Should I Ditch Minidisc ?

[Hudson]

Out shopping in the Trafford Centre with my family when i ambled into the Apple store..... whilst chatting to one of the guys he said that if i bought a decent capacity either Ipod Classic (160gb) or similar i could transfer my music onto Lossless (Sp) MP3 and it would be better SQ than my SP Minidisc recordings ???

He did say that although ATRAC is good it is still compressed and would not sound as good as non compressed digital to digital transfers, also he did say that because MD goes via some sort of DAC that also is not the best, and that digital to digital transfers are the best.

Now i know bugger all about what i need to do to get my CD collection onto this lossless MP3 but transfering my CD collection to minidisc is reasonably easy but with it going via DAC, is the guy in the apple shop right ? Is a total digital to digital transfer better ?

[sfbp]

MP3 will NEVER beat ATRAC, certainly not without going to about 3 times the data rate. Even then the low bass cutoff spec for MP3 is atrocious.

"ATRAC is compressed" - duh, mr. apple-man. SO is MP3.

Is this the lead up to a joke about comparing Apples to Apples?

I'll let others chime in with their deconstruction of the sales patter.

Stephen

[Hudson]

Cheers for that, i will not be getting Hi-MD. The best i will get it standard 74 min disks being recorded one cd at a time on SP. Will the Lossy format or another non apple type of non loss format sound a lot better than what i have got now and the way in which i will be recording my collection in the future ? Oh being listened too via a very decent set of headphones.

[PhilippeC]

Cheers for that, i will not be getting Hi-MD. The best i will get it standard 74 min disks being recorded one cd at a time on SP. Will the Lossy format or another non apple type of non loss format sound a lot better than what i have got now and the way in which i will be recording my collection in the future ? Oh being listened too via a very decent set of headphones.

I do the same, I prefer SP and LP2 just because I prefer to listen music on my deck or on my bookshelf. When I will come back from France after Christmas with my new units, I will listen again to my Hi-MD discs but I hate to have dozens and dorens of tracks on one disc (I notice that I always listen to the same titles, not the deep inside ones) so I will use PCM and 352kbps only, maybe still record on real time (like it).

I still have a 30Gb black Ipod. Look beautiful but I rarely use it. I am like The Wizzzzzzzard, I wait for an affordable external DAC. Better than the Ipod, the lossless music files on my computer itself. Just need a good player like foobar2000 or Winamp (free), a good audio driver like Asio4all or KS (free), a very good audio card with optical out and your 24bit DAC minidisc deck ! Try 24bit 96kHz lossless music.

[fourbanks]

The sound from a ipod is well short of a mini disk and for some unknown reason the younger generation have been brainwashed by it. All of apple products have a failing be it sound or some sort of cripple that prevents it from being used in a way the customer would like and for that reason I'm out

[Hudson]

Thanks Wizard for the guide, i will try and follow it slowly and see how i go. I had intended to simply put my CD into my DVD player and then have it connected to an MD recorder via digital optical lead and away i go, nice and simple, but i am not sure if i am getting the very best SQ i can by doing it this way.

[paranoicb]

i record all the time my MD's in SP mode because i have 1400 vinyls and the only way to reproduce a fine copy is my minidisc Technics SJ-MD100

best sound i ever heard guys

I have an ipod video just to hack my PS3 the sound is so crappy on ipod

Minidisc is so reliable. i will not change it not in a million years

[PhilippeC]

i record all the time my MD's in SP mode because i have 1400 vinyls and the only way to reproduce a fine copy is my minidisc Technics SJ-MD100

I see that many people on the web copy their LP albums in 24bit - 96kHz mode and make them available such as torrent files. I use Bitsnoop and Isohunt to find them. Do you copy your LP on your PC in Wav files in the same quality ? Do you store your Wav files (in a compress form like Flac, Monkey Audio, Wave Pack, LA...) on your computer or any HDD / DVD ? A list of those LPs would be marvelous...

[Chickenvenus]

I'd say he is copying from LP to MD without the use of a computer, for portable use. I've done a couple of vinyl to ALAC at home, main thing is the time involved in splitting, de clicking and tagging the resulting files for use, puts me off the whole thing.

This thread was "should I ditch MD, my answer is no. I'd use this time to buy up second hand equipment, and stay loyal to the format, it's going to be around for years, even if it is only as a cult following.

[PhilippeC]

I'd say he is copying from LP to MD without the use of a computer, for portable use. I've done a couple of vinyl to ALAC at home, main thing is the time involved in splitting, de clicking and tagging the resulting files for use, puts me off the whole thing.

This thread was "should I ditch MD, my answer is no. I'd use this time to buy up second hand equipment, and stay loyal to the format, it's going to be around for years, even if it is only as a cult following.

In fact that thing take a lot of time like you said. Anyway listening the clicks and the hisses make you feel you are listen to your LP player ! I suppose paranoicb does not have his whole collection on MD and have to make his best of with his limited quantity of MDs blanks. I just thought that with such a huge collection he would be able to know what (old) years ingeneering were good as a result to propose a large full range for the spectral sound. Maybe the quality climbed every years then suddently fell down in beeing compressed because of the "necessity" for the music companies to "sell" their albums to the radios.

[paranoicb]

I'd say he is copying from LP to MD without the use of a computer, for portable use. I've done a couple of vinyl to ALAC at home, main thing is the time involved in splitting, de clicking and tagging the resulting files for use, puts me off the whole thing.

This thread was "should I ditch MD, my answer is no. I'd use this time to buy up second hand equipment, and stay loyal to the format, it's going to be around for years, even if it is only as a cult following.

Chickenvenus just answered for me

I just write them on MD's for reproduction.

In MD's for about ten years i recorded heavily 400 vinyls

In the early years i start recording with an MZ-R30. this minidisc still plays like a charm

[PhilippeC]

Chickenvenus just answered for me

I just write them on MD's for reproduction.

In MD's for about ten years i recorded heavily 400 vinyls

In the early years i start recording with an MZ-R30. this minidisc still plays like a charm

And you will be able to upoad your MD collection with an MZ-RH1 / M200 on your computer if you wish. I arrive in Vietnam the year of MD introduction. I was not aware of his capacities till my brother bought a MZ-R30 like yours. It is still working like a charm also but he don't use it very often. Recently I got a MZ-R55 from eBay France (see here http://forums.sonyin...r-me-in-france/) and 3 others portable units. Guess I have lot of units now working perfectly. Like you can see I AM NOT GOING TO DITCH MD ! Last year, a guy in Europe sold his 250 MDs collection, all with printed labels, hand made jackets and slip cases as a result it looked like pre-recorded MDs. I sold it with a beautiful wooden suitcase and an unit the same generation than the MZ-R30. I am still felling sorry not to have bought his collection. I am on the way these days to catalogue all my DVD audio & CD audio files with the CD Vista freeware. During the same time I start to reshuffle my MD collection with the best of it. This time with a wider range of music genders.

[Chickenvenus]

Very good.

I like having my MD's all neatly stored and labelled too.

I think they look exceptionally interesting as a collection sitting with my hi fi, much better than my CD or LP collection.

I have quite a few HiMD discs but normally I prefer just the original MD's, I like I album = 1 MD.

It's great if you purchase someones old Player with discs, great to go through them and see what's there also.

Don't you also just love the range of colors and brands of MD discs that were produced over the years too.

[PhilippeC]

It's great if you purchase someones old Player with discs, great to go through them and see what's there also.

Don't you also just love the range of colors and brands of MD discs that were produced over the years too.

I am rather limited here about the range of colors. Beside my first collection of MD blanks I have built since I came back (2000) in the MD world, I did not got that much choice in range of colors, even more today than two year ago. When there was still a little range of MD blanks on the very small vietnamese market. Nowadays you still find cheap blanks for 1,2$ only but for the moment you want more than 5 of them (in the very center of Saigon) you will have only Sony MD Premium blank disc choice.

[Chickenvenus]

Yes, it's harder to find the range today. You mainly see the 80 min Prism Gold here, I think this is the final Sony MD case style? Other than that eBay sellers have various styles still. I started a "blank" collection a few years ago, have not added many to it in recent years.

The main discs I have are the Sony Colour series and a huge number of the TDK colour range.

[chadergeist]

I'd say he is copying from LP to MD without the use of a computer, for portable use. I've done a couple of vinyl to ALAC at home, main thing is the time involved in splitting, de clicking and tagging the resulting files for use, puts me off the whole thing.

This thread was "should I ditch MD, my answer is no. I'd use this time to buy up second hand equipment, and stay loyal to the format, it's going to be around for years, even if it is only as a cult following.

Time involved in splitting or i should say putting tracks, titleing the songs and trimming the recording from the leader grooves in and out of the lp is fun and skillfull. Anyone who doesn't like to do this is just lazy and they just want things to be convienant. That is why people are going nowhere fast. I don't know how they breathe and enjoy the end result instead of having everything there there there and not have patience.

I will never ditch mds. I love them with passion and snear at those with ipods in their ears and in films and tv. I enjoy recording on them, listening to them. I'm not lazy with having things so convieniant and have no respect for my music by owning and listening to music in ipods. I hate ipods and mp3 players. They can't do or give you the pleasure that MDs can.

[Chickenvenus]

"anyone who doesn't like doing this is lazy..."

Bit of a statement there...

[slugbahr]

I am rather limited here about the range of colors. Beside my first collection of MD blanks I have built since I came back (2000) in the MD world, I did not got that much choice in range of colors, even more today than two year ago. When there was still a little range of MD blanks on the very small vietnamese market. Nowadays you still find cheap blanks for 1,2$ only but for the moment you want more than 5 of them (in the very center of Saigon) you will have only Sony MD Premium blank disc choice.

Hi PhilippeC (and others...?)

I have a few different MD blanks still in packs of 5 or 10 if you might be interested. Some brands are TDK (Lucir), Victor, Sony Neige, and Panasonic. I have others as well. If you think you might be interested I can maybe take some photos and send them to you in an email from my phone (google android).

Let me know

Danny

[sfbp]

Yes, it's harder to find the range today. You mainly see the 80 min Prism Gold here, I think this is the final Sony MD case style? Other than that eBay sellers have various styles still. I started a "blank" collection a few years ago, have not added many to it in recent years.

The main discs I have are the Sony Colour series and a huge number of the TDK colour range.

There are lots of the latter currently on brand new sale.

eg. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TDK-MD80-blank-minidisc-10-pack-80-minute-mini-disc-/290562407913

I have bought from this guy and charges for postage are reasonable.

There's another seller (UK only in theory) that admitted to having over 3000 of these 10-packs.

I really like the colour variations in this set, it's probably my favourite.

[PhilippeC]

There's another seller (UK only in theory) that admitted to having over 3000 of these 10-packs.

3000 of these 10-packs ????

[sfbp]

try putting this number in: 170598118550

And then save the item in your watch list. You should see 3343 if you do it before the next time they sell one. It looks like they started with 4000 10-packs.

[Chickenvenus]

That's a lot of MD's.

The TDK Colour series I have came in a different packaging. It was still 10 MD's, but in a paper box, , and each pack was a different colour, as opposed to mixed colours within. I may order a pack of these and see what they look like.

[Azureal]

That seems like a pretty good price for some cool blanks. I have a few 10 packs of them in stock, I could always use more. Does he really ship to the US for no cost?

[sfbp]

The first link I gave does ship, but definitely there is a charge for shipping. The company with 3000+ does NOT ship abroad, at all.

[Soundbox]

That's a lot of MD's.

You can tell we like MD in the UK!

[Azureal]

That's the truth. I have bought from several UK sources over the past few years. I should have kept better records, I can't remember the names of the companies but they both shipped quickly and had a great selection of product.

[H4rry]

It's nice to know there are still new minidiscs available.

I don't think i'll be ditching minidisc any time soon after purchasing my first machine approx 17 years ago a Sony MDS-302... 18 years on I now have 12 units mostly Sony and Denon.

So I'll not be giving them up any time soon.

[darrencouch]

Yeah, I waffled on this when my Hi-MD player bit the dust, and my wife ran over my good N510

I still have the JE780 that records like a champ, and 100+ blanks.

I have an iphone that I just never seem to throw much music onto, although I listen to pandora a lot. I finally got a computer with optical out, so I'm using foobar to record or streaming pandora onto disks with LP4.

I need to track down some type S player units. I debate whether to get back into Hi-MD. I think if I do it will only be with an RH1.

[PhilippeC]

I finally got a computer with optical out, so I'm using foobar to record or streaming pandora onto disks with LP4.

I need to track down some type S player units. I debate whether to get back into Hi-MD. I think if I do it will only be with an RH1.

I record also from my computer with my optical out (Creative X-Fi / foobar2000 + KS audio output + Post-Track silence) in rela time using SP and LP2. Files are mostly 24bit-88or96kHz downloaded from the web (I am lucky, I live in a country where ther is not a law to forbid it), so settings are set on 24bit out + 192 khz (got some Michael Jackson songs like that... more than 5100kbps). I use my JB980 both for recording and as a DAC. Note that a now use ReplayGain on all my files before a recording on a MD.