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What's So Great About The MZ-RH1?

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uclajd

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OK, now that I have your attention, a friend of mine wants to upgrade from his MZ-NF810. He was considering the MZ-RH910 and MZ-RH10 (he actually purchased the former, expecting to be able to transfer his old MDs to his PC - oops! Had to do a freaking analog transfer of the one MD he needed desperately - gawddamn Sony). He likes the luminescent screen on the RH10, and the extra battery life, so he might return the RH910 for that one. He likes the battery clip-on on both models, as well as the multi-line displays.

But the MZ-RH1 was just released. He wants to know what is so great about the MZ-RH1 aside from the ability to upload old MDs and the level meters. Yes it has a remote, but no battery clip-on, seeming to shorten battery life from the RH910/10's. It looks uglier (I know, who cares, but musicians care about this stuff), and is missing the large front display.

So what extra features does this RH1 have making it better than the RH910/10? :help:

Thanks in advance. I really would like to know if this RH1 is really an "upgrade." :drinks:

I would like to personally tell Sony how they suck for taking this long for me to be able to digitally upload my old MD recordings made 5+ years ago on a first-gen recorder. You suck Sony, and you could have had an iPod years before the iPod, but you were too concerned with protecting your precious IP. How's that woking out for you? :rolleyes: If these were made properly from the get go, they could have been huge, instead of a niche gadget most people have never heard of. /rant

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Aside from the legacy MD uploading, the only other real advantage I can see is the date/time stamp feature.

Though I am sure there probably are a few other good features. I'll have to wait until my RH1 arrives to compare it to my RH10.

EDIT: Also apparently the RH1 can actually record in the legacy formats on the unit itself... The RH10 can only record in Hi-MD modes on the unit itself, though the 1st gen Hi-MD models can do both as well, go figure.

Edited by raintheory
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Besides upload of legacy tracks and recording in legacy formats, nothing at all. In my opinion, the rh1 is a downgrade from the rh10. The lack of a large display (that can display artist/track titles), jog dial to scroll through songs, and the lack of the AA addon are severe losses. The only way that I see someone can use the rh1 happily is with the 40elk remote, $70 USD, in addition to the $300+ for the unit. Stick with the rh10, it is a better all around choice. The rh1 is directed at recording and legacy enthusiasts. The rh10 is more for someone who wants a quality player, with all the necessary needs of a player.

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OK, now that I have your attention, a friend of mine wants to upgrade from his MZ-NF810. He was considering the MZ-RH910 and MZ-RH10 (he actually purchased the former, expecting to be able to transfer his old MDs to his PC - oops! Had to do a freaking analog transfer of the one MD he needed desperately - gawddamn Sony). He likes the luminescent screen on the RH10, and the extra battery life, so he might return the RH910 for that one. He likes the battery clip-on on both models, as well as the multi-line displays.

Apparently, MP3 playback is much improved, if this matters to you.

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Retention of record parameter settings is pretty key to the live recording people, as is the "micro deck" layout, which makes a lot of sense if sitting it on top of other equipment or wearing it over the shoulder (I would have thought they'd provide a dedicated case for that purpose?!).

Yes, it's ideal for recording enthusiasts (like me...!) and less ideal for replayers.

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But the MZ-RH1 was just released. He wants to know what is so great about the MZ-RH1 aside from the ability to upload old MDs and the level meters.

*ability to make quick recordings without shuffing through menus that reset your recording settings every time you finish recording

*grippy "designed-for humans" record button

*date/time stamp

*full metal body

*faster data access / song transfers (around double the speed. I dunno how this will affect the life of the discs though, since I would think if it were possible without affecting life of media, it would have been done in the previous generation. Or the generation prior. Hmmm)

You sacrifice:

*AA battery compatibility

*Multi-line display on unit

*Visibility in direct sunlight over regular LCDs (luminescent displays don't show up well in bright sun - mitigated somewhat by the LCD remote)

*Jog dial/wheel to quickly scroll through artists/albums/tracks, etc

*Tacky silver paint

*easy scratches and fingerprints

Big things in favour of the MZ-RH1, to me, are:

1) the ability to remember recording settings (quickly starting up a manual recording has been needed for a long time)

2) Date/time stamp

The omissions I'm not thrilled about at all (particularly AA support). I'll only pick one up when Sony announces 'fire sale'-type pricing :)

Edited by tekdroid
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Excellent response, tekdroid. My $0.02 is the a version:

The RH1 is a recordist's unit and its interface as well as the additional features others are unlikely to use are optimised for recording use. Anyone who doesn't understand this after even a cursory glance at the unit with the display on deserves to get burned for not buying a player-oriented unit such as the RH10.

"My $0.02 is the a version" should read, "My $0.02 is a short version"

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Don't forget about the dynamic normalizer feature of the RH1 - no more fiddling around with volume buttons (well not as much). It certainly works quite well on the NW-E005 etc series...

wow i missed that totally, it's a real selling point to me as i use a blend of bitrates, music dependant. hmm.

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just to chip in:

- the RH10 is an all-round player/recorder with pro's and con's

- the RH1 is a dedicated recorder with other pro's and con's

all the pro's ad con's have been repeated lots of times here on the forums (tell your friend we're a nice bunch of MD-freaks and he/she should really spend some time reading the boards :P ) and have also been quite thoroughly been sumarized by tekdroid (and others) in this thread.

The real question is whether your friend needs a player/recorder or mainly a recorder? If in need of a recorder, I wouldn't hesitate to advise the RH1... otherwise I would be careful, as I personally still prefer the RH1's look/feel/features over the RH10 (and I already have got a RM-MC40ELK remote so the screen is no biggy for me)

just let your friend read and decide and be careful with providing guidance as he/she will blame you if the final choice proves to be wrong :lol:

PS: this is also true for these forums... everyone tries to help, but we can't help providing info from our personal preferences (or gripes... RobA :P sorry, I know, for you defaming the RH1 isn't a hobby... it's a mission... just kidding, but you've got to admit you are kinda 'fanatic' about it even though you aren't even in the market for one)

so my final advice to your friend: think about what you need (and also what you like as needs aren't everything of course), read our reviews of both models and choose

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Just to agree with what's been posted.. the RH1 should be a fantastic recorder, but I really think the people most in the market for it are the ones with money already invested in MD as a format. I totally agree that it will breathe new life into the older MD decks-- now that we know we can record and digitally transfer, recording on SP on a deck becomes a much more useful proposition! (I know I can plug directly into a PC for a lot of things but I really think an MD deck produces a very nice recording-- especially as you can use nice RCA cables, any stereo equipment, etc, instead of adapters for 3.5mm plugs)

And the fact that Sony FINALLY is releasing a HiMD unit that remembers its settings is fantastic.

If you basically want a music player, the RH10/RH910 are excellent units that you may find cheap. They're a bit weaker for recording, but have nice displays and controls for playback. The RH1 is definitely optimized for recording.

I'd like to see some tests as to the recording quality between the 2nd gen and the RH1s-- if Sony improved the ADC or anything, or if it basically sounds the same.

Or, be like many of us and get the minidisc addiction, and get both. ;)

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OK, now that I have your attention, a friend of mine wants to upgrade from his MZ-NF810. He was considering the MZ-RH910 and MZ-RH10 (he actually purchased the former, expecting to be able to transfer his old MDs to his PC - oops! Had to do a freaking analog transfer of the one MD he needed desperately - gawddamn Sony). He likes the luminescent screen on the RH10, and the extra battery life, so he might return the RH910 for that one. He likes the battery clip-on on both models, as well as the multi-line displays.

One more thing - very important (at least to me) - the Hi-Def Amp.

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:huh: Que? On which one?

The RH1 has an "improved" HD digital amp (deals with sound quality). The RH910 and RH10 have just the digital amp (improves battery life). But, there are quite a few RH910/RH10 owners that love the sound of their unit.

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Also I believe that the NH1 battery is a good choice to keep weight low for the top model.

What would you do though if you were to lose/break the charging cradle?

1. Buy a replacement cradle = $$

2. Buy another Li-ion-using unit (NH1, NH3D, DH10P, EH1, RH1) so that you can charge your NH1's battery = $$$$

By the way, I also have an NH1 and I don't care for the RH10, so I'm not hating. I like the life and weight of the lithium ion battery, but for me, the LIP4WM is not one of the NH1's (and the above's) strong points over the RH10 (and other units that don't use the LIP4WM). Sony proprietary parts at their greatest.

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Jaylen: I don't want to confuse you. I'm joking about it. Sure the cradle is more expansive if you scratch the first. So I bought on ebay a second usb cable and I've modified it to obtain a charging cable without the cradle when I move with my MD.

This is my serious answer. Ok ?

Peace and Love,

Smemo

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a Sony Centre in Brussels (Avenue Louise 104, 1050 Bxl)... they had three in stock (minus mine) so there should be two left. Still the price is a bit steep (€325) but I managed to get some discs for free and (as I already explained in another thread so sorry for double posting) I just got €325 returned from my boss unexpectedly... so I won't miss the cash :lol:

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Jaylen: I don't want to confuse you. I'm joking about it. Sure the cradle is more expansive if you scratch the first. So I bought on ebay a second usb cable and I've modified it to obtain a charging cable without the cradle when I move with my MD.

This is my serious answer. Ok ?

Peace and Love,

Smemo

You didn't confuse me. I knew you were kidding. And, in case you missed it, I was being sarcastic when I replied to you.

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The biggest thing that SONY likes to jump back and forth on is Inputs and Outputs.

the MZ-RH1 and MZ-M200 has all the Inputs and outputs (mic, line"in/out", usb, opt"in"). You need to look at the manual but I don't beleive the units you are looking at has all the inputs or outputs.

I beleive all have computer access with USB.

You have to watch what Sony intended the units for. If it was a NetMD, it was intended for downloading mostly and has few inputs and only headphone output.

Some models gain a line input or out put but SONY was not generous with these on the NetMD models and more often took them away.

Thats why the rage is with the soon to be released MZ-RH1 and MZ-M200 which basically have almost every feature that Sony ever had.

You really need to look at the manuals and see what catches your eye.

O

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