I am certainly guilty of having many MD vs. iPod discussions; I own both. Let me put what I think is a more pro-MD spin on the whole comparison...
I didn't get into MiniDisc until last year; I've had my iPod for over two years. Both serve their purpose for me very well.
The iPod is the most convenient way to hear my CDs on the go. The whole integration w/ iTunes is simply amazing. It's great for all of those CDs I own...but what about records, tapes, borrowed music, live recording, etc...? Enter the MiniDisc.
Before MD came into my life, I was burning CD-Rs left and right. Yeah, it was much faster than recording MDs in realtime (which I feel is the only option for high quality recordings), but I was totally oblivious to the fact that I was spending more time burning CDs than LISTENING to them!
Not only are MiniDiscs more fun to make, but they have reintroduced me to my whole music catalog! Taking all of those bland CD-Rs out of my collection have made CDs stand out that I haven't listened to in years. I haven't enjoyed listening to my collection this much since the cassette era.
I decided I wanted to archive my vinyl and cassette collection (I have a ton of both) for when I move next year (so I can leave the records & tapes in storage). I am so glad I ended up choosing MiniDisc as the recording format. I'm having so much fun with it!
As much as I love both (and will continue to use them....MiniDiscs on the go = Sharp DR7, CDs on the go = iPod), I am now at the point where I would choose MDs over the iPod if I HAD to choose one. My portable use is mainly for working out, so the portability factor is NOT that important. So, MiniDisc is perfect for me. Not only do I enjoy playing MDs on my pro deck, CDs on my pro CDR deck, but I love listening to MDs on my Kenwood KMD-44 car unit (as well as CDs through the changer).
If someone never had a reason to do any recordings (from records, tapes, or borrowed CDs), I would suggest going the iPod route. Otherwise, it's got to be MD all the way---especially since I don't look at MiniDisc as mainly being a "portable" format, rather, the ultimate recording and hi-fi player---the replacement to the cassette: what it was intended to be. It's very sad that it didn't become this in the U.S. (surprisingly, there has never been a replacement---people just aren't recording anymore, only burning CD-Rs at rapid rates...yawn)...but as long as it continues to thrive in radio and Asia---and Kenwood and Sony produce MD car decks---I don't care what U.S. consumers do. I can continue to have my MiniDisc!!!
Rock on.
