MiniDiscAnt

Why not just try getting an US > European converter from a travel or electronics shop? The US power supplies will switch to 220/230v automatically and won't damage your unit. I am using a US adaptor in the UK simply by using a shaver adaptor - as suggested by my local electrical outlet. As for the batteries - keep looking on eBay, they often appear - but unfortunately I don't believe new ones are being made any more. If I find a supplier of new BP-MZ1 batteries, I'll post details on this site for all those MZ-1 / MZ-2P fans out there. Enjoy your MZ-1

I have managed to.

The dreaded UTOC error of the 1999 Sharp MD portables. It isn't worth fixing. Apparently even Sharp don't know the true cause of this. In a few weeks, you might find it won't even read discs, unfortunately. Go for the R80 if you really like it - I'm really happy with my Sony MZ-N10.

You could always put it in a non-NetMD machine and format it - only problem is, it will still appear that you "checked-out" that track to an MD recorder on SonicStage

Unfortunately, then, I would suggest recording on another machine if available, and use the R2 as a playback system only, as a repair would not be financially viable. Other than that, use the analogue input.

If the unit is held on its side or upside down when inserting these few problematic discs, it works fine. It ejects the discs perfectly well, too. Very impressive first-version Walkman.

I don't know whether it's the same for the MZ-R2, but the MZ-1 is very picky with the types of optical inputs it receives. In fact it won't accept anything else but the output from a CD player or another MD machin (44.1KHz). If you have any other MD or CD equipment with an optical output, try that to see if the same thing happens. Hope this helps?

Just under the part that you press down to bring the clip up, there is another clip. Lift this up and slide out. You can then re-insert the clip on the other side of the remote control. Simple!

Good decision! You'll love the N10...enjoy!

Hi, any ideas why an MZ-1 will just spit out certain discs the second it gets them - even before reading them?! This has only happened with two discs out of my collection of roughly 70 - and both discs previously worked in the machine with no problems. I got this machine just today, from an eBay auction - and so far I am very impressed with it, and this doesn't really bother me - I just wondered if this is common - or if it (sadly) is a bad sign? Any thoughts would be very appreciated...

Just received my MZ-1 from eBay - £16 - what a bargain, and it's great. I am now unofficially the no.1 MZ-1 fan! Compared with the N10 it's huge, but that doesn't bother me - the output is loud and sound quality is great. I'll send Minidisc.org a photo of comparison between the MZ-1 and MZ-N10 shortly - it's about as impressive as the comparison of the MZ-2P and MZ-E10 that Sony published. Happy listening,

Because - what if you drop your iPod?! That's your 450 albums as well as your $400. Drop a MiniDisc and it'll probably be okay. Plus you can lend and swap your MiniDiscs. Plus MiniDisc Walkmans have far more connectivity. I don't dislike the iPod, but I think it needs more facilities before it'll be the true portable HiFi of the future...which is why I bought an N10. So I agree with acp89 on this one. Make use of your Optical ports, and indeed the USB port for NetMD if you want an MP3 player experience. I personally don't like NetMD, and prefer to use the outputs from my Live Drive to hook up MD equipment. Hope this was helpful

I agree totally. Just adjust the equaliser until you're happy with the sound. I must say I'm very happy with my N10 - why go for anything else?

For jogging I don't think I'd use a CD player anyway - because of size & weight. It all depends on what you want. G Protection on MiniDisc portables can read in upto 3 tracks (depending on the play-length SP / LP2 / LP4) and play them almost as an MP3 player would. This is possible because the file sizes are much smaller since they are compressed, and compare with MP3s as opposed to larger sizes on CDs, so for CD players, G Protection is only just a small step from 40 seconds. This can be tried out by running a CD player open, letting the disc run for a while, then stopping the disc from spinning (I take no responsibility for any damage caused from doing this!!) . My G Protection CD Walkman doesn't last much longer (if at all) than a cheap 40-second anti-shock CD player. Plus sound quality on the cheaper one is better, in my opinion. I have an MZ-N10, and after about 20 seconds of the unit running from startup the motor stops entirely. This lasts for around 2 tracks in SP and LP2 mode, then it just reads through later on to store the next tracks in memory. This also saves battery power. Of course, if you like tape - why not stick with that?! Hope this was helpful, ---

Although I prefer Sony MiniDisc portables, I can't say the same for their recent portable CD players. Yes they are jog proof and all that, but the sound quality isn't anywhere near that of their MiniDisc portables - perhaps a marketing stunt? The MegaBass function on their CD players muffles the sound horribly - you can't use any "decent" headphones on them at all - it just sounds awful. Also I have noticed they skip the first half-second or so of every track, which is annoying as most tracks come straight in - so you miss the first beat. Of course, you wouldn't want to record to MiniDisc from one of these, even from the Line Out because of this reason. My advice would be to get the very cheapest one you can find with 40 seconds or more of antishock memory. You won't get any more from Sony's offerings, even though they cost more - which is a shame, since their older portable CD players really were good. Hope this was useful

Yes, the LiIon batteries are replacable - although I'm not sure how much they cost - but they don't suffer from the "memory" effect, so they should last a good while. It is possible to run the machine using the built-in battery as well as a standard AA battery, which can give up to 56 hours of continuous playback. However the add-on battery pack makes the unit look rather odd, and certianly much bigger. Get one!

Absolute bargain! There are a few scam auctions on eBay's UK site at the moment, generally involving expensive equipment such as Apple computers, Canon cameras - and I've even seen some MZ-N10s for £15 (roughly $25 USD) - it is clearly a scam auction, however it looks like this guy has bagged a bargain! The MZ-N10 is great, they'll love it.

I can't say I agree with you on Sharp being King - because I don't believe this is so. Recently we recorded recitals for our A-Level music course, and the Sony (MZ-R700) had been stolen, so someone brought in a Sharp recorder - and it managed to lose one persons' entire recital - for the simple reason that it does not update the TOC until you switch the unit off, rather than after each track - which is what Sonys do. If you want reliability - get a Sony. Just my experience

Or just get an MZ-N10 - can't fault mine. It doesn't scratch, it never skips, it sounds great - it does everything you'd want - what more can you ask? Maybe a backlit LCD on the unit itself Honestly - the N10 is not a fragile unit.

Just like to say I got an LG MP3 player for £75 around a year ago, and have since replaced it with an MZ-N10. I was an earlier adopter of MiniDisc, but wanted the "versatility" of an MP3 player. What rubbish! The sound quality of it was poor - it felt cheap to use and I didn't like the way I couldn't share music - MiniDisc is here to stay, Sony just had better make sure there are good enough reasons for newcomers to buy it. Would you wait 2 minutes for your CD player to boot up? No - neither would I...

Go for it! I intended to get an MZ-E10, but couldn't resist the N10 once I saw it - it's actually a little smaller in terms of width and height, it's just not as thin - and I personally think it looks better. Anyone else agree? I've been using MDs now for 5 years - and this is truely the best portable I've heard - the sound shaping acoustic engine is far better than MegaBass, since you can alter the entire sound to your liking, rather than just making a muddy sound. I've even plugged my power-hungry Sennheiser headphones in, and it is very listenable - ignore what people say about the 2.5mW output - it's fine, and of course - has a line-out level, too. I would argue that this is the best MD Walkman Sony has made so far... --- MiniDiscAnt

Although the N10 only has 2.5mW, I have successfully used mine with my Sennheiser HD570s at a very listenable volume. I used to have an MZ-E25 (well, still do, infact), and this couldn't drive them as well, hence my desire to upgrade. If you can afford the extra - get the N10 no doubt. Remember of course that most Sony MZ-R and N models have line-level output, both these models included. MiniDiscAnt