Lbz8

Maybe I'll be in the minority here but I actually love the new eject button. So often the sliding buttons flush on the unit have my thumb too close up against the lid so that the lid doesn't quite spring open all the way and the disc isn't pushed out half way to make removal easy. With the eject button on the RH1, the actual need to press it means my thumb is less likely to interfere with the lid and I get a much more reliable disk release. And the button on my unit takes a good push. I haven't experienced any problems with it in any bags - I would think one would really have to push the device up against other items in the bag to get the button to eject the disc. But I do agree that the FF/FR button on the unit is quite flakey - for me especially in the FF direction. I discovered that by using my thumb to push the button in the direction of FF rather than pull it in that direction from a different angle, that I can get FF to work much more reliably.

The RH1 also only plays songs once in shuffle mode, albeit before repeating the list with a different shuffle. But it never plays songs more than once before completing a full pass of whatever songs are being shuffled. This goes for even when you press stop - pressing play will just pick you up right where you left off. At least that is how it works for me. I am not sure why it would be important that the unit stops after the first shuffled pass through the song list, so IMHO I don't consider this an advantage for the NH1. And the RH1 has a type of Program play mode called Bookmark Play where you can select the tracks you want to hear by bookmarking them and then selecting the Bookmark Play Mode to play just those tracks. Of course, to set the bookmark initially, the track itself must be playing. So it is not quite as simple to set up as a typical Program Play mode.

One additional advantage when using the RM-MC40ELK with the RH1 unit is that the labels along the sides of the remote are printed in black text on the silver/gray plastic. This makes them so much easier to read then the labels on the RH1 remote which are the same color as the surrounding plastic - dumb! I know that in time, one would probably just get used to where the buttons are and not need the labels. But having them so hard to read to begin with just doesn't make sense to me. Also, if you need two hands to use the remote, like I often do when trying to change the volume on the RH1 remote, then it makes the remote very unfriendly. Thank goodness for the standard, discrete press buttons for volume on the RM-MC40ELK. In short, the RH1 remote is awful and the only blot on an otherwise superior unit, IMHO.

As far as I know it is. I got my black RH1 from Minidisco on June 24th. What a great device!

Again I am curious to hear from those who seem to indicate this form of shuffle to be valuable. Why does shuffling through dozens if not hundreds of tracks and then stopping make it any better a "feature" than doing the exact same thing but then simply starting a new shuffle order after finishing the first pass without stopping? I think it comes down to the fact that people are confused and still think the RH1 repeats songs within a single shuffle - that is, playing songs more than once before playing a song even once. But that is not the case. The RH1, exactly like these other MD units mentioned, plays each track once and only once in a shuffle. What the RH1 then does is not stop but rather continues to play the entire playlist again, this time in a different shuffled order, but again each track once and only once.

The remote from the NH1 definitely works with the RH1. As for the sound quality, I firmly believe the RH1 is the best sounding portable MD unit of any kind out there today. And the black color just adds to it sharp look to go with its smooth performance and stellar sound. But your mileage may vary. Only you can truly say if you feel the RH1 is better or not. So much of what makes electronics better to one or another is in the subjective realm.

As others have seemed to try it, I did do as requested, just took a HI-MD of 5 tracks, set the play mode to Normal and repeat mode to Shuffle and found, as I surmised, that all 5 tracks are played once through in a shuffled playlist. The tracks are then played again, also one time through, in a different shuffled playlist. This can then go on and on in this same way. So yes, the shuffle mode will not stop after shuffling all the tracks - it will go back and repeat the list. However, before it does so, it will definitely play all tracks in a shuffled manner one by one, hitting each track once, before repeating the process. Sounds like a fine shuffle mode to me and certainly nothing to keep one from grabbing this fine unit when they can.

Dogville: Unless someone beats me to it, I will try your suggestion and let you know what I discover tomorrow. And for my own interest, let's say we are dealing with a small number of tracks listenable in one sitting. If the Shuffle setting does end up repeating after shuffling through all 5 tracks once each, why would that be a problem. I am not saying it shouldn't be to some, but I am just curious why. I mean, by first shuffling through all tracks, why would it matter that it would try shuffling through the same list again when it finished the first pass without stopping? Lbz8

This is my understanding of this issue (I have the RH1) but please, others feel free to correct me if I am off base: While the Shuffle mode is also a repeat mode, the songs on the disc will not repeat until you have shuffled through them all. This is like Repeat All but the All in this case are shuffled through instead of being played one after the other in order. So, let's say you have a full Hi-MD of ~240 songs. Would not setting the repeat mode to Shuffle Repeat first shuffle through all 240 songs one time each before repeating any song via the next shuffle through the disc? If this is so, then for my money, a Shuffle Repeat is, for all intents and purposes, the same as Shuffle alone and shouldn't make much of a difference. There is no way I'd be listening straight through hundreds of songs until the songs would repeat. I have had the unit for a few days now. I almost always shuffle tracks on the player I am listening to. As for the RH1, I have yet to hear any repeated tracks within a single shuffle. Anyway, despite some fidgety controls on the unit itself (The FF switch on the player sometimes has to be pressed just right for it to work reliably), I am very happy with the RH1. It is great to look at (I have Black) and feels great in the hand. The MP3 playback quality is head and shoulders above any prior Hi-MD unit I have heard. This is a truly noticeable difference and not just one that you can only see via charts or graphs. And while I have not been much for live recordings, I just appreciate fine quality electronics, it is always nice to have this ability with the least restrictions for MD to date. All I can say is don't let Shuffle sour you on the RH1. I feel it is the best Hi-MD recorder/player out there and worth the price.