It is simply a rheostat (adjustable resistance) that attenuates the power to the headphones to decrease the volume. In other words if you put the volume to max on a set of headphones that has one of those inline dials then all you are doing is eliminating the resistance and it would be like you hooked up a set without a volume control. But I agree with the fact that the street style phones will probably give you more volume.

Oh yeah the other thing you can do is get a "travel" transformer which will convert the 120V, AC 60Hz NA voltage to the 240V AC, 50Hz you need (along with giving you the right plug to plug the adapter into). That way you could use your original adapter (and other devices you may have that are 240V).

What DC voltage does that adapter do, is it 4.5V? My Am-F70 has the same battery so I think it uses the same adapter. I know that I bought my Aiwa AM-F70 from someone that got it either in Japan or HK and the adapter it came with was 4.5V dc ouput but 100V AC input. It worked fine but it was giving out about 8V DC (no load) on 120V AC North American outlets! I thought that was a bit high so I looked for something else... I have a Panasonic portable CD player and have two AC adapters for it (one was from a similar Panasonic that broke and then I got the 2nd one under warranty). Anyhow they are both rated at 4.5V and have the same positive tip, negative ring AC adapter plug and it is the same EIAJ size and fits the Aiwa fine. The first one (from the old Panasonic portable) worked but the unit thought it was on batteries I think because the backlight didn't work (continuously) and the battery wouldn't charge. So I tried the second one and it worked fine, batteries charge, backlight works. Both were rated at 4.5V but only the second one worked... Anyhow you can probably get that adapter from Aiwa themselves or just use a Sony one rated at 4.5V with the same plug. You can try stepping up the univesal to 6V--that will probably work. I doubt 6V would damage the unit (though it might) but if it doesn't charge on 4.5V it probably has to get more voltage than it is getting. Also make sure the AC adapter's cord isn't broken. Lots of those things get broken inside (even brand new ones!) and the power cuts out on the cord depending on how you twist/turn the plug! The Panasonic adapter I use it with now give out an actual no load voltage of 5.61V DC, so maybe that will help you.