Which type of Minidisc for interviews?

[medium wave]

Hi everyone,

This forum is great - so much useful information.

I'm looking at recording some interviews and have fallen in love with the Hi-MD units, especially the Sony NH700. However, they are quite hard to find new and fairly pricey on eBay here in the UK. They seem cheaper from US ebay sellers, but will I have problems charging the battery?

So - I'm just wondering if it's worth saving a little longer and going for the Hi-MD, or going for a NetMD for recording and make sure it has line out, or invest in a deck for playback (which oddly seem fairy cheap second hand) for about £30.

I like the idea of USB transfer on the Hi-MD, but also like the idea of a deck I can connect to a mixer, use for different things etc.

Any thoughts much appreciated!

Cheers,

Jim

Edited November 26, 2006 by medium wave

[atrain]

i'd stick with the himd idea rather than the netmd - himd is really a two way technology where as with netmd, despite a few workarounds, is really just pc->md or recording->md.

the extra money will have been worthwhile the first time you need to use the audio on anything other than the md player imo.

[medium wave]

Cool, thanks for that atrain. Sounds like the way to go.

Now just need to find one!

Cheers

[mdmania]

Cool, thanks for that atrain. Sounds like the way to go.

Now just need to find one!

Cheers

RH1 is the only way to go...so far that is the almost mdrecorder that is close to being perfect arguably.

[A440]

Going back to your original question:

The NH700 runs on a regular AA battery, which is a very good feature. A rechargeable comes with it that will recharge in the unit, but I never do that--either I use my own long-life AA rechargeables in my own charger (three times the life of the one that comes with the unit) or I just put in a regular Duracell AA. Most of the new NH700s that are still around are actually from Australia, so US sellers add a US adapter that won't be useful to you. (I don't know if the original Australian one is the same as a British one). But in the two years I have had my Hi-MD I have never once used the adapter. You don't need it.

The NH700 is a little less convenient to use than the RH1--you have to go through some extra menus to record with Manual Volume. (But for interviews you don't need Manual Volume--the default, Auto Gain Control, is better.) Since you are new to minidisc, you do not need what us old-timers have paid a premium for: uploading our old MD recordings, which can only be done with the RH1.

I have the NHF800, same as the NH700 plus a radio remote, and it's a great little recorder--long battery life, excellent sound. The MZ-RH1 is prettier, slightly more convenient, etc., but if budget is a question then I would have no reservations about getting the NH700.

I actually prefer the AA battery in the NH700/NHF800 to the flat rechargeable one in the RH1, since you can find a replacement anywhere if you need one.

Edited November 27, 2006 by A440

[King Ghidora]

I also have a NHF800 and I agree with pretty much everything said by A440. There are advantages to the RH1 for sure but IMO the battery is a pretty big disadvantage in all HIMD's from the 2nd generation models on up.

I will put up with having to go through a few menus to setup manual audio control in order to get a recorder that uses a battery as common as the AA. You will just never have a problem getting a battery for one of the 1st generation units. I'm not so sure that will be the case a few years down the road with the RH1.

I realize that most people will replace their recorder before battery availability becomes an issue but I still have my first MD recorder and I still use it. I expect my NHF800 to be useful for several years to come. It would be a shame to not be able to get a battery for it while it is still functional. Obviously I can't predict that will happen but I can predict that I will be able to get batteries for my NHF800 for a long time into the future.

Then of course there's the price difference. For quite a long time a company offered first generation HIMD recorders on eBay for prices that were quite good. The NHF800 sometimes sold for around $100 and I've seen the NH700 go for around $75. I bought a slightly used NHF800 with a bunch of discs for $115. That's quite a bit less than the RH1 costs.

[Sparda]

For just interviews I think the NH700 is enough. But in my opinion I think that the RH1 is really worth the money it would do you go in the later years. If you can get your hands another another Li-Ion battery then thats a good idea.