Chiron

Hey 99, It looks like they have it back in stock. Pretty good eh, we started this conversation Thursday and today is Monday. Considering it is a holiday here in Canada, they must have got a shipment on Friday.

I don't know about this model internationally, but according to the specs on Minidisc-Canada.com it looks like there is no mic input only USB. If that's true it's too bad, it would be a major short-fall for such an expensive unit. Do others know if there is Mic-input on the international models.

Ooops you are correct I was looking at the 10 not the 910. sorry

I just checked the site and it looks like they are in stock to me. The Sony Stores in Toronto never got them, so I assume the rest of the country is the same. Look at the Minidisc-Canada site again.

The best is MiniDisc Canada www.minidisc-canada.com. They are much cheaper than sony www.sonystyle.ca. They are outside of Montreal and if you are ordering out of province you only pay shipping & GST but no PST. I bought a MZ-RH910 off of them 3-4 months ago, because Sony wasn't getting them in anytime soon and they were $20 cheaper. They deliver promptly to you.

I would agree. I have the MZ-RH910 and it is a great model. I was tempted by the RH10 but at 100 dollars more the draw wasn't there to pay. The only step up for it is OLED display, a non-display remote and a better body (metal and great design). Otherwise the exact same features.

I think it depends on what model you have. The new 2nd gen HI-MD players actually charge when attached to the USB port. The 1st gen plyars do what yo describe above. There was another post a while ago about the 2nd Gen one and battery conditioning and the effects of recharging via USB.

My guess is that he wants to return it while it is still under warranty and upgrade to another model?

Yeah the North American model doesn't have them. THe features are probably on the circuit boards, but you'll notice there are flat plastic pieces where a AC in and a line in would go. I wonder why Sony does silly things like this and offer different features around the world on the same models. The classic examples is that remotes (diplay or simple ones) don't come with most North American models, only the very high end units (and unusual to get a display remote, usually just one of those basic plastic ones with buttons). Sony must know that their world wide customers talk to each other....just silly really on their part.

I plan to do it now too. I am in the practice of fully charging and unloading the battery for the next few months, until they have been put through their paces. I will pull my batteries out before sticking it on the USB.

Actualy I found one here. A lot less common in gumstick, but still some available. http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/audio/rb103247-Battery.htm But as I mentioned, I suspect they won't be chargeable in a Hi-MD unit.

I am guessing that's why it says in the instructions, don't try to charge another type of battery. I have two types of AA chargers, one only charges rechargable alkaline batteries. Another one is an illigent charge that charges alkaline, Ni-CD and Ni-MH ones, but it checks the battery for type and then knows what to charge. I have also seen ones that will only charge Ni-MH, or other ones that will only charge Ni-CD. I don't think it is just a sales ploy, I think some are only wired to charge certain types of I am guessing the charge in the 10/910 only will charge Ni-MH or might get damaged. I am only guessing and don't know for sure. To date I have tried other types of gumstick Ni-MHs in my RH910. I have two extra 1400 Sanyo Twincells from another unit, it didn't recognize them and charge at all at first, but after another try the work well and charge better than the original Sony.

Hi All, I have worried about I did a quick little search and found a good FAQ on Ni-MH batteries that might help answer some of your questions. http://www.greenbatteries.com/nibafa.html They don't seem to have a real "memory effect" per say but do experience "voltage depletion" but to a lesser degree than the NiCad ones. The FAQ has some good life and storage tips to increase the life of Ni-MH batteries. Another faq site http://www.batterieswholesale.com/faq_nimh.htm mentions that you tend to condition the battery the first 3 to 5 times you use them, after that they reach their peak performance. So if this is correct, it may be worth charging and depleting fully the first few times you use it. So the USB charge may not be an issue. Do we have any battery experts out their with electrical engineering expertise who could step in here? Petter, unless you have a seperate Li-ion charger I wouldn't go that route. You won't be able to charge it in your Hi-MD player.

I'd agree there is no difference. The only difference is the cases of the old Hi-MDs and the new ones (the outside case, not the shell of the MD). I have yet to have an MD break in my 4 years of having them. I have lots of different brands, but I tend to prefer the Sony ones for the soft outside cases. I haven't had any other brands break (TDK, Maxell, Panasonic, etc), it's just that the outside cases get really scuffed up and would break if you dropped them.

You inspired me to run out and grab one of those. In Canada I saw similar ones at Future Shop, but they were going for $25 to $35 a piece. I found the Source by Circuit City (this company has just come into Canada and has taken over all of the old Radio Shack outlets that were located in Malls) had one made by NexxTech that cames with a travel kit and interchangable ends (including 4 and 5 pin minis), so it works with my MD units and my camera for a mere $20. here it is in theire catalogue if you are interested.

It's a shame about Future Shop not carrying them. I noticed that too, they have only one Net MD unit (an old one) showing on their website. I can't blame them for not stocking them, but I do blame Sony Canada for not promoting HI-MD. Even at the Sony Stores in Toronto, it was like pulling teeth to get any information about the 2nd gen Hi-MD, units. I am a big fan of mindisc-Canada.com after ordering a Unit from them. They are from outside Montreal and they sent my unit promptly (and it was way cheaper than anyone else). So if you are looking for one in Canada, go to them (thier is shipping costs, but not PST if you live outside of Quebec, so it all balances out).

Your're right this shop typically deals with refurb units, but the Hi-MD unit I saw was a packaged one (so I doubt it is refurbished). Nonetheless, I had bought 2 refurbished Net MDs off this store 2-3 years ago. I was a bit weary at first of refurb units, but I have had no problems with either unit. But I haven't used either of them since switching to Hi-MD. Anyway the Hi-MD ones they had (only the 910) were in new Sony packages and not refurbished packaging.

I just saw that a stereo store on Yonge street (Teletime Electronics, 356 Yonge just south of Gerrard) had the 910 model. I think it was retailing for $279. Cheaper than Sony (www.sonystyle.ca) but more expensive than MD Canada (www.minidisc-canada.com). I just saw it over the weekend and it was the first time I had seen them in a store in Toronto.

I live in Toronto, while the 1st gen players came out last June or July (04) and are still available in many places (but have been dumped from bigger places like future shop)....the 2nd gen players still haven't showed up here at all. I kept waiting for them to show up at one of the SONY stores in Toronto and they never did. I always think about what their salesman told me SONY stands for Soon Only Not Yet (apperently SONY is know for being bad on launching products). I tried and tried and waited patiently but still every time I asked SONY I got a different story. The only two places you can find the 2nd Gen units are on the web, either: www.sonystyle.ca or www.minidisc-canada.com I got sick of waiting and finally ordered one from MD Canada. So while you can find the lots of old net MDs and 1st gen HI-MDs in Toronto you will have no luck finding the 2nd gen Hi-MDs here. Funny enough you can find the Hi-MD discs everywhere here. I did see them in Montreal at a downtown stereoshop. I was in Montreal a month and 1/2 ago and was tempted to buy a 2nd gen player in a store there, but was worried about the warrenty and returns as it wasn't a chain store and I wouldn't be back.

These are much nicer than the black ones with the big cases. They are back to the unbreakable soft plastic cases of the regular sony mds too and a nice see through blue shell to boot. The new ones have been around Toronto (Canada) for about 3 months or so. I have found them for as cheap as $10 each or 3 for $28 (Plus taxes). I also see that www.minidisc-canada.com has them as well. I can't get enough of these.

I went for the 910 too because it was a good $150 cheaper the the 10 here in Canada. Heck it has all of the same features of the 10 in terms of usability. The only thing besides a sleaker look that you get is the OLED and a non-display remote...so the 910 was an easy choice. I thought it was a bit cheesie too when it came in the mail, but I have gotten used to it and like the diplay tonnes. I think Sony really needs to consult MD users as they are desiging the look and features of any MD player. We are like a free focus group that they could learn from.

I hear similar things happening with peoples Ipods getting scratched up when I was looking at Ipod forums. People were recommending a couple of things that sounded questionable. For example, using brasso/silvo polish and or toothpaste. This apparently scratches it up and then at some point it is good again (hard to believe). The other is using a solution from watch repair shoops, apparently they have products for getting scratches out of watch faces that are hard plastics and they will sell it to you. I haven't tried any of these things myself, thankfully the 910 has a smaller plastic face (but I am sure I will scratch it too). So I am wondering if this is the same type of plastic and if these solutions would work for an MD?

How about full MP3 support (not just layer 1)...heck even proper transfer of layer 1 would be fine. I have had a number of MP3s that would not transfer over onto my 910 eventhough they were layer 1. The MP3s I had probelms with play with out error on other players and are fine if converted to ATRAC3+. But I have to guess if I want to use MP3 or Atrac3+ each time. The joys of Sonic Stage. I really wish it was more like I-tunes (other than the slow rip speeds). I-tunes is a good pieces of software.

I have the 910 and it is so easy to recharge. It can be charged either through the a/c adaptor or thankfully just through the USB when plugged into your computer (A definite leg up over the IPOD if you don't have a firewire port). I luckily have two extra gum stick batteries from an old I-River mp3/cd player unit that I have. They work fine and charge in the 910. I would recommend getting 1 or 2 extra gum sticks if you can find them (usually at specialized electronics shops) so you don't have to deal with the hastle of the "strap-on" AA battery contraption.

I wouldn't compare the IPOD Shuffle and an MD. I'd compare it to the new Sony Network Walkmans (http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/C...tionPath=n32120) . I would compare MD to a real IPOD. I have both and I am still more of a fan of Hi-MD, especially the new second generation ones. I still like the sound of an MD better and like the fact that I am loading only 10-30 albums on an MD, it feels more manageable than 15-20 gig. My IPOD is now collecting dust.