banjo

MDX-400, I will check the sled and the spindle and see how it goes. Thanks for the reply!

Hi, my SJMR50 recorder has developed a problem: when a disc is inserted it starts to read the TOC (this message is displayed on the LCD) but seems to hang in that mode. I've tried with a range of discs, including new ones: none worked. I've verified the discs in another (Sony) recorder. I've tried the usual trick of leaving it without battery overnight to effect a 'reset': this didn't help. I've also tried a lens/head cleaning disk but that didn't help either. The recorder has not had any rough treatment. It was used last at the start of the summer, when it worked fine. It has been on the shelf since, with the battery removed. It didn't get any bangs or knocks. Does anybody have any ideas about what might be wrong? Does anybody know if there a way I can get the recorder to go through a self-diagnostic or a recalibration? Thanks and regards, Banjo

Hi, Thewyzewun, thanks for the research. I've started to get exactly the same type of SPAM this morning.

Does anybody know if the RH1 is available anywhere in Singapore? I know that somebody queried Sony Singapore about this some time back and got NO for an answer but then the unit does seem to be heading to places we thought it wouldn't reach.

Check out white-rabbit express also: http://www.whiterabbitxpress.com/ I've not bought there yet but I'm planning to. The quote for rh1, with shipping, looks like it will be a good bit cheaper than japan direct and audiocubes.

Trading blanks is a bit of a problem for me and others out there might be in the same boat. The reason is: - I'm in Ireland. The range of blanks available here is -very- restricted and getting smaller. In effect, I have nothing to trade. I can get disks from audiocubes etc. and start from there. However, I was wondering if there is something that can be done in the context of Damage's 'trading' community to help spread blanks to a wider community?

I have had a problem with nh1 battery charging also, but with different symptoms. You may have a different issue but here goes anyway: On one occasion I found that the nh1 would not start to charge at all. In the end, I took the battery out of the nh1 and left the unit aside for a night. In the morning, about 12 hours later, I put the battery back in and it worked fine.

my Md from bobt in Cayman Islands landed this morning. Great selection - thanks bob!

On the SJ-MR50: I have been using the SJ-MR50 extensively since early last year (05). At this stage I thought that I could share some brief observations. Please note that these observations are based on a particular mode of application: I use the MR50 for ad-hoc recording/playback where hi-fi is not critical. I use the device without remote and without headphones and I use the in-built stereo mic and speaker. In this scenario, I think that the device is excellent, particularly when compared to more 'mainstream' MD recorders: - all functions are accessible on the device itself - the display on the device is good (although not backlit) - the built-in stereo mic is very good - the built-in speaker is incredibly convenient I am learning to play the concertina and I use the recorder when learning new tunes. The built-in mic and speaker minimise the fuss - no earphones and no external mic, no tangle of cables - and other people can hear the playback also! I use certain playback features very often: repeat, AB repeat and speed control. I also use the track divide feature a lot to break tunes into parts. These functions can be accessed with minimal fuss and work well. Battery life is very respectable. I haven't made any accurate logs, but I am continually surprised at the life of the internal battery when working with the built-in speaker. So, all-in-all, for this type of ad-hoc recording/playback applicaton, I give the SJ-MR50 an excellent rating. I would recommend it to anybody with a similar need. Finally, thanks to Sharpo51 - I made the original purchase based on his good advice.

SP or HiSP for me. International is good. Into Jazz, if that catches anyones fancy.

The commercial reality must be pointing to a rapid demise.

Dixons in Stanstead airport are clearing the crystal-blue HiMD disks. Last night (sunday night) there was about 15 disks remaining in one of the bargain bins - after I bought a few. The clearance price is 2.49 GBP per disk, at the tax-free rate. Up to now, I think that Dixons have been selling them for 5.99GBP on the high street (10 Euro in Ireland). Curiously, the disks are marked at 2.49GBP tax free and 2.99GBP with tax - it may therefore be the case that the disks are clearing for 2.99GBP on the high-street.

Mikami, do you know the construction of the EH50? is it metal back and front?

I have experienced a different problem with 3.3. I have been importing CDs in WAV format and transferring them to HiMD with conversion to 352kbs. I found that the start of the first track on the HiMD starts with a clip, one or two seconds duration, of some track that I haven't identified, before recommencing with the real first track! I found the same result with 5 different attempts with a mix of CDs. I deleted the WAV file in SS3.3 and I found that the corruption is also in the converted file as stored on hard disk. It seems, therefore, that the corruption is introduced by the SS3.3 ratherthan by the recorded. If I delete the first track from the SS3.3 library and re-import this first track it imports and transfers correctly. Anybody else experience anything similar? It could be my 'environment' but I don't think so at this stage - I have not had any problem with CD import with SS3.2 or with any other application.

and laptops - samsung have a prototype laptop that runs on flash rather than HDD. Once the proce drops a little, we'll be there.

I got one of these items recently also. Like Ingoo, I came across it when I was having a look at the higher-end Onkyo HiMD systems. Generally, it is a real boon to be able to record directly from CD to HiMD without having to boot up the PC. I also use it a lot for radio recording, where the 1G disk capacity is a great advance over the conventional MD: hours and hours of recording without worrying about swapping out disks. I have one gripe though: I find that the mechanics of the device are rather noisy when either a CD or a MD is playing. Ingoo, have you noticed this?

Thanks. I'll let you all know what I find. I was there earlier this year and there was a few 910 units about but nothing else. May be a better choice now...

Does anybody know where second-gen Hi-MD units might be found in-shop in Singapore? What models and what prices? Thanks in advance for the help...

I'm just back from a short trip to Japan. I had a few hours, on a couple of days, to tour the electronics shops and shopping districts. I hit Bic Camera (in Nagoya and Osaka), the discount zone in Nagoya and the big discount zone in Osaka (Den Den Town). From what I could see there, MD isn't really at the races any more. The flash and HDD competition gets 3 or 4 times more shelf space and all the attention from customers. Even in many of the discount stores, where they are clearing units out a low prices, MD was not well represented. I really felt like a straggler as I stood alone at the MD shelf. My main impression from the Japan visit was that the market there moves with the times. Flash and HDD units are the rage, last years technology and stock is being cleared if it isn't gone already and anything older isn't really in prominence. Makes sense. After my trip, I wouldn't hold out much hope for continued MD development: from what I could see, it isn't selling at all any more so why would it be developed?

Next Generation by Gary Burton. Although I got it just two days ago, I've taken to it. It is very accessible. I recorded in SP (on a deck) and I'm playing it on an NH1. Generally, I like the sound of the NH1 but I have been very (pleasantly) surprised with the NH1 sound reproduction for this album - it is really really good. I guess that the production engineering on this particular recording must be very good.

No. I haven't got the black armband on just yet. But I think that your three year horizon is probably realistic.

I would agree. I cannot see a positive future. My local outlets have cleared their MD stocks. The are clearing their stocks of disks. For example: my local Currys now has three lonely boxes of MD blanks left on the shelf and I feel like I have bought most of its other stock. I am totally depressed by 'death' of MD as an accessible consumer option. I am stock piling disks but every so often I realise that MD will not be available forever. Absurd, of course. But that seems to be the funny attraction of MD: technology evolves and the evolution is good. I embrace the evolution. It brings better things. But I cannot part with my MD, even though I see the writing on the wall. Im starting to think that I would be better off, psychologically, to accept its demise now, and move on with enjoying it simply for what it is, without worrying about its competitors and its future any more.

I'd agree about the earlier stuff with DeJohnette. Its pretty good. I got 'Changeless' on CD last week (a relative 'bargain' at 11 Euro). After listening to nothing else for the week, I'm hooked on it. Superb.

I passed through Singapore last weekend. I have been travelling through there irregularly over the last five years and I can recall the (not so distant) days when minidisc was stocked in virtually all the consumer electronice stores. I have to say that I was a little shocked, on this trip, by the speed of decline in MD popularity as measured by store exposure. Minidisc was available in only a handful of the stores* I visited along the usual shopping strips and in these stores the units were either on clear-out (at not-so-great rates) or they were gathering dust on the back shelves. Even blank discs were hard to spot. The new models were not on prominent display. The rh910 was on display in the Sony shops. Nothing else. In contrast, there were hundreds of different model flash- and disk-based MP3 players on hand. Many models that I have seen at home in Europe but also many other models and brands that I haven't seen before. These units were selling like hot-cakes. After this trip it is clear to me that the format is finished as a high-volume seller: if the shops in Singapore are not pushing md to the passing shoppers then it means that it just doesn't sell. *Just a note here: I'd guess that minidisc has not disappeared totally from all stores in Singapore, but it does appear to have disappeared, more-or-less, from the mainstream stores.

Keith Jarrett - Radiance - Recorded in SP. I'm listening to disc one at present. I've been listening to it for days - I think that its pretty good.