Thinking about hopping on the MD train again.

[Mercuttio]

A few years ago, I had one of the first Net-MD players, and I liked it a great deal. Then the whole iPod thing happened. I got a 5 gig iPod, got rid of my MD player, and I've upgraded several times since then.

So here I am, several years later. I just got rid of my 30 gig iPod photo on eBay, and I'm not so sure that I'm going to want another iPod. Reasons?

1. Lockups. Every iPod I've had has had the nasty habit of locking up once in a while.

2. Battery life in the short haul. Even with the improved battery life on newer models, I find it to be rather iffy with higher quality files. Sure, I could put my music into 128 AAC or MP3 formats, but I'd hear the compression.

3. Battery life in the long haul. I don't want to pay apple $90 for a new battery. That's why I sell them on eBay with every yearly upgrade.

4. Space constraints. Another reason I upgrade. Sooner or later my collection seems to fill any space I own, but I generally only listen to a few albums at a time.

5. Fragility. These things just don't keep fancy too long, do they?

So, I've been considering a Hi-MD. All of my music is in lossless format on my computer and on its original CDs. I have an EMU 0404 soundcard capable of outputting digital. I'm looking for something that will provide me with high quality listening (and yeah, I've got good cans... Beyerdynamic DT 880, Grado SR60 and SR40, Shure E2c), and portability. Like everyone else, I'm entranced by the "shiny" factor of the RH10, but durability is also a concern. I like having collections of things, and I'd probably enjoy having a second library of my music on Hi-MD.

It should be noted that I'm not particularly interested in recording, but consider the feature to be a nice little bonus... might use it, might not.

I snapped up one of the newer NetMDs on ebay for $24, and then I'd decide whether or not to get a HiMD model.

Does it sound like MD might be a good format for me to get back into? I really want to have high quality audio on the go!

[jonny mac]

In short, if you only listen to a few albums at a time, Hi-MD is for you. The primary advantage of the I-Pod and other HDD players is the capacity but it sounds like you don't need that. You needn't record everything optically, Hi-SP (265kbps ATRAC3plus) can be transferred from PC and the latest versions of Sonicstage and Simpleburner are stable and more usable than you'll remember from your NetMD days. If you prefer MP3 then go for the shiny new RH10, but the first gen units (particularly the NH1) are probably better quality, transfer files faster and have better accessories supplied but they only play ATRAC.

Battery life is much better than the Ipod and all batteries are replaceable (for £25 max).

Sounds like MD is for you

[Mercuttio]

Yeah, I also am not sure that the RH10 is going to do anything about my complaints of the iPod being fragile. Audiocubes has the NH1 for $400... is that a fair price? I've heard it's a great model, and is the sturdiest thing ever made. Should I be getting it somewhere else for cheaper?

Oh, and I don't give a damn about mp3. That's not really a feature to me.

Edited August 18, 2005 by Mercuttio

[Mercuttio]

Whoops, I'm a fool. I just saw the same unit for $300 on another site. If hooked up via USB, does it have the same file saving functionality of the newer Hi MD players?

I know that the menu system isn't going to be as easy to use as the iPod, and I'm willing to live with that. However, if I use the remote, will I have trouble finding things in this structure:

Artist/Album/Song

?

How about sound quality? If I encode at high levels, what can I expect from the MD player? Will it sound pretty close to lossless files on my old iPod?

[bobt]

The menu for the NH1 is in the remote, and you can find your music any way you want it, and quicker than the I-Pod.

If you can get an NH1, get it, the best unit Sony has made. IMHO,

Bob

[Mercuttio]

Yeah, just looking at that thing, I can tell that it'll last me years. So the sound quality is really very good?

[bobt]

The ear buds Sony give you are crap, get a good set of phones, and it will astound you, or hook it up yo your Hi-Fi with a Y cable, and enjoy.

You will love it.

Bob

[Mercuttio]

Fortunately, I've got somewhat of a Headphone fetish. My collection currently includes:

Headphone Amp: PPA amp, excellent quality amplifier

Beyerdynamic DT 880 (needs the PPA to sound the best, this is my "home rig")

Grado SR 60 for quieter environments, no amp required.

Grado SR 40 for no real good reason other than the fact that it is rare.

Shure E2c for portable usage when I need isolation. (Subway, bus, city in general).

With high quality headphones, will I be exposing flaws in the playback of this device?

[Mercuttio]

I actually may pick up an RH10 today. I found a local dealer that is willing to sell me one for $220! While it might be slightly less durable, I think I'm really going to want that screen on the unit.