Which Minidisc player to get? (portable) (1 Viewer)

[AndyVX]

Hey, I'm not sure if this is in the right section, so I just took a guess and put it here. Hope I got it right
Anyways, I'm looking into getting a portable Minidisc player/recorder but I'm having trouble picking which one I want. There are way too many different models out there from Sony.
I was looking a Futureshop (retail and online) and the 3 models that they have are the MZR500PC, MZR700PC, and MZR900PC. So, while at futureshop I decided that I wanted the 900 just because it had a digital connection to my PC. Does this even make a difference? The other two only have analog PC connectivity. (They all have a optical connection for my CD player though)
So, all was well and good until I went to Sony Canada's website. Their website lists only the MZR700PC and MZR500PC, but not the 900. So, what's going on? (They also had some models in the MZE line, but they didn't appear to be recorders)
Well, if anyone could help me figure out which model would be best for me, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks a bunch.

 

[Philip Hamm]

I would definitely prefer a digital connection to the PC if at all possible. If you'll be "portablizing" MP3 audio then the cleanest way to record to MD by FAR is using a digital connection. Otherwise the signal will be converted from digital to analog then from analog to digital again. Better to stay in the digital domain.

 

[Brian Corr]

Definitly get one with the digital computer interface. I just got a sony MZ-G750DPC and love it.

 

[Joe_H]

I don't know about in Canada, but in the US, in March, Sony is releasing the NetMD recorders. They have a USB connection and convert any type of audio file to atrac, as well as record directly from the cd drive. According to a review of the Japanese import model MZ-N1 (http://www.minidisc.org/brian_youn/mzn1/), the speed is 2x-4x using SP mode, 16x in LP2 mode, and 32x in LP4 mode. Also if anyone is interested, it does state that the import software is in English as well. I was looking to get a newer MD recorder but now I'm definitely waiting until March.
See http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/1531 for the Sony press release.

 

[AndyVX]

Oh man, I really don't want to wait until March to get one though. grrrr... Well, even if I don't wait, I'll still be sure to get one with a digital connection to my PC.

The MZR-900DPC comes with some sort of PC link cable (which is a USB connection to the PC). But there is also some sort of box in the middle of the cable. Not sure what it does though.

I'll try and see if I can get a direct link to the Canadian model I'm talking about.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[Joe_H]

I was also just reading another review. It says that it will make you convert the MP3 to LP2 or LP4 before sending it to the player, so even if you let the player use it in SP mode, it will still be the same exact thing as the LP2 file except take up more space. Hopefully Sony will change that before releasing it over here, but that probably won't happen. That might make the decision easier. And I know what model you're talking about, I was hoping that this would be a faster transfer. I'm not sure but I think the connection with the models existing is realtime.

 

[AndyVX]

Hmm,

I was just reading up about Minidisc and the NetMD players on the site linked above (minidisc.org). I'm really on the fence now as to what I want to do.

While the NetMD player/software seems cool, I'm not sure if it will be worth the wait until March.

I think though that maybe it would be best for me to wait until March and get one of the NetMD models (the N1 most likely)...that way I wont be hurting my bank account so soon after Christmas. And if the NetMD isn't all that it's cracked up to be, I'll probably be able to get the previous generation models for cheaper in march.

Thanks once again for all the help.... I'm probably going to do a bit more reading on that site, as I know absolutly nothing about MD's.

 

[Joe_H]

No problem. Actually I just found out about NetMD a couple days ago lol. It sounded like a really good idea when i first read up on it, but now as i read about this, the computer made tracks have to be converted to a worse quality first, and then changed to the better quality file if you want it, but you still lose the quality, so its pointless unless you want it to be compatible with an older player.. in other words it can't use the highest quality, and that might be a problem. Then again, if i'm trying to record from MP3s anyway, it might not matter using LP2 since MP3s that I download aren't always the highest quality either. Who knows lol. Glad I helped though.

 

[Kevin T]

i'm almost 100% certain that the mzr-700dpc has a digital usb connection. if you want to buy online and save a few bucks...check out this site.
kevin t

 

[AndyVX]

I just noticed that there are two different versions of the MZ-R700. One is 700DPC and the other is 700PC. 'D' stands for digital-connection.

I have decided though what I am going to be getting, and that is the MZ-R900DPC.

Thanks for all the insight everyone. If I really like the MD player, I may even get a MD Deck a little while later, so that is some more research I'll have to do. I'm sure there are other topics covering MD Decks though on this forum.