RH1 or RH10/M100?

[ocean]

I've been listening to a MZ-N510 for a number of years. About a year ago, I picked up a 5th gen iPod, and kept the MD player around for line-in recording. Recently, both have broken down and are far enough out of warranty (I also cracked the case on my ipod, voiding it.)

SO, I need something to replace my music playback and recording devices. Hi-MD really caught my eye. But I've got a few questions:

-The product numbers are a bit confusing.

What's the difference between the RH1 and M200?

I've heard there's no difference at all, but sonystyle is ambiguous.

What's the difference between the RH10(M100) and M10 (RH910)?

It looks to me like only the display is different--backlit, instead of LCD. Anything else I should know about.

But assuming that these models are similar within their groups, what are the drawbacks and advantages of each one? I'm looking at buying an RH1 or an RH10. The RH1 looks like it has more functionalities, but being as how it replaces my ipod for playback, I don't like the idea of song titles and play modes being stuck on the remote, which might not always be convenient. For this reason, I like the RH10's multiline display for playback and navigation. Which should I choose?

Edited January 5, 2007 by ocean_fx

[jaylen]

What's the difference between the RH1 and M100?

I've heard there's no difference at all, but sonystyle is ambiguous.

For this reason, I like the RH10's multiline display for playback and navigation. Which should I choose?

The RH10 is discontinued so it's pretty hard to find lately unless you eBay it. And, there's big differences between the RH1 and M100. Edit: It's the M200 and RH1 that are the same, except the M200 comes with a mic.

I'll let others highlight the pros and cons of each, but here's some background information for you.

RH10/M100

RH910/M10

RH1

Welcome to MDCF and good luck!

Edited January 5, 2007 by jaylen

[ocean]

Yeah sorry, I got that confused. M200, I meant to say. Looks like I'm defaulted to an rh1?

[Richard]

* Moved to Find Your Minidisc section

[bobt]

If I were me I wouldn't think twice, RH 1 all the way, with a 40 ELK remote.

The RH10 as nice as it's display is just looks too unfinished compared to the RH 1, and if you have MP3's the RH10 and the rest of the second generation had some listenng issues.

JMHO

Bob

[A440]

Get an RH1. The display isn't ideal, but just about everything else is.

The M10 and M100 units were Mac-compatible versions of the RH910 and RH10, and Sony charged a premium for them until it finally wrapped Mac compatibility into the RH1 (which is also pretty expensive, come to think of it). The M200 is just the RH1 packaged with an unimpressive Sony mic.

I haven't owned an RH10, but people who did were disappointed, as you can read here:

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=16703

Mp3 playback on the RH910 and RH10 was, if not crippled, at least a little lame--high frequencies were cut off so that they sounded dull, unless you wanted to fiddle with equalization.

Edited January 27, 2007 by A440

[Midnght]

As I posted in a previous post. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=18106

The RH1 and M200 are the same beast. The only dif. the M200 comes with a sony stereo mic and some other goodies far as I can tell.

But they are the same unit just different extras.

The Owners Manual for the RH1 and the M200 It's the same book.

Lifted straight form Minidisco.coms page about the RH1 down near the bottom of the page. Owners Manual Link}:>)

http://minidisc.org/manuals/sony/Sony_MZ-RH1_user_manual.pdf

[jaylen]

Yeah sorry, I got that confused. M200, I meant to say. Looks like I'm defaulted to an rh1?

Hehe, I figured you meant M200, but I just thought I'd clarify to be on the safe side. The model numbers can be a nightmare especially with a lot of vagueness and misinformation on some websites out there.

You're not completely defaulted to the RH1. There are other recorders like the NH700 still available; it's nowhere near the looks and abilities of the RH1, but it does have its advantages over the RH1. I feel that every Hi-MD unit is "missing" something (that's why you'll see a lot of us owning almost 1 of everything - lol). But, basically, the RH1 is relatively the easiest unit to get now, is the newest, and has a lot more recording/playback abilities compared to the older units, which is why I'd recommend it over something like the RH10/910 or NH700; it's probably the most complete unit. I don't own an RH1 myself because it offers me no added benefit over what I currently have in my MD arsenal (see my profile); getting an RH1 would be MD overkill for me. I don't need uploading, mic recording, or mp3 playback. So you see, there are some of us who haven't defaulted to the RH1. Happy shopping and good luck!

[ocean]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I've learned a lot lurking around here and at Audio-T forums. Anyhow, some questions:

How is browsing on Hi-MD? When I used to listen to my NZ-N510, I had to listen to the tracks in whatever order they were recorded in, or whatever order I set them in sonicstage, and that was that. Is this true of Hi-MD players? Is it organized by the order the songs were placed on the disc, or is it organized by artist, album, or some other method of sorting?

In lieu of anything else, I've been listening off of an old Atrac3plus CD player, and the Mp3s I put on my CD are by default sorted alphabetically by artist, and then by song. Is this how it works on Hi-MD? Can I change that at all? Speaking of CDs, how is the seek time compared to Hi-MD? It takes sometimes a few seconds to go from one track to the next, and not the short glitch I'm used to with my N510, but three or four seconds on a packed MP3 CD. Can I expect quicker or slower response from a Hi-MD player with lots of tunes on it?

How about folders? Does the RH1 support them?

What I'm really missing from an MP3 player is the sense of playlists. I used to have one playlist I listened to on my computer, and the same one on my ipod. Is there any way to facilitate playlists on a Hi-MD playe?r (my N510 has a feature whereby I can go through and specially mark tracks I want to listen to, and then listen to only marked tracks, but this was tedious. Is any similar feature present in this generation of players?) So is there any way for me to change the playback order, is basically what I'm asking. The size of hi-MD discs is such that you can potentially be looking at a lot of tracks all at once. I need to know that I cna navigate it if I have to.

Yeah, I realize I'm asking a lot of playback questions, and this is a recording-purposed device, but hey, I can ask, right? I really need a solid recorder for digital filmmaking and recording jam seshes, but whatever unit I pick up is going to be playing double duty as my DAP, since I haven't anything else.

Thanks for your time!

EDIT: I forgot to ask: how is seeking within a song? Is there anything resembling a seek bar, or am I limited to ff/rw (holding down the next/prev buttons, usually) or what? Thanks

Edited January 8, 2007 by ocean_fx

[Sparda]

Regarding the RH1 (and I'm sure the others too), the seek times are almost non-existent it is deadly fast. Groups/Folders can be substituted as playlists. You could also bookmark songs to make a playlist. And for the order of the songs are played, as far as I am concerned they play in the order you transfer them in. Play by Artist and other modes do exist, but I wouldn't know anything about them as I don't use them. What I like to do is put one album as a group and for songs by various artists that I have hand picked I put them together with others or (rarely) I just put them all by itself in one group.

[theblueraja]

My understanding is that the RH1 does NOT display track NAMES or CHARACTERS... correct? Just numbers??

[ocean]

My understanding is that the RH1 does NOT display track NAMES or CHARACTERS... correct? Just numbers??

My understanding was that it displayed this information not on the unit itself, but only on the remote. I hope this is still true!

[jaylen]

My understanding was that it displayed this information not on the unit itself, but only on the remote. I hope this is still true!

Correct. Now, get to shopping for one!

[ocean]

Thanks for all ya help, guys! I'll be picking one up soon! I don't want to have to buy from the sony store, but I have $100+ in gift money, so I'll have to get my store to order in an RH1 (they don't stock them normally--surprise?)

Thanks for your time

[Woodwose]

A little late here, sorry.

I have an RH10 AND an M10. All technical critique aside, the M10 just feels so damned cheap. Much lighter than the RH and oozing with plastic where the other is metal - and has nasty little fragile-feeling buttons.

It's also intolerably slow in response to touching any button - even switching on requires patience. Maybe it's a Friday Afternoon model...

Actually, I dropped the RH10 about a foot onto my desk two weeks back and the organic display faded to permanent nothingness over a couple of days. I called Sony's repair line. Left seven voice mail messages.

Nice to have a hobby.

ww

[A440]

The M10 is the equivalent of the RH910, which when it was introduced was the bargain-basement Hi-MD recorder with a mic jack--cheaper than the NH units.

The M100 is the Mac-compatible version of the RH10.

I have an RH10 AND an M10. All technical critique aside, the M10 just feels so damned cheap. Much lighter than the RH and oozing with plastic

Edited January 28, 2007 by A440

[tekdroid]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I've learned a lot lurking around here and at Audio-T forums. Anyhow, some questions:

How is browsing on Hi-MD? When I used to listen to my NZ-N510, I had to listen to the tracks in whatever order they were recorded in, or whatever order I set them in sonicstage, and that was that. Is this true of Hi-MD players? Is it organized by the order the songs were placed on the disc, or is it organized by artist, album, or some other method of sorting?

Press NAV/MENU button

Choose:

Normal

Group

Artist

Album

Bookmark

Alternatively, you can search

On my MZ-NH700:

Hold down the NAV/MENU button for 1 second:

choose Useful

choose Search

choose any of the following:

By Track

By Group

By Artist

By Album

Each of these options will bring up an alphabetical list you can choose from.

The MZ-RH1 is probably the same, but with the limitations of a 1-line remote. Download the PDF manual just to check..

IMO, if you want to browse, the MZ-RH1 is not ideal, but may be ideal with optional remote with 3-line display and rolly wheel. A 3-line display is the absolute minimum I would consider if I did want to get around a disc easily. I only do PCM recordings which normally results in far less tracks per disc than ATRAC, but even so I would never want to live without a 3-line display and jog dial or rolly wheel on remote for getting around a disc. To me it just makes things sooo much more livable.

[ocean]

Thanks for the added detail--thats exactly what I wanted to know!

[cochra1]

Press NAV/MENU button

Choose:

Normal

Group

Artist

Album

Bookmark

Alternatively, you can search

On my MZ-NH700:

Hold down the NAV/MENU button for 1 second:

choose Useful

choose Search

choose any of the following:

By Track

By Group

By Artist

By Album

Each of these options will bring up an alphabetical list you can choose from.

The MZ-RH1 is probably the same, but with the limitations of a 1-line remote. Download the PDF manual just to check..

IMO, if you want to browse, the MZ-RH1 is not ideal, but may be ideal with optional remote with 3-line display and rolly wheel. A 3-line display is the absolute minimum I would consider if I did want to get around a disc easily. I only do PCM recordings which normally results in far less tracks per disc than ATRAC, but even so I would never want to live without a 3-line display and jog dial or rolly wheel on remote for getting around a disc. To me it just makes things sooo much more livable.

You only do PCM recordings? Seems a bit extravegant given that the best ATRAC bitrates are pretty near indescernable from the uncompressed sounds (IMO of course), especially when out an about in the city. Having said that, if you use the unit to play through a decent stereo I'm sure you would hear some difference.