Sparky191

Thats looks an interesting unit. I've never heard of it before. However a HDD units make a lot more sense. How goods the song out of that unit?

Good catch, I never thought about the frequency problem...

You also said "everyone" Sweeping generalisation I know but... Modern PCDP's are tiny, barely bigger then a CD and easily pocketable. Perhaps not in a suit or tight jeans, but then you won't get a MD and disk in those clothes either. HiMD player/recorder (does it really matter) and bunch of disks is going to be bigger then a HD player. Even a 60GB ipod is going to be smaller than that. IMO cheap media, physical size and capacity are not the strong points of the MD/HiMD format.

Of course if someone steals the PC and your media you're in trouble

I don't use it for that reason. I use it for cheap quality recording. I ony have a 2 HiMD disks. If that really was all you were interested in would you not use a CD/MP3 CD player? CD blanks are the cheapest media around.

Yeah true. Nearly all my USB devices use a mini b plug. Even my mobile phone charges from it. I leave a cable at work and another at home. Whoever decides on these non standard cables needs their butt kicked. For me a MH900 makes most sense, however the NH1 just calls to me. It just screms cool gadget to me. But in fact I really was looking for a MH800. Theres a decent radio on my old G750, I was hoping to replace it. Pity the bundle isn't as good though. I have a horrible feeling I'll get a 800 and a NH1. Though I know I shouldn't.

In one place I worked we had a machine that cracked passwords. When you renewed your password on the netwrok, the machine would try to crack it and if it did it in 24hrs you had to pick a new one. We had to use upper & lower case, special chars and numbers. It couldn't be a recognisable word or number sequence. It was eye opening just how fast this machine could crack a password.

Why? You can fit more into a smaller space using flash or a HD.

I just password protect and/or encrypt the documents myself.

If you think about it, trying to maximise battery life is big part of the reason the MD/ATRAC is the way it is. No other platform/file type is as specific is it?

I agree with you e1ghtyf1ve. But just to point out that the iRiver H120/140 (20GB/40GB) could record to WAV 44.1kHz and had optical in/out in addition to HDD an analogue line in/out. Never heard much about the recording features being used though. Theres a guy in our office has one, but hes never used the I/O on it. The later 320/340 dropped the optical I/O and the wav recording. I guess not enough people used it. However theres a modded firmware for 120/140's called rockbox which fixes a lot of issues, like gapless and recording from the radio. I think it adds OGG and FLAC support too. Of course its an old unit now. But still theres nothing like MD which has decent battery life on AA's and is a an easier size for your pocket, especially if you are recording.

Since people are always moaning about the problem of capacity on a HD player, which you can get in 40-60GB capacities. I have to ask do you people have more then 60GB's worth of MD/HiMD's already? If you do, then thats (very roughly) about 8 (12hr) days of non stop CD quality music, without repeating a single track. I'm curious what you are doing, that this isn't enough? Personally I listen at max 2-4hrs of music in a day. Usually I'll be listening to a few favorite tracks a few times, rather then continuous new tracks, and the majority of my listening is when I'm working. Thats on a good day. Theres a lot of days where I don't get the chance to listen to anything. Personally I don't think MD is over. I think it will retain a smaller but dedicated following.

How so?

Security through ignorance has never proved to be much security. Theres always someone who'll know or figure it out. Software encryption is a good idea. Just remember the keys.

I've never seen any comparision or reviews online comparing the recording quality of a MD/HiMD to those of something like a iRiver H120 or Cowon X5. Anyone else seen anything along those lines?

Since everything is backed up on a HD (since theres where it has come from originally) your points 2,3,4 are null and void. If your PC is backed up (as it should be) then you have a backup of your backup. 1 & 5 also exist on any device with a finite limit of capacity. In theory you can buy as many MD as you want but in reality theres a finite limit to the number disks you actually own. So this applies to all players. If you think disk swapping with more disk is easier to manage then less disk, that would suggest that MD is superior to HiMD. I think its hard to claim that MD is easier to manage and use than HiMD. Personally I like MD/HiMD and see it as complementary to the MP3 players I already own. For me though the AA powered units are the really useful MD units. As you don't need a AC or USB charger and once you have a few disks, the unit is really self contained, doesn't need charging, or a computer to record or playback. Which if you are moving around a lot, like in college, holidays or travelling for work is very convient. Quite often when I'm rushing somewhere, the MP3 player isn't charged, or doesn't have music on it I like. So I can grab my HiMD, and a couple of disk. Pick up AA's on the way and I have music, or can record immediately. I also like the tactile feel of real buttons. Many MP3's players are not tactile to use in your pocket. But if you are near AC all day, and have access to a PC all day (I work in IT) really a MP3 player can be a lot more useful most of the time. For the other time you have MD/HiMD

What determines recording quality?

Aparently the new 5th gen iPods do have decent quality wav recording. But theres no physical line in. Expect to see a line in dock, and probably a portable dock for a line in soon. You can get a portable line out already for the other models

Was fun, but I've switched back aswell.

I haven't had any problems with SS 3.2 myself. The best alternatives would be an older iRiver IHP120/140 or one of the Cowon HD players. Some people have mentioned that the SQ isn't as good. But I don't see how thats an issue if you are using an external mic, and it records to WAV.

Personally I find the MX500's more comfortable for longer listening than the RP-JE50. I wouldn't say either are very bassy.

I think the big advantage the HiMD is the amount of recording time you have per AA battery. Compared to a HD player, even if it has a AA battery back, they usually don't last very long.

You might want to try http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

I said everything... its a busy life... In fairness Apple, and Creative do the same thing. Data and Music are kept seperate. The only players that keep data and music in the same logical space on disk are the iRivers and Cowons.

Had a quick look in my local stores. The Sony shop had new models until a couple of weeks ago. All it has now is one NH600 on clearance. Guess their clearing their stocks aswell. The shops in the city center had some last week. When I'm back in work on Monday, I'll have a look for you.