WaywardTraveller

Hi-MDs are pretty easy to come by in Toronto as well...in fact, 99% of the Sony Stores I've been in stock normal and Hi-MDs - it's just that the price sucks. You can often find them at FutureShop (FutileShop) and Best Buy (Best Lie), but don't ask the staff to find them for you as they'll usually come back with DVD discs. peace WaywardTraveller

Bah! Don't bother with those places brian...my suggestions are: - Minidisc Canada. Their site is a bit wonky and quirky, but they are reliable, quite easy to deal with and are very helpful should you need to return stuff. - In Toronto, take the subway to Yonge/Bloor and walk south. I think it's on the east side, i.e. on your left walking south (haven't been back there in a while), but I think the place is called Golden Electronics, on Yonge St. You can get 80min TDK disks there for $3-$4. Minidisc Canada will be a bit cheaper, but if you're wary of them you can go to this place. - If you don't mind hopping a bus in NE Toronto, you can also try Pacific Mall: http://www.pacificmalltoronto.com/. A lot of stuff from Asia, and they only accept cash (you can feel the grey-market ambiance there!), but there are some shops with a decent supply of MDs. Check the directory for the electronics shops, but my photographic memory just kicked in to tell me that when you enter, turn right and go to the "top-right" end of the mall (oriented from the directory at the front). But you'll find them at any rate. BTW, nothing wrong with trying to bargain, either Hope this helps. peace WaywardTraveller

Generally speaking, I was wondering if there are any mics out there that would be capable of zeroing in ("zooming" in?) on a lecturer if, worst-case scenario, I was sitting at the top/back of a large lecture hall of a couple hundred people and unable to set up my mic at the very front. Obviously you'd get ambient sounds from other people talking, etc. etc., but as long as I could make out the lecture I wouldn't care. Maybe it's too much to ask, but hey - you never know unless you try. peace WaywardTraveller

Yeah, I saw that this morning too. Looks like the honeymoon's over. I can't really complain, seeing as I already have about 100...but still.. peace WaywardTraveller

Yeah, I'm in the same boat...wanted to snag the 20 HiMDs w/ carrying case...what be the deal? peace WaywardTraveller

You can indeed still find MDs - and plenty of them - in Singapore. the Sony Gallerys in Wisma Atria and the Paragon carry Sony Colour Collection 74/80mins as well as Biancas. 80min 5pks of each are SGD14. Hi-MD discs are outrageously priced at SGD13 each (then again, I'm used to getting mine for AUD4.75 ).. The Sony Gallery/Center on the 3rd floor of Sim Lim Center still has MDs, but only 80min Ruby Red Colour Collection MDs - 5pks that are actually individual discs elastic-banded together teehee. SGD14/pk., but it's worth it to watch the salesman there look at you strangely when you tell him you want to buy MDs! The Mustafa Center has pretty much the same selection as the Sony stores in Wisma Atria and the Paragon - look in the basement Hi-Fi section (where you'll also find the only place where the NH600 is MORE EXPENSIVE than the NH900 (which was SGD350)!! ). I even saw an MZ-R90 on a stock shelf on the first floor of the Mustafa Center (go in by the jewellers, turn right, look along the top shelves at the hi-fi shops on your right-hand side as you walk). peace WaywardTraveller

Browsing around the hi-tec areas of Singapore I came across the Sony ECM-CZ10 for what MIGHT be a reasonable price (after haggling, that is). Sony advertises it as a "zoom microphone" that can focus on sounds like lectures, etc. from fair distances away...which is what I need assuming a worst-case scenario of my being at the back of a lecture hall with a couple hundred people. Just wondering if anyone's used this, especially in a situation where they need to pick up lecturers/speakers from any distance away? Conversely, maybe someone can recommend a good mic for the job? Any advice would be appreciated. peace WaywardTraveller

I don't know about KL, but you can try the Sony Stores in Wisma Atria and Sim Lim Center in Singapore. You might also want to check out http://www.bluetin.com, but I don't think you'll find anything we might call "rare" blanks there (or in Singapore for that matter). Should you find anything, though, please let us know on this thread, as I'm headed to Singapore on the 22nd for a week. Good luck! peace WaywardTraveller

Thanks Ishi....will be in Singapore on the 22nd. But did I miss something? What's IMM? peace WaywardTraveller

PANTHIP PLAZA,, Bangkok Of course, my map once again isn't in front of me, so the street name escapes me...but it's one block directly north of Siam Square, and the plaza itself will be on every tourist map of the city you can find. Walk in through the front entrance (the KFC and A&W are to your left) and keep to your left. There are two stores that have Hi-MD units (no legacy units; sorry bland) displayed in the windows; one shop had the Buffalo NH600 clone as well as the NH710 Hi-MD playback-only unit; the Buffalo was about CAD150, and I can't remember the price of the other. The interesting news is that both of these shops have the HI-MD Data Storage units (DS-HMD1) in lime green, red, black and silver for THB3000 (CAD1 = THB31) - I bargained a silver one down to 2700, just under CAD90. Works like a charm, too! MDs, though, are not competitively priced for Asia: 74min Sony Colour Collection MDs come in at about CAD2.00 each, and the only 80min MDs I could find were the infamous plastic-shuttered old Maxell Twinkle series. Don't bother looking around anywhere other than the first (ground) floor: the other floors are the domain of computer/camera/other electronics stores. peace WaywardTraveller

Well, if (when?) I do, y'all will be the first to know about it. I'm a card-carrying member! oh, wait...was that ? Maybe ? Ahh, all the subtlety to choose from! peace WaywardTraveller

So I guess the obvious question(s) is/are: is this for computer playback only, or will this added high-spectrum sound be supported by the units as well (sounds like the latter, hopefully)? And second...has anyone tried this? I'd love to hear opinions, because once I hit Australia I'm kickin' back and doing some serious recording .. peace WaywardTraveller

md-junkie: the plaza in Bangkok I was talking about is called PANTHIP PLAZA. It will be on any tourist map you get, and is definitely in the Footprint guide(and should be in Lonely planet, Rough Guide, etc). It's the Big Computer Parts Market in Bangkok, but it you check in the media shops you will often find MDs....I found LOTS of the old plastic-shutter Maxell Twinkles there, and the price was appealing. Happy Hunting! I'll be there in about 10-11 days...will go to the Plaza (of course) and post an update and tell everyone what I find there. peace WaywardTraveller

hahaha I wish...if I were, at least I could get a commission to offset my travel expenses! peace WaywardTraveller

Don't know about Myanmar...but there is an Electronics Plaza in Bangkok I went to last time I was there....and dammit, I can picture it ON the map IN my mind, but the name escapes me...I'm headed to Bangkok in about 10 days, so I will definitely post the name here when I get my hands on a map. But in this plaza I found loads of the old Maxell Twinkle series (with those infamous plastic shutters) as well as a couple of the downloader units (on the ground floor, off to the left wall as I recall). Like I said...once I get there and get a map I will post the plaza name. peace WaywardTraveller

If anyone here finds themselves on vacation in Hanoi you can check out the electronics/camera stores around Hoan Kiem Lake...prices per disc (Sony 80min Color Collection) are around VND23000 (USD1=VND16000) - not too bad. In HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City), head for Huynh Thuc Khang Rd. due southeast of the Sri Thendayyutthapani Temple. LOTS of places selling media, and if you can get to NGA LIEN at 38 Huynh Thuc Kang you might find some of the best prices in the city...didn't do a LOT of checking around the cities, but this place charges a flat VND18000 per 80min disc, irrespective of make; he had TDK, Burari, Panasonic MIX series, Sony Bianca/Prism Collection/Colour Collections, as well as heaps and heaps of pink Maxell Twinkle series (the older ones). You can also check other places along this road, as MDs are sold in many shops here (but the prices didn't match this guy as far as I could tell). peace WaywardTraveller

lol yeah i know....i'm just so used to seeing it referred to as "legacy MD mode" or SP and not lumped in with Hi-MD modes peace WaywardTraveller

So I was in an electronics shop in Hanoi - on the road skirting the southern end of Hoan Kiem Lake - and I found a little camera shop selling MDs (VND23000 each) and a little blue MD player unit with the "Hello Kitty!" trademarkedcat headand script on the front! It took a gumstick battery and only had a headphone jack - maybe not even a USB port! They wanted USD60 for it, but since I don't really collect units I wouldn't use as some point, I didn't bother....just wondering if anyone else has ever seen stuff like this? peace WaywardTraveller

More importantly, perhaps, is how you manage to get 292kbps on an NH800 peace WaywardTraveller

I think normal wear and tear will eventually wear down any piece of technology. But it obviously depends on how well you treat your unit and (I assume) whether or not you use an MD lens cleaner. That's the reason why many people on these forums own playback-only (Hi-)MD units - to save wear and tear on their recorders. peace WaywardTraveller

LOL...hey, everyone has their weakness...and they're so nice and gold and shiny! heheheh...nah, even if I was hurting for half-decent buds, for me to spend that kinda cash on earbuds a) I'd have to be able to try them first, and they'd have to be SO GOOD I could hear into the next dimension. The EX70s have been fine for me so far, and most importantly the ear gaskets block out some of the chaotic noise and bustle of some of the places I'm visiting. peace WaywardTraveller Yeah...if you can believe it, that was one of the cheaper portable CDs I could find in Zhongguancun (they were trying to tell me it was a new model! lol). More importantly, I was really hurtin' for some new music in China (and anyone who's been to China might understand one's need for new GOOD music after listening to the pop there). I also find that recording them realtime through an optical connection not only gives you just as good quality, but also frees you from some of the silly restrictions SS imposes on your music (i.e. you can't manually edit title/artist data on tracks exported through SS). peace WaywardTraveller

Well, electronics prices in China can be really whacky...either that, or they refuse to sell to laowai (foreigners) below a certain percentage...I paid about CAD110 for mine . The only potential problem I can see with the model is that the remote is a MUST to use it...so I will have to get my hands on a backup/spare at some point. But it sounds really good, and the optical connection makes great recordings (which is the main reason why I got it). lol....well, when I bought my last pair of EX70s there were actually TWO in the box, so I have enough of those, but I'm beginning to miss my Sennheisers...any suggestions? I'm headed to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Singapore, so I can spend a bit scouting out some electronics plazas...just please don't say the EX90s, only because they're priced at about CAD200 in Beijing(?!?!!) lol peace WaywardTraveller

Yeah...but I just delete those files (and everything else) if I know I'll be using the disc as data-only...the only problem is that I don't think you'd be able to get a file listing on an RH10/RH910 (but can't remember for sure). peace WaywardTraveller

So I decided on this little iRiver player in Beijing....very slim - although the remote is a bit cumbersome, and although the menu system gives lots of config options, it isn't nearly as intuitive as I found the Hi-MD menu system - I find the graphics slightly distracting (although maybe all this will change as I familiarize myself with it). Tried optical recording to Hi-SP on my NH900 with Placebo's Once More With Feeling - and I must say the result is sweet! I guess it's partly due to the fact that I can up the recording level via the NH900...had the meters maxing halfway between the markers...but on an informal listen i was hard pressed to tell any glaring difference in quality between the two (although there obviously is). Does anyone else own this? Any thoughts? peace WaywardTraveller

bland: granted, it's pretty far west, but in Urumqi I've found several legacy units while looking for Hi-MD (some of them only seem to hear MD, and others end up showing you DVD players..!?). They'll usually pull down a large box full of stuff that is no longer showcased, and pull out a couple of MD units...yesterday I think I saw an NE707(?) and a couple of old models. As for Shanghai or Beijing, I'm not sure...you can always ask if you're there. In Urumqi though, you can get Sony 80min Neige MDs for 8.5 yuan each, and all colours of the TDK HO series (solid colours, boxes of 10) for 7.5 yuan each. The place I went to also had lots of 74min Neige, Sony Gold 74min, and some of the TDK Fine MDs. peace WaywardTraveller