NH1, RH1: best HI-MD playback units?

[WaywardTraveller]

Hello,

I read a review a little while back from some guy who argues that the NH1 and RH1 have the best Hi-MD playback out of all Hi-MD units, adding that the Rh10/RH910 pale in comparison to both.

I will be in Beijing before too long and, since my Rh10 was stolen in Mongolia (grr), I will be able to get an NH1 for about CAD250 or so. However, I bought an NH700 in Mongolia (yes, they have them in Ulaan Baatar - even NH1s, even though they're priced way too high ) as a replacement, and the only difference I am aware of is that the amps are analog, as compared to digital amps on the NH900 and everything above that.

So...any thoughts? Has anyone compared units? Say, the RH10/910 vs. the NH1/RH1 vis-a-vis playback?

peace

WaywardTraveller

[ZosoIV]

I have very sensitive hearing and have owned both the NH1 and older, non digital-amped units. In my opinion, there's not much difference - maybe the digital amps on the NH1 and RH1 are a bit crisper and exhibit a complete absence of hiss, but it's a subtle difference when even discernable. The artifacts from the ATRAC compression at bitrates lower than 256kbps are likely to be louder than any nuances you'll hear between amps, IMO.

If you're like me and stick to PCM for all recordings, then perhaps the digital amps might reveal some very low-level detail that would normally be lost to amplifier hiss. Once you use ATRAC or MP3, though, you introduce quantization noise, pre-echo and timing artifacts, and much of that very fragile, almost imperceptible detail is lost anyway.

[The Low Volta]

I own the NH900 and RH1 (HD digital amps) and my friend the RH10 (digital amp but not HD IIRC) and when I compared the NH900 to the RH10 with the same disc and headphones, I found the RH10 to sound slightly warmer/colored and the NH900 colder/more neutral/analytical

remember, these are my personal findings in a side by side comparison and still these were pretty minor. Also whether one is better than the other is still a matter of personal taste... I prefer the clean sound of the NH900/RH1 but someone more into casual listening might like the warmth of the RH10

BTW: the biggest difference between the two amp is in battery consumption I believe

[WaywardTraveller]

I own the NH900 and RH1 (HD digital amps) and my friend the RH10 (digital amp but not HD IIRC) and when I compared the NH900 to the RH10 with the same disc and headphones, I found the RH10 to sound slightly warmer/colored and the NH900 colder/more neutral/analytical

remember, these are my personal findings in a side by side comparison and still these were pretty minor. Also whether one is better than the other is still a matter of personal taste... I prefer the clean sound of the NH900/RH1 but someone more into casual listening might like the warmth of the RH10

BTW: the biggest difference between the two amp is in battery consumption I believe

I checked the minidisc.org Equipment browser and it doesn't specify the amps on the RH10/910...but it doesn't make sense to me for the NH900 to have a HD digital amp and the RH10/910 - 2nd-gen units - to have non-HD, "inferior" amps to a 1st-gen? Or am I missing something?

peace

WaywardTraveller

[philpem]

As of playback performance of the RH1 no complaints, the high definition digital amplifier is great, the equalizer, etc work good for a clear & nice sound, but as of ergonomics for portability I am getting quite frustrated with the damn eject knob! even with all the hold switches on, it is easily pressed in, resetting all configuration! Except when recording, the electronic lock does work (thank goodness).

To me this eject button is a huge mistake on the RH1. The designers at Sony didn't think this one out long enough, I'm afraid.

Actually, I don't mind the eject button that much. Electronic lock on playback would be nice though (maybe as a switchable option). Or even make the hold switch lock the disc tray - that makes some sense (you're not going to be able to hit play after switching disc if the controls are locked out, so why not lock the tray as well?)

And, this has been said before too, was it that complicated to add track info on the main unit's display?

Because there again when you connect your RH1 to your home or car audio component system when using the real line out function, -when no remote can be connected-, no track info available at all!

I agree with you there - a quick "Artist - Track" format display (or even group names instead of group numbers) would be really nice.

And to add on to the minus points on the RH1, a next group button would have been great too on the main unit.

Where would you put it though? The RH1's control panel is pretty cramped as it is. FWIW, my N710 didn't have a next group button on the machine, and I can't say I ever needed it.

There's another little quirk I've noticed - if the battery is too far discharged, when you plug the MD into the mains charger it'll blink "LOW BATTERY" instead of charging. If you unplug and replug the cable you get "RECONNECT USB", then if you do it again you get the usual "Charging: 60min left" display.

Methinks Sony need to come up with a "Version 1.1" firmware and fix some of these little bugs. The problem is they'd also have to issue corrections to the manual if they changed the display modes, and I don't think they'd want to reprint their entire stock of MZ-RH1 manuals.

The only other thing I miss is the "M-Timer" feature I had on my (feature-hacked) N710. In other words, it waits a given number of minutes, then stops playing and beeps at you. I used that to avoid missing stops on the train (never a good thing, especially when the next stop after Huddersfield is Manchester, and when the conductors take real pleasure in issuing you with a fine for 'over-travelling').

I don't want to turn this into a "let's all bash the RH1" type thread though.. the RH1 is a nice machine, it just has a few little flaws.. rough edges if you will. I don't consider any of them to be real show-stoppers - track info on the internal display is a damn stupid thing to remove (especially in place of a pair of cute-but-not-really-that-useful frequency spectrum displays) though...

Battery life is pretty good though - I've had about 24 hours of playback out of a single charge, and charging from flat to a usable level (80% according to the instruction booklet) only takes an hour, which is nice. What's slightly less nice is that the other 20% takes two hours (during which time the MD doesn't even announce that it's charging - hmm)...

[maxthrusters]

I haven't yet bought an RH1, but I do have an NH1 and DH10P. For playback I quite enjoy using my DH10P over the NH1. The remote for the NH1 is great for playback too, and works with the DH10P.

The DH10P dropped in price quite a lot since it was discontinued, however I still see it for sale. Perhaps you would want to look into it's pros and cons for yourself.