Christopher Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 (edited) Kenwood and Victor (JVC) of Japan have released another generation of MDLP player-only units. From the Kenwood official press release, it's amusing to see them mention HDD/flash units as a driving force, yet politely justify MD. Are MDLP player-only units simply irresistible?+++ JVC has introduced the XM-C17. [attachmentid=941][attachmentid=942][attachmentid=943] The XM-C17 comes in three color schemes (red, silver, blue) and features a slick looking finish that oozes appeal. Has a seemingly now industry-standard digital amp, and four sound colorations -- energy, crystal, subway, and heartful. As usual, the player is dependent on the NiMH battery as its principal power supply with the AA battery as an external auxiliary supply. Has a 3mw output, and will retail for about 20,000 yen -- which is about $175USD. Battery life: At LP4 and SP mode , playback will last approximately 250 hours and 134 hours respectively. (with both power source: NiMH and AA battery) Size: 75.4 × 82.2 × 16.3mm (w/h/d); Weight: 97g *including battery ---------- Personally, if you've followed me around you know I've always been a Kenwood fanboy, since that faithful Autumn day I got my girlfriend a DMC-S55. I've sold it since, but I'll always favorably remember their sound. Oddly enough, it seems that they've discontinued the higher-class model in this line, as previous generations have had one "upper" (S77, T77, etc) model that usually had esoteric illuminated patterns -- something to that effect. [attachmentid=944][attachmentid=945][attachmentid=946][attachmentid=947] The DMC-V55 comes in four color schemes (silver, lead, blue, black) and wears a very esoteric looking facade. Has a "new" high quality digital amp, and a charging cradle that doubles as a tiny stereo. As usual, the player is dependent on the NiMH battery as its principal power supply with the AA battery as an external auxiliary supply. This unit will probably go for 20,000 yen as well. Battery life: At LP4 and SP mode , playback will last approximately 128 hours and 207 hours respectively. (with both power source: NiMH and AA battery) Size: 72.3 × 78.0 × 16.6mm (w/d/h); Weight: 63.8g *without battery Fortunately, Kenwood also released a better looking "chic" unit, which will most likely sell more effectively. [attachmentid=948][attachmentid=949][attachmentid=950] The DMC-V55 comes in three color schemes (pink, blue,yellow). In contrast to the DMC-V77, the V55 has the old standard digital amp. Should go for a few thousand yen less than the V77. Battery life: Same as DMC-V77 Size: 72.3 × 78.0 × 16.6mm (w/d/h); Weight: 66.6g *without battery--------It's really disappointing to see strong MD supporters such as Kenwood or Victor to not throw their hat into the Hi-MD ring. Is the industry that torn over Sony's endeavor? This rift really has made the market confusing for newbies. Edited November 17, 2005 by Webmaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bland10000 Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 (edited) As a legacy fan I'm very pleased to see new releases but I am starting to wonder if October is player-only month...Wish there were a close up of the v55's onboard screen...but I'll see them in person soon enough. Edited October 17, 2005 by bland10000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilvery Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 (edited) I'm really relieved to see so many MD players being announced.I feel I can forget most of my worries about the MD format dying away.I am curious if anyone has any ideas whether companies apart from sony will ever make Hi-MD recorders or players(I do know about the Onkyo deck).Although this is my first post, I've been here for a while and have done my looking through posts, and if there were answers to my thoughts, I must have missed them.By the way, I'm from Korea and although I've been betrayed by sonic stage(stupidly formatted my computer without backing up my uploaded oma files of lecture recordings, now not being able to play them), I still love the MD format, and thanks to the people here I'm getting lots of useful information.Regardless of my short knowledge I'll try to participate lively in this forum from now on, so keep up the good discussion people. Edited October 17, 2005 by wilvery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted October 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Wish there were a close up of the v55's onboard screen...but I'll see them in person soon enough. I'm not so sure if it's a screen -- looks like a chip. Could you do some detective work and take a picture for us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjaturtle Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Shame my MZ-RH10 can't have those battery life in play mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bland10000 Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 I'm not so sure if it's a screen -- looks like a chip. Could you do some detective work and take a picture for us?I'll stop by the usual haunts this week and next since there isn't a specific release date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPlitude Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 now if only those supported hi-md! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobgoblin Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 those v55 looks like they are from the age of aqarius or something.sad realy, i would love to see those two companys make some good hi-md players with mp3 support... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bland10000 Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 I was hoping "end of October" meant the last 10 days of the month but these units are still not in the retail stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDGB2 Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 (edited) That Kenwood is pretty sweet.Now, if only it had an optical output, IR Remote control and Hi-MD support...... Edited October 26, 2005 by MDGB2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bland10000 Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 (edited) Saw the v55 today; the center panel is not a display. It is a clear chip with three lines etched in saying "clear digital amplifier". I was disappointed because I was hoping that it was a display. Edited November 5, 2005 by bland10000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPlitude Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 then again, most md players these days dont have a display on them... something else that needs to be changed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted November 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Any chance you can snag us a picture or even sample the unit? I'd love to see it and learn more about this "2nd generation" digital amplifier. Saw the v55 today; the center panel is not a display. It is a clear chip with three lines etched in saying "clear digital amplifier". I was disappointed because I was hoping that it was a display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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