What to do with my MZ-N10

[slomd]

Well I'm glad I found such a useful community forum. I only wish I found it sooner! I recently purchased an MZ-N10 which is a pretty slick unit but in my late research I discovered it's great for recording but not for uploading (non-existent). I would like to make good quality recordings of interviews, ambient sounds, anything I find interesting... but mostly interviews to form a sort of oral history of my family members. The recorder works well. I just need to get s decent microphone. The power doesn't seem to last very long but I'm still pretty new to using it. I really want something I can upload with so I'm probably going to bite the bullet and purchase the RH1. Is it worth it to keep the N10 at this point? I guess it's a good player too since I don't own an Ipod. So should I keep it and get the RH1 or sell it and still get the RH1? What is a good selling price. I know I'll take it at a loss

Thanks

slomd

Oh and I did some research and found a program called win md.. Looks like this might be a way to fix the upload issue but at a cost of sound quality. Does anyone have experience with this program?

[Levanel]

Actually, you can "upload" tracks via the SonicStage software.

[sector001]

u can also keep it as a player or just sell it.

[KJ_Palmer]

You might be best off getting the RH1 and selling the N10, or using it as a player. Even then you could only play the old 'legacy' formats on the N10. If you want Hi-MD playback which is far more flexible it might be worth your while also getting a cheap Hi-MD player/recorder and using the RH1 as an uploader/recorder.

[Ral-Clan]

I recently purchased an MZ-N10... but mostly interviews to form a sort of oral history of my family members.

Seriously, if you're recording family oral history interviews (speech), then you really don't need to worry about the minimual loss of quality you will get from doing an analogue transfer with WIN MD.

Even a music recording transferred over analogue cables to your computer's sound-card can sound great if done carefully, with good cables and with the proper settings. The only downside is that these transfers are in real-time. I do analogue transfers from my MZ-R700 to my computer often and frankly, they sound very good.

No doubt a USB digital transfer from a Hi-MD recorder in PCM mode is going to be a perfect copy, but the real question is - can you actually hear the difference....and if you can, is it so slight to be worth the expense of buying a whole new Hi-MD deck?

People on this board make a big deal about getting a Hi-MD recorder. You hear some talking about legacy MD recordings like they were done on some sort of crackly old wax-cylinders now that Hi-MD is out. Don't believe the hype. These were the same people that raved about SP mode when it was all there was. Experiment and let your ears decide. You can, and many people have, made incredible recordings with SP mode on "standard" MD hardware. Hi-MD may be amazing sounding, but standard SP mode is still pretty DARNED good and is something we would have drooled over in the late 80s & early 90s when we were still using our cassettes and reel-to-reel equipment.

I think the most important thing is for you to get a good microphone. That will make far more difference than any loss of quality you will get from SP mode or doing an analogue transfer.

Edited May 8, 2007 by Ral-Clan

[A440]

Oh and I did some research and found a program called win md.. Looks like this might be a way to fix the upload issue but at a cost of sound quality.

You don't need WinNMD. Hi-MD Renderer, available free in Downloads (above), does the same thing with its MD Recorder function, and has been updated more recently.

Both WinNMD and Hi-MD Renderer use SonicStage to control the unit and play back one track at a time. Then the computer records each track as a separate file. It's a realtime recording. Before WinNMD, you would record the whole minidisc into the computer and then have to edit it.

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=7070

If you can live with the realtime re-recording, the N10 will easily do your job. You really don't need something as fancy as the MZ-RH1 to do oral histories--a little flash recorder with built-in mic like the iRiver IFP-7xx or IFP-8xx series or the Iriver T30 will also do that job, with uploadable recordings. You could also wait till June and see how the reviews are for the $200 Zoom H2, which has a built-in mic for very hi-fi recordings and looks promising.

http://www.samsontech.com/products/product...cfm?prodID=1916

http://homerecording.about.com/od/newprodu...m_h2_review.htm

In Ebay under Advanced Search/Completed Listings Only, you can see what people are paying for the N10 and see if it's worth reselling it.

But it's also a sleek little music player if its built-in battery isn't burned out. Here's more info on the N10:

http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-N10.html

Important: Don't use the SonicStage that came with it (if it did). Use a more recent version. You can get 4.3 from Sony or a 4.0 installer in Downloads. Those are much much much much much better than the horrible buggy 1.5 that came with the N10.

Edited May 8, 2007 by A440

[mmp64]

Well I'm glad I found such a useful community forum. I only wish I found it sooner! I recently purchased an MZ-N10 which is a pretty slick unit but in my late research I discovered it's great for recording but not for uploading (non-existent). I would like to make good quality recordings of interviews, ambient sounds, anything I find interesting... but mostly interviews to form a sort of oral history of my family members. The recorder works well. I just need to get s decent microphone. The power doesn't seem to last very long but I'm still pretty new to using it. I really want something I can upload with so I'm probably going to bite the bullet and purchase the RH1. Is it worth it to keep the N10 at this point? I guess it's a good player too since I don't own an Ipod. So should I keep it and get the RH1 or sell it and still get the RH1? What is a good selling price. I know I'll take it at a loss

Thanks

slomd

Oh and I did some research and found a program called win md.. Looks like this might be a way to fix the upload issue but at a cost of sound quality. Does anyone have experience with this program?

You could probably get a used, good condition HiMD unit on eBay for $100 - $150 - MZ-NH800 for example. I think for what you are talking about, you should move over to HiMD because the amount of time you save by doing fast (i.e., non real-time) uploads to the PC via USB would definitely be worth it.

[slomd]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I just purchased an rh1 online. I think I'll also keep the N10 for now to use as an everyday player (since I don't have an Ipod). Does anyone have a good link for an FM transmitter so I can listen in the car? Thanks again.. great forum.

Rich

Edited May 10, 2007 by slomd

[mmp64]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I just purchased an rh1 online. I think I'll also keep the N10 for now to use as an everyday player (since I don't have an Ipod). Does anyone have a good link for an FM transmitter so I can listen in the car? Thanks again.. great forum.

Rich

My recommendation is to look into having a "wired" FM converter installed, if possible. In my experience, FM converters really don't work very well. The only one I've ever had that worked well is one made specifically for my iPod Nano, which of course would not help you.

This is an example of a wired FM transmitter (this is not my auction, by the way - but this guy does a good job of describing what it is).

http://cgi.ebay.com/Car-Mobile-Wired-FM-Mo...1QQcmdZViewItem

You could also get a car MD deck - it would be limited to the older, original MD format, or if you get the last generation Sony, Net MD. You can get them on eBay for not too much. I actually have one that I'm not using but I can't quite bring myself to sell it yet. I'm sentimental.

Edited May 10, 2007 by mmp64