jthm

As much as I appreciate all the help and information I get from you guys at minidisc.org I have opted to find about all my options before making a decision on my portable audio solution. Unfortunately I haven't found a community that really welcomes all users as equals, they all seem very specialized be it by equipment or company. So if anyone knows of a good community for my needs please speak up!

hahahahha I just said I asked and for what it's worth that is what some Sony minion said. I doubt it has any real bearing :laugh:

Wait the 900 is now 340usd?!!?! Jesus I thought 300 was pushing it.... In regards to the slim it has approx. 15-17 hours for mp3 which is the format I'd be using and that's acceptable as I can just charge it through the usb cord when I'm at home. The iPod is a personal opinion, I can get 20gb Creative Zen Touch for less than their 15gb iPod and the Creative model has an fm tuner along with other features that the iPod doesn't. I also have tired of seeing the countless amount of iPod users walking down the street ignorantly everyday.

Well I have around 9gigs of music at the moment but that could change. Really I'm looking for something that will fit in my pocket, is affordable, longevity, battery life, and sound quality. That's one of the reasons I looked at the MuVo slim, sure it can only hold 60 or so songs but will I be wanting to listen to more than that on the go? It's slim, sexy and well made it seems. However the 180usd for a 256mb mp3 is a turnoff. The Creative Zen Touch seems like an affordable iPod, smaller I believe, not as gaudy in my opinion, more storage for less money. The 24 hour battery is very impressive. However this assuming the quality of the battery doesn't mean I need to replace it often, same goes for the HD. And of course the nh900 is great for recording(though I'd hafta buy a good mic too then), has a decent battery life if I get rechargeable AAs and keep the Ni-MH charged. The big qualm is alright the copyright bullshit and hassle with having to switch audio formats. I've got time as the nh900 and Creative Zen Touch haven't even been released, I'll make sure to look for reviews of them and compare all 3 but I was hoping for thoughts from the audiophile crowd that is minidisc.org

Was at a local mall outside of Toronto and the clerk said that the hi-md players were due in two weeks or late June hopfully. Not sure if his word is worth much but here you go....

Well after doing a bunch of research I've decided I hate iPod because of the low battery life, high prices and "trendiness". So I checked out iRiver and found out the same deal with it pretty much. Creative seems to be offering afforable models with great features but I'm still looking at the 900 Hi-MD. So your opinions please: Creative Zen Touch Technical Specifications Size WxHxD : 4.12" x 2.7" x 0.866" Weight : 7.05 oz with battery Capacity : 20GB1 Battery Life : Up to 24 hours2 of continuous playtime Interface : USB 2.0 (backward compatible with USB 1.1) Playback Format : MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3), Windows Media™ Audio (WMA) and WAV Signal-to-Noise Ratio : up to 97dB Channel Separation : up to 74dB Frequency Response : 20Hz - 20kHz Harmonic Distortion Output : less than 0.1% Operating System/Firmware: Reprogrammable3 Headphone out : 1 x 1/8" stereo minijack Display : 160 x 104 pixel resolution, blue EL backlit LCD Creative offers a one-year limited hardware warranty. Creative MuVo Slim Technical Specifications Size: (WxHxD) 55.0mm(2.2") x 85.0mm(3.3") x 8.0mm(0.3") Weight: 34g (without battery) or 45g (with battery) Capacity*: 128MB and 256MB built-in flash memory Battery Type: Li-ion 3.6 VDC Battery Life**: WMA 64Kbps, up to 9hrs of continuous play back on fully charged battery. MP3 128Kbps, up to 17hrs of continuous playback on fully charged battery. Interface: USB 2.0. Compatible with USB 1.1 Playback Formats: MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3) and Windows Media Audio (WMA) with DRM Recording Formats: Voice - IMA ADPCM, MONO FM Radio - IMA ADPCM, STEREO Signal to Noise Ratio: >90dB Channel Separation: >63dB Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz Harmonic Distortion: 0.05% Headphone Output: 1/8" stereo minijack LCD: 132x32 pixel Of course everyone knows the 900 specs. So far it seems the 900 will be the most expensive, the zen touch the bulkiest and largest storage, the creative one's have an fm radio. Conversely the MuVo slim is the smallest. I'm kindof lost as far as recording capabilities. So thoughts, opinions?

Wondering about the estimated time we're gonna wait for the Higher Hi-MD models. Also due to the thread regarding 400$ CAD for the 800 on pre-order at www.sonystyle.ca should I, as a Canadian, expect to be paying even more for the 900?

Heh yeah but I doubt those prices include Canada's provincial and sales taxes. Also I'd expect the major retailers to be providing better prices not worse. Odds are if I can't find a 900 for 400 CAD in Canda I will just order it from the states.

screw that, they obviously don't know exchange rates because I expect to pay 400 CAD for a 900 not a bloody 800.....

Just how exactly will live recording work on Hi-MD, how much will the mics cost and how long can I record for?

Tell us what you think of it when you've both tested it out, I'd love some in-depth reviews even if odds are I will be getting a 900.

Interesting idea Stamp, how does the policy work exactly?

Thanks Kurisu I was wondering and you confirmed it. Probably won't bother with it, just wanted something cheap to try out until I can get my hands on an hi-md 900 model.

Sale consisting of Sony MZ-N707 Blue MD Recorder Includes: 1.) 2 fake leather cases 2.) USB cable 3.) 20 Mini Discs (10 Standard Sony Discs 1 gold Sony Disc, and 9 TDK Bit fires) 4.) Tie Clip Microphone 5.) Optical Cable 6.) Software: OpenMG, Simple Burner, Device Drivers, and Sonic stage (Downloaded Burned to CD) 7.) 2 Duracell 1800mAh NI-MH Batteries 8.) 1 Sony NI-CA Battery 9.) Cradle, and AC adapter. 10.) Car kit, tape, and DC adapter. The seller says he was unable to get the Tic Clip Microphone to work, there are no headphones, there is no warranty and he is asking 200 Canadian dollars for it. What would be a reasonable price for this as I don't need 20 MDs, only 5, don't need the tie mic, nor the fake leather cases.

*sigh* guess you're right though I must say your sharp player looks very sexy and the kenwood's ability to play for 130+ hours is bloody astounding. That is the one drawback of the hi-md line I'll only get about 22 hours of battery life out of em. Also I hate the idea of having to wait 2 more friggin months .

Wow apparently I'm clueless, that sucks about not being able to use formatted md's on md players. Those two units look very sweet but there is no way I will be buying two units so I can use them. As far as price let's say 300-400 usd is around my limit but I would more than appreciate an array of suggestions.

Glad you asked actually. Hmm... Well they ability to record is not very important to me as I do not work within the music biz nor do I play any instruments. Though the idea of being able to record lectures is interesting. A big thing for me is battery life as I hate spending a lot on AAs or having a rechargable die out in 6-8hrs(like an ipod). The more I hear about the tuner the less I like it so I'll stick to my car radio and alarm clock for those needs. I have no clue wha to make of a digital amp as I'm not sure if any of my cd players or walkmans ever sported one. If not I've been satisfied with their sound quality and am just a simple, casual music enthusiast. Although to note I like to be able to hear my music and some of sony's gear is notorious for having shite volume controls. The amount of music is not a huge deal since even with himd formatted minidisc I can get 5-6hrs of good enough quality music. Having 3 or 4 discs that I can just rewrite is more than enough for me. If Sonicstage 2.0 is easily acquired and usable for the netmd I doubt that's much of a factor. Appearance isn't a huge factor for me so much as portability. The n10 was appealing because of how sleek it is, I like the idea of being able to easily slip my media device in my pocket. Most of my music will be downloaded(legal in Canada yay) so cutting down on the ridiculous and annoying steps needed to get said mp3s to my device would be grand. Pricing is very debatable upon the quality of the unit I get. So far there has been little to convince me that I need the spend a lot of extra cash on hi-md when I don't need most of it's bells and whistles and the ability to format minidiscs makes the decision even easier. Why not just get a nice high-end netmd used for half the price? I'm liking the look of the two units you sport in your tag, the Kenwood and Sharp models. Both look sleek and have nice battery life, digital amps. Just curiousity would either of these have mic-in? Will they support formated minidiscs?

Kurisu: what are the better alternatives?

So I can't get SonicStage 2.0 without buying a n600? If so how can I use hi-md discs with netmd units? Also since you believe there is better if you negate astethics then what are they and why? Personally how it looks isn't a major concern just that it's not terribly clunky and won't suck battery life out.

Well with this extended delay of the "good" hi-md units I've been doing some research. Everyone is giving big kudos to the N10 model and how they prefer it over the hi-md 600 model. Anyways I was curious about some comparisons of the two, if I were to pick up an n10 could I download sonicstage 2 and just use the hi-md backwards compatability to get more play?

Well nothing very convincing yet. Majors cons stated so far: -clunky compared to n10 -no ac adapter or ports except for usb -no digital amp Haven't found any reviews yet has anyone taken the leap and bought one? Are we sure the higher end models will really be all that better in dimensions?

Well as it is I'm without any sort of portable music device at the moment and that is very frustrating because I'm a music enthusiast. Considering all the other models are not out til July I'm rather impatient.

c'mon this is a general question that can help us figure out all the pros and cons about the model, I demand anwsers.

So I'm tempted to grab this whenever I find one in Canada but would love to hear about it's selling points and what not. I doubt I'll record anything as I'm not a musician and I hear the radio is rather choppy. If anyone has purchased one I'd love to hear how it works!

Anyone know if these pushbacks relate to ALL md players? Because the 900 appeals to me for future dictation of university lectures and the 600s affordability and the 800s radio.