Sony MDS-JB980/s Pictorial-Review

[mercury_in_flames]

Well, Where to start,

Layout:

First up, if you havent owned any other md deck, theres no way you will be doing fade in/fade out edits, splitting tracks by 10th's of seconds, and so on, without having read the manual, that is for sure, as I found out.

Design:

Again, the brushed aluminium design, has captured me. It really is a looker.

*edit* The remote that it comes with is black. Although i wonder what it would have been like with a grey remote im not that bothered.

Features/Functions:

This thing can do just about anything you can think of. Some editing may be take a while, but it can do it.

Some nifty features include;

'start recording with 6 seconds of pre-recorded data': i.e If you are recording from the radio, DAB or otherwise, this feature is a no brainer. No more wishing you knew that song was coming, you can simply edit the song and remove whatever excess you have before the song started.

Fade in/Fade out playback: cool for if you have recorded a concert and want to turn the disc you recorded into something closer to a real 'live' album.

Splitting songs/excess recorded parts: you can split songs by tenths of a second, now THAT is cool. You choose where you want it to split it, the deck plays back a few seconds, you choose no and fix it again or yes and your all set.

AMS: First time i've had this feature - excellent if you cant remember exactly which track you are looking for out of 35 tracks, turn the dial and you;re there.

Not really a feature, in fact i cant see why its there, but there is the option to eject the disc using the remote .

Titling:

With a keyboard: Yes, despite this md deck being a net md, I use the keyboard. I think it feels better because you just type the title in, let the title scroll by once, and then edit the next track. Being used to things happening so fast on a computer makes titling using net md, seem sluggish. Then there is the option to title use the AMS dial. This works on the same principle as titling with any regular MDR jog wheel, like that of the mz-r909 mdr. And finally, if you are a real couch audio listener you can title with the remote.

SMCS:

This deck has SMCS, which is a real bummer if you want to record a dvd via optical or coaxial. In fact it is this decks achilles heel, big time. In the end i ripped the dvd using a copying program, and re-burned the dvd without smcs. It didnt effect the sound, as only the image quality is compressed when ripping. You also cant play an md recorded optically-from an original cd, and record that via optical out signal , to another mdr.

If the cd was burnt with your own music files, you can get past SMCS. The fact that i spent 24 pounds on a high grade coaxial cable to record that dvd and then only after buying, i realised the smcs issue, is in the past i guess.

This deck is brilliant for anyone with a DAP. You can turn the input analogue signal up to 12 DB higher than the source, turning you hifi system into a 1200 track (in my case) juke box, Or make any other source, loud enough for proper listening through speakers, another example being my computer.

The Net md feature really is a must have if you do compilation discs using lp2. With the net md feature, you can do your 35 track, 3 album lp2 disc, easily. I use the deck's net md function as my net md, mz-n910, is starting to fail on me, and i forked out for an extra two years warranty on this puppie. I use it all the time, so im sure the extended warraty was a wise investment. And without further ado, the piccies:

*added three more macro shots*

Edited November 30, 2005 by GregTheRotter

[Ishiyoshi]

Simply brilliant! Thanks for taking the time to share your impressions and pictures.

[KrazyIvan]

A lot better pictures than what you posted up at the T-Board Greg.

[mercury_in_flames]

A lot better pictures than what you posted up at the T-Board Greg.

cheers man.

[ingoo]

Wow, at least you have an optical output, I want that on my Onkyo

Adding an optical out from the MD-player can´t be an issue of additional cost I think. Those few MD users in the world copying their analogue recorded MDs for personal use is nothing compared to the amount of music being copied through CD burners or P2P networks! So why be so strict???

[mercury_in_flames]

Wow, at least you have an optical output, I want that on my Onkyo

Adding an optical out from the MD-player can´t be an issue of additional cost I think. Those few MD users in the world copying their analogue recorded MDs for personal use is nothing compared to the amount of music being copied through CD burners or P2P networks! So why be so strict???

Allow me to explain, , a himd deck is going to be used connected to a pc 'mostly' right?? Also, You can get PCM on himd. If you are copying that recording via optical, and then are able to upload those files as wav files, then you've got yourself a 'lean, mean, copying' machine , in the manufacturers eyes.

[AMPlitude]

great review!!!

[mercury_in_flames]

great review!!!

Thanks dude.

On another note, I was checking out the Onkyo HIMD decks at a.c and you are right about no optical out being a bummer ingoo. Its not the illegal copying that I would want it for anyway, Its simply for if you go to a concert, record it, make track marks, you would at least want to be able to have an optical out for that, right? I can understand not giving consumers an optical out for the quality of PCM, but I mean, at least give the option of an optical out for certain bit rates .

[mercury_in_flames]

Using the JB980 for playback while connected to a computer

I always do this when I;ve just transfered music with sonic stage via net md. It has the advantage over regular listening, where instead of scrolling through all the tracks using ams, the TOC (table of contents) is actually on your computer screen, so whatever is available to play back on the deck is easy to see Another cool feature of doing this, is that like when playing back atrac files that are actually on your computer using sonic stage, you can choose where in the song to skip to, i.e no fast forwarding, just click and you;re there. All of this is probably very basic for those who have decks aleady, but this is cool all the same, at least if you are used to doing it all only by a deck.

[ingoo]

Allow me to explain, , a himd deck is going to be used connected to a pc 'mostly' right?? Also, You can get PCM on himd. If you are copying that recording via optical, and then are able to upload those files as wav files, then you've got yourself a 'lean, mean, copying' machine , in the manufacturers eyes.

I don´t quite get it. You are talking about recording a MD, which has a CD copied in PCM on it, to another MD recorder via the optical out? What kind of sense would that make? Only analogue recordings can be copied to another MD from the optical out or can be uploaded with Sonicstage. Or did you mean something else?

[mercury_in_flames]

hmm,i guess. Sonic stage doesnt let u record via optical out when u transfer the stuff to disc does it (to those with regular md decks..?) ? I dont think it does with regular md, But if they didnt put SMSC on himd PCM recording transfered via s.s, then that would be the reason why they didnt put optical outs on himd decks. hmm.

[mercury_in_flames]

I dont know why, or if it was there before, but when my jb980 is playing discs i can hear the mechanism inside!! This happens at the start of each track. Is this normal? This happens when i am listening to my r909, you know, when the motor spins up, and resumes regular playback?

[AMPlitude]

still waiting for a full-featured hi-md deck...

[mercury_in_flames]

I wish they would do a remake of the jb980 as a himd deck, same styling, but with himd inside. yum

[Mr_Bass_Man]

I dont know why, or if it was there before, but when my jb980 is playing discs i can hear the mechanism inside!! This happens at the start of each track. Is this normal? This happens when i am listening to my r909, you know, when the motor spins up, and resumes regular playback?

I think that is pretty normal, GtR.

Firstly some discs are noisier than others.

Secondly there is always some searching for the TOC (innermost track on the disc) at the start of playback, then the transport has to locate the selected track. Even if they are played in the "normal" sequence, (ie first to last) the tracks are not necessarily located on physically adjacent tracks on the disc, so the transport has to traverse the disc to pick up the next track wherever it is located.

Also the I understand that the player "buffers" data, so it is usually is reading ahead by a few seconds - if left uninterrupted it will therefore seek the next track a few seconds before the previous track has finished playing.

It is noticeable that the portables, which have to conserve power as much as possible seem to read their data in "bursts", ie the disc isn't constantly spinning. I guess this is true of the "G-protection" units which use this "read ahead" feature to cope with mechanical jolts, etc. This isn't particularly applicable to decks like the JB980, but decks often have other features such as "Time Machine Recording" which probably makes use of the same kind of buffered data.

Hope this helps someone (assuming it is reasonably correct )

[mercury_in_flames]

Cheers for the input dude. Its only a little bit annoying if I am only listening at a low volume on my micro system. I suppose it is more 'customary' for hifi owners to keep the deck itself a few metres away from the speakers? My md deck is right next to my speakers, that might be making the noise seem louder.

[garyc]

are your speakers shielded? could be picking up interference from the unit itself

[mercury_in_flames]

are your speakers shielded? could be picking up interference from the unit itself

I think so, But the speakers arent picking up interference. Its just the spin up noise of the deck itself.

[garyc]

ok.. I'll go back to sleep so

[mercury_in_flames]

Hey mr bass, one ques, I have an mz-n910. I was having trouble transfering a track i bought off connect to a disc using my jb980, but when i did it with my n910 it worked, It would transfer up to 95% and say 1 second remaining, but then it would just sit there. I cant understand it

[Mr_Bass_Man]

Hey mr bass, one ques, I have an mz-n910. I was having trouble transfering a track i bought off connect to a disc using my jb980, but when i did it with my n910 it worked, It would transfer up to 95% and say 1 second remaining, but then it would just sit there. I cant understand it

Well ... my N910 just screws up recordings, period. It appears to be faulty, and the TOC gets messed up so that after I have finished transferring (or recording optically) it just says "BLANKDISC" every time - d'oh!

Anyhow, your problem is a bit strange. I had a problem with an MP3 file just crashing Sonic Stage every time I tried to transfer - in the end I got a different rip of the same tune, and that fixed that, but as your N910 appears to work, and the JB980 doesn't, that's obviously different.

Just out of interest you could try transferring it to a different format (SP, LP4 or whatever) and see if that makes a difference. It would be nicer if it was the "posher" unit which was performing better though ...

[mercury_in_flames]

Well ... my N910 just screws up recordings, period. It appears to be faulty, and the TOC gets messed up so that after I have finished transferring (or recording optically) it just says "BLANKDISC" every time - d'oh!

Anyhow, your problem is a bit strange. I had a problem with an MP3 file just crashing Sonic Stage every time I tried to transfer - in the end I got a different rip of the same tune, and that fixed that, but as your N910 appears to work, and the JB980 doesn't, that's obviously different.

Just out of interest you could try transferring it to a different format (SP, LP4 or whatever) and see if that makes a difference. It would be nicer if it was the "posher" unit which was performing better though ...

I managed to transfer the file at fake SP, and im pretty sure it would have worked at lp4. Yeah, i aggree its a bit bazaar that the jb980 is doing that. I will only get nervous when it starts giving me hiccups with regular, non-connect files, lol.

[mercury_in_flames]

*edit*

Just thought i;d mention that the remote is awesome. Why? How can a remote be awesome? Well some remotes only work at certain angles, maybe i'm the only guy with one remote like this, but this remote has a sensor right over the top and juussst underneath it, so you can hold the remote at just about any angle, even at yourself should you wish to do so (i've tried ), and it will still work. Ideal if you cant be bothered to get off the couch or ever move

[mercury_in_flames]

*a few more pics added, see page 1*