Units that lack group function...wtf?

[saaron]

I just picked up a brand-new in-the-box Sharp MD-E9000H mini hi-fi for my daughter's room for the super-cheap price of £79 on eBay and got it yesterday. This is the second hi-fi MD I've seen with MDLP that lacks group (first was my JB-480 deck) function.

My G-755 portable also lacks group, but it's present on the Sony mini hi-fi we have in the kitchen and my MDX-CA790X also recognises it.

I'm just wondering why the slipshot application of group function? It would seem to be a core feature of MDLP, but it either came in late or some genius decided it should only be present on high-end kit.

Can someone clear it up for me?

I still make all my MDs with groups because being able to hop through them in the car is a definite plus and I hope to get a JB-980 someday (again, bizarrely this appears to be the only Sony deck that supports group feature).

[KrazyIvan]

I just picked up a brand-new in-the-box Sharp MD-E9000H mini hi-fi for my daughter's room for the super-cheap price of £79 on eBay and got it yesterday.  This is the second hi-fi MD I've seen with MDLP that lacks group (first was my JB-480 deck) function.

My G-755 portable also lacks group, but it's present on the Sony mini hi-fi we have in the kitchen and my MDX-CA790X also recognises it.

I'm just wondering why the slipshot application of group function?  It would seem to be a core feature of MDLP, but it either came in late or some genius decided it should only be present on high-end kit.

Can someone clear it up for me?

I still make all my MDs with groups because being able to hop through them in the car is a definite plus and I hope to get a JB-980 someday (again, bizarrely this appears to be the only Sony deck that supports group feature).

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I don't remember when the group function came out but I think it started with the R909? My R900, Aiwa AMF80, and R500 do not/did not have the group function. The first unit I bought that had it was the N510.

[Superbaldguy]

Yes - the R909 was the first portable recorder with GROUP function and it also featured on-the-fly recording, a first for Sony in many years.

[MDX-400]

This is the second hi-fi MD I've seen with MDLP that lacks group (first was my JB-480 deck) function.

My G-755 portable also lacks group, but it's present on the Sony mini hi-fi we have in the kitchen and my MDX-CA790X also recognises it.

I'm just wondering why the slipshot application of group function?  It would seem to be a core feature of MDLP, but it either came in late or some genius decided it should only be present on high-end kit.

Can someone clear it up for me?

The R909 was the first Sony portable with Group mode support, but the Sony MDS-JE770 deck was the first unit with Group mode, I believe. This came out some 4 months ahead of the R909.

However not every post-JE770 MDLP-capable unit was guaranteed to have Group mode support either. (You mention of the G755 as well as some of the decks is a perfect example of post-JE770 units that do not have Group support).

It was indeed an afterthought/after-addition to MDLP. The R900 was the first MDLP unit so it wasn't until a generation later that Group appeared

I still make all my MDs with groups because being able to hop through them in the car is a definite plus and I hope to get a JB-980 someday (again, bizarrely this appears to be the only Sony deck that supports group feature).

I was surprised that the JE480 does not have Group mode support but I guess that is just Sony's way of trying to get people to buy higher-end models

The JB980, however, is not the only deck to have Group mode support. The MDS-JE770 (as mentioned) has it, as does the JE780.