RM-MC55ELK (white) Vs. RM-MC40ELK

[akijikan]

I think in the world of MD, remotes have become a mini obsession for me. The newer, the sexier, the better. When I bought my MZ-RH10 I bought an RM-MC40ELK to go with it, because hell, last time I was up-and-up on MD, a three-line backlit remote was unheard of.

After I bought the 40ELK, I noticed the 55ELK. It's not really an MD remote, because it is only distributed with some newer Sony MP3/ATRAC3 CD players (specifically D-NE920, D-NE20). You can also buy it from some parts distributors, but at a price so high it makes it worth buying the nice CD player. I was fool-hearty (and in lust!) and paid 85 bucks for one by itself.

One more thing before I begin the pictures. I'm sorry the pictures suck. I don't understand why they turned out so grainy. Next time I'll borrow my bro's Canon 20D and take some nice D-SLR photos.

This is a composite, made in Photoshop, as I don't own 2 MD units

First thing you notice, of course, is that the 55ELK is a return to stick-land. Right off this seems like a big difference. The 3-line remote seems like a huge advantage, but in playback its really not. All I ever get on the first line is the group number. What do I need group number for? Then on the second line is the track number and clock. Those are useful. And the third line is the title display. Pressing the "display" button on the 40ELK shuffles this through track, artist and album titles. Doesn't change the other two (useless) lines. So when you compare this to the one line display on the 55ELK its almost just as good. Clicking the "display" button does the same thing. The only difference is the clock is displayed by itself as an option you click through. Playback display is a draw.

Recording, however, is a very different story.

As you can see, and as anyone who has done any recording with an 40ELK is that you get the level display. This is invaluable for stealth recording. Keeping the MD unit in your pocket and still being able to see (and adjust) the recording level with the remote is freaking awesome. Unfortunately, you don't get that with the 55ELK. All you get is a time display. However, if you are monitoring the recording with headphones, you can still adjust the level if it is too high. Simply turn the track skip knob on the end (when rec level is set to manual). You get the following:

Some other things worth noting about the 55ELK:

-- The sound button, when held down allows you to select from the 4 presets and adjust the 2 custom EQs (only if custom sound is already on, if off, it does nothing). This is pretty much the same as the 40ELK, just with less fancy graphics.

-- The menu operations available are identical to the 40ELK: Edit, MainPlayMode, and Option.

-- Something peculiar: wasted space (highlighted in red) in dot-matrix area of the remote...maybe it gets used by the CD Players it was designed for.

Conclusions: If you have a 40ELK, you don't need a 55ELK. The 40ELK meets and surpasses everything the 55ELK can do. This isn't surpising, since the 55ELK wasn't made for MD. I'm a little surprised can do all it does. I definately feel like I wasted money. I'm tempted to turn around and sell it, but I'm a sucker for the stick design and the "latest".

[Richard]

Nice pictorial and some good comments. Was interested to see the screenshots of the recording level on the 55ELK. Like you say I think maybe the 40ELK is better for MD overall, but the 55ELK has a great design and still does a few more things than I thought it would.

[pata2001]

First thing you notice, of course, is that the 55ELK is a return to stick-land. Right off this seems like a big difference. The 3-line remote seems like a huge advantage, but in playback its really not. All I ever get on the first line is the group number. What do I need group number for? Then on the second line is the track number and clock. Those are useful. And the third line is the title display. Pressing the "display" button on the 40ELK shuffles this through track, artist and album titles. Doesn't change the other two (useless) lines. So when you compare this to the one line display on the 55ELK its almost just as good. Clicking the "display" button does the same thing. The only difference is the clock is displayed by itself as an option you click through. Playback display is a draw.

That is valid for the RH910 and RH10, which for some odd reason, Sony chose to disable full 3 line support on the 40ELK (considering that the LCD on the unit itself is multi-line). The DH710 and 1st gen HiMD units, however, can utilize the 3 line fully, meaning one of the display option is to display artist, album, and song title, each in its own line.

Also note the poor brightness on the 40ELK, one of the complaints against it when it first released with the NH1.

Edited January 6, 2006 by pata2001

[pauljones52]

What is the weight difference between these two like?

[akijikan]

richyu: Thanks. I agree, I really really like the design.

pata2001: I thought the three line support was better on first generation units but I wasn't sure.

MattJ: In a very unscientific test (holding them one in each hand) the 40ELK feels like it has a little more weight to it, but the difference is negligible.

Edited January 6, 2006 by akijikan

[whitecloud1]

I have only 2 reservarions about the MC40ELK. Compared to the remote supplied with earlier minidisk which I have, (MZ-M1), the phones attach on the left side, so it feels upside-down and unnatural in my hands. The remote cable is too short, so if you are long-sighted as I am, it is very difficult to move further to arm's length away from the eyes in order to read the tracks data!

The only option was to buy earphones with longer cable. This results in a very long combined length of remote cable + phones and I find myself winding the total length around the MD. This is annoying especially when untangling.

Functions are excellent but the above irritations spoil it for me. I find myself using an older remote for basic playback.

JB.

[rentabau]

wow...those two remotes look stunning. i'm thinking of grabbing a hold of the 55ELK remote. do you think it would work on my MZ-M10? is there an edit function of the tracks? do you think it would work with my MZ-M10? i've read in another thread saying that the search button on the 55ELK won't work in hi-md devices.too bad...do you know any other functions on the buttons that can't be used besides the search button?

[superboy]

Question:

Can you change the option for the backlight on the 55elk and 40elk so that it stays on all the time? I can do this with my 35ELK, and I'd like to be able to do the same with the other remotes.

Also, there seems to be conflicting information...another thread shows that you can show album, artist, and track simultaneously on the 40elk, but here, you say you can do that. Which is true?

Finally, there seems to be problems with unwanted interference/noise with the 40ELK. I haven't noticed this with my 35ELK. Is this the case for all 40ELK users when recording? How about the 55ELK, is there noise when using that remote for recording?

[sector001]

love that white finish...

[jernikfra]

love that white finish...

love your cute profile picture every time i see it.your profile is empty apart from that, not sure if it's really what member "sector001" looks like.maybe that's your spy name, sounds like the kind of name a secret agent would use.

[Hungerdunger]

Question:

Can you change the option for the backlight on the 55elk and 40elk so that it stays on all the time? I can do this with my 35ELK, and I'd like to be able to do the same with the other remotes.

Don't know about the 55, but on the 40 you can. Just select Option, then Backlight and choose between Auto, On, or Off