Azureal Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Just looking through the browser last night and saw this: Sweet Combo Deck I don't know if these ever come up for sale on eBay, I look regularly but not specifically at combo decks. Any idea where I can score one? Thanks folks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 They exist - you just missed one here: http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-MXD-D400-CD-PLAYER-MD-RECORDER-MIN-DISC-/330512079589 Great second best would be MXD-D5C which is also MDLP and has a 5-CD changer. The ONLY thing the D400 gives you is Type-S playback (CXD-2664R chip). Increasingly I am convinced that this doesn't matter if you use digital out to your amp. The CXD-2662R in the D5C is the same chip in the JE640, JB940 and my own CMT-PX3. It's the last one before Type-S, so at least for recording purposes it represents the pinnacle of Sony's achievement. Also there are significant limitations to the front panel controls on the combo decks (at least the D400) - no fast forward and back for example - no way to do quite a few things unless you reach for the remote. Your JB940 also has keyboard input doubling for I2C (PCLK) connection. Both these functions are missing from the D400, though keyboard (only) is present on the D5C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ_Palmer Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I was desperate for an D400 back in the day - funny the minidisc.org page says available in the UK, but they were never in the shops over here. Had to 'make do' with my MXD-D40 for CD dubs, which to be be fair has served very well, and still works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Thanks Barock1, I will check that unit as well. I found this link today: MXD-D400. You know, of course, I was really interested in the Type-S DSP for LP2/4 sound quality. I sent a note to AC to find out if they still have stock on this unit. I'll keep you all updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 You might try looking in Yahoo Japan. For example this auction is live right now: http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k137209157&ei=CSomTce-H466sAP0nKzkAQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBsQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmxd-d400%2Bsite:yahoo.co.jp%26num%3D100%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26biw%3D1386%26bih%3D953%26prmd%3Divns You're going to need someone to bid for you and send to you, but the price seems pretty good. I heard that rinkya.com offers a decent service Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Thanks Stephen, That is certainly an option. That particular unit looks like it has been through the wringer though doesn't it! I'll have a look into that route as well, I have never done it before, but it could work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperclip Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 In my opinion the MXD-D400 is a heck of a deal at ~$125. I almost bought one from AC2 for $800 new, they are that good. Mine doesn't have a timer function through. About the only thing that model doesn't have... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Thanks Stephen, That is certainly an option. That particular unit looks like it has been through the wringer though doesn't it! I'll have a look into that route as well, I have never done it before, but it could work out. I think they are on all the time. For a LONG time someone was selling NEW ones there (yahoo) for 38,500 yen. But you will surely find something affordable without paying $800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I think they are on all the time. For a LONG time someone was selling NEW ones there (yahoo) for 38,500 yen. But you will surely find something affordable without paying $800. I agree. I got a response from AC and they are going to check the inventory in their warehouse and let me know if they have any left. I seriously doubt that they do but if so, I'll ask for it at a lower price. $800 is way too much for such an old unit, especially if it was sitting in a warehouse for seven or eight years! I would pay $500 (which is about 38,500 yen). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 In my opinion the MXD-D400 is a heck of a deal at ~$125. I almost bought one from AC2 for $800 new, they are that good. Mine doesn't have a timer function through. About the only thing that model doesn't have... So how long ago was it that you looked at AC for one of these units. How did you happen across one? It seems like one sweeeeet unit to me. I must have one ... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperclip Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I've been looking at shoring up my collection of hardware in the last month or so. I recently bought a D400 on Ebay about mint for ~$150, but was seriously considering AC2's brand new champagne colored one @ $800. In my limited experience with the machine I think it's really the only deck a guy would ever need,, it's really that good (sound & features). I especially like burning a CD-TEXT CD with Nero from my CD collection (ripped w/ EAC and stored on a HDD). For compilations i edit the text "<Artist>/<Title>, for albums just <Title>, burn, load and record. When the MD is done it's done. The D400 will also play/record MP3 CD's, with recording done in analog mode. I honestly can't tell you what it does with tags/titles but may give it a try someday, for some mp3's I didn't rip into wav files. Should be a good test too as most were ripped with LAME at 256 kbps. Listen, $800 is a LOT of dough to spend on one of these, even new. But you are a MD'er for sure so I'm not going to try to talk sense to you. None of us have much sense when it comes to this old and dying tech. With that said, you NEED a CD player, right? And you NEED a Type-S deck with OPT in & out! But try to find a nice used on on Ebay from a good seller (I have a couple that might take an order, if you are serious). Then with all the money you save you can get the Onkyo MD-133. It's rumored to be going out of production this year - You know you want one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Listen, $800 is a LOT of dough to spend on one of these, even new. But you are a MD'er for sure so I'm not going to try to talk sense to you. None of us have much sense when it comes to this old and dying tech. With that said, you NEED a CD player, right? And you NEED a Type-S deck with OPT in & out! But try to find a nice used on on Ebay from a good seller (I have a couple that might take an order, if you are serious). Then with all the money you save you can get the Onkyo MD-133. It's rumored to be going out of production this year - You know you want one Thanks for all of the great info and advice paperclip. I really am serious about really wanting this unit. If you have a lead on eBay please PM me, I'll follow up for sure. Wow, $150 for a near mint unit! That is a great buy. I can be patient and hang in there for a bit to and watch the decks as they come and go on eBay. You are right, it's like a fever! I would love one of the Onkyos as well ... :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 So, I found a unit today for around $200 USD but it is missing one of the music search knobs. I think I'll hold out and keep waiting. Also looking in to the proxy purchasing option Stephen mentioned. Thanks to everyone for their interest and help! Oh, yeah, I also have not hear back from AC2 about their stock level. $800 is an insane amount to pay, but it would be brand new ... :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Hmmm.. I was about to say that I could live without mine as I have in one form or another machines that could do the equivalent. So I decided to do a rather unscientific test. First of all I stuck a CD (piano, soprano and some background accompaniment - variety songs, not pop) and entered the track names, into my bookshelf (CMT-PX3). I copied at highspeed (x4) to MDSP and compared the results. I could tell the difference between the CD and the MD. Then I repeated the process at x1 copying. Much better. Good enough in fact. Now I ripped the CD using EAC, pasted in the track names (there was no CDDB entry) and copied to another (CD-Text) CD-R. Walked with that into the other room with the MXD-D400 and did a high-speed copy. Aaaaaahhhh! This time no difference between before and after (and of course CD-Text --> MD). I admit this isn't very scientific. But it convinces me that Sony kept on improving things (the D400 is about 3 years younger than the PX3). I note that there is doubt about whether the PX3 will copy things at high speed except SP, whereas the D400 says it's no problem. Mind you, the PCLK feature works with JB940 and MXD-D40 but is not included with the MXD-D400. So there still isn't one single unit that does it all. So yes, you probably want one of these. But I ALSO recommend getting an amp with optical in and hooking your JB940 to it. You might be surprised how good that sounds. Stephen Edit: couldn't persuade EAC to put CD-Text info on the disk. Went back and used Nero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Stephen, Thank you for your most thorough analysis of great reasons to need one of these units! I appreciate your efforts, now I want one even more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 No problem. It's about 6am in Japan (Monday morning) right now. This auction has 3 days to go, and it doesn't look too bad. http://translate.google.ca/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpage8.auctions.yahoo.co.jp%2Fjp%2Fauction%2Fh149385130 It's too bad the D400 cannot talk directly to CDDB or freedb. That's why I wonder if you might be better off with something that does PCLK (MXD-D40, or bookshelf - most of which also allow recording from radio and external sources). S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Score! eBay Link It looks pretty nice. The price is a lot better than the AC2 new unit! Thanks for everyone's help on this! I'll update as soon as I receive it and have a chance to play with it a while! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 It's about 2 months and 1000 units newer than mine. I think the tape over the optical sockets is a pretty good sign. Also the fact you have not got the hassle of the 100V version - a. because 100V theoretically needs a transformer b. because the service manual available to us English-speakers is for the US model with nothing about what you might find on the inside of the Japanese model (esp. the power section). Hope it works out.... S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperclip Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Oh, that's minty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Oh, that's minty! Agreed! Very excited! Seller already arranged shipping ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperclip Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 You didn't waste any time on that one, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 You didn't waste any time on that one, huh? I was afraid someone else would snatch it up if I didn't grab it quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkNeogen Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 I don't know if it is allowed for me to put my request here as well, but I am also one of those people who are desperately looking for an affordable MXD-D400. Is there someone who can help me out, or has some contacts who can? Would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-MXD-D400-Compact-CD-Player-MiniDisk-MD-Recorder-/150544763969 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkNeogen Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com/...r-/150544763969 I've also seen that one, but first of all: the CD parts AMS button is missing, and second: this seller doesn't ship to The Netherlands. At least I have no way of asking that, and offering additional shipping expenses since eBay doesn't let me contact him in any way. Seems to detect I'm from the Netherlands, and since the seller says he ships US only, no contact etc. is possible. I guess I would've bought it if the latter was possible. Just need to find an AMS buttons somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 I don't think you want one from USA, particularly one that's in any way defective. However I am not sure that they ever made a European model of this one, and so you will need to get a transformer. This is an international board, one needs always to include location in the request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Yes, I think the need to find one outside of the US will be a bit of an additional challenge. These decks seem to be less common on the used market. I suspect the fact that they have the CD player causes more people to hang on to them even if they lose interest in using the MD side of the deck. It is a desirable unit. I was not patient and found one pretty quickly and snatched it up. But there were a couple of less desirable units on eBay before I found the one I ended up with. I saw the one with the missing knob too, I think the seller is asking way too much for a unit in that condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 I also feel like I left everyone here hanging with regards to reporting back to you all after receiving my unit from the seller on eBay. I have had it for about two weeks now and it is a really nice combo deck. I have it hooked up to my Marantz SR18 via its optical out and it sounds superb. I have used it to make multiple recordings CD -> MD using the high speed dubbing mode and it is awesome to be able to perform a transfer at 4x real-time. Even when I make recordings using my Sony DVP-S9000 -> JA20ES, I typically do a "Set it and forget it" recording, meaning I never listen to the real-time playback whilst recording. This 4x stuff is sweet. I have made LP2 and LP4 recordings which sound really good when played back on the Type-S MD unit. The LP2 mode is especially nice although, I am still partial to straight SP mode for its excellent sound quality. I have used it as my primary CODEC for some time now and perhaps this deck will cause me to include some of the MDLP modes more often. A note to vindicate my friends here and for the advice of others, I was advised that the MXD-D40 would suite my needs just as well. I now understand what was meant, if I do not intend to use the deck to playback a bunch of MDLP mode recordings, the Type-S of the D400 is not necessary. The D40 offers nearly identical features with Type-R which is for the best encoding possible. I probably could have saved a few bucks and had a larger selection to choose from had I listened to the advice of others and included the D40 unit in my search. I snapped a few photos of the deck as I was unpacking it and as I made some test recordings. The unit really is in pristine condition, the original owner really treated this thing with kid gloves. I hate to say that within a year, in my house, it will gather more dust than it was ever exposed to in its numerous years of life prior to my ownership. Well, I was going to post the pics, but it looks like I will need to host them somewhere else and link to them. I haven't the time this morning to do that, I'll try to add them tonight. Thanks to everyone who has helped me in my quest for one of the nicest MD combo Decks Sony ever made! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 All good stuff. It really plays back nicely, I agree. The D40 is the last of the line that has PC Link. But I actually prefer my bookshelf unit since it has all the same electronics as the D40 PLUS a very nice radio and optical in. I may even get the tape deck - when and if it arrives I will finally write a review. I would be most interested in A-B comparison of JB940 vs D400 both using optical out. I don't know much about the Marantz but it seems on the 940 you have some options there with word length and sample rate. Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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