Questions about MZ-RH1!

[fanimej]

First of all - i've used the search function but haven't been able to find what i'm looking for.

So, i'm interested in the MZ-RH1. I mainly wanna use it for recording interviews and listening to music. But i do have a couple of questions regarding the unit:

- My experience of recording with a minidisc is that the player itself can be a bit noisy. In recording situations where it's pretty silent you could almost hear the player when you later are listening to the recording you've maid. That's really disturbing. How is this with the MZ-RH1? Is it just as loud as MZ-N707 (that i have now) or is it better?

- How fast is the player? My other minidiscs are pretty slow in the menus, and when you insert a new disc and wanna listen to it. It loads a couple of seconds to much in my opinion. The same thing when recording, it's kinda slow when i've pressed the record button and then when i stop recording it has to like register the recording for a couple of second (like 6-7 seconds) Is it the same with MZ-RH1 or is it faster?

- How does it work with a mac? I'm currently using a iBook G4. Does it work just fine with mac or is it a lot of trouble? Can you transfer the recordings from MD to Mac without any problems (and the other way around, from mac to MD)? Can you transfer mp3 from mac to MD or do you have to convert them?

- As i understand, the MZ-RH1 is mainly for recording sounds and not as much listening to music. But how is it to use as a musicplayer? I have a iPod Nano right now. Would i be really dissapointed if i'd switch to the MZ-RH1?

- Does MZ-RH1 have a radio?

- Many people say that the MD is pretty much dead. What happens if i buy a MZ-RH1 now, will i still be able to by minidiscs in a couple of years? Because otherwise, it's just gonna be useless and that wouldn't be that fun!

- Do you get a microphone with MZ-RH1? Or is there any microphone that works (and sounds) fine with it that isn't to big? Sure, you can use a microphone that is like 15 cm but then it doesn't get so portable!

Many questions, i know. But i would really appreciate any help i can get! (Oh, and sorry that my english kinda sucks, i hope you understand what i mean!)

Oh, i almost forgot. I haven't been able to find any sound samples from the MZ-RH1. Would be really great to hear some samples made with different microphones, or at least one microphone!

[jay209]

i think the noise you hear is the microphone too close to your md player.

[A440]

OK, one by one:

The player makes a little ratchety sound for a moment when you start the disc. Then it's quieter than the MZN707. But if you separate the mic from the unit--even with the MZN707--and put the unit in a pocket or something, I have never had problems with noise from the unit. The many photos of mics that sit right on the unit, without a cord, are misleading--they will always give you noise.

It takes 10-12 seconds to scan through a newly inserted disc, depending on how much (or probably how many tracks) the disc holds. Recording start is right after you push the button, as it has always been, through it takes the display a little longer to catch up, as it has always been. The RH1 does have to write a table of contects to the disc after recording, and yes, that takes some seconds--again, depending on how much you have recorded. That's just how minidisc recording works. Think of how many MB of data it is saving, and it's pretty fast.

Mac functionality is more limited than PC, but improving. You can't upload old minidisc formats (SP, LP2 or LP4) to a Mac from the RH1, so you won't be able to upload your old discs--they will upload to a PC. You can upload Hi-MD recordings. You can download mp3s and play them directly. Here's a full explanation.

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=16424

Playback is just fine on the RH1--I doubt you could tell any difference between the RH1 and the Nano. But lots of other things that are cheaper and more convenient also do playback. (And you need both the unit and the remote for the full display of artist name and track title, which is inconvenient.) That's why a lot of us save our RH1s for recording--not because there's any problem with the sound.

No radio.

Minidiscs are reusable. So if for some reason the media are no longer made--and remember, you can still buy Sony Betamax tapes--you can always upload what's on your discs and reuse them. Supposedly a million times, which should last you for a while.

The unit doesn't come with a mic, although you can buy a package called the MZ-M200 that bundles the RH1 with a Sony DS70P mic, which is fairly big and doesn't pick up low bass. There are better mics for the price. Here are the mics I use for concert recording:

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2

They are about the size of pencil erasers. Extremely portable.

For most music recording I use them with this and record through Line-in, because that can handle loud sounds better.

http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm

It's the size of a car-alarm remote. Also extremely portable.

Both of the companies in those links offer many other mic choices, including a lot of tiny ones.

The recording guts of Hi-MD units are all the same, so listen to any of the Hi-MD recordings in the Live Recordings section--my album or others. What you'll get will be as good as your mics, your mic placement and your level settings. I think the quality is amazing for something you can put in your pocket.

Edited December 14, 2006 by A440

[fanimej]

OK, one by one:

Big thanks, great answer! Feels like i understand things a bit better know. I do have a few more questions:

- So the reason minidisc players are kinda slow (at least in my opinion) is because of the minidiscs themeself? Sure it's one thing when you're recording, but when you're just listening to music that you have transferred from your computer (like mp3's) is it still that slow or can it be compared to an iPod in that sense? I mean in how fast the menu is and what kind of response you get when you're browsing through your songs, like if you would like to go from track 1 to track 14, do you have to wait several seconds or is it really fast in that sense? Because i really like my iPod in that sense, that it's really fast when browsing through the tracks. Of course i understand that you (unfortunately) can't compare the RH1 with an iPod since the iPod is mostly for just listening to music and the RH1 is for recording music (and other sounds!)

- Are there any other microphones that are small but still are microphones that you can hold? Like the ecm-ms908c but smaller? Or is there any microphone that you can just attatch to the minidisc itself so you don't have to worry about the microphone at all? I understand those smaller microphones don't produce as good sound but i was thinking that perhaps some of them are rather good.

I've been looking for a device to make recordings with. At first i looked at the Edirol R09, M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 and the Zoom H4 but they just cost to much money! I'm not a pro, i just wanna play around a bit and make good recordings without having to pay for all those expensive gadgets. And when i recently found the RH1 i just kinda fell in love It seems just right for me, and that it also can work as a pretty good mp3-player, just makes things even better. I hope i'll be able to try one out real soon, i'm guessing i'd want it right away!

[Richard]

* Moved to Find Your Minidisc

[fanimej]

Would be great if anyone could tell me how the RH1 is as a musicplayer. Is it fast or slow when browsing your songs?

Came up with another question aswell. Can you use the remote when you're recording? Or do you have to press the record button on the player? Would be great to be able to just use the remote so you can put the player in a pocker or something.

[fanimej]

How about the speed in the menus? Is it fast when you're browsing thru your files or is it as slow as MZ-N707 (or some other minidisc that is a couple of years)?

[A440]

There's no delay in scrolling through the menus, but on the included RM-MC38EL remote or using the unit itself, you have to click through songs one by one. With the RM-MC40ELK remote, you can turn a wheel to look more rapidly through the songs, and just click to start whichever one you want immediately. Take a look at the extensive review from MDFreak to see all the menus.

http://www.mdcenter.nl/redirect.php?file=h...h1/index_en.php

There are lots of handheld microphones. Look at http://www.soundprofessionals.com . If you hold a microphone in your hand then you do have to worry about handling noise and not having a free hand, which is why I prefer little ones with clips, but that's up to you. Also, some handhelds are no better than small mics. Tiny microphones can still pick up excellent sound, as you can hear in a lot of the Gallery recordings. The kind of mics that just sit on the unit are not good--they will pick up every noise from the unit.

The RH1 has a big bump on the side for its Record button, making it easy to feel where it is in your pocket, and you can pause, stop, change level, etc., with the remote. Because the RH1 holds your previous recording settings--no menus to go through like the MZ-N707 if, like me, you have one basic recording setting (Hi-SP/Low Mic Sensitivity/Manual Level)--the one-push start to recording is a big advantage. Or, as above, you can start on Record/Pause, check your levels and settings, put it in your pocket and use the remote to un-Pause and start recording.

[fanimej]

Okey, thanks for that info. Can you adjust the manual level of recording while you're recording? Or do you have to do that before you press record? Do you change the record level fast or do you have to go through some menus for that? Many questions i know, i really appreciate your help

Edit: Ooops. Just saw in the review that "you can adjust the recording level during the recording by moving the jog button up or down (you do not need to access the menu to do this)"

That sound's great! So if i'm recording something that changes in volume i can simply adjust the level? There isn't any pause or something necessary to do this?

Edited December 17, 2006 by fanimej

[Sparda]

You can change the recording level on the fly. You don't have to stop or pause it.

[fanimej]

Okay, sounds great!

[fanimej]

I just came up with a new questions and i guess it's best to just post it here instead of making yet another thread.

When you transfer let's say 200 mp3-files from the computer on to a Hi-MD what happens with the disc then? Is 200 tracks created on to the disc (like really written on to the disc just like regular CDs) or are they just transfered on to the disc in antoher way (more like when you transfer to a memory card)?

The reason i'm asking is because it's a pretty big difference between browsing through 200 mp3-files on an iPod (i think it goes pretty fast and you don't notice that the player makes any big performance when it's changing from one song to antoher) But with a MD (like my MZ-N707) you really can tell when the MD hs changing from one song to antoher, since it's a little delay just like when you're changing tracks on a CD.

Is this the same when you have transfered mp3-files to a HI-MD or does it more resemble the iPod in that sense?

[greenmachine]

(Hi)MD is a relatively slow medium compared to nowadays harddisk or flash read/write times, uses a (magneto-)optical pickup, seeking will be more more CD like with noticeable delay.

[fanimej]

(Hi)MD is a relatively slow medium compared to nowadays harddisk or flash read/write times, uses a (magneto-)optical pickup, seeking will be more more CD like with noticeable delay.

Ok! I guess this is more of a technical question but is there some kind of limit on how many tracks you can make on a disc? I don't mean regarding data space (of course you can't transfer more data than 1 gb to a HI-MD) but can the minidisc really handle like let's say 1000 tracks or is that to much for it?