Soundbox Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Firstly, let me introduce myself as a new user here. I used to work for Dixons (electronic chain) repair centre in the UK and in 1997 we were offered the MZ-R30 at half price as a special staff promotion ( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Welcome to these forums! You got lucky in 3 ways: 1. The R50 is known to be one of the toughest ever built. Fix it, if you can. 2. The 510 die often (mine did, the only deck with a problem I owned), so you are doing well 3. The 980 is a great deck. Take it in a flash and enjoy MDLP. The more recent developments (NetMD, HiMD) come to their best in two models. The MZ-RH1 is necessary if you want to upload to computer anything you already got on MD. The MZ-NH700 is probably the best bet for everything else except possibly microphone recording (given that you live in the UK and they tend to go for under 50 quid, at least when I looked a couple months ago) and I would tend to get one if you can afford to. Stephen Oh yes, one more thing: if you record much in mono, please read this: http://www.minidisc.org/mono_volume_loss.html I encountered this when a relative sent me some recordings made in mono. Quite annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom in RI Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Hi Soundbox and welcome. I am sure people with a much deeper background than me will be offering their insights shortly. Like you I started with what I think is now referred to as legacy MD. In the last couple of years I have moved up to HiMD. The biggest advantage to me is the ability to put so much more music onto a single disc, either regular or 1 gig. As you read here at the forum about the different bit rates available you may, like me, get a bit of a headache. I think if you study the list of md equipment here (http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-R50.html) you will find there are quite a few options to replace your r50, and I think you will be able to do so pretty cheaply. I don't have a deck so I can't comment on that at all. I think the biggest frustration you will find is that Sony was so close to having a great product but they purposefully kept it proprietary and needlessly quirky. If you are looking simply to replace your r50n it will be pretty easy. If you are thinking of getting a HiMD or netMD, get ready for a Sonic Stage headache. There's a little bit of a learning curve but there is a lot of info and lot of people who will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundbox Posted March 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Thank you for the comments. Yes, I think I will get the MZ-R50 fixed (I used to fix the MZ-R1 model in my Mastercare days but sadly I don't work there any more). Any UK based repairers that come recommended? I have been mainly using my MZ-R30 over the years and that is a solid machine too - anyone here own that model? My 510 has not given a problem as of yet - what is it that goes wrong with them? I will have the 980 I think because it is not often that I see any decks for sale from someone I know. Does the 980 have the mono problem? I never knew of that issue, but I mainly use mono to record a music programme and then edit out the talking and still be able to fill an 80 minute CD. It does seem from my limited reading so far that modern MD users work in conjunction with a computer, however it was the fact that I could do editing, copying and recording without a computer that made MD special, however Sony must move with the times and use in conjunction with a computer is probably helpful at times. Anyway, I have a lot of learning to do as I have just been in my own MZ-R30 and 510 world for 13 years now. Thank you again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 1. I was thinking maybe you should :attack: the R50 yourself, there should be one second hand if you want to use the present one for spares. 2. The 980 should be past the mono problem 3. MDLP2 and mono both produce the same maximum times 4. The 510's load mechanism crapped out on mine. Possibly the overwrite head, too. Also they have other faults arising from the motor not stopping in record-pause mode (which maybe you never abused), that went away with the 520 and all later decks. Finally don't make the mistake of assuming that NetMD is bidirectional. It's not. The sole exception is the currently-retailed-by-Sony MZ-RH1 (aka MZ-M200), which will allow uploads over USB of the SP, mono and MDLP tracks you make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrab Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Welcome! The 510 had the well-known "self-turn-on" problem. http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MDS-JE510+S38.html Mine died a not-pretty death this way. If you like yours and it's given you no problem yet - I'd still grab that 980! The two machines can't even be compared, if the 980 is anywhere near as good - or better - than the great 940 (I have two of those). And the 980 has Type S ATRAC to enhance your LP listening. Have fun and Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundbox Posted March 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Thanks for the input. Looking through the machines available I do like the look of the MZ-RH1. What is that like for line output quality compared to my MZ-R30? I can see me spending some money on equipment and disks as it all looks so tempting! Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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