Sony is no longer making minidisc decks for the home? (1 Viewer)

[Rachael B]

Matthew, I am stockpiling decks to some extent. I now have five. I have three systems to use them with though and I keep two of them in my studio. I've made about 110 MD's already. About 10 of them are for sound editing for my video productions. The others are for my fun. I'm gonna make atleast a hundred more. I usually only burn CD's for somebody else.
Greg, how slim does the selection have to get before you believe MD is going out of style? Or, was it ever really in style? Me, I don't really care! I decided to replace Reel to reel tape and cassettes with MD nearly 5 years ago. The format suits me. I thnk Sony will offer a few models for a few more years, given the present trend, which could change? But, it might not? I doubt I'll buy any more MD players, unless my portable croaks. Sony is "reorganizing" their entire audio line-up, this is from a Sony dealer. MD is going down in importance for sure IMO. Busted Buy sells Sony CD to CD-R double decks. They couldn't beat them so they joined them, apparently.
Keith, I belive in the premise of the thread, obviously! I'm going to have something to play my MD's on for a long, long time. I only wish a multi-disc MD changer had happened. That would be very cool. Best wishes cats!

 

[KeithH]

Rachael, wow, you are stockpiling minidisc decks. That's O.K. I have three myself between two systems (three if the 'JA333ES ever gets here). I love the format, and if Sony kills it off entirely, it will be a real shame. On the plus side, the initial word I have read is that the 'JB980 that has been announced for release in Europe will employ ATRAC Type-S, a new algorithm. That, at least, shows that Sony is continuing to develop the format. As has been discussed here already, however, it is not known if Sony will release the 'JB980 in the US. The 'JB940 has been discontinued, so hopefully the 'JB980 is coming. Will we see an ES deck with ATRAC Type-S to replace the 'JA333ES? I don't know, but it would be nice to see for the good of the format, even though I am about to get the 'JA333ES.

As for a stand-alone minidisc changer, I would love to see one myself. The closest thing that Sony ever made as a stand-alone component was the MDS-W1 dual deck that was not released in North America. It was available in Europe, Japan, and probably everywhere else but North America. The 'W1 allows you to dub from one minidisc to another, much like a dual cassette deck or a dual-tray CD recorder. It can also be used as a two-minidisc changer. Finally, I think the 'W1 allows you to play a minidisc in one well while recording to one in the second well from an external source. Too bad it was never made available here.

Sony has also included minidisc changers in a few shelf systems. I have the DHC-MD555 in my bedroom, which has both five-disc CD and minidisc changers. It's really cool. Of course, as a shelf system, the sound quality is nothing special. I have heard it said that the speakers are the main problem, not so much the amp. However, I have not explored a speaker upgrade. A $200 pair of Polk speakers from Best Buy would probably outdo the Sony speakers. Anyway, I don't think the 'MD555 is still made, but you might be able to track one down if interested.

 

[KeithH]

Matthew and Rachael, in perusing auctions on eBay, I came across a Nakamichi MD-5 minidisc player. Here is a link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1343250378
Note that it is a small deck like the TEAC Reference Series components. I had never heard of a Nakamichi minidisc deck and figured it was an older model. However, I went to Nakamichi's web site (www.nakamichi.com) and found the CMS-5 Compact Music System, and the MD-5 is part of it. It seems as though the RE-5 stereo receiver, CD-5 CD player, and speakers come standard, but the MD-5 is listed as an optional component along with a DR-5 cassette deck. Anyway, here is another minidisc deck to throw into the mix.
Nakamichi lists a number of authorized Internet sellers on its web site, but I bet the MD-5 is very hard to find. Maybe eBay is the only way.

 

[KeithH]

Matthew, I figured you had ordered the Tascam deck, but I threw out the Nakamichi deck as an FYI. Sorry to hear that you've had problems with Nakamichi components too. The problem you had with the cassette deck surprises. What is even more surprising to me is that they didn't fix it. For years, Nakamichi was known as the cassette deck company. Anyway, I'm not sure if the Nakamichi minidisc deck bears any resemblence to the TEAC decks. One thing that is bothersome is that the Nakamichi deck only weighs 4 lbs., 13 oz. It's even lighter than the TEAC decks.
I am hoping that the 'JA333ES will arrive this coming week. However, J&R is still waiting for an ETA from Sony. :frowning:

 

[KeithH]

Matthew, I definitely understand your frustration with Nakamichi. Your experience with the cassette deck amazes me. Not only the fact that it died, but the fact that Nakamichi couldn't fix it. Inexcusable.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

The "good" (i.e., actually the best there ever were) Nakamichi cassette decks were the CR series, and of course, the venerable Dragon. When they went to the DR series in the early 90's, they "cheapened" the design along with the expected effects on reliability, quality, etc.
Check out:
http://www.naks.com/home.html
And then click on "Naks."
I think it was the RX or BX series too, that actually flipped the cassette in the well for 2 sided playback without the normal problems associated with autoreverse decks.

 

[KeithH]

Kevin, I have heard that the last cassette decks that Nakamichi made, the DR-8 and DR-10, were not made to the same standard as previous Nakamichi decks. Some have said that is because the Nakamichi that made these decks is not the same Nakamichi that made the previous models.
I am not about to say that Nakamichi makes garbage, but they do seem to be a less serious hi-fi company than they used to be. Instead of making single-disc CD players, they make the Music Bank changers that have an unconventional design. They make a stereo receiver, but no stereo integrated amps or power amps. Walk into Tweeter and you will see Nakamichi Soundspace shelf systems that look cute, but do not represent real hi-fi. In addition, they make the CMS-5 shelf system I mentioned. It too is cute, but I doubt it is a quality sound system. It is much like the TEAC Reference Series systems, except that Nakamichi also offers speakers. Anyway, I don't view Nakamichi as a serious company in many respects these days. I know they make quality home-theater receivers, but Nakamichi seems to be more about style than substance nowadays.
Your comment about the Nakamichi cassette decks with the flipping mechanism takes me back. I don't know how long you have lived in California, but I lived in Laguna Niguel from 1981 to 1985 and remember seeing one of these Nakamichi cassette decks at a Federated Group store in 1983. I thought it was really cool. I was 13 at the time, and I would just stand there and flip the tape over and over again. Fortunately, I never broke the deck. Those things were expensive, and I don't think my parents would have been happy having to buy a broken one.

 

[Rachael B]

I never liked Nakamichi decks. The tapes you made on them didn't sound good on other tape decks. They broke away from Phillip's standards. I always wanted to make tapes I could move around from player to player. I favoured the Tandberg decks. My first one the TCD-300 was one of the first decks with dual capstans and it was rock solid. It's tapes made lesser tape decks sound a bit better playing them. It was my experience that average tape decks played back better than they recorded. I am sick of cassettes! That's why I went for MD.

I haven't had time to record with the 333ES yet. Maybe next week? I'm really suprised how good it sounds as a transport. Best wishes!

 

[KeithH]

Rachael, interesting perspective on Nakamichi cassette decks. I have often read the opposite in that Nakamichi decks are known for making excellent copies. Obviously, everyone's experiences are different. Your viewpoint levels the playing field a bit for me, which is good.
I am really glad to hear that you are enjoying the 'JA333ES. I still don't know when I will get mine, but I can't wait!!!

 

[Rachael B]

Keith, if you had a Dragon deck and only played the tapes on it, yeah, it was great. I've seen them in action several times. I had a friend bring over a tape made on a Dragon one time, it sounded ghastly on either of my Tandbergs. Nakamichi created their own standard. I imagine some of their cheaper decks stayed inside Phillips' standards and sold off the name's sake. Cassette decks do have some value. I have a Technics DBX deck with microphone inputs plugged into the analog inputs of MD deck in my studio to make live recordings. That's about the extent of my intrest in cassette these days. Best wishes!

 

[Philip Hamm]

HA HA HA!!! Rachael that's funny! I've used my SONY ES deck as a mic preamp myself on occasion. BTW My Nak CR-1A was always a steller performer both in recording and playback, universal with other decks. Sounds like your friend played with the azimuth settings on his Dragon.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

One thing you can get with the Nak adjustable azimuth decks that you can't get on any other deck in the world:
The azimuth on the Naks can be adjusted (by remote on your sofa, not with a screwdriver stuck in the cassette well, Philip! ) such that tapes recorded on *other* machines can be made to sound the best they can on the Nak.
Rachael: My Dad has a Dragon. (I have a CR-7A, like father, like son!) Tapes recorded on that machine sounded better on my Onkyo (something) 2090 (top of the line Onkyo in the late 80's) than tapes made on the Onkyo itself! Sounds like the record head azimuth was off.
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Rachael, Keith, and Matthew:
Special 1-time offer! I currently have my Sony MDS-JA333ES MD deck on ebay. I have finally transferred all my MDs to CD-R and am getting rid of it. (Keith, I think you will really like yours when you get it. This was my 3rd MD machine after the JA20ES and a Kenwood MD-1050 before that.)
Anyway, I have some blanks I need to get rid of!
Sony 74 and 80's. Maxell 74's. And some wierd RCA/Victor's (Japanese I think).
Let me know if you're interested and I'll get an exact count of each.
I'd be up for trading for CD-R's. Say 2 CD-R's for each MD?

 

[KeithH]

Kevin, if you check your Private Messages, you will see that I wrote you about the eBay auction last night. I came across the auction last night and had a hunch that it was your auction.
I can't wait to get my 'JA333ES, but J&R is still waiting for an ETA from Sony. I may be speaking out of turn, but it looks like Rachael is set with a 'JA333ES, and I seriously doubt that Matthew will consider getting one (). Aside from his aversion to Sony (understood given his experiences), he ordered a Tascam deck from Oade Bros. recently.
Maybe others can use your blank minidiscs because I have a stockpile. Thanks for the offer though. Best of luck in selling the 'JA333ES.

 

[Rachael B]

Thanks Phillip and Kevin! I buy you guys explanation about custom adjustments on the decks. Give folks adjustments and they'll play with them. I hope this new deck is a winner Matthew. Best wishes guyz!

 

[KeithH]

Kevin, one more thing. I don't recall you saying it before, but did you ever compare the performance of the 'JA20ES to the 'JA333ES? What Hi*Fi? claimed last year that the 'JA333ES is a better deck. What do you think? What made you decide to switch from the 'JA20ES to the 'JA333ES?

 

[Joe_H]

Let me know how many of those blank MDs you have and the price if none of the others want them. As for me and the decks, I'm hoping that the 980 comes around the US because i was looking at the 940 but decided to see what happens now. (Currently have a MDS-JE510 or something like that)

 

[KeithH]

Joe said:

As for me and the decks, I'm hoping that the 980 comes around the US

You and me both. I won't need the 'JB980 (assuming the 'JA333ES works out; keeping my fingers crossed), but I am hoping that Sony will release it in the US for the good of the format. I am intrigued by this deck since it will have a new version of ATRAC -- Type S.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Keith- "Yuppers" on all accounts!
I always knew in the back of my mind that someone would ask about the 20 vs the 333...
The real reason why I went from the 20 to the 333 was this: if you "surf" the frontier of new equipment (hee, hee), you can get more for the older one if you sell it before it becomes obsolete. So, when I got the 20, I wasn't really sold on spending the money it would have taken then to get an older model 3 or the 5. So I got the *latest* (or most current) ES unit I could. Then when the 555 then 333 came out (I completely missed that the 555 was basically a half generation earlier than the 333), I figured, OK, I like MD well enough, I'll "trade" up to the 333 from the 20 before the value of the 20 really starts to drop.
And this is the part you aren't going to like.
As for sound, I couldn't tell a difference between the 20 and the 333 in *casual* listening. They both sounded really good. I think Rachael said it best a while ago: MD has no apparent flaws such that you would notice them on their own vs the source. So I never really even tried critically listening for any differences.
Here's another *casual* listening observation:
I am 2/3 of the way through listening to the CD-R's I made on the HHB from the original JA20ES and JA333ES MDs. ("Quality Control" ...)
Even 2 generations away from the source with the ATRAC and back conversion, I *still* can't tell the difference. Not back to back with the source. Just listening to the source->MD->CD-R recordings in and of themselves. (The sources were originally a mix of lps and CDs.)
So IMHO: MD *is* basically indistinguishable from the source.
*That's* also why I scoff at *anyone* who says that cassette, even with Dolby S/HX/whatever else you want to add, can even "compete" with MD. I have been a "recording" junky since the early 80's. Even looked at DCC! I could *always* hear a difference with cassette. Just turn up the volume in between songs and you get the background hiss that is *always* there. Or, use a George Winston (like) piano recording (or maybe even opera vocals), and the wow and flutter is there.
Both Stereo Review and Audio Magazine did comparisons between Dolby S decks and DAT (and DCC in 1 case) in the early 90's. DAT was judged best in every case. (For obvious reasons in retrospect.) Measurements *and* listening tests. I personally would put MD much closer to DAT than any Dolby S deck.

Joe- Looks like you may be a winner! Just sent you a "Private Message" ...

 

[KeithH]

Kevin and Matthew,

Interesting results in comparing minidiscs to CD-Rs derived from minidiscs. I have tried recording a minidisc to a CD-R.

Kevin,

Thanks for sharing your experiences in comparing the 'JA20ES to the 'JA333ES. I have heard subtle differences between the MXD-D3 and 'JB930. The 'JB930 sounds a bit cleaner. Enough so that I never use the 'D3 for playback. I never did compare the 'JB930 to the 'JA555ES.

By the way, I once delved into DCC too. It was about two years ago. I bought a used Technics DCC deck on eBay that was in perfect condition. I even had a stash of about 15 blank DCC tapes and about six pre-recorded DCC tapes. Among the pre-recorded tapes, I had Bruce Hornsby and the Range The Way It Is and a Hall & Oates greatest hits tape. I never used the deck for recording. After awhile, the deck was just taking up space, so I sold everything on eBay.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

DCC... Man, that's a blast from the past. Dude, you remember the Elcasset? (I might have the spelling wrong there...)