Selling Most of my MD Collection

[zahne]

Hi there. Don't worry, this forum is not losing a member nor is it losing an MD user. I'm still in MD but I'm limiting myself to professional use. I've decided to go the way of the cloud for personal music listening. It was a tough choice to make but what it came down to is that what I really want is an RH1 and can't afford it so I'm offloading my music collection. I can't manage piles of standard MD music and the mp3 support on MZ-M100 isn't perfect.

Here's my list:

I have a few pre-recorded MDs left:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321085296687?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

A Huge lot of MD blanks with three 24 disc binders:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321085301122?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Empty pre-recorded MD jewel cases:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321085294936?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Finally, my crown jewel. My recently purchased MZ-M100:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321085281211?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

You can check old threads of me talking about the MZ-M100. It's in great shape except the sell I bought it from said the volume button is tricky. I didn't notice that being an issue. It will come with a remote though. Really, if the MZ-M100 worked with Mac OSX Mountain Lion for transfers and the Mp3 support was better, I wouldn't even be doing this but I don't want to run Windows just for the sake of staying with Minidisc. I thought if the minidisc would fit well into my life with me adding extra steps, I would keep it. It's a shame, the MZ-M100 is beautifully designed, the OLED display is great, the button feel great but that Mp3 support is what did it for me. I can't spend time converting my library to ATRAC3Plus. I have gigs and gigs. And I don't want to run it through Windows every time when I do everything else on a Mac. The nostalgia isn't worth the extra work anymore:-/

I have a few more decks and a car unit I might list. If I do, then I'll include them in this thread. Hope these go off to a good home!

[sfbp]

Too bad you're didn't consider the other solutions the poster-child for which is over in the other thread I am discussing it in.

Unlike many of the afficionados in this forum that have the opposite problem, acres of real estate invested with ATRAC and no way to play it on MP3-friendly devices, you seem to have the problem that you want to use MD players to play MP3.

1. Don't bother..... Sony's MP3 walkmen in the last couple of years have become really excellent, surmounting pretty much ALL the challenges posed by MP3 and when trying to sell to customers with good ears (which is most of the readers here, and most MD lovers).

2. Think NETWORK. DLNA enables you to play your sound anywhere (in the house, of course, you'll still be able to transfer/convert to MP3 for gadding about in the fresh air and the world at large). With networks the way they're going I am seriously thinking about a VPN from my roving cellphone back to the acres and acres of ATRAC at MD Central here, and using DLNA that way).

Take a look at KooRaRoo. I wonder if it would solve most of your problems, even without the ATRAC support? MD/ATRAC is still a really good way to capture your sounds, edit your sounds, mix your sounds.

Best regards,

Stephen

[zahne]

Thanks for the info. I already own a Synology server with DLNA, UPnP, SMB and other streaming abilities. They make a music app for Android and iOS that will allow me stream any file that ffmpeg supports. The same goes for video. It's essentially a VLC player I can play anywhere. It also supports streaming of video up to 4k (maybe 8k, I haven't tested), which I use for previewing projects shot in UHD.

My point was that if the Hi-MD could reliably support Mp3 at the very least, nostalgia would win over anything else.:-) Between my PS Vita and my upcoming Nexus 4, I'm covered with format support and music streaming. The lack of full mp3 support on Hi-MD combined with the fact that I don't use Windows, makes sticking with Hi-MD a chore. I'd need to boot into a Windows partition to use Sonic Stage every time I download music or I'd need to mass convert my music to ATRAC which would take days.

I've heard that the RH1 plays back Mp3 better. But since they can cost as much as a new iPad, I can't justify the fanboyish devotion to buy one. Maybe if my salary was bigger, I would do it.

[sfbp]

You're the minority though.... most people here have large or small collections of ATRAC (on or off MD) and like listening to them. Also it's slightly misleading to compare a custom piece of hardware with a small software program that runs on that computer, which all the people who got their ATRAC onto a computer (by definition Windows in the vast majority of cases due to lack of support for/by Macintosh) have already.

I'd consider an NAS server like the Synology ones you mention. I will consider....

[Sony_Fan]

I agree, find a dedicated Sony MP3 player for your MP3s. I would only use Minidisc for ATRAC recordings, nothing more, nothing less.

[zahne]

You're the minority though.... most people here have large or small collections of ATRAC (on or off MD) and like listening to them. Also it's slightly misleading to compare a custom piece of hardware with a small software program that runs on that computer, which all the people who got their ATRAC onto a computer (by definition Windows in the vast majority of cases due to lack of support for/by Macintosh) have already.

I'd consider an NAS server like the Synology ones you mention. I will consider....

Yeah I grant that. And I totally see that's why others stick with it. I just wish there was a Hi-MD that supported Mp3 well and AAC. Maybe if it stuck around longer, Sony would have introduced that.

[eastbayarb]

I personally don't care for MP3 any more, so I switched to FLAC. I burn the FLAC albums to CD, then dub from my Sony CDP-CE535 5-disc CD changer to my Sony MDS-JB930 MiniDisc deck, and it sounds far superior to MP3 IMO.

I used to be like most people, who put a whole lot of MP3s on an MP3 player, but since I care more about quality, I do it the old school way and dub in real time.

[zahne]

I personally don't care for MP3 any more, so I switched to FLAC. I burn the FLAC albums to CD, then dub from my Sony CDP-CE535 5-disc CD changer to my Sony MDS-JB930 MiniDisc deck, and it sounds far superior to MP3 IMO.

I used to be like most people, who put a whole lot of MP3s on an MP3 player, but since I care more about quality, I do it the old school way and dub in real time.

I will probably still do that for my fav recordings but for having something to workout with or to download my podcasts, that isn't practical. I was hoping that the Hi-MD would combine my specialty dubbing audio world with my periodical podcast and audiobook world.

[Sony_Fan]

Zahne, there is also a great little program called MP3gain. It can help normalize your MP3 files so that they sound about the same volume level. This way, you won't have to be adjusting the volume on your player too much. Very easy to use. I use it whenever I rip CDs to MP3, because alot of CDs don't have the songs normalized properly. Some are too loud, others too soft.

[PhilippeC]

or Replaygain if you use foobar2000, so I have fixed once for all my JB980's record to +0.0dB

[zahne]

Zahne, there is also a great little program called MP3gain. It can help normalize your MP3 files so that they sound about the same volume level. This way, you won't have to be adjusting the volume on your player too much. Very easy to use. I use it whenever I rip CDs to MP3, because alot of CDs don't have the songs normalized properly. Some are too loud, others too soft.

Thanks for that. The volume wasn't the issue though. There were artifacts.