philpem Posted August 24, 2006 Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 I've just got back from town with a new toy.. a brand-new MZ-RH1.Picked it up from the Leeds Sony Centre this morning (they had one more - call ahead if you want it). Price was £229, and they threw in a pack of two 1GB HiMD discs as well. I guess, in effect, I've paid £219 for the machine, which isn't too bad. It's a European model (obviously) - half the box weight consisted of no less than half a dozen copies of the instruction manual, in English, French, German, Spanish and a few other languages I don't recognise. For extra bonus points, they only got them in stock this morning It's been out of its box for ten minutes, and I'm in love. The sound quality is unbelievable - I haven't had to do any EQ tweaking to get decent sound out of my MX500s (I had to up the bass a little on my MZ-N710), and it's quite happy playing my old MDs. I'll have a look in my junk box to see if I've got a mini-USB connector, then I'm going to look into modding one of my old EBUs (External Battery Unit - basically a pair of NiMH AAs and a 5V step-up converter with overvoltage protection) to run the RH1.I'm installing SonicStage now (I feel dirty...) but I plan to use Simpleburner as much as possible. It's nice to get that with the player instead of having to hunt for it and install it manually...It does look nice sitting on my varnished pine computer desk, too (sorry, I'm a compulsive show-off, but I rarely ever have anything new enough and nice enough to be worth showing off...)If anyone wants to see the RH1 sitting next to my old N710, let me know and I'll dig out my camera.Now to cancel that "pre-order"...Thanks folks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atrac3 Posted August 24, 2006 Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 Congratulations for your new RH1, philpem... ;-)I am sure that it will give you many satisfaction.Greetings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpem Posted August 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 Congratulations for your new RH1, philpem... ;-)I am sure that it will give you many satisfaction.Indeed it will. Shame Connect won't let me log in ("your licence is not valid for this computer"), but I don't really care as long as I can rip from CD to MD.The only thing I really don't like is the little fleece pouch. For £229 they could probably have done a bit better, but the machine itself is pretty much flawless.I think I'm going to leave the filter blocks off the remote cable though - they're a bit on the heavy side. That's not mentioning the fact that (knowing my luck) they'll probably get caught on something in my pocket, then I'll either end up with the contents of my pocket all over the floor, or I'll end up with a broken remote...I think I'm going to scuttle off and cut up a screen protector for the RH1 before the plastic display cover gets scratched. Ideally I'd like my cute little MD recorder to remain cute for as long as possible. At the moment I'm handling it like the proverbial bottle of nitroglycerine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heathenmagic Posted August 24, 2006 Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 Hello there,Just phoned my Sony Centre here in Leicester. Reserved the last one at £249. Wonder why the price difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpem Posted August 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 Just phoned my Sony Centre here in Leicester. Reserved the last one at £249. Wonder why the price difference?I think it's something along the lines of: - Sony set the trade price, i.e. the price they charge retailers for the machines - The individual retailer adds their markup - The retailer sells to the public at that priceLast time I checked, the Sony Centres were all franchises. IIRC Jones of Oakwood run (or at least used to run) the Leeds Sony Centre, but I'm not sure who runs the Leicester one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atrac3 Posted August 24, 2006 Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 I hope your RH1, as well as mine, will be alive for many years, philpem.However, when (and if...) the RH1 price will be more affordable I think to buy a back-up unit to take ready for every evenience...If this will be really the last MD unit made by Sony then a second RH1 will be a must to buy.I prefer to buy another RH1 instead one of Onkyo Hi-MD deck. This also because Onkyo Hi-MD units are enough expensive to buy (since they are available only from Japan import).I hope in some way that Sony, looking at high (and unexpected ) popolarity of the RH1 (high request from worldwide users), will release other portable MD units in the next years (MZ-RH2, MZ-RH3 and so on...) and some Hi-MD decks like Onkyo already do from some years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpem Posted August 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 I hope your RH1, as well as mine, will be alive for many years, philpem.My MZ-N710 cost me £99 (or something like that, can't remember the exact figure) as a refurb back in July 2004, and it still works flawlessly. Based on the fact that my N710 has survived two and a half years and has loads of life left in it, I'd hope to get at least five years out of the RH1. That said, I hear the BBC have a lot of the older MZ-1 recorders still in service and they're, what, 15 years old now?I suppose most of it's down to how you treat it. Keep it well protected and it'll last a good while. My N710 spent most of its life in its belt-clip pouch (when it wasn't being charged). As a result of that, cosmetically it's near perfect (there's a small scratch on the front casing, but you can only see it if the light is 'just so').Main reason I started buying MD kit was because I know how fragile hard drives are, and how expensive they are to replace (especially in iPods). Plus I wanted to record stuff - lectures, concerts, and so forth. Last I checked, you couldn't record on an iPod, and when the hard drive's full, you're stuffed (unless you buy a new 'pod with a bigger HD).However, when (and if...) the RH1 price will be more affordable I think to buy a back-up unit to take ready for every evenience...If this will be really the last MD unit made by Sony then a second RH1 will be a must to buy.I hope it does come down in price a bit. Maybe then I'll be able to persuade a few friends to make the jump from iPod to MD (probably when their iPod HDs die and they realise just how expensive iPod hard drives are) I prefer to buy another RH1 instead one of Onkyo Hi-MD deck. This also because Onkyo Hi-MD units are enough expensive to buy (since they are available only from Japan import).There are Hi-MD decks now?! When did this happen?I hope in some way that Sony, looking at high (and unexpected ) popolarity of the RH1 (high request from worldwide users), will release other portable MD units in the next years (MZ-RH2, MZ-RH3 and so on...) and some Hi-MD decks like Onkyo already do from some years...I'm not fussed for HiMD separates decks - most of the time, the only part of my separates system that's turned on is the power amp (which is wired to the PC). If they do make more Minidisc portables, the RH1 is going to be really hard to beat. Plus you have the problem that nearly everyone who's interested in MD will have an RH1 on their desk (or in their pocket). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atrac3 Posted August 24, 2006 Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 I cannot find enough courage to do a confession:I have a black iPod Nano (2 GB), too..... It was a gift that I received the last year: I have used it only a couple of times but I prefer the black of my MZ-RH1... I hope that the moderator does not delete my account after known that I have an iPod... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylen Posted August 24, 2006 Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 I cannot find enough courage to do a confession:I have a black iPod Nano (2 GB), too..... It was a gift that I received the last year: I have used it only a couple of times but I prefer the black of my MZ-RH1... I hope that the moderator does not delete my account after known that I have an iPod... Nothing shameful about owning an iPod or anything not Minidisc. But, what is shameful is letting a crowd of strangers on the internet "bully" you into thinking so. Everyone has different (audio) needs and I'm sure everyone on this forum will be (and should be) respectful of that, including the Mods, whom I find to be pretty professional (and hilarious) about things. I received a video iPod as a gift myself and there are others here with iPods. You just don't see us talking about them, well, because this IS a minidisc forum afterall. philpem: Congrats on your RH1. The Onkyo Hi-MD decks have been available at AudioCubes and other Japanese e-tailers (can't remember right now - richyhu would know better) for some time now. Might be a nice addition to your new MD portable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpem Posted August 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 I have a black iPod Nano (2 GB), too..... It was a gift that I received the last year: I have used it only a couple of times but I prefer the black of my MZ-RH1... There's absolutely nothing wrong with owning an iPod. I know a lot of friends who have them, and they're nice enough machines. I bet there are a few other forum regulars here with iPods, but they don't get much of a mention here because, well, this is minidisc.org...Everyone has different tastes and preferences - one person might prefer a hard drive player because they've got lots of music, someone else might want a Minidisc because he/she is in a band and wants to record their shows, etc. It's all a matter of personal preference... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heathenmagic Posted August 24, 2006 Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 Finally got it! Must say it has exceeded expectations so far. Usually I have high expectations of things, and they are never usually realised. I think another reason Sony Leicester may be more expensive is because the rent of retail outlets and other costs are the highest in the country, even compared to Leicester. I can testify to that as I run a shop in Leicester. I think I made a good purchase today....Everyone on this thread speaks a lot of sense. I have always enjoyed the superb sound quality on MD decks and players, and some of my friends own ipods and the like, but still use MD, with the same comment in mind. Plus it is great for recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atrac3 Posted August 25, 2006 Report Share Posted August 25, 2006 I'm glad to know other users in this forum are buying a Sony MZ-RH1, In From The Storm... congratulations... :-)))For the iPod: my post was enough ironic... iPod is really nice to see and to hear, but since I am an old Mac user I find its user interface few Mac-like and little intuitive (music transfer, basic operations, recharge, etc...).I prefer my old MZ-R30 and its large buttons... I am of another generation (I started in 80's with a portable analogic tape recorder so when the first digital MD units were available I thinked to be in a beauty dream...). I prefer a solid unit and not a thiny unit that becomes easily dirty to only watch it (you should always have a little cloth to celan it...). Then with my old MZ-R30 and a little mic I can record without problem.I know that today the style is overall important (and Apple know well this point...) and so I think that the new black RH1 is more interesting that iPod Nano black in the field of the style, altough RH1 is more for do records that to use only like music player (however it can be used also like player and this is a "point for").At last we know that Atrac3 plus level of compression works more fine that MP3 compression but also here we can record in Linear PCM 44,100 KHz and enjoy of higher music quality than MP3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grf Posted August 25, 2006 Report Share Posted August 25, 2006 (edited) Hi Philpem,I am glad you got your RH1 OK. You can safely remove the Ferrite cores from all the leads of the RH1 (USB and low volt supply) they are only put on to get it through the EEC Electrical Emission rules. With them removed I have not detected any interference from the wires. You PC laptop or screen emits far more...I would start a thread in the SS software help section about your SS 3.4 error.I am sure its fixable. You could always ring Sony UK for a fix. I have rung them before and the help desk was very helpful.Best regardsGraham Edited August 25, 2006 by grf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpem Posted August 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2006 I am glad you got your RH1 OK. You can safely remove the Ferrite cores from all the leads of the RH1 (USB and low volt supply) they are only put on to get it through the EEC Electrical Emission rules. With them removed I have not detected any interference from the wires. You PC laptop or screen emits far more...I've left them on the USB cable, but I haven't bothered putting them on the remote cable. If the Eurocrats want me to use them, they can file a formal grievance with me, which will likely be redirected to the very innovatively-styled Ikea circular metal filing cabinet in the corner of the room. The one with the "RECYCLE" sticker on the side. As far as I can tell, they'll just increase the chance of the remote cable getting ripped out or damaged. MC38ELs aren't cheap, so I don't intend to break any of them.I would start a thread in the SS software help section about your SS 3.4 error.I am sure its fixable. You could always ring Sony UK for a fix. I have rung them before and the help desk was very helpful.I emailed the Connect helpdesk about it - turns out my Connect account is tied to one PC. I consider that a little too restrictive (I might want to download stuff onto my laptop too), so I think I'll stick to CDs. At least then I don't have to jump through hoops when dealing with Sony's DRM system.Now that just leaves one more problem with the RH1 - when you've uploaded a lot of music to it, it's absolutely glacially slow to start up. Mine's spending a good 15-20 seconds (I assume) scanning the contents of of the disc before it even starts playing. With "Quick Mode" turned on, that's reduced to less than a second, but I wonder how much battery life that's going to use up. I doubt it's much if the CPU and DSP are powered down, but it'd still be nice to know.The only weird thing I've noticed is that it's been on charge twice, and it's never displayed the "Charging - N:nn:nn" time display, just the battery gauge creeping up from zero then flipping back again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Low Volta Posted August 25, 2006 Report Share Posted August 25, 2006 - it doesn't display the charge-time when charging from a computer...only from a wal-plug- quickmode does use a bit of power all the time, but startup without consumes a lot as well so it is good to set quickmode on if you're going to turn it off/on a lot and set it to 'off' when you're not going to use your RH1 for a while (at night or something)... or just keep it on and make a habit of charging the RH1 whnever you're not using it (LiIon batteries don't really mind that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpem Posted August 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2006 - it doesn't display the charge-time when charging from a computer...only from a wal-plugWell, that explains a lot.. I've been charging it off the PC (no sense having another brick-on-a-string plugged in if I can get the PC to do the same thing), so all I've been seeing is the charge indicator and the "PC--MD" message.- quickmode does use a bit of power all the time, but startup without consumes a lot as well so it is good to set quickmode on if you're going to turn it off/on a lot and set it to 'off' when you're not going to use your RH1 for a while (at night or something)... or just keep it on and make a habit of charging the RH1 whnever you're not using it (LiIon batteries don't really mind that)Right, I'll leave Quick mode on then.My RH1 just went a little silly on me - it was playing track 19, I skipped to track 20, and it started seeking back and forth. Not only that, but its response to the switches slowed to a crawl. I ejected and reinserted the disc (a brand-new Sony 1GB HiMD) and now it's working fine - go figure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestax Posted August 26, 2006 Report Share Posted August 26, 2006 Hello there,Just phoned my Sony Centre here in Leicester. Reserved the last one at £249. Wonder why the price difference?I saw that and was tempted but got mine from HomeCinemaTV.co.uk for £207 (including postage). It looks like the shortages are over.Up to now I've been a DAT-head but I'v often hankered for something smaller. The features of the RH1 finally swayed me. The ability to record in PCM and transfer quickly in digital mode is essential IMHO. I cracked the method of reading DATs directly into a PC some time ago but it's a slow process since it's almost real-time.So, I tried mine out for the first time by recording a gig by my son's band on Wednesday night. With the same microphone that I use with my (Sony) DAT, the sound seems somewhat 'warmer'. Not so much top-end. I also found that I'd got the recording level a bit high (I never use AGC) so the waveforms clip a bit in places. I don't find the recording level indicators as good as those on my DAT.The big problem came next day when I tried to transfer to my PC. My Windows 2000 PC doesn't like SonicStage at all. It crashes every time I try to transfer - but I think that's a USB problem. My laptop's OK but when I tried to transfer the recording, it died halfway with disk error. Listening through the recording, there are three, very short silences which I guess are all disk errors. I split the track to isolate them and managed to transfer all the rest. I'm going to have to resort to using the line-out socket and going through analogue if i want to get the complete set to my PC. Not good!Has anybody else had problems like this? How do I prevent it in future or do I have to live with it?Del-Boy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c864fd5d Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 Hello:I want to buy RH1,but on the net somebody mention when transferring recorded file to PC,there are a risk of losing the original file during the process,then also have the risk of error transferring ,is it true?If it is true, I feel very dangerous in use of this type of recording tool.Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heathenmagic Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 Hello there,I can only vouch for my experience with this my machine, in that I have made hours of recordings, and transferred dozens of legacy recordings, and my own recordings too. All without a hitch so far. Touch wood! I have had mine for two weeks, and have been using it regularly I guess, two to four hours per day. If it doesn't go like a dream, then maybe there is a fault somewhere on that particular machine. I will be putting it through it's paces at gigs and for recording compostitions etc. Will let ya know if I have any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tunster Posted September 5, 2006 Report Share Posted September 5, 2006 Hello:I want to buy RH1,but on the net somebody mention when transferring recorded file to PC,there are a risk of losing the original file during the process,then also have the risk of error transferring ,is it true?If it is true, I feel very dangerous in use of this type of recording tool.ThanksThere is no risk of losing the original file. For example, if you have high bitrate MP3s to put over, all SonicStage (the software that transfers the songs) will copy the file into its own library. Your file will still be in its original place.Also, using SonicStage and the RH1, you'll be able to transfer back to the PC from the MD (if you use the same computer) if you lose the original. Hope this clears things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c864fd5d Posted September 5, 2006 Report Share Posted September 5, 2006 That mean when I upload the files that have recorded in Hi-md,then the software will COPY it to my PC,but not MOVE it ?Thanks .I will buy this soon,but now my local area do not have any stock.(I am in Hong Kong) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich1068 Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 Just to let you guys know (hi philpem, me again ) Sheffield (Meadowhall) Sony Centre sold their last one yesterday but could be getting more in on Friday. Also, priced at £249.99 with no flexibility and no throwing in of discs. Leeds Sony Centre however are offering them at £229.99 plus two free discs. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpem Posted September 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 Just to let you guys know (hi philpem, me again ) Sheffield (Meadowhall) Sony Centre sold their last one yesterday but could be getting more in on Friday. Also, priced at £249.99 with no flexibility and no throwing in of discs.That's a bit much... Actually, it's a lot much, considering you'd have to buy discs as well. IMHO the RH1 is well worth £229, but not £249.Let me guess, £15 for a pack of two HiMDs?Leeds Sony Centre however are offering them at £229.99 plus two free discs. HTHThat's interesting. My receipt (from Leeds Sony Centre) says:SON-MZRH1B Hi MD Walkman £229.00 (£194.89 EX VAT)But like you said, it comes with a pair of HiMDs, so what's 99p in the grand scheme of things LSC's retail on the 1GB HiMDs is £10 for a pack of two, just in case anyone was wondering. I think that's pretty much the same everywhere though; there are a few places selling the discs on eBay for a quid, but P&P on those was about six quid (!) - the old "cheap item, expensive P&P" scam in action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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