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Prefer sound of old MD to new HiMD unit?

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Sparky191

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I definitely prefer the newer units. I'd say the sound quality has got better and better over the years, and the latest digital amps with their EQ are just incredibly clear and sweet. Listening to, say my N1 or N707, which are still going strong btw, the sound is somehow rawer, maybe a tad more 'powerful', but the clarity of the NH900 and RH10 will win it for me everytime...

Of my older units, the N910 comes close to the Hi-MDs (but it is late generation NetMD), and the digital amp of my Sharp DR420 gives them a run for their money, but overall the new units sound the best (to me)...

That's the portables.. of course my JB980 deck has yet to be beaten...

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I definitely prefer the newer units. I'd say the sound quality has got better and better over the years, and the latest digital amps with their EQ are just incredibly clear and sweet. Listening to, say my N1 or N707, which are still going strong btw, the sound is somehow rawer, maybe a tad more 'powerful', but the clarity of the NH900 and RH10 will win it for me everytime... 

Of my older units, the N910 comes close to the Hi-MDs (but it is late generation NetMD), and the digital amp of my Sharp DR420 gives them a run for their money, but overall the new units sound the best (to me)...

That's the portables.. of course my JB980 deck has yet to be beaten...

A few people have said that. Why do you think that the decks sound better? Considering its probably SP which is 292kps.

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Probably the higher quality components in decks and the build quality.. portable components tend to put the emphasis on space reduction and energy efficiency rather than top sound quality - I guess thats why the best decks are such huge mf's - no need to make any compromises... The line outs on Hi-MDs (first generation), while fine enough, just don't match the purity and power of a dedicated deck output, even one that can 'only' play SP...

Moreover, as any seasoned MD lover will tell you, SP is pretty much the zenith of all compression formats, so a great MD deck coupled with Type-R SP will sound better through a stereo system than a Hi-MD plus line out into the Aux in... Besides I really cant tell any difference between my CD player and Sony MD deck through the stereo...

Of course a Hi-MD deck, such as they exist, may be a different matter (playing PCM), but I haven't tried one yet sadly...

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