andysnap

Like KJ I find my HD3 (v.cheap Sony refurb, from eBay seller) very convenient for out n about, taking up next to no space in my camera bag, but I do find the sound quality from my NH-1 to be just that little bit better, just a little more clearly defined, a touch cleaner. And the NH1 is a very, very lovely thing . . . . the HD3 just a hard drive music player Andrew

Wow, very interesting to see 'the first' . . .and to think that the evolution of the technology ended (before moving on to HiMD) with the ultra slim E10! Andrew (my first MD was MZN-710, now NH-1)

I bought a spare li-ion battery from a Hong Kong based eBay seller for a very reasonable price. The battery certainly appears to be OEM, as described by the seller. The battery life is excellent on my NH1, so the spare is just that . .just in case. The NH1 is superb, you won't regret buying one!! Aren't they very cheap from Minidisc Australia at the moment? Andrew

I've just transfered Kate Bush's superb new double album, Aerial, at ATRAC3+256kps. I normally encode at lower rates, so the sound quality at 256k is just amazing! Since Kate has spent 6 years making her album with utmost care for recording quality, I thought the least I could do was transfer it to MiniDisc at a top quality setting. Andrew

This has indeed been 'debated' at length in other posts, but as I own both minidisc models, my brief summary answer would be NH1 - beautifully made, real quality, and very compact. But it has a unique USB plug, and uses exclusive li-ion batteries, with no add-on AA battery pack. Also has a very minimal lcd screen on the unit, and really needs the very good remote. I'm delighted with my NH1 NH900 - compared to the NH1, feels ordinary, but is nicely made by any other standards. Has useful 'jog wheel' and good lcd screen on the unit, and has a standard miniUSB plug. Neither the RH10/910 better the above, other than the oled screen, so I'd say go for an NH1 if you can find one at a good price . . . it'll never be repeated again. regards Andrew

Wow, $900! I've just paid £85 for my 'boxed as new' s/h NH1. How technology has plummented in price. If only Sony had priced their MD players lower from the beginning, maybe the Pods would never have happened . . . Andrew

You could always set the 600 to play and record in NetMD mode, then you can use Hi-MD format as and when you feel like using it . . . . see Disc Mode in the options menu. As for your point about Hi-MD compatibility, surely this is a recording format like WMA, MP3 or AAC - after all, you can't play an iTunes AAC file on a WMA player! But at least you can play both NetMD and hi-MD on the NH600 Andrew

Well after some thought, and reading other posts, I've just voted for the NH1 over the 900 (both of which I own). I think the NH1 is a really special unit, in design, construction, engineering, and of course, specification. If it had a larger screen, and the 900's jogwheel, well that would be perfection! The 900 has everything anyone could want in an MD unit, and at a great price -compared to the price of the NH1. No wonder NH900 owners are very happy with them (including me!). I'm glad these two units are quite rightly battling for 'victory'. The others don't come close. But the NH1 edges all others, a special piece of Sony design, despite its flaws, which won't be repeated again I reckon. Andrew

I bought a 1450mh battery from this eBay seller, only a fiver new. Working fine in my NH900. . . http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GP1450-Gumstick-Mini...1QQcmdZViewItem I'm curious about another post that these higher power batteries shouldn't be charged in the NH900. Why please?? Andrew

I bought an NH-1, upgrading from an MZN710, and whilst I thought it was superbly made and neatly designed with real 'wow' factor, I was disappointed by exactly these same drawbacks. I sent it back to Amazon, and bought an NH900, a great all rounder. I also found a cheap, mint E10 on eBay, and then a bargain HD3, to add to my Sony collection. A fine trio, and I enjoy owning and using each of them(sorry about the HD3 folks ) But I came to miss the sleek NH1, for all its faults(not many really), and have just bought one again. I'm loving it! I think it really is a special design, unlikely to be repeated now Sony have 'gone plastic' But as to which one is best . . . .hmm, very tricky. The slinky NH1 or the do-all NH900? Horses for courses, as they say! I look forward to reading some more opinions before I cast my vote! Andrew

Sony's ability to shoot themselves in the foot, after launching leading edge technology, is astonishing. The Minidisc was popular long long before Pods appeared - every student in the UK seemed to have one, even when they cost twice as much as they do now. And Sony did nothing to promote MD when Pods started taking over . . . Even now, they launch the PSP, using a close relative of the Minidisc, but stupidly just different enough to be very different and totally incompatible. Sony Ericsson launch new music playing mobile phones . . which don't support ATRAC, but Apple's AAC!! Crazy. Come on Sony, you're clever people, but seemingly can't join the dots . . . . . . Andrew

Well, I've just gone and bought an NH1 again! It really did have a 'special' quality that I don't think will get repeated now Sony are apparently making only plastic cased MD units. Andrew

Thats an interesting point, which has yet to be answered in real life use . . how long will hard disc music player work for before failing. And then what happens to your 5 -60 Gb of music? Another point in favour of Minidisc players is they are just so cheap at the moment. A Hi-MD Nh600 will only cost around £70-80, and is infinitely expandable. Just buy more MDs. An iPod, or any other hard disc player is quite an investment of your hard earned cash, so do you really need 5 - 60Gb of storage/music? I have both Sony MD players (E10 and Nh900), and a Sony HD3 20Gb hard disk player, and think the MD is more 'fun' (recording CDs to MD discs, making compilations, carrying only those collections I want to listen too . .) while the HD3 is useful for carrying 'everything', but even using a few of the 20Gb available is a huge amount of music, so I feel I could be recording to it forever!(yawn) And hard disk players require you to copy the CDs to your computer hard drive first before transfering (just watch your computer 'fill up'!), while Minidiscs can use Simple Burner, to just rip the CD direct onto your MD. My conclusion . . . go for a cheap MD first, and see how you 'use' your portable music and how much music you actually want to carry with you. Then later, if you find you do need huge capacity, look at a Sony HD player. They're only getting cheaper per Gb, and you could transfer any Minidisc ATRAC files stored on your computer straight onto your Sony HD player. Whatever, enjoy your music! Andrew

Ah! Thanks Ishi, well IMHO, Sony and Canon make the best digicams. Just a shame I have a Nikon D2h for my work, instead of the Sony chipped D2x! Sorry, going way off thread . . . Andrew

Excellent pics indeed, Ishi! I own an E10, but your pics make it look even better! What camera do you use? The images look like they were shot on a Sony digicam . . Sony digicam pics have a 'clean' and accurate colour rendition . . much like ATRAC3+ for photos Andrew