Opinions On Mini-Disc

Garrett

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In this years awards in What Hi-Fi it is stated Mini-Disc hasn’t really caught on. More or less saying most people bypassed it in there transition from tape to recordable CD.
I personally think it is better that tape and with my disc recorder there does not seem that much difference between it and the original albeit my cd player is getting on. I like the way you can edit, and delete, title, and if you are taping something in mono or just need to record something to here what has gone on rather than quality it can be turned into a mono recorder giving a total of 160minutes.
I was wondering what other people’s opinion on this medium.
 
That comment stirred up a hornets nest on the HFC forum Garret, suffice to say there was not one regular agreeing with WHF, that mag is now rightly regarded as a joke in most circles (apart from starters needing advice) read the full gamut of views here.

http://forum.hifichoice.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1312

FTR I think it is a great hifi source, although not sure about its longevity TBH.
 
I've been through 2 MD full size decks and 2 MD portables so far and, personally, think it's the ideal portable music solution. I'd have an MD player in my car tomorrow, were it not for the fact that my car's too noisy to make it sensible.

And, come on, those little discs are by far THE most desirable physical storage mediums for music :)

Those white, Sony ES Mini Discs are lushious!
 
Originally posted by juboy Those white, Sony ES Mini Discs are lushious! [/B]

Totally agree Juboy, I was lucky enough to secure about 30 odd of the ES discs before they went out of production. Ive had my Sony 510 & MZ-E40 personal from 1997 and they are still going strong, played everyday as well. I do a lot of taping from Nicam broadcasts to MD via the adjustable analogue level on the deck.

MD : A truly wonderful format IMHO.
WHF : A truly woeful catalogue IMHO.
 
Originally posted by CJROSS
I was lucky enough to secure about 30 odd of the ES discs before they went out of production.

Nice one... I know it sounds horrendously geeky but everytime I get one of those ES discs out of it's case I am astonished at just how tactile and quality they are. They weigh at least 30% heavier than any MDs I've owned.

I think I was paying around £5 per disc for them when they came out intially and remember once seeing and buying a 3 pack of them for £13... which, to this day, I'd say is a downright bargain!
 
An other thing they are so compact and are so robust, not tape ware or breaking, or compared to portability of a CD they do not scratch and are not easily snapped in two. Also You can pick one up put it in a player and start recording, no searching for the blank area.
 
Originally posted by juboy
Nice one... I know it sounds horrendously geeky but everytime I get one of those ES discs out of it's case I am astonished at just how tactile and quality they are. They weigh at least 30% heavier than any MDs I've owned.

I think I was paying around £5 per disc for them when they came out intially and remember once seeing and buying a 3 pack of them for £13... which, to this day, I'd say is a downright bargain!

Hey dude, I got mine for £1.25 per disc Juboy then £5 P+P, Ive used these guys for years for MDs, Mini DV & TDK CDRs, just a small tip it may come in handy in future bro. But I would highly recco these guys, excellent packing & great rates even with PP costs, BTW I believe the ES discs sound sound good due to the ceramic nature of the casing from soemthing I read many moons ago.

http://www.pricebuster.org.uk/WebPages/Pricebuster.htm

Hey Garret dont tell me, I love the way you can squezze about 20 into a suitcase for holiday no problem.
 
Minidisc in the car is excellent!

Great for recording BBC 6 Music via digital

Nokia -> amp -> MD
 
I have a Sony MDS-JB940 .....it is probably my favourite piece of AV, also if you like the idea of better quality minidiscs.....TDK MD-RXG Pro :) .
Minidisc is very popular in U.S. especially with NetMD PC Link having caught imagination.
 
Originally posted by CJROSS

http://www.pricebuster.org.uk/WebPages/Pricebuster.htm

Hey Garret dont tell me, I love the way you can squezze about 20 into a suitcase for holiday no problem.
I use them all the time as well. I may even pop in whilst I’m in Manchester tomorrow.

Yes 3 mini disc in a case same as 1 cassette or a CD in a case.

The silly thing I never bothered with them until my dad got one, and its me who gets him into new technology.
 
I bypassed minidisc. With a limited need for portability, cd was ok for that use. When i listened to a MD deck, the now old 920 sony, i thought it was good, but my then £300 cd player bettered it, albeit not by a huge amount.

I on my current set up, i wouldnt consider minidisc as a source. It isnt bad, but it just isnt quite good enough. Then again, im quite picky with my hifi! :D

for a portable medium it is fantastic, far superior to tap and cd. In absolute terms, its sound is distinctively different to my ears, i presume due to the compression involved.

This is of course a similar topic to whether you should use an sdi player or not worry. The additional picture processing (A/d D/A) is equivalent to the processing done upon the signal when recording.

I do think minidisc should now be dying (should, not necesarily will) since MP3 has a far greater potential if done correctly.

just my views!

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Originally posted by gringottsdirect
Buns, don't let Michael Flatley hear you say that :D

i want a witty comeback, but it is too late! i'll think again in the morning!

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To CJRoss, Garrett

Hey buddies Iam happy to see this thread. Just when I was planing to post a new thread. I found this one.Well my question is What is the quality of recording of Mini Disc? I used Dennon Japanese Model and recording quality was excellent then had to sell it because the battery was not available in in any country otherthen Japan .I wrote to them and found it then let me tell you what happened , I wanted to send them the price by check or Credit card this Dennon Tokyo office refused to accept any other medium of payment other then depoiting the money In Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo Branch, I had no option but to sell the MDPortable. Now I have Sony Deck and Small RZ -70 . The recording quality is not as good as Denon.Are you guys satisfied with the recording quality??

Jazzartist
 
Hi Jazz
I have one of the Sony ES range decks, and if you cant tell I’m more than pleased with mine. I also have a Sharps portable, well lets put it this way I had a portable Tape/Radio Walkman for years and only used it once for music on the go, the minidisk I use all the time.:)
 
I count myself as a very happy Minidisc user. I've spent over £350 on using the medium.

It's been absolutely perfect for portable listening, and great for mastering recordings to from computer programs to play around with. Reliable and robust.

Much preferable to recordable CD thanks, 'What - the hell do you know about - Hifi?".
 
Originally posted by pointon
I count myself as a very happy Minidisc user. I've spent over £350 on using the medium.

It's been absolutely perfect for portable listening, and great for mastering recordings to from computer programs to play around with. Reliable and robust.

Much preferable to recordable CD thanks, 'What - the hell do you know about - Hifi?".

recordable cd is pointless. If you want to record it has to be the worst medium all round

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Isn’t MP3 further compressed than mini disk. Also if you was to take a lot of it with you, you have to burn it. Mini disk can be re-recorded 1000’s of time without determent.
 
Originally posted by pbirkett
Not if the MP3 is encoded at a reasonable bitrate.
So which what which take more room up, 3 minidisk or one CD with MP3 at that rate?
 
my point on mp3 was it was most promising, not necessarily the current king. The price and size of the mp3 storage is changing all the time. In a couple of years try the comparison and i bet mp3 will be way ahead

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Sorry if I didn’t make myself too clear, what I meant If you was putting some material on to a CD in the MP3 format at the same quality as a top notch mini disc recorder, which would you get more information on: 3 mini disc or one CD
 
I would say you would get more on the CD, but only just. IIRC Minidisc is the equivalent to 292K MP3, so if you used 320K MP3, they should be small enough to get 4 CD albums onto 1 CD.
 
I have a full size Sony recorder, a top end Sony mini-disc head unit in the car £800 and a Six disc minidisc changer in the car too.

I would say that I like it very much indeed.

I can also burn CDs with audio or MP3 and I even have a portable 6 Gig Mp3 player.

Minidisc is always my prefered medium for recording.


Richard
 

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