Sparky191

Nice photo, What camera are you taking these pictures with? I don't like the white/cream plastic. Myself. Other than that its very nice looking.

Try the user thatgift4u on the forums. He has some ads on the classified section. I think he might have one. The reason Sony stopped putting it on their was for DRM issues I assume.

I never occured to me that someone might trancode ATRAC to ATRAC. Must sound terrible. Though its easy to do by accident in SS if you're not careful.

I'm using a Dell P4/3GHz with 512MB and it tales only a couple of minutes for me too. I'd say processor speed is whats mainly holding you back. As encoding its primarily CPU intensive. You could upgrade the CPU with something like a Powerleap adapter and a 1.2-1.4Ghz Celeron. But to be honest that would cost you halt the price of a new budget PC. Might be tricky to get working aswell, if your not PC savvy. Consider picking up a cheap machine from somewhere like the Dell outlet. Try to get the fastest CPU you can buy. Thats what I did. By the time I added a new licence for XP, a warranty, a bigger HD etc, I couldn't have built a machine any cheaper. Of course if you have access to another PC somewhere else you could rip the CD's there and import them back into SS on your PC.

The cable that came with my HiMND NH700 has a 3 "pods" (dunno what to call them) on the cable. What are they for?

Thats my understanding too. However this might be an alternative. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=5121

I thought that only ATRAC is gapless, MP3 isn't on a 2nd gen.

Most audiophiles reckon the iPod line out via a dock into an amp is pretty good. The old pioneer minidisc seperates unit is using SP (292kps). Since you only get 1 album on this at a time you might aswell use a CD Player. Why use the pioneer at all? If you want the same quality as CD but in a MD format you can use PCM on a HiMD portable. Which is the same quality as the CD. SonicStage will also tag all the tracks as you require, and you can copy them via USB to the player instead of using realtime. You can plug the HiMD portable directly into you amp when at home. Or just use a CD player at home, and the HiMD portable when travelling. You should check out the portable section on head-fi.org, for more info on getting quality SQ from HD players etc. To my ears my Zen Micro sounds as good if not better than SP on my old MD units, or HiSP or PCM on my HiMD. Its subjective anyway.

Will Sony not repair out of warranty units?

I had one on my G750. But it fits the NH700 just fine. Handy case, I like it.

As a long time user of non Net MD I've just got a Mp3 player (a Zen Micro) and a HiMD NH700. After playing around with both for about two weeks I think think the general concenus that a HIMD is primarily a recorder not a player is very true. For sound quality it is similar, depends on the source material and the bitrate, though I think I prefer the "sound" of the Zen myself. Still experimenting with the bitrate and EQ options on the HiMD. Its a subjective opinion, and some might prefer the HiMD. For robustness, the NH700 does not feel well made, being mainly made of thin plastic. The NH1 would obviously be a lot better. That said the first Zen Micro I got was faulty so I returned it. The 2nd unit has been fine. Robustness of the media is not an issue for me. Since neither the MP3 player ot Mini Disc is my primary store of my music. I have it all on a large external hard disk, which itself backed up to another external hard disk. Of course everything is on the original CD or if its my recording, I usually have made a CD or DVD copy of that aswell. Whats on the MP3 player or HiMD is only what I'm listening to at the moment. If you are away from a PC or your CD's, if travelling for example. Then this would be a different and more important issue. What I do like about the HiMD is obviously the recording. But also that it has good physical controls. Many MP3 players don't have real buttons. I miss that tactile control. On the NH700 I like that it uses a AA battery. So much easier to recharge and if you get caught out, you can just buy a battery. I dislike the small screen and that titles need to scroll etc. The interface logic on MD's is just plain weird. Not user friendly at all. All Sony's seems to be like this. Sharp MD had the controls and menus more logically arranged. One of the main reasons I got the MP3 player aswell is that its USB2 and I can use it as portable HD. I regularly need to tranport a GB or so of data. It just takes too long to do this Via USB1.1 (HiMD). Plus a player it has a FM radio and a backlight so I can see whats going on at night. The NH700 doesn't have this. I also dislike that theres no MP3 support on the 1st gen MD. It makes most sense to keep your music libray in the most "open" format you can. Which is MP3.

I have a Sony (3v 500ma 230-240~ 50Hz 5W) charger from an older G750. I've just got a NH700 (from AUS) which has a different charger (3V 50Hz 1A 240). Can I use my old charger with the HiMD unit? Is it worth getting an adapter (it has a different pin out than we have) so I can use the HiMD charger?

Is there tax/duty on 2nd hand goods? If you bought something in a private sale, and it was sent to you in discrete packaging it might avoid the tax, legally.

I'm the same. But for me its because I never really had a lot of music on a device to need a playlist. Have a MP3 player now and a HiMD so maybe its something I'll make use of.

What version is that. I can't see that option in 3.2 My edit menu looks different.

Yes Sony manages to give you more and less at the same time. Its a common thread in MD history.

All you need is a Car unit that has audio input, and hook your portable HiMD to that. Lots of people with iPods and other units do this. Of course control of the unit while driving is a problem.

I didn't realise this myself. I just used a freeware app called media joiner to do the same thing. DOH!

I'm in Ireland, and they are selling it them here for €200-450 which is insane. Often thats for the 1st gen models. Considering the NW5 HDD is €299, and the Flash 507 €250 or so. Amazon seems to be the only place with resonable Prices, though its probably better to get a non euro model from somewhere on the web, than buy them from a retail store. I think they will retreat from the high street to a smaller (specialist) market on the web only.

Will this cause a problem with uploading back to the PC though?

So the only think missing from this is the mic in port and it won't recharge batteries. Can you use the line in for a mic? Just curious. Wouldn't use it that much myself. Be nice to know. Just got a RH700 myself. Lack of MP3 playback is a nuisance.

How do you do that? Is there a charger you can buy that does this?

How do those MDR-EX71's and MX550 compare? I'm using Panasonic RP-HJE50 with my G750 and I don't hear any hiss.

Most people who have used seem to think that the iPod Shuffle has far superior sound quality than all the iPods and probably most other MP3 players. Most audiophiles seem to agree on this. Most would also say it sounds better than NW507's aswell. The HD iPods have poor SQ from the earphone socket. However th output via the line in (via a portable dock and amp) is meant to be excellent. Of course it depends on the quality of the music you are using. I've never read many comparisons between a MD units and the iPod Shuffle. I only really trust the opinions from users who have both units. There doesn't seem to be many. My order or SQ pecking order for that I have heard myself would be as follows, starting with the highest SQ. Old high end Sony Midi CD>>MD SHarp SR57>>Sony MDG750>>Panasonc PCDP MP3/CD CT700>>iPod U2 20GB. The iPod is noticebly worse. I find the sound thin and unmusical. These days I find the hassle of getting my music on a Pre Net MD a real pain. I like the ease of MP3 so I'm also looking for some better portable Audio. I love MD for recording, so I'll probably get a HiMD of some sort just for that. I am considering a iPod Shuffle for walking, and in the gym, and for working around the house because its just so small, simple and the fact it doesn't need a USB cable is a big plus. However I wish it had a FM radio on it, since I like that. The Sony 507 is a lot more expensive though, and I'd be concerned I wouldn't like the sound. It took me a long time to warm to the sound of my Sony G750, its a bit clinical and I still think the Sharp I have sounds much better. It seems clearer, more detailed and theres more warmth to the sound.

As a programmer I think I'd just write a program to do it myself.... Would have thought TV tuner cards that have radio would do this already.