MZ-RH710 - Should I or shouldn't I?

[horace]

Hi

My local electronics shop has a brand new (UK) MZ-RH710 all boxed up and lonely. The asking price is £49.

I have an NH1, which has seen less and less use, as most of my music is MP3 these days and I don'r see the point in converting it to ATRAC...

I've always liked MD - had a string of players over the years and like the format.

I'd be using the 710 primarily as an MP3 player, transferring files from my pc (something I really wish the NH1 could do).

Questions: The price is right, but what about the sound quality of the 710 compared to a flash/hard drive Mp3 player (say, an ipod or similar)? Would the optical/line recording function be as good as the NH1?

I can't stretch to an RH1, so how much would I be losing in sound quality terms if I were to get the 710 (relative to the RH1)?

I do like to record radio shows (I have a portable DAB/FM radio which goes wherever I go) and have been known to copy the occasional CD direct to the player when away from my pc.

In many ways, I do wonder if a dedicated MP3 player might be a better option (bearing in mind my growing library of MP3 files) but ATRAC is handy for gapless transfers of classical CDs.

I did read that the RH1 sounds considerably better than the NH1 - if this is true, does the improvement in quality also apply to the 710?

Grateful for your views on this.

Many thanks

Martin

[Sparky191]

Recording I don't think theres any difference on a line in. The 710 has no mic though.

The 710 has the same MP3 bug as the other 2nd gen HiMD.

The RH1 and NH1 have the High Definition" digital amp. So that another difference. Seem like all HiMD sound different.

[horace]

Recording I don't think theres any difference on a line in. The 710 has no mic though.

The 710 has the same MP3 bug as the other 2nd gen HiMD.

The RH1 and NH1 have the High Definition" digital amp. So that another difference. Seem like all HiMD sound different.

What sort of MP3 bug? Sorry, I'm a bit behind the times here.....

Thanks

Martin

[KJ_Palmer]

The NH710 can play back MP3 files 'natively' ie without conversion to ATRAC, though you still have to use Sonicstage to transfer them from your PC to an MD. There was a slight problem with the playback, where the treble frequencies were somewhat recessed. This could be 'cured' to an extent by applying more treble to the equaliser.

By the way the equaliser has to be enabled in the Europe/UK version by applying the 'hack', which also removes the EU regulation volume limitation. Once this is done, the RH710 is a formidable player/recorder (albeit without mic in), well worth going for at that price. You can use a standard MD remote too.

[Sparky191]

Theres some info on it down the page here

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

At that price I'd buy it. I do most of my recording on the line in. Love the scroll wheel on these units.

[BIGHMW]

The NH710 can play back MP3 files 'natively' ie without conversion to ATRAC, though you still have to use Sonicstage to transfer them from your PC to an MD. There was a slight problem with the playback, where the treble frequencies were somewhat recessed. This could be 'cured' to an extent by applying more treble to the equaliser.

By the way the equaliser has to be enabled in the Europe/UK version by applying the 'hack', which also removes the EU regulation volume limitation. Once this is done, the RH710 is a formidable player/recorder (albeit without mic in), well worth going for at that price. You can use a standard MD remote too.

Preferably a NetMD or Hi-MD remote to go with it, you'll find plenty of them on eBay or ask one of the guys on this board if they can get you one, I recommend either the RM-MC40ELK or 35ELK, as they are widely available as factory aftemarket items. Really, any Net/Hi-MD remote will work well with it, make sure it has an LCD display.

[Sparky191]

And backlit for night time.

[horace]

Thanks everyone.

I'm soooooo tempted.

One final question - Is the latest version of Chronicstage better than the one that came with my NH1? (it was terrible, and contributed to the NH1's lack of use - I couldn't get the bloody software to behave). It seems the latest version is more stable, but there do appear to be people still having problems.

I will spare you the 'drag and drop' speech, as I guess that one's been done to death.......

I quite like the idea of an AA battery. Very handy.

Go on, persuade me to go for it - the shop is about 100 yards from where I'm sitting right now and they're reserving it for me until the end of the day!

Cheers

Martin

Edited July 20, 2007 by horace

[Sparky191]

ChronicStage LOL. Its much improved and 4.2 is decent IMO. I've had no real problems with 4.2 or 4.3 (for Vista)

Incidentally it supports drag and drop, thats a UI feature of most apps, MS Word for example. But not filetree or UMS. Which I know is what you meant. I only use SS to transfer music to and from my HiMD. I keep my main music library and recordings outside of SS. When I want to put something on a MD. I drag the files into the SS window from Explorer then just transfer them. When finished I delete them from SS library. I just use it as transfer tool nothing else. Unless I messing around with something anyway.

AA battery is much handier. I like it with my NH-700. I'm in Ireland. If you buy it and don't like it, I'll buy it off you at cost + Postage. I'd like a spare AA powered unit. RH1 is too expensive for me.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Sparky191

[bobt]

Buy it, you won't be sorry, and don't use the bundled software, get SS 4.2 or 4.3, even 3.4, but don't use anything older

Bob

[horace]

Well, temptation got the better of me and I am sitting here as the new owner of a nice shiny black MZ-RH710.

First impressions are very positive indeed. It's very well put together - no play in the lid mech when it's closed. The unit is very light and feels solid. The controls are nice - love that jog wheel!

Best of all, it sounds fantastic - much better than I had expected. In fact, I reckon it gives my NH1 a real run for its money. I don't know exactly why, but I was never 100% convinced by the NH1. It seemed rather 'woolly' and muddled to my ears.

I've just done the volume hack, but TBH I'm not entirely sure I got it right. I assume the fact that I have 'custom1' and 'custom2' in the eq options means I've succeeded? I found the 0113 bit, which had a line of constantly changing digits underneath it. I changed the last 2 digits to 24. Hope that was right - took ages to scroll through the numbers.

Haven't got home yet, so can't comment on the software. I'm an XP user, so was planning to forget about the supplied software disc and go straight for sonicstage 4.2. Is there anything else on the CD worth bothering with or is sonicstage all I need?

Anyway, I'm delighted. the only problem is that this has reawakened my interest in HI-MD and now I want an RH1! On that score, can anyone tell me if the RH1 sounds significantly better than the 710, or are the differences more about features/build etc?

Thanks for your input - you persuaded me (not that I needed much persuasion).

Big smile

EDIT: Now for a remote - I could use my NH1 remote, but it's silver. What's the best black remote for the 710?

Cheers

Martin

Edited July 22, 2007 by horace

[BIGHMW]

Now for a remote - I could use my NH1 remote, but it's silver. What's the best black remote for the 710?

Cheers

Martin

When it comes to the ones in black, I highly recommend either the RM-MC35ELK Black or the RM-MC55ELK Black (I got one on eBay this past Friday) to go along with it, and, oh yeah, don't forget to get a pair of matching set of MDR-EX85SL Black to go along with it/

The 55ELK Black is available at this link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...p;rd=1&rd=1

...and the EX85SL Black is available here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-MDR-EX85SL-Headph...VQQcmdZViewItem

I have this same setup, and you won't be disappointed!!!