Not sure which of these to get....

[Thrush]

Thinking it's about time to buy new hifi stuff....

Bit of backround for you - I have been using MD now for years n years! I started off with a Denon portable recorder which I just hooked up with stereo RCA to 3.5 jack from my hifi to record to MD. Then moved to optical recordings when I got a DVD player, then got a (second hand) Aiwa (XR-H33MD) hi fi which has built in MD slot, so I could do "linear" recordings (correct terminology?)

Anyway, with the advent of the MP3 age, I must admit to using MD less and less nowadays in favour of MP3's

My current set up actually mianly revolves around my PC, which thanks to the nifty optical output soundcard I got, allows me to hook my PC up to my hifi (via the optical input) to enjoy my MP3's in crystal quality using my Aiwa hifi as an amp and speakers basically. It also lets me copy MP3's to MD, albeit in real time, from the PC to the Aiwa system. Mainly nowdays, MP3 is for the car/work van, as to me, it is still better than CD-R's as it is wipeable and re-recordable as much as I like, aswell as being able to add to discs, unlike CD-R's....

Right, back on topic!

At the mo, the only way to record MD's to my PC is by using the Denon portable, linking it to the soundcard's aux input with a 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack cable. Not great high fidelity there then! But my Aiwa only has optical out for the CD part of the system

So... I was looking about and found this;

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/mo...Product_ID/1123

NO this sounds great! 1.8 times recording from MP3/WMA on PC to MD via USB cable and supplied software, and also by the sounds of it, the same thing again from MD to the PC.

Then I also found this;

http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MXD-D3.html

Which struck me as great aswell, with 4x CD>MD copying.

Now, the only thing is;

With the first one, the USB one, it's limited to 1.8x copying, and I would need a seperate CD deck (unles sI just used the PC's CD deck - I pressume I can do this to copy from CD to MD?)

With the second one, the MXD-3, it has great 4x linear copying, but has really limited inputs and outputs - again NO optical output!!! Plus, it has no PC connectivity, and with the lack of optical out, I am stuck with analoge RCA-converted-to-3.5mm jack connection to my soundcard

So I am at a bit of a quandry as to what to do really....

One hand says I don't generally copy CD's to MD's much these days, so the USB deck would be good for copying albums from the PC to MD, but then the other side says that losing CD>MD copying would be poo, specially since the MXD would let me do 4x copying....

Hmmm.... Advice?

Edited May 24, 2006 by Thrush

[mercury_in_flames]

that MXD-D3 is outdated and not for sale anymore. I would reccomend the JB980 as it features Netmd.

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=12836

[Thrush]

  GregTheRotter said:

that MXD-D3 is outdated and not for sale anymore. I would reccomend the JB980 as it features Netmd.

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=12836

The MXD-D3 is still available second hand tho

[bobt]

Hi There,

Go for broke and get a HiMD unit, you can record through USB or realtime if you really want, a CD in Simple Burner takes 5 to 10 minutes.

Try HiMD, you will like it.

Take care, and good luck,

Bob

[Thrush]

  bobt said:

Hi There,

Go for broke and get a HiMD unit, you can record through USB or realtime if you really want, a CD in Simple Burner takes 5 to 10 minutes.

Try HiMD, you will like it.

Take care, and good luck,

Bob

Hi Bob, thanks for the reply.

I have thought about HiMD, but I would never take full advantage of it.

I used to use MD all the time, but with the advent of the MP3 age, the only place I really use it these days is in the car - rather have a bunch of MD's kicking around in the glove box than a bunch of CD-R's!

I don't want to fully stop using MD's as I still love their user-bility (as I said before, they are easier to use and re-write to/add to than CD-R's, plus the lack of skipping, scratching etc) but I also want to make use of MP3's.

When I think about it, I don't really copy CD's to MD much anymore anyway. Well, I still do to an extent, but I rip all my CD's to my PC and I use my PC as my media centre anyway, which plays through my hi fi. So I copy either CD's or, more lately, MP3's from my PC to MD via optical cable from my PC.

So I am thinking that the MDSJE780 NetMD deck might be the one for me. Only has 1.8x times copying from USB, but thats not a loss to me as at the mo I only have 1x real-time copying anyway....

Only thing is, I would also need a CD deck with optical out, and an amp with at least 2x optical in and 1x optical output...

Course, the other option is to keep my hifi, and just get a NetMD portable, and use that to copy MP3's from the PC to ATRAC directly to an MD.... Might be cheaper also...

[A440]

It seems like all you need is a NetMD portable, which would be a lot more convenient than a deck. And you could certainly look for one used. Simple Burner and SonicStage will transfer your CDs or mp3s easily.

However, NetMDs are old, and you have no guarantee that what you get isn't worn. You can find new Hi-MD portables--2004 models that Sony dumped for low prices--for as low as $125-150 (US) at http://www.minidisco.com and http://www.minidiscaccess.com . They will make SP/LP2/LP4 MDs that are compatible with what you have now, and if you want to explore Hi-MD, you could. Look for MZ-NH700 on Ebay, too.

You can probably find NetMD a little cheaper, but for the reliability of a newer unit I'd get a Hi-MD.

[Thrush]

  A440 said:

It seems like all you need is a NetMD portable, which would be a lot more convenient than a deck. And you could certainly look for one used. Simple Burner and SonicStage will transfer your CDs or mp3s easily.

However, NetMDs are old, and you have no guarantee that what you get isn't worn. You can find new Hi-MD portables--2004 models that Sony dumped for low prices--for as low as $125-150 (US) at http://www.minidisco.com and http://www.minidiscaccess.com . They will make SP/LP2/LP4 MDs that are compatible with what you have now, and if you want to explore Hi-MD, you could. Look for MZ-NH700 on Ebay, too.

You can probably find NetMD a little cheaper, but for the reliability of a newer unit I'd get a Hi-MD.

I don't think my in-car MD player will even play MDLP - it's a pretty old unit! Gotta be 6years old or more! Thing is, it's a great unit and still works fine, so no reason to change it....

In a way I am leaning towards keeping my current set up and getting a NetMD portable purely for transerring to and from MD and PC- mainly cos a) I'd save a lot of money, my set up at the mo sounds superb!

On the other hand, at some point I will need to change it as the CD part is on the way out. Tho I could always play CD's from my PC through it's amp, I wouldn't be able to do as good copies to MD as I do now if the CD bit dies... Tho I could always cross that bridge when I come to it....

I never know what to do, I think I over analyize everything lol.....

[bobt]

If you get a first generation or RH1 you can legacy record on the unit, or with second generation, you can legacy record with sonic stage, and the still have new music for your car deck. All of them will allow you also to record mp3's as well.

Again good luck with a choice

Bob