bluecrab

Try here: http://www.partstore.com/Model/Sony/Sony/MDX100.aspx I just special-ordered the sub-panel for an MDX-C5970 from them.

KRBUSBY: "Also, in the movie The Ghost Writer there is a n MZ-RH1 used by the main character to record interviews. There's even a reference to it where someone asks something like "You have the original tapes?" and the main character says "No, I use discs." And of course there's a scene or two of him handing a disc to someone for transcribing. If you didn't know what it was you'd miss it, but for those of us who know it's a wonder they didn't make it even more obvious, kind of a plug for Sony, but I don't think one actually gets a clear look at the thing." --------------------------------------------------- Thanks for this note. I watched the movie a couple of days ago. There ARE a couple of scenes where you get a good look at the MZ-RH1/MZ-M200, good enough that I said, "Hey that's an MZ-M200!" One of the better MD movie sightings, I think, and a good film as well.

Nice work getting the MD in there. Reminds me that the Grammy Museum (as in, The Grammy Awards) in Los Angeles, CA, has a single MD on display. IIRC, it's next to a DAT and a couple of other older digital media types. It's just the disc, they don't have much to say about it, but at least it's there!

Good review. I thought this was the most telling part: "In comparison my other JB930 which gets great reviews for sound, seems only average compared to the ES decks." Hmmm....I have two decks that are close enough to equivalent that I could try that same test. I'd have to swap out my JA333ES for my JB940 to see if I would hear a difference, but I'm guessing that I would. I have no plans to do this unless the 333ES dies, though. BTW, the lack of mono on the 50ES would be a deal-killer for me. How did Sony come up with that one?

I am both bluecrab (avatar) and Bruce (name). Sfbp and I had an exchange last March about the situation with my 333 and JA20ES. Some of it was online here and some was via email. You can use the search tool here and look for the "High-end MD deck weirdness" thread. Among other things, sfbp opined that: "...if you are lucky you can check the IOP number against the one entered. It may have been written (and often is) on the top of the head by a service person. Probably some number around 60 with one decimal eg 57.6. This corresponds to (example) 0576 printed on the sticky on the bottom of the part but you probably cannot and don't want to get that head out. Read page 32 for the IOP stuff, it may be all you need. Also just walking through the CREC and CPLAY checks may help." This was a while back, so I don't exactly recall what I did, but this seems reasonable to me. I definitely had the issue of recording but not incrementing the time - athough I can't recall 100% if, like yours, the deck actually recorded something. FWIW, I also have gotten a JB940 deck to stop giving be TOC Read errors, simply by running a couple of checks in SM. Eventually the 940 returns to its evil ways, I run the check in SM (I am sorry, can't be sure it's CREC or CPLAY [but likely is]), and then the unit's fine for a while. Possible the CREC or CPLAY checks will help, or maybe you can glean something from the prior discussion. If nothing else works, I can compile the email exchanges I referred to and send them to you. Keep at it and keep us informed.

How can I miss MDs if they won't go away? ;-) (Not that I want them to.) As for VHS, I still use it on occasion for recording under certain circumstances, there's also some VHS tapes I like to watch now and then, and not quite every movie has made it to DVD.

My 333 has exhibited that very same behavior. Sometimes even if I just try to erase a disc, the deck will then not respond to any button-pressing and will have to be unplugged. It's not a big deal, really, for me, because I use the deck exclusively for playback and it is in a rack with a completely operational MXD-D400. Still, IWBN if I could record on the 333 without having to worry whether it will act up. My JA20ES also did that same thing when I first tried to use it to record. I don't know if it's currently doing that or not b/c I'm not using it at the moment. Perhaps, as SFBP mentions, both of the units (bought on Ebay) had been put into SM before I got them. I don't know. I do know that what you describe is not limited to the 555. Update: Inspired by your post, I just decided to put the 333 through some paces and see if it was in "behave" or "misbehave" mode. I put in an MD I'd recorded, erased it, put Black 47's "Live in New York City" in the D400's CD player, hit Music Sync on the 333, pressed play on the CD, and what do you know...the 333 recorded without incident. I stopped the CD abruptly after 2 tracks, played a few seconds from each track, ejected the MD, put it back in, and erased - all without incident again. And this is going from the D400 through an SCMS stripper to the 333. Now, I seem to recall that when I first got the 333 and it behaved pretty much as does your 555, I put it in SM, ran some kind of check, and eventually the unit worked as it should. That doesn't mean it always works correctly, but at leats there is hope, I would think, for your 555. I am not necessarily recommending that you enter SM in the 555, but I do wish you good luck with the unit.

Here's one place it turns up...and it looks like this is a UK model. http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Sony-MDS-JB940-Mini-Disc-Player-/58116459 In any case, as sfbp notes, the plug or back panel tells you what you want to know. Incidentally, a "mint" (but apparently not fully tested) MDS-JB940 just sold on Ebay for USD 499. That included 30 new blank Memorex MDs (74), but still seems on the high side.

IMNSHO, the 940 is well worth your consideration. The ES models we have been discussing are hard to find (esp. in perfect operating condition) and usually costly. All in all, the 940 is still probably the best deal. They seem to appear on Ebay periodically for USD 200-300. True, it does have LP, which you may never use, but so what? It's a first-rate SP machine. I think the question of which was the best MD deck was never quite addressed in this thread. There is something resembling a consensus that it would be the Sony MDS-JA555ES. It is SP-only and is said to be just ahead of the JA333ES. As you noted, though, it's a real hen's tooth these days.

I concur about the MXD-D400 via optical out. When I routed the D400's optical to the JA333ES (used as a DAC in this instance), the sound was like...well, pretty much like the JA333ES on its own!

It looks to me like the MDS-JA20ES has the CXD2656 chip, not CXD2654. Whether the 2656 is Type R, I cannot say with certainty, but the deck itself is indeed labeled as Type R. I have compared the JA20ES directly with the the MDS-JB940, which does have the CXD2662 Type R chip. By "compared," I mean listening via analog out through same external amp and speakers. I cannot conclude firmly which sounds better. At times, it seems the 940 might have a slight edge and at other times it seems they sound pretty much the same. Although neither of these decks could honestly be described as the "best," both are high on my list of MD decks that sound really good. Neither matches, under any conditions I've experienced, the MDS-JA333ES. I might add that the JA333ES, despite being Type R, sounds better on LP output that at least one Type S deck, that being the MXD-D400. I have not had the privilege of listening to the MDS-JB980. I have found that trying to determine what sounds best by using chip-type or other specs is an exercise in futility. For example, the MXD-D40 combo deck has the CXD-2662 Type R chip, but its sound doesn't match the JB940, which has the same chip. So there must be additional factors affecting the sound. I think I am getting this right, with the various chip numbers and which one is in what machine, but after a while it gets a bit hard to follow.

I recently bought an MD head unit on Ebay (Sony MDX-C5970 for the curious among you) and the seller included 24 used MDs, which appear to be in excellent condition. The couple I played, played perfectly. Although they do not have individual cases, they are in a Case Logic case that holds exactly 24 MDs. I am asking 30 USD for them and the case, which includes shipping, and would prefer to ship within North America. It was nice of the seller to include them, but I have an adequate supply of MDs already. Here's the breakdown, by brand and capacity: 1 Memorex MD80 (clear) 2 Fuji MD80 (black) 3 TDK 74 (clear) 6 Sony 74 (various colors) 12 Memorex 74 (blue-green) PM me if interested. Thanks!

Are you converting to WAV format first? Sony eSupport says: "You can import audio data recorded in Linear PCM, Hi-SP or Hi-LP mode on the Macintosh-compatible Hi-MD Walkman® Recorder to a Macintosh® computer after converting to WAV format audio data." Here's the link: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=MZRH1&upd_id=2236&os_id=24#

In the 2003 movie, Love Actually, there appears to be a brief shot of what looks like an MD deck in one scene. If you are familiar with this movie, it's the scene in which Billy Mack visits his manager's house on Christmas Eve. There is a stack of three full-size pieces of gear. They are each gold in color. The bottom one is obviously an integrated amp and the top one is almost as obviously a DAT deck. In the middle is what looks for all the world like an MDS-JE510 or similar. I don't think this model was ever produced in gold color, so it's a bit baffling. In any case the, MD display is on the left side of the unit, which eliminates most decks. And it looks like there aren't quite enough knobs and so forth. Yet, when I paused the movie to get a better look, it seemed impossible that the unit could be anything but MD. The loading slot was just too small for CD (my wife also thought so). "Love Actually" has so many shots of gear (both full-size and shelf) in the background, that it's almost like they went out of their way to get background gear shots! There could even be more MD in it. I guess this will have to remain one of life's little mysteries.

I tried the STOP/CLEAR method using the remote. It did turn off the demo on my MXD-D40, but the demo returned after a while. Next, I tried it using the front panel STOP/CLEAR buttons. That turned off the demo -and- displayed the "Demo Off" message (the "demo off" message did not appear using the remote). The manual states that the demo will remain off until the machine is unplugged. I next turned off the D40, but did not unplug it. I turned it back on and waited. No demo, and it's been well more than 10 minutes now. This is good. I'm going to try it on my my JA333ES and see what happens.

I think the MDS-JA3ES was Sony's first ES-series MD deck and I know it has an older (but > 3.0) version of ATRAC. Of course, it does not have LP, if that matters to you. There are later ES MD decks that are probably even better than the JA3ES; for example, the MDS-JA555ES and the MDS-JA333ES. The latter does have LP. In any case, finding any ES deck in truly excellent condition is no small task. You could start by looking here at the various models: http://www.minidisc.org/part_Decks_Sony.html Good lucking finding the right one for you. Also note that as a compromise, if you spot the MDS-JB940 somewhere, that one is well worth looking into.

Amen on SFBP's 510 comment. There is some opinion that the affected models are the ones made in Mayasia and that non-Malaysian ones are OK. I wouldn't take the chance. My 510 died long ago, not unexpectedly. Too bad, otherwise it is a nice unit.

SACD can have a dynamic range up to 120 dB, it looks like. That's all well and good, but it does not explain the dynamic ranges > 96 dB listed for many non-SACD players by their manufacturers. Where are they getting these numbers?

Check out the Onkyo C-S5VL and DX-7555 (I have the latter, which is really nice.) Dynamic Range of both = 100. SNR 114/111, respectively. Onkyo's latest CD player is the C-7030, perhaps a notch below the other two, but still looks very good and it is fairly inexpensive.

Right on both counts. I do have an SCMS stripper, the Hucht Copyprocessor MK III. Neither of my MXD-D40s is in the same system as the Hucht, so yes, I meant internal. Good luck with the conversion, whichever unit you decide to convert. That's awesome. The 'D400 spoils you with its 4x/LP copy. After that, the 2x just seems to take forever. But then, for stereo and mono, the 'D40 is just as fast. It's perfect for temporary comps in SP and an absolute gem for putting audiobooks onto MD in mono. In fact, one of MDs truly useful features (in my car, anyway) is that an audiobook picks up right where I left it. I wonder if iPods and such do that? (Really don't know.) I have always been intrigued by the MXD-D5C, but I have become wary of CD changers in general.

I have to know: Have you tried recording with a completely new, never-recorded-on MD? As I mentioned, once I tried that, the JA20ES seemed to record normally, although I cannot prove that is what made the difference. I am assuming that yours is the UK/EUR model? (Mine is US.) I see that Jim H. offered his thoughts on the matter previously, and his advice should always be taken seriously. But first, if you have a new MD, why not give that a try and see what happens? You've nothing to lose by doing so, really. Of course, you may already have done so.

I'd be interested to see what you have to say about the MXD-D40 after you use it for a while. I have two of them. Overall, I like them a lot. They are workhorse-type machines that just keep going and going (I bought both Used). I can't really comment on the sound much, because one is attached to a small powered-speaker w/sub setup and the other is headphones-only, but they sound good those ways. The MXD-D40 will copy at 4x in Stereo or Mono mode; at 2x in LP. Its CD player reads CDs about as well as most CD players do. I don't mind so much that the 'D40 has no digital out, as I knew that when I bought. What I didn't know was that it will not do an internal copy of SCMS-protected CDs. It gives me a Cannot Copy message when I try. Compare to the MXD-D400, which upon determining that the source CD is protected, switches automatically to 1x analog mode and goes about its business copying. Anyway, congrats on the 'D40 pickup and of course the MXD-D5C. Does the 'D5C copy at >1X from multiple CDs, do you know?

Thanks for the suggestion. Surprisingly, I found the service manual for the unit online. The playback volume is adjusted by using an STD-331E test tape, which you have to set to 315Hz/0dB. I'd be willing to give it a try if I had the test tape, but since I don't...well, Deck A is perfect and the SQ is, like MD, near-CD quality. BTW, according to the SM, there are a couple of screws in there, but they are for head azimuth adjustment. There are two of these screws, FWD and REV. You're supposed to use the test tape for that adjustment, as well. I wish I knew the significance of the test tape (as opposed to a regular pre-recorded cassette), but there must be some reason Pioneer says to use it. Thanks again.

Just what makes the Pioneer CT-07D Cassette Deck MD-related? It has a coax digital input! So you can record to it digitally from any MD (or CD) unit that has coax out (or using a coax > opt converter). This cassette deck is a class act all the way. Its sound quality is truly amazing. Here's what it looks like: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Audio-Components/CT-07D The unit I am selling is in excellent condition, but there is one problem, thus the low price I am asking. The problem is that Deck B does not play as loudly as Deck A and the sound from Deck B is "thinner." I don't know exactly what the cause is, cannot fix it myself, and don't want to put any money into the unit. Of course, someone else might either fix it, have it fixed, or just use just Deck A. I am asking for $95 for this unit, plus shipping cost to wherever you are (within the US, that is probably going to be in the area of 20 USD, Fedex Ground). PM me if interested. Thanks!

As of today, 1.00 USD = 20,560.00 VND, according to http://www.xe.com/ucc/ (they are usually accurate). Does that work out better? I am curious, though, where you saw the higher figure. Speaking of 220V, yesterday I saw an MDS-W1 on Ebay. It was a UK model, likewise @ 220V. That was the first MDS-W1 listing I've seen on Ebay in a very long time, not counting the guy who's been trying to sell the gold-colored one for what must be a year or two now. Wish I'd bought one of these when they were available!