Giant_Rick Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Hi guys, what's the best NetMD or MDLP unit (only the portable ones) for playing music? I suppose that any Atrac Type-S unit will do the trick.. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 After a lot of (internal) back and forth on this issue, I have tentatively decided that HiMD units play LP2 and lP4 back better than the NetMD units themselves. All HiMD have Type-S. For durability and good looks, it is hard to beat the MZ-N910. But for only playback, the HiMD player-only unit I have, the MZ-EH70, is a treat. And you can also make a HiMD disk that holds about 6 times as much stuff, at the same exact data rate (LP2), namely 16 hours, and listen to exactly the same music on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avrin Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 The best Hi-MD units for playback through a good Hi-Fi are those with the analogue amp (NH600/NH700/NHF800). They also sound really good through good headphones. ONKYO decks are probably also good, but I've never heard one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giant_Rick Posted November 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 I know that a Hi-MD will sound good.. I have myself a NH900 and it's awesome. I use it to record (in Hi-SP mode) a radio programme and I really enjoy playing it back on the MD. But the point is another. Even the cheapest Hi-MD unit (NH600) is not that cheap, they can go for more than 50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 I have seen NH700 for as little as 20 pounds, and several between 30 and 40. Another option if you just want something to play back, is the MZ-DN430. I just saw the first one of these today and they go for $15-30 if you are lucky, brand new. Quite decent sound indeed, but only a USB for input, and only headphones (no remote) for output. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrencouch Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 I have an N510 and a DN430. Both sound really good. I also have some S1's which, I know, are type R. They both sound excellent to me. I figured I'd take the (possible) slight noise quality hit and lack of remote for bombproof (especially in Orygun) performance of the S1. I can say those DN430's sound just fine. I think you can find that model with a radio too 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avrin Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 (edited) Just having Type-R is not enough for a unit to sound good. A good amp is also required. Preferably of the analogue kind, e.g., TOSHIBA TA2131FL used in some pre-HiMD units (NH600/NH700/NHF800 are equipped with TOSHIBA TA2131FLG). Edited November 5, 2009 by Avrin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giant_Rick Posted November 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 I have seen NH700 for as little as 20 pounds, and several between 30 and 40. Another option if you just want something to play back, is the MZ-DN430. I just saw the first one of these today and they go for $15-30 if you are lucky, brand new. Quite decent sound indeed, but only a USB for input, and only headphones (no remote) for output. Where a so cheap NH700?! I remember that the cheapest one I found was about 75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 There's one in germany http://cgi.ebay.de/Portable-Minidisc-Recorder-Sony-MZ-NH700_W0QQitemZ180424826774 ending in half an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrab Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 I have seen NH700 for as little as 20 pounds, and several between 30 and 40. Another option if you just want something to play back, is the MZ-DN430. I just saw the first one of these today and they go for $15-30 if you are lucky, brand new. Quite decent sound indeed, but only a USB for input, and only headphones (no remote) for output. The DN430 does have excellent sound, including Type S for LP playback. It's major drawback for me is that AFAIK, you cannot display time remaining, only elapsed track time. That is annoying, but the unit is so inexpensive that it can be overlooked. If there's a way to display time remaining, I'd like to know about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THIS SUCKS Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 The DN430 does have excellent sound, including Type S for LP playback. It's major drawback for me is that AFAIK, you cannot display time remaining, only elapsed track time. That is annoying, but the unit is so inexpensive that it can be overlooked. If there's a way to display time remaining, I'd like to know about it. get a mz-n510 it hos excellent sound and very reliable button operation. i think my mz-n707 sounds better but the buttons dont work properly on the two units i have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoe25 Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 If you need lp2 or lp4 a 910 is a good idea, but I prefer the 909 with its larger display.Ii also can read the date stamp on recordings. If you only need SP, then to my ears nothing sounds better than an Mzr 50 which is an old unit that can be picked up quite cheaply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmp64 Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 If you need lp2 or lp4 a 910 is a good idea, but I prefer the 909 with its larger display.Ii also can read the date stamp on recordings. If you only need SP, then to my ears nothing sounds better than an Mzr 50 which is an old unit that can be picked up quite cheaply. Type S only impacts LP2 and LP4 playback. Below are random posts I've assembled over the years regarding Type R vs. Type S, because I always had trouble keeping it straight: "type R : only works on recording side on SP only it's a better alogrithm to analyse the bits from ur recording source type S : type S DOES include type R additional thing is the improvement on playback of LP2/LP4 tracks type S only works when u have a player that have type S and only works when playing LP2/LP4 tracks, will not works for SP tracks main difference : type R works at recording side type S works both at recording side(coz it include type R) and playback side(for LP2/LP4 only) type S claimed to produce better sound at playback side on treble part of LP2/LP4 tracks and, type R only work in real time recording any fast cd-->md dubbing won't have type R function if u doubt about type R only work at real time, u can contact Sony CS representative at ur region no, this information is hidden from ur manuals but, if u ever contact any one in Sony who know something about MD, they will surely tell u what I've just told u "ATRAC Type-S is just a combined, one-chip DSP for the ATRAC Type-R codec used for SP mode and the ATRAC3 codec used for MDLP modes. Supposedly, Type-S increases the SNR of LP2 and LP4 encodings by 6dB upon playback, but doesn't offer any improvement for SP encodings." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avrin Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 In a nutshell: Type-R improves recording and playback of SP and MONO. Type-S includes Type-R and also improves playback of MDLP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giant_Rick Posted November 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 Thanks for the replies! I mainly use LP2.. so Type-S will do the trick. A few days ago Ifound a nice N510 for about 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arr-Nine-Hundred Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Thanks for the replies! I mainly use LP2.. so Type-S will do the trick. A few days ago Ifound a nice N510 for about 10£ but I didn't win it How about the Sharp units? I know they are generally better than the Sony (pre Hi-MD) ones for recording.. The N510 is a great unit, it has Type-S, optical recording in, it has nice button feel and is easy to use. Note that it takes a single AA battery not a gumstick type and is thus rather bulky compared to other units. I think this is actually a plus as I also have plenty of hi-capacity NiMH AA's. There is no mic input. I use mine solely as a digital optical recording unit. Like you, I make heavy use of LP2 and am searching for the best player. I bought a E510 which is a Type-S player-only unit. While sounding great it has a horrible cheap feel to the case (aluminum cover only) and ugly buttons. I'd avoid it. I'm now trying to source a N910 which is probably the best for our needs. It also has a larger, more robust eject mechanism switch which is going to be used more often in a player unit. I had a blue N910 years ago which is a great little unit, before I went over to the dark side and bought an iPod Nano 2nd gen and now back to MD. It's just a shame there seems to be nothing in the UK that is a N910-ish, compact, svelte Type-S player only. The closest is the the E909 which looks great but does not have Type-S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 There's a decent-looking N710 on right now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THIS SUCKS Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 i have a mz-n510 and i thing its very easy to use and the battery lasts a long time. i really like the sound! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom in RI Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 As I mentioned in another thread, I have been listening mostly to a Sharp IM-DR420 which I picked up reasonably cheap on ebay last year (one went for $81 as a new in box unit last week on ebay). I prefer it's sound to the MZ-R700 that I own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxer786 Posted March 1, 2010 Report Share Posted March 1, 2010 please help do you have the drivers for the minidisc netMD usb driver for the DR420 minidisc or similar? so i can downlaod it and use sonic stage or beatjam? please please help- i have been looking for it for 12 hours please help do you have the drivers for the minidisc netMD usb driver for the DR420 minidisc or similar? so i can downlaod it and use sonic stage or beatjam? please please help- i have been looking for it for 12 hours please help do you have the drivers for the minidisc netMD usb driver for the DR420 minidisc or similar? so i can downlaod it and use sonic stage or beatjam? please please help- i have been looking for it for 12 hours please email it to baid@live.co.uk i will be forever grateful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kestrel Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 The best sound ever I heard on minidisc portables was on my ex. MZ-R900. If you no need NetMD and want to use the unit only for listening - MZ-R900 is your choice. I have compared a lot of units with the playback of the same minidisc and the same track recorded via optical in SP (true SP). So it means that i compared the difference of the influence of electronics on these devices. I must note that R900 sounds better than my Hi-MD RH910 on the same track. The best sound on the non-MDLP units was at MZ-R70. I must note that i haven`t listened all the minidisc portables, so may be I`m wrong. But i have listened a lot of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilippeC Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 The best Hi-MD units for playback through a good Hi-Fi are those with the analogue amp (NH600/NH700/NHF800). They also sound really good through good headphones. ONKYO decks are probably also good, but I've never heard one. I have ordered a NH600 on eBay. The unit wait for me in France. I was not aware that NH600 could have a better sound than the MZ-RH1. Got a NH900 too, so I will have a match to do between 3 Hi-MD generation.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 The NH600 is a great little machine, a bit clunky (big, with bulges) but it runs forever on a single AA battery and plays every imaginable ATRAC format. I have the Euro model with the optical input, some US versions did not have this or the remote jack I think. Also, I think it has the analog amp which gives it a really smooth great sound. You'll love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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