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Which older generation MD are good to buy?

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BlinkyKoala

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I am a musician looking to inject some spice into my music life and thought maybe It could be fun to use some Minidisc for playing backing tracks but I don't know anything so here are some questions:

1: whats the oldest year/model that would be safe and reliable to use?

2: is there any older models that are unreliable, any specific brand/model to avoid or to watch out for?

3: where are some good places to look and price ranges I should be aware of?

4: is it possible to repair broken ones?

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First off, are you looking for portable or deck? How will you be amplifying the result? It may even be that an all-in-one might be a good solution (the so-called bookshelf models).

One of the VERY common models in the deck range to be unreliable is the ubiquitous MDS-JE510. Mine died. The rest are pretty good stuff.

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This ribbon cable is the commonest known problem and may happen to a bunch of portables, as well including the N505.

There are people who can fix them. From your name I assume you are in Oz, so no idea what (or who)'s down there.

Ebay is almost certainly the best source. If you can read Japanese there are zillions of deals on Yahoo Japan (no Ebay in that country).

If you want computer compatibility you might try HiMD, however stick to first (NH700/800,NH900,NH1) or third generation (RH1/M200) units. The second generation (RH10/RH910/M10/M100) sound very nice but are prone to failure on 1GB disks for some reason. If you can be bothered to get a deck or second portable for recording, the MZ-EH70 ("E" always means player-only) is very nice and built like a tank.

The old units (Standard Play only) or any unit with "R" rather than "N" in the name cannot be connected to computer at all, not even PC->MD. However mechanically they are quite reliable, the MZ-R50 is probably the cream of the crop (R55 nice but not as reliable according to a service professional - an old article but specifically about this difference between R50 and R55).

However if you get into all this and make some nice SP recordings the MZ-RH1 will allow you to upload them to PC. It's the only one. The MZ-M200 is the same machine including an external microphone that you plug in.

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Thanks for so much info. I am in the states actually.

The idea to use Yahoo Japan to hunt for deals is really nteresting. Can you give any further advice or links to threads or articles regarding this? I have successfully used Chrome's built in translator with success before so reading it is not a issue.

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Thanks for so much info. I am in the states actually.

The idea to use Yahoo Japan to hunt for deals is really nteresting. Can you give any further advice or links to threads or articles regarding this? I have successfully used Chrome's built in translator with success before so reading it is not a issue.

The best source of MD gear outside Japan is undoubtedly the UK.

I tried recently with translation (2 different translators) and neither Yahoo's own nor Google's could manage the Yahoo auctions, sadly. However if you succeed I would like to know, might cause me to try Chrome out.

I got a personal connection to get me the only piece of stuff direct from Japan that I have actually obtained myself. However I read that http://www.rinkya.com is quite reliable. They will charge a 15% fee for their services, approximately.

Stephen

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Depends what you want.

R3 is very very old, SP only. Very old version of ATRAC. Might not be pleasing.

R91 is a fine, SP-only machine. I have one. Great for recharging gumstick NiMH batteries, too.

R909 is MDLP (Type-R but not type-S), pre-NetMD. Basically the R900 with some things fixed. I have not had a 909 in my hands, but there are plenty who swear by it.

Both the R91 and R909 take the "standard" sidecar that can hold an AA battery (there are a few "nonstandard" sidecars, such as the R37/50/55, and RH10/910).

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Depends what you want.

R3 is very very old, SP only. Very old version of ATRAC. Might not be pleasing.

R91 is a fine, SP-only machine. I have one. Great for recharging gumstick NiMH batteries, too.

R909 is MDLP (Type-R but not type-S), pre-NetMD. Basically the R900 with some things fixed. I have not had a 909 in my hands, but there are plenty who swear by it.

Both the R91 and R909 take the "standard" sidecar that can hold an AA battery (there are a few "nonstandard" sidecars, such as the R37/50/55, and RH10/910).

thank you :friends:

Sony MZ-E310 Mini Disc Player has come up for

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