MiniDisc sales trends

[Soundbox]

Looking at the amount of used machines up for sale on eBay, MD players and recorders must have sold well, but which machines were the most popular (in sales and from users) and are they a good used buy today?

I was out of the MD buying loop for a good few years so am not sure when the format 'peaked' - if ever.

Thanks for sharing any info,

Ian

[freddyjollo]

Well the one I would like to get my mitts on would be a Sony JA333ES - the best of the expensive decks as it was nicely built and also had the LP modes. I remember about 2 years ago seeing 2 for sale almost at the same time on Ebay and some guy got them both for about

[bluecrab]

Well the one I would like to get my mitts on would be a Sony JA333ES - the best of the expensive decks as it was nicely built and also had the LP modes. I remember about 2 years ago seeing 2 for sale almost at the same time on Ebay and some guy got them both for about

[Soundbox]

Just a comment concerning the JE510, from what I gather there was two manufacturing locations for this model - Japan and Malaysia. It is the Malaysia units that have the troubles - the Japan units keep plugging on. I have a Japan one and it has worked without fault for 13 years now.

[Azureal]

Looking at the amount of used machines up for sale on eBay, MD players and recorders must have sold well, but which machines were the most popular (in sales and from users) and are they a good used buy today?

I was out of the MD buying loop for a good few years so am not sure when the format 'peaked' - if ever.

Thanks for sharing any info,

Ian

Soundbox,

I have been buying up various Sony MD models over the past few years from eBay and now have quite a collection. I tend to like the models of any era which are made with a metal body. I have a few with plastic shells but they don't have the same solid feel, although they do seem just as durable and they certainly have similar or identical functionality.

A few of my favorites from each era: MZ-R50 as an SP only unit is hard to beat, it's built like a tank, great sound and dedicated line level output to drive my headphone amplifier. MZ-N1 from the MDLP/NetMD era, light weight, great display, runs forever on a fully charged Nickle Metal Hydride gumstick. From the Hi-MD era, I really like my MZ-RH10, not a metal body, primarily because the display is so fantastic, sadly it has no line level out setting, so in my mind it is really only good for portable headphone listening or as I often do, used for recording and downloading.

All three of these units have the AA battery side car, which is essential for longevity with respect to being able to use the units 12 years from now when we can no longer purchase gumsticks or Lip-4mw batteries.

I don't think we every really had a notable "peak" for sales here in the US, if I had to guess it was at the point that you could pick up a couple of plastic body "Psyc" units in local Borders Bookstores in 2004 or 2005. Nothing against these units, I have heard they sound quite nice with their Type-S DSPs, particularly with LP2 playback and there seem to be a ton of these units on eBay in the US.

From listening to the folks around here, the UK had a much larger installed base of MD units during their "heyday" and you have a much better selection of portables to choose from on eBay.co.uk. I have certainly paid far more than 25 British pounds for many of my units here in the US.

[Arr-Nine-Hundred]

Great post Azureal.

I find the MZ-N710 to be popular model on eBay, from that I infer it was a popular model with people. It's a middle-range unit with a nice feature set, only the plastic backshell and the single line display hints at cost-cutting. One can find these in excellent condition on eBay but if going that route always ask the seller the condition in their words and ensure there are clear, large photos of the unit and equipment.

Just to give my own opinion of models: I think the E510 is a good choice for a player unit, if like me you mainly use LP2 recordings then one can achieve 100+ hours of playback: http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-E510.html

The R900 is excellent in terms of looks, functions and ergonomics. With some searching on eBay it can be found in excellent condition with "low mileage" for not much money indeed. It's my favorite out of the whole range. It also has a full aluminium shell and feels, expensive and solid. Ironically, it can be very attention grabbing when everyone around you has an iPod of some kind.

Of course, flash-based DAP are extremely popular now. I found this Google Trends graph of the term "minidisc" interesting. Looks like a gradual (logarithmic?) downward trend since Google started tracking search terms in 2004.

http://www.google.com/trends?q=minidisc

[bluecrab]

Just a comment concerning the JE510, from what I gather there was two manufacturing locations for this model - Japan and Malaysia. It is the Malaysia units that have the troubles - the Japan units keep plugging on. I have a Japan one and it has worked without fault for 13 years now.

Right. I am guessing that most of the misbehaving Malaysian 510s made their way to the US. Mine was definitely of of those and labeled as such. Then again, just to confound things a bit, my American-market MXD-D400 has been a real workhorse and performs flawlessly. My Japan-version MXD-D400 has couple of so-far non-fatal bug-like "features," though.