BJ

Okay, has anybody had this happen to them, and is it shades of errors to come? I inserted an MD and got C13: Read error. Turned the deck off & back on, and that did the trick. Do I need to worry?

Thank you, Schwowsers!! I'm charging all of you now to go download "Blueshift". Go ahead, I'll wait.

As far as the unit you're most likely to find on the shelf, how about the Sony MZ-NF810? The remote is not backlit, but it's a good machine otherwise, and you'll find it at Best Buy, Circuit City or possibly even a larger Target or Wal-Mart store. But Kurisu is right--you'd have more to choose from if you shop online, like at Minidisco. Good luck!

If you're like me and you'd rather record stuff while you're away or asleep, you can forego step 8 and insert track marks (the same way) as you play back the programme you've recorded the night before. Think of it as postponing Step 8 until it's convenient.

Geez...why not ask me "Of all the breaths you took today, which was your favorite?" I need them all! Off the top of my head (and warning, I like pop music): Queen - lavish & brilliant, with a great sense of marketing & music production. Freddie died way too soon. The first band I ever obsessed about. Jesus Jones - highly underrated. Rotten lyrics, but something very catchy about Edwards's music and programming. If you like electronica, dig up a $2 copy of "Perverse" in a sale bin sometime. Splashdown - killed by Capitol Records before their masterful "Blueshift" album saw the light of day. Find a bootleg of "Blueshift"--you will not be sorry. Perfect female vocals, lots of east Indian influence. Planet P Project - offered his last album as a free download on his site, and it is mind blowing; rock, hip-hop & a little new wave, all covering various forms of terrorism and propaganda from 1931 to the present. Stromkern - the best industrial to come along since Trent Reznor ruined it. Freezepop - a new wave-y band from Boston who do all their music on the Yamaha QY-70. The sweetest, stickiest, catchiest pop in existence. Aimee Mann - acoustic, mid-tempo rock. Some of the best songwriting I've ever heard, period. Gary Numan - you can't beat the original. If you think his career started and ended with "Cars", you haven't heard the dense, atmospheric & loop riddled "Exile" album. Joe Satriani - the man can work miracles on his guitar, with no words to hold him down. Okay, that's it for now--that's all just what comes immediately to mind. If I absolutely had to pick JUST ONE artist to take with me somewhere, I'd throw a tantrum until they allowed me to make an MD compilation. :cool:

No big plans til this weekend when they shut down an entire town for a St Patrick's parade. Not a parade fan myself, but my friends are dying to be there, so off I go. :wacky: I'm imagining the food will be good, so hey. I think I can weather it.

No magnesium body really stings, but I'm in it for the 900 because I never EVER use remotes or charging cradles, and I've always liked a nice big display on my machines. It burns me that my Panasonic 220 defaults to the "low battery" beep when the battery is removed, and it can only be disabled with the remote. My JVC XM-R70 also has half of its functionality contained solely in the remote (which I never GOT, so I'm giving the thing to my girlfriend's 10-year-old cousin--gotta get the boy hooked early!). But yeah. I ramble, but I'm going for the 900 because, for me, it has better features than the NH1.

There's "Goo Gone" in the States, too. It's basically just citrus-y lighter fluid (like Ronsonol) and works pretty well. I've used it before on MDs, taking care not to let any drip under the shutter. Let it soak through the paper label and use a fingernail to scratch it off. It may take a couple tries but it works nicely.

I'm going to guess, here. It sounds like the lens block is misaligned, or the lens can't focus properly to write the UTOC after recording, so the disc spins as the lens tries to find the UTOC. While the machine is writing the TOC, it will not let you eject the disc until it is finished. Try recording on a different MD first. Just record one song, press 'Stop' and wait until the machine either runs out of battery power or gives up trying to write the TOC. See if it'll give you a new error message. If that doesn't work, try Shepherd's idea of playing a borrowed MD to see if the laser reads the TOC okay--might want to slide the write protect tab to protect the disc first. If the machine won't read the TOC to play an already recorded disc, you have a big problem.

This is a common problem with the 700. I did all I could to clean the contacts inside the jack, but I never solved the problem. I eventually gave it to my brother, who uses it solely as a recording unit for a bookshelf stereo. If you're adventurous (and good with a soldering iron), try to re-solder the contacts of the jack. I'm thinking it may just be stress from plugging/unplugging the headphones during normal use. Do this at your own risk, though--I've heard the circuit board on a 700 (actually, on most MDs) can be a tricky thing. I'm gonna say there is no easy fix for this problem other than finding another machine for playback and using the 700 to bootleg concerts.

I'd agree--Sony's N-707 is a great little unit. As for how fast you can record through the computer, Simple Burner (which will not allow you to record SP) takes care of an LP2 disc at 2x-4x normal speed. Not too shabby. Open MG will transfer MP3s a little faster, but converting them to Sony's ATRAC format adds a little time to the transfer. A four minute song takes about 40 seconds or so to transfer, on a good day. Right? Or am I blowing smoke?

It sounds like the laser either is not tracking far enough to read the disc's table of contents or it's not focusing well anymore. The machine could be broken, or the lens may just have some dust buildup. I'm assuming this because there's very little that will go wrong with an actual minidisc even after it's been abused. New MDs should have no problems, regardless of age. If nobody else has any ideas, I'd suggest cleaning the lens for starters. You can either buy an MD lens cleaning disc (about $15) or, if you're adventurous, try opening the 702 and cleaning it manually... Take the screws out of the top and lift it off gently. You will see the recording head on its track above where the disc loads and the laser block under it. Using either compressed air or a camera lens brush, gently dust off the laser lens and reassemble the machine. Be very careful not to bend anything that shouldn't be bent. :smile: The 702 is a pretty hearty unit. If you can get it running again, it'll last a while. The only error that makes people wake up at night screaming is the "UTOC Error" from which there is no return. But I think ERRORa might be fixable. Good luck!

Hm. I don't know if there's a way to fix it. You may be able to find a filter that will round off the sound at the high end...I dunno. Maybe something designed to kill the pops in a vinyl recording? It'll still sound weird, but maybe not as jarring.

I'm very happy with my N707, so I'd recommend that. The LR6 "AA" battery lasts almost forever and it's a tough little machine. The only thing the N1 has over the N707 that might interest you is its ability to adjust the microphone sensitivity. I haven't had a problem with the 707's mic sensitivity, but if you're looking for more recording options, that might be a consideration. Of course, the 707 is cheaper, so there is that as well. Once you get the recording, it's a realtime, analogue transfer from the headphone jack to your sound card, no matter which machine you get. Good luck!

I'm still pulling for some better names. "I just bought the brand new Sony Karl! Oooo!" Think about it. They could have variants like the E-Karl, the R-Karl and the NH-Karl. The only problem is association. What if someone knows a Karl they don't like? They'll probably spring for the R-Eugene or something.

Hi Stephen! All the units you mentioned have only one output: the headphone jack. Also, none of them "upload" to the computer exactly--you have to do it all in realtime: press play on the MD and record on your computer. If you can wait until April, Sony will be releasing the Hi-MD machines that will upload mic/line recordings. Check around the forum for what folks have been saying, or look in minidisc.org's equipment browser for some more information.

Geez...you might just want to spring for a Hi-MD unit in a couple months for what it'll cost. I know a loose 'phone jack was a problem in Sony's R-700s, and maybe the N707 has a similar problem if it's stressed too much. I never got an estimate, but I'm assuming it'll be pretty close to what the 707 cost new (about US$120 or more when all shipping and repair is done). My brother (and many others) had the same problem with his 700, so he just keeps it hooked up to his stereo as a recorder. The thing still makes beautiful recordings, though it looks like it's been at the business end of a train wreck. I'd say keep your 707 connected to your computer or stereo (or sell it on eBay) and invest in a newer model.

Hm. I don't think the 480 has a record timer (I should know--I have one). I'm not sure how long it'll stay in Rec+Pause mode, but a workaround may be to leave the MD in SyncRec+pause and put your tuner on a timer. When the tuner turns on at the specific time, ideally your deck will start recording when it gets the signal. Right? Or am I off in my own idealistic world again? There's a radio show I'd like to record myself--I'll have to try it. The only other thing I can think of is to just let the thing record in LP2/LP4 and chop out what you don't want. I work from 6am-3pm, so that one makes the most sense for my schedule. :wink:

You can also add track marks every x-number of seconds (or so many words) and keep that brief section of language on "Repeat-1" until you're ready to move on, then hit the track advance for the next x-seconds. Involves a bit of preparation, but might work pretty well if you'd rather type than keep hitting rewind.

I think it depends on your expectations as well. I've gotten some phenomenal concert recordings off the $5 homebrew binaural mic on Minidisc.Org's Construction Projects page.

I realise you want more people to see your post, but I'm only answering the one in "Non-Sony MD Gear". Don't give up on MD just yet.

The NH900 comes out in April; the R900 was the first LP model. Geez, Sony needs to start giving these things names that make sense. Like "Fred" and "Jim". But it looks like you have your facts straight.

Check Ebay--there's usually a '702 there for a reasonable price. I have one myself, but I still really really like it and am torn whether or not to sell it. They're really nice; built like a tank.

I believe the new equipment will only record on an old-style MD once it's been reformatted--the new MD units will only play back the old stuff. Also, the Hi-MDs store the music and data in a weird way (like there's a certain space for data and a different space for music), so I don't think an old MD machine could figure it out. As for the NH1 vs the NH900, it looks like the NH1 has a lame display. I don't ever use my remote, and don't intend to start, so the nice big display on the 900 is more to my liking. Unfortunately, the NH1 has an all-magnesium body, and the 900 has an aluminum/plastic body (I'm assuming Sony is sticking with their tradition of a metal face and plastic back), which rubs me wrong. I'd rather have an all-metal unit. What can I say? I'm torn. :?

Actually, yeah. I don't to it a lot, but sometimes I'll burn MP3s to a CD-R so I can record it in realtime on my stereo (I trust that process the most), then on the shelf goes the CD. Same with borrowed CDs--at least until I can buy my own copy. I have this thing about owning the original packaging, like the booklet and stuff. But most of my CD collection is just an archive for the music I have on MD. I should just keep it in boxes under my bed and free up some shelf space. Hmmm....