WaywardTraveller

I finally went mental after my 3rd/4th pair of Sony earbuds kakked on me....so I went down to Bay Bloor Radio in Toronto and bought a pair of the HD212s. I normally don't wear anything but earbuds (since I travel, and cans are hardly as portable), but I've found these to be a great alternative to my old EX70s that just died, and it was in part a protest purchase against what I can only see as the utterly shit build quality of Sony earbuds. ALl the pairs that have kakked have done so in exactly the same way: the left channel with get quieter/lose some definition/utterly die on me without any prior warning. Anyhow...the HD212s, I find, fit quite comfortably around my ears, and they end up doing more to block out external noise than I had anticipated....plus, in this chilly Toronto weather they keep my ears warm . After fiddling with my NH900's Custom EQ setting I finally found an ok setting, but does anyone else who owns a pair find the high treble end to sound, I dunno, artificial? To me, sometimes the cymbals and hard SSS sounds in lyrics come across a bit harsh (but I guess more EQ fiddling could fix this?)...but I suppose it could also be a can thing - never owned a pair before aside from a now-defunct pair of Sony CD550s for my computer. I miss my earbuds, but the sound on these, although quite different, isn't bad at all. It's about the best bass-heavy set of 'phones you can get in this price range (roughly $80CAD). If I have the time, and if anyone's interested, maybe I could post some pics - they're nice and simple, lightweight, and don't interfere with your boppin' around town with tunes peace WaywardTraveller

I just tried the 40ELK with my brand spankin' new MZ-NH900, and it displays folders that open up into track listings, with the other folders still accessible. Am I to understand from this that one can change equalizer settings with the 40ELK and the RH10? If this is the case, could someone please tell me how to do this? No combination of buttons seems to work. This, the fact that you can only toggle Normal Sound mode and any current mode you happen to be using (i.e. not scroll through sound modes), and that the scrolling on the remote seems slightly sluggish for the amount you pay for it are the only real cons I have with the 40ELK. At first I thought it was a bit bulbous but I got used to it quickly and love it! Very well-constructed and the dials have a great feel to them...great for boppin' about downtown with your tunes peace WaywardTraveller

Yep...my problem exactly. I could actually feel the screw in the left bud-piece loosening because I had to fidget with it so much and push the clip back up behind my left ear. The right one was basically fine. I would have been MUCH happier with the EX81s had they come with optional ear-clips. Now that would be something...earbuds with optional accessories to invert/convert them into what the EX81s currently are...but with the option of wearing them as simple in-ears like the EX71s. Psst....Sony - listening? peace WaywardTraveller

Yeah...my left ear seems "malformed" enough that I can't use my E888s too much for boppin' around town (but for listening to music sitting or lying down they're great). Moreover, I ALSO have the problem with the left earbud coming out due to the weight of the wire joint. While we're on the topic...this also made me quite frustrated with my EX81s - the left ear kept coming out whenever I turned my head, earclip notwithstanding. Wht's more, the clips never really seemed to stay behind the ear...the backs of the clips kept slipping out from behind and loosening the buds, evenif the gaskets were nice and snug peace WaywardTraveller

So I finally decided to see what all this crazy business was with ATRAC 105kbps mode. Ingredients: - One (1) Sony MZ-RH10...(black, baby, black ) - One (1) TDK Fine 74min MD (Hi-MD formatted) - One (1) pair Sony EX70s - One (1) custom equalizer setting for said buds The following fits on the MD in ATRAC105 (with roughly 15MB left): DJ Spooky: - Dubtometry - Riddim Warfare - Songs Of A Dead Dreamer - The Quick And The Dead (all converted from 192kbps MP3s) The result? Whoa!! Dude, 105 isn't bad at all! I'm actually beginning to reconsider how I listen to certain albums from time to time...maybe it's just me, but I find that ATRAC-105 adds just a slight tinge of lo-fi without loss of stereo separation or loss of real detail. I've always thought that having a pristine recording isn't the only way (nor is it always the best way) to listen to a given piece...and with the added benefits of having over 5.5 hours on a single 74min MD...hey, if I want to I can always rip a high-definition version, but for now...bump it! Jus' thinkin' out loud...word! peace WaywardTraveller

Hi Surov and everyone, I'm living/working in Singapore for the next 9 days or so; I wouldn't mind trading at all...but as far as soundtracks go, the only one I'd be interested in offhand is the one for Human Traffic. Apart from that, I have quite a few MP3s and a handful of CDs (mostly Rush, some DJ Krush and other misc. electronica) that I've bought in Singapore. Right now I'm looking for some specific stuff from DJ Spooky as well as post-rock such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions In The Sky, A Silver Mt. Zion, Set Fire To Flames, etc. Having said that, I'm pretty open to most other types of music (no bling-bling C-notes-n-hoes gangsta rap or club dance stuff or country/western please! ). If anyone's interested, PM/email me and we can get into details. Please remember I fly to Hong Kong in about 9 days, so if this happens it should be pretty soon. peace WaywardTraveller

Well, the title just about says it all...if you're in Singapore (or going to be), get yer butt over to the Sony Square, 3rd floor of Sim Lim Square by Little India. They have Sony Color Collection MDs (80min) for SD11 per 5pc box!!! Hi-MDs are SD12 each. Not quite as good as the scoop banjo has given us re: SD10 Hi-MDs at Changi Airport, but could be worse... peace Waywardtraveller

Thought I'd post a brief update, since I went to all these places a couple days ago. In addition to the RH10, I thought I'd say something in general about getting MD stuff in these places: Funan Centre: No luck. The Sony Centre there has the RH10 and the RH910, yes, bue they are typically and prohibitively priced as per the Sony Store. No Hi-MD blanks. If you go to Infocom, however, on the 2nd (3rd?) floor you can get a box of 5 Maxell Twinkle MDs (various colours) for SD13.90 each. Sim Lim Square: you can get the RH10 and RH910 in a couple of places, but let the buyer beware - you must bargain in Sim Lim and the vast majority of dealers there are out to rip you off for at least a bit of cash. In a couple of places that DO have price tags, though, it's funny to see the Sharp MT880 and the MZ-N1 priced HIGHER than the HI-MD units they have in stock! Orchard Towers, 3rd floor: When I got here a lot of places were closed...but Ihad no luck in the few places I went to that were open apart from some camera store that wanted SD25 for a box of 5 old 74min MDs... Mustafa Centre: By far the most interesting place to shop, IMHO. Go down to the basement in the hi-fi section and they have the RH10, 600, 700, 800, 900 and Sony Colour/Bianca 74mins for SD24/10pcs. Enter off Syed Alwi and walk past the jewelry to the camera section and you can see the Rh10, MZ-N1 (more expensive lol), 700, 800, 900, and a couple other models. You can scope out some good earbuds - even if you just use the prices as leverage to bargain in Sim Lim. Oh...and the going price for Hi-MD blanks in Sony Centres here seems to be SD12.50/pc. peace WaywardTraveller

I just bought a pair of the E888s a little while back. I love the sound but for some reason they don't fit perfectly in both ears - I keep fidgeting with my left ear as the bud keeps coming out . It's true that you won't get as much bass response as with the EX70/71s...but you can make a custom digital equalizer setting on your MD to offset some of this (I have two custom settings; one for my EX70s and one for my E888s ). peace WaywardTraveller

So I bought this little puppy in Singapore for about 60 Canadian dollars (yay!)....am quite impressed with it; even though I know it't not the optimal option for recording loud concerts or anything like that (I have SP's TFB-2s for that ), they are quite sensitive and work very well,I find, in their own way. Some people have complained about hearing the MD unit motor in their recordings; I've discovered that if you own this mic and happen to have an earbud extension cord, i.e. one that comes with the EX81s or EX71 long-cord option, you can use this cord as an extension for the mic without compromising the plug-in power. Works like a charm! Sorry if someone has already pointed this out...but I was feeling a bit proud of myself for figuring it out on my own peace WaywardTraveller

Unit(s): Sharp IM-MT880(899) NetMD, RH10 Hi-MD (soon to have 1st-gen MZ-NH900 Bundle ), Sound Professionals TFB-2 in-ear binaural mics, SOny ECM-DS70P microphone; about 50 Hi-MDs and umpteen million normal minidiscs Daily use: Personal ALienation Device (blocking out the chatter of this insane world); listening to music while lying in bed, walking around Singapore, my home of Toronto, wherever, whenever! Favourite Use: Recording ambient travel sounds, i.e. mosque prayers, market sounds in North Africa/Middle East or wherever it is I'm travelling. I picked up a Hi-MD unit to A) halve the no. of MDs I need to carry for essential music, and to record at high-quality PCM level (or occasionally 256kbps). Having written my MA thesis in part on punk music, I also use MDs to archive a rather large music collection (mainstream and highly collectible stuff). Reason for buying MD: PORTABILITY, quality and - most of all - the ability to collect a library of music/sound that can be mailed home/archived - unlike iPods where, if it gets broken/lost/stolen, everything you have is gone! Charging my batteries with a world travel charger is also much easier than dealing with the iPod battery woes I keep hearing about (I know nothing about iPods personally, though). Alternatives: none. CD players? WAY too bulky and the media way too heavy and fragile; A DAT recorder would be too expensive (and I don't need to deal with tape media in the desert, thank you very much!); an iPod completely inadequate...I mean, in terms of music, who REALLY - I mean *REALLY* needs 20GB of music with them every day? Maybe some people do...but I do enough other things that I can survive with a plastic storage case of 5-6 of my faves for the day shoved into my day pack Requests: Sony, PLEASE DON'T ABANDON MINIDISC - I am convinced that if you advertise it right - even now - that you will at the very least broaden whatever niche market exists. OS Warp beat the hell out of MS Windows, but it lost out due to bad marketing...let's not make the same mistake if we can avoid it! Oh, yeah - drop the Hi-MD camera/photo stuff - too little, too late IMHO - and concentrate on the data-storage/audio aspect, in which you have something with great potential! Oh, yeah #2 - make those Hi-MDs a bit cheaper and I will buy many more . peace WaywardTraveller

Hi banjo, I'm living/working in Singapore as we speak. You can find some stuff in Sim Lim, but a better place to go, in fact, is the Mustafa Center in Little India. Go in off Syed Alwi St. and go past the jewelry stores to where they sell the camera stuff, headphones, etc. - they have some RH10s last I saw! Alternatively, go down to the basement where the Hi-Fi section is...there are RH10s there for sale as well, and it's in the same building so you can do some comparison shopping. Both places in MS also have 1st-gen Hi-MD (although they don't know what they're doing apparently, as they are often priced higher than the 2nd-gen! ) You can also find RH910s and RH10s at the Sony Gallery in the Paragon, on Orchard Rd. As far as prices go, I don't remember exactly - but I remember doing currency conversion and finding the prices roughly the same as minidisco.com, but in SGD. Hope this helps! peace WaywardTraveller

(After thinking about this, are these ATRAC modes for devices other than MD/Hi-MD units?)

I haven't had any major problems with SS. I've recently upgraded from 3.2 to 3.3 - eager to hear the difference between 256k and 352k (and then finding out I can't really hear any difference ), I don't really use it for anything other than quick and dirty music transfers/labelling while on the road. I AM getting a bit annoyed at SS's insistence on transferring MP3s to my RH10 "as-is," no matter what I try and do to get it to convert to ATRAC on the fly (I have ranted and frothed at the mouth over this elsewhere). Instead, I have to go through the laborious process of converting MP3s, deleting the MP3s from the library and re-importing the .OMA files. However...in the end it gets the job done for someone who has neither the wherewithal or inclination to realtime-record all his music...BUT - would someone please, PLEASE tell me what the point is in being able to encode an MP3 as 128kbps or 192 or320kbps ATRAC3+ if you can't transfer it to Hi-MD without re-converting it to the old 48-64-105-132-256 options??? peace WaywardTraveller

See, that's what I like to hear! My Aussie gf bought the NH800 bundle and I've seen the case...not too shabby at all! I can only hope my Hi-MD unit/case fares as well as my trusty and indestructible Sharp IM-MT880 did through the Middle East/North Africa peace WaywardTraveller

Ok...has anyone actually been able to try earbuds before they buy?

If we must have a special name for this mode, how about just ATRAC-352? Of courfse, every time we make special names for compression modes there will be scores of posts with nothing but "What is Super-SP?" or "I can't find Hi-Hi-SP in the manual anywhere!" and other such things... peace WaywardTraveller

I know someone gave a stat of 100 minutes for 352kbps on an 80 min MD; anyone care to tell us how much 352kbps recording time we get on a 1GB Hi-MD disc?? peace WaywardTraveller

When I read the website, it said that shipments were only made to Australia and New Zealand...so there was no use looking into any couriers. At least with the bundled mic and the MDs (the CD will undoubtedly be stuff I consider crap lol) I will still come out ahead in the end... peace WaywardTraveller

I really, REALLY wish Minidisc Australia had updated their website FAQ to state they were accepting international orders. I read the website and arranged to have it send to an Oz friend who will then ship it to me, which is going to cost me more in the end. peace WaywardTraveller

Good advice from all corners...unfortunately, as was mentioned before when I was buying my EX81s in Melbourne I wasn't allowed to try them before...hygiene reasons for earbuds. Too bad, too...I loved the sound the EX81s had, but I was so irritated having to constantly fiddle with the clip on the left ear (which kept slipping loose) that it very possibly contributed to their early demise . However...my newfound oldskule EX70s have been working fine...I use a pair of E888s for night listening and they're sweeeet. I'm considering getting some clip-on earphones (if that makes any sense), but I'm wondering if freq. response is the main thing to look for, assuming you can't try before you buy? Or is power output also a considerable factor? peace WaywardTraveller

Hello, Since I haven't yet seen a basic thread on this topic I thought I'd start one in the hopes of veterns giving less-experienced people like myself some ideas to go on. Being in Singapore, having bought a pair of EX81s and having them die on me within a month, and now having just purchased E888s for CAD$45 (), I started wondering about this: How do you all shop for earbuds/headphones? What criteria do you use when you comparison-shop? I'm personally interested in earbuds (since those are what I use), but would welcome general discussion. In my limited knowledge, I look for a nice, wide range of frequency response...however, I remember seeing a pair of JVC buds (sorry...model # eludes me) which advertised 5-23000 or something like that for about AUD30! I later found out my friend's son bought a pair only to say they were complete crap....so it occured to me that there might just be other things to look for when choosing the "perfect pair"... While we're on the topic, any suggestions as to a good STURDY pair of earbuds? Having had EX81s and EX71s die in the right channel (same problem with all of them) eventually, I somehow end up going back to the good ol' dependable cloth-corded MDR-ED31s. I'd love to find something with that durability combined with the swet, sweet sonic bliss of my other Sonys...but alas, I search in vain peace WaywardTraveller

Ahhh, that's the one....thanks to all who posted peace WaywardTraveller

Hello all, A while back I remember reading (in MD newsletters, I think) about some blessed individual who took the pains to write an app that will help calculate the space left on an MD when uploading albums of the same or different compressions. I've looked and looked and haven't been able to find it....can someone point me in the right direction? Thanks! (PS Am I the only one who gets frustrated over the fact that the 2h20m/2h10m limits on a normal MD with 256kbps are JUST SLIGHTLY NOT ENOUGH to contain 2-disc albums? ) peace WaywardTraveller

In my experience, SS can convert any MP3 of any bitrate, either fixed or variable bit-rate; my only problem has been the ease of the process Sparky: I totally agree with you re: CDs sounding better ripped to ATRAC...and as far as the MP3-ATRAC issue goes, it has been elsewhere mentioned that maybe the inferior quality of native MP3s is a marketing strategy by Sony...wouldn't surprise me at all On the off-chance anyone else is having my problem (i.e. SS is getting stubborn), here's how I get around it (it's actually really easy): 1. Open SS 2. Go to Tools/Options and set the "Location to save imported files" to whatever you want 3. import your MP3s/album into My Library 4. go into the album folder, select all tracks (ctrl-A), right-click, select "Convert Format" and select the bitrate you want. Go get a coffee. SS will create ATRAC files (.OMA) in the imported files folder you chose in #2. 5. when conversion is finished, close the results window. Delete the folder from My Library BUT make sure the "delete this music file from the computer" checkbox is UNCHECKED! This will delete the album from the Library but preserve the files. 6. go to Import Files and re-import your album/MP3s by browsing to your "Location to save imported files" folder. IN that folder is another folder called "Optimized Files." In that folder are all the ATRAC files you just created. 7. select all of them and click "Import." they will all RE-APPEAR in exactly the same positions in "My Library" that the MP3s were in. 8. just select and transfer! All you're really doing is manually converting and then transferring. Doesn't take much longer at all, all things considered....read a book, meditate, cut your fingernails, whatever. If someone can post a better way to get around this bug, then ignore all this! peace WaywardTraveller