Need Suggestion For New Player

[Spudston]

Hi all. I've had a Sony JE 330 minidisc deck and an Audiophase portable player for several years. However recently the Audiophase player stopped working and I would like to replace it. I would like something inexpensive that will play back my old ATRAC encoded discks from the JE 330. I don't need microphone recording so a simple player would suffice. From what I've been able to find out on the web, a new player would be backwards compatible with my old discs. True? I understand that ATRAC3 discs would not play back on the Sony but I need to be sure the ATRAC discs from the Sony would play on a new portable. Should I search eBay for an old player or should I go for a new one like the Sony MZ-NE410 that I see offered cheaply on Amazon and elswhere? Keep in mind that this is for light duty use.

Thanks for any help, Ray

[bobt]

Hi all. I've had a Sony JE 330 minidisc deck and an Audiophase portable player for several years. However recently the Audiophase player stopped working and I would like to replace it. I would like something inexpensive that will play back my old ATRAC encoded discks from the JE 330. I don't need microphone recording so a simple player would suffice. From what I've been able to find out on the web, a new player would be backwards compatible with my old discs. True? I understand that ATRAC3 discs would not play back on the Sony but I need to be sure the ATRAC discs from the Sony would play on a new portable. Should I search eBay for an old player or should I go for a new one like the Sony MZ-NE410 that I see offered cheaply on Amazon and elswhere? Keep in mind that this is for light duty use.

Thanks for any help, Ray

Go for an NH600 or 700

Bob

[A440]

For your old discs, you could also use any NetMD player. Go to http://www.minidisc.org and click the Browser tab to see all of the models.

The problem is that none of them--absolutely none of them, including Hi-MD units--are manufactured any more.

Hi-MD (MZ-NH**, MZ-RH**) are the last units, NetMD (MZ-N**) before that, regular MD (MZ-R*) units back in the day. The older they are, the more of a chance you are taking, but conceivably you could get lucky and find something barely used on Ebay. Scrutinize the photo and look for wear around the buttons, a good indicator of use.

The NE410 is also an old unit and was the el cheapo, bottom of the line unit. I never had one, but people didn't love the sound or the reliability.

Checking Amazon right now, I see MZ-NF520 (which has a radio in the remote, if you care) and the MZ-NH600, both better bets than the NE410.

The NH600 is the Hi-MD player, compatible with all older discs. You're not playing back Hi-MD discs, so it would be technological overkill, but it is a recent unit and pretty sturdy.

Presumably the ones on Amazon are "new old stock"--units that have been sitting unopened and unsold somewhere.

Check Ebay too, but at this point, I wouldn't buy any used NetMD for myself--they're just too old.

[Spudston]

For your old discs, you could also use any NetMD player. Go to http://www.minidisc.org and click the Browser tab to see all of the models.

The problem is that none of them--absolutely none of them, including Hi-MD units--are manufactured any more.

Hi-MD (MZ-NH**, MZ-RH**) are the last units, NetMD (MZ-N**) before that, regular MD (MZ-R*) units back in the day. The older they are, the more of a chance you are taking, but conceivably you could get lucky and find something barely used on Ebay. Scrutinize the photo and look for wear around the buttons, a good indicator of use.

The NE410 is also an old unit and was the el cheapo, bottom of the line unit. I never had one, but people didn't love the sound or the reliability.

Checking Amazon right now, I see MZ-NF520 (which has a radio in the remote, if you care) and the MZ-NH600, both better bets than the NE410.

The NH600 is the Hi-MD player, compatible with all older discs. You're not playing back Hi-MD discs, so it would be technological overkill, but it is a recent unit and pretty sturdy.

Presumably the ones on Amazon are "new old stock"--units that have been sitting unopened and unsold somewhere.

Check Ebay too, but at this point, I wouldn't buy any used NetMD for myself--they're just too old.

Hmmm, I replied once to this but I don't see it now....anyways thanks for the suggestions. I ordered a MZ-NF520 from Amazon. I didn't know MD players were no longer in production, so I'm glad I'm getting one now before they're gone for good. I didn't see any for much cheaper on eBay and those wouldn't have any warranty. Plus it's pretty time consuming trying to figure out the different models. Hopefully I'll get some use out of the newer features on this new one. One thing I'll like will be the battery life. It was terrible on my old Audiophase!

Ray