Aaagh, heelllp...

[Ian-sama]

Earlier this year, my MZ-N510CK died a horrible death. (I'm guessing it had been dropped so many times that it finally gave in.) It just never came back on... *weeps for a short interval*

But, when my birthday came around in May, I wanted to get a replacement as a present. And this time, I wanted a Hi-MD. So I did some searching for the cheapest Hi-MD recorder I could find, and the best I came up with was an MZ-RH910, as it was the cheapest that had mic input and it was less than $200 in some online stores. Unfortunately, it was stll too much for my mom to buy me for a birthday present (maybe for Christmas, she said), so I decided to ask my sister to pitch in. My sis then began asking me why I didn't just get an MP3 player, instead of "something obsolete" like MDs. She then said that she would only help with the price if I could prove to her why MD players were superior. So now I'm kinda stumped, because while I know why, I don't know where or how to get proof of the superiority of MDs.

However, there is one more thing. Last week, my sis bought some old Billie Holiday records an an antique store. She was hoping to find a way to convert them to CD. Now, the RH910 could do that with a bit of work... if I had one... but I'm not sure if this would be enough to sway her, which is why I beseech the members of this Minidisc Community for help...

[A440]

Recording. Recording. Recording. If you're planning to record, then Hi-MD is still your most economical choice. Since you want a microphone input I have to assume that you're doing recording. You could get some dinky flash recorder or a HD recorder that's as costly (or more) than a MD unit, but you won't have the combination of convenience and fidelity you'll get with MD.

There's also the ever-raging question of sound quality for playback. If your main use for the MD is to play back mp3s, then maybe sis is right and you should get an mp3 player since the mp3 playback on the RH910 is less than optimum. But if you're ripping CDs to minidisc for playback--that is, if you're playing back ATRAC files--then MD is fine, and if you have a bunch of old MDs that you want to play back, you need MD.

And definitely hold out the possibility of converting her vinyl to CD. That's much easier with the RH910 than it was with your NetMD: just record in PCM (for best fidelity), upload, convert to .wav and burn. Does she think you can do that with an iPod?

One more thing: consider the 1st-generation units, like the NH700, still only $150 at

http://www.minidiscaccess.com/item.html?PRID=1553220

It has realtime SP (and LP2 and LP4) recording in case you have friends with old-school MDs. However, it will not upload recordings in those formats. My poor old MZ-NHF800 (basically the same unit) has taken a lot of abuse.

Edited July 31, 2006 by A440

[Cyberman]

A reason why I prefer MiniDisc is that it uses removable media.

I like the idea of being able to just pop in another disk and listen to, for example, a klingon language course, instead of my usual music.

With a monolithic device(i.e. MP3 player with only one fixed storage medium), I´d have to have both at the same time, chosing which to play whenever I want to listen to music.

Sometimes I record a new CD on MD, to listen if I like it. I don´t have to reserve space on the disk or make room for it, I just take a blank disk and record on it.

[Sparky191]

If you can demonstrate you will use the Mic and Line in a lot then the HiMD makes sense. Though you could record those records direct on to a PC just as easily. The sound quality doesn't hold up if you are going to buy a unit without a HD amp. Though personally I think the HD amp is overrated. The inconvience of SonicStage. batteries and low capacity/disk swapping is a disadvantage to many people. If you are recording the HiMD makes sense, if not then its down to what the individual finds convient which is highly subjective.

[A440]

A lot of PCs just have a mic-in jack, so to record a CD through Line-in would mean getting a Line-in interface for USB (M-Audio Transit, Griffin iMic, etc.). Of course, they are only a fraction of the price of a Hi-MD.

[Sparky191]

A lot of PCs just have a mic-in jack, so to record a CD through Line-in would mean getting a Line-in interface for USB (M-Audio Transit, Griffin iMic, etc.). Of course, they are only a fraction of the price of a Hi-MD.

...and lots, probably the majority have a line in aswell.

[tekdroid]

So now I'm kinda stumped, because while I know why, I don't know where or how to get proof of the superiority of MDs.

for me it's...

Removable batteries

Ideal for extended playback/recording while travelling and/or away from PC/power/whatever. Most mp3 players in same situation? Dead. Find PC to recharge, etc. Basics like this make so much sense - yet it's rare (but not impossible) to see from non-MD units.

Record from virtually any audio source (optical, usb, line-in, mic)

This can't be topped on any similarly-priced competitor that I've seen. You don't actually need a computer to use an MD unit at all. You also don't need a PC to record optically at the highest quality (with accurate trackmarking), either.

Record from MIC at the highest quality available for the price.

Perhaps the best feature for me, thanks to high quality analogue circuitry.

Removable media

Call it oldskool, but for me it simply makes sense and is preferred, especially when u have more than one unit.

On-disc editability

On-unit titling of tracks, 'live' trackmarking, rearranging tracks, etc. All is 'built-in' and standard in the hardware. Date/time stamp and Speed Control are also a handy features, IMO (on selected units). Again, no real competitors for recording flexibility (and all of it without a PC).

Trade-offs?

1) SonicStage (ugh...)

2) Relatively slow speeds transferring music to device via PC (Zzz).

3) Relatively low storage capacity compared to some MP3 players out there. Removable discs somewhat offsets this, tho.

4) Not entirely jog-proof like flash

5) Unit operation noise can be picked up in MIC recordings if not careful.

Also, no current MD portable can record off radio (if radio is something you listen to) - without hooking it up to external equipment. MD players don't offer some of the mobile phone-like features of their mp3-player counterparts, either. Or some of the small sizes.

Edited August 3, 2006 by tekdroid