Yamaha CDR HD1500

Tice

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I've just bought Yamaha's new CDR HD1500 and have upgraded it to a 400gb disk immediately in an attempt to get as much of my vinyl on the HD as possible....400gb gives enough space for 674 hours of uncompressed music. The unit is well built and has editing facilities which are even more comprehensive than MiniDisc. Will update on performance etc as I become more au fait with the various functions but initial impressions are very good and it seems an excellent piece of kit.

One hint, if anyone else is considering a purchase, I would urge you to buy a RS232 lead to connect the unit to a computer. The Title editor software can be downloaded from Yamaha's website to your PC and info can be input via the PC keyboard rather than the jog wheel on the unit or the remote. This will avoid you losing the will to live 10 minutes after you start inputting titles.
 
does it have direct cd# access ?

my 1300 didnt

so you couldnt access , say, CD 96, without having to press the + button on the remote 96 times ( if it was on cd 1 for example )

the jog wheel was needed on the remote too

also, does it have power on/off ?

again , older model didnt ( terrible design flaw )
 
I have the same unit but am struggling to get the software to connect to the 1500. Are you just connecting with standard serial cable ? Is there any setting on the HD to enable the port?

Editing software should allow for download of titles from web in my view. Also how have you stored your discs ? I think the logic is a bit stupid on the system it would make more sense to have Artist - Album - Songs listings alphabetically sorted than the haphazzard arrangement thay have come up with ....

Rgds Steve.
 
I'm not sure whether you have been unable to find the software or if it's not working. I downloaded the software from :

http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/product/av/

The port is already enabled and the connection is via an RS232 9 Pin cable from the back of the unit to my lap top.

I love the unit but the title editing software is basic at best. The disc/track/album store arrangement is very unsophisticated. Did they bother to test it with any potential users before launching it? So far, I've stored my discs by artist in alphabetical order. If you make a mistake or wish to add another CD at a later date, it is possible to renumber the disc to insert it in the right place.

I had one or two problems with the jumper settings on my replacement HD but I spoke with Yamaha UK who were very helpful and gave me the correct settings.

Hope this answers your questions. If not, let me know and I'll try to help.
 
What does this unit sound like when playing from the hard disk ? There doesn't seem to be a lot of competition at this price-point so I was quite tempted by one myself, but not sure if the problems you are experiencing with the software would annoy me too much !
 
Peter Tyson had them on 'offer' the other day, not sure how competitve it was but they are ususally very good for Yamaha prices.
 
Reply to JohnG : The sound from the hard disk is excellent but like all recorders it's dependent on the source it was recorded from. I think the CD part of the unit is ok but nothing special. If you have a choice, I would recommend keeping an existing CD and using the Yamaha as a HD recorder only. Recording from CD would take longer but the sound would be more lively and exciting.

The software isn't a huge problem, just not as user-friendly as it might be. The random play facility is huge fun and gets you listening to long forgotten tracks or in some cases, tracks you've never heard before.
 
I've been considering one of these for a while now as I too would like to digitise my LPs.

I've been listening to my CDs via a Squeezebox and iTunes over a wireless network. This works fantastically well and is easy to add to when I buy new CDs.

LPs though are a real problem. The thought of typing in track listings for 500 plus LPs is completely off putting even using a connected PC. And after all those hard weeks of typing can you imagine how you would feel if the thing crashed or blew up or got knicked! Doesn't bear thinking about.

The other big problem is that all that effort only gets your LPs on to an isolated HD. To really free them up I would need to go further and copy them to CD then rip them into iTunes.

I think I might wait until Yamaha issues a new version which can hook into networks (wirelessly please) for back up purposes and to download data from the Gracenote database. Be nice too if it could feed media streamers and had an MP3 option.
 
I've just got this unit and must admit I think it's an awesome bit of kit, but one question you may be able to help me with. What exactly are "Groups"? As I understand from the manual a Group can contain both discs and albums, therefore I presumed you could rename a Group to be an Artist for example and have it containing that Artists albums, but after the basic description in the manual it doesn't seem to mention Groups again. Would be grateful if anyone could enlighten me.Many thanks
 
Reply to Stevebez

I have the same unit but am struggling to get the software to connect to the 1500. Are you just connecting with standard serial cable ?

You need to connect the unit via a null modem cable. I got mine from maplins and it works a treat. However, inputting all the track names is still far too painful but it is a lot easier to reorganise disc titles.
 
Ugly JC said:
I've just got this unit and must admit I think it's an awesome bit of kit, but one question you may be able to help me with. What exactly are "Groups"?

I picked up the CDRHD1500 in May this year :)

A "group" is is Yamaha's terminology for either a DISC, ALBUM or set of MARKed tracks.

A DISC is what you get if you copy a whole CD on to the hard disk, although of course you can make a DISC by copying tracks from different CDs, or from the external inputs.

An ALBUM is a collection of tracks from discs already on the hard disk. For instance, you can create an album that consists of Track 3 from Disc 1, Track 17 from Disc 2 etc. I think it's intended as a means of creating compilations.

MARK is a temporary option that becomes available when you mark tracks on the hard disk. This will play back all the marked tracks, in the order you placed markers on them.

When you set "play style" to GROUP, the Yamaha will play tracks from either a GROUP, ALBUM or MARK, depending what you have selected with the jog dial.

Setting "play style" to ALL causes the Yahama to play tracks from all the DISCs or ALBUMs on the hard disk, depending on whether you had a DISC or ALBUM selected when you hit Play.

Setting "play style" to ALL and turning RANDOM on gives you random tracks from all the CDs stored on the hard disk :) Fun!


Hope this makes sense. It took me an hour of studying the manual before I figured out what they were on about!


A.
 
Having had the CDRHD1500 for a few months now, I am mostly very pleased with it - sound quality is second to none.

My only niggle is that it seems very fussy about the CDs you use. It has had problems with scratched and otherwise dodgy CDs from my collection that other players will play with no problems. I've found 2 so far that won't copy without pops and clicks, even on single speed. (Although I should also add that I've made a compilation of around 20 of my CD singles, some of which are 10 years old, with no problems at all).

Also, I've found that AMQR mode works best with the pale gold coloured CDRs (eg. Maxell). I've been using TDK CDRs, which are a deep blue colour. Although I've had no problems at all when recording in standard mode, I found that the TDK discs recorded with AMQR took ages to be recognised when put back into the CDRHD1500, with the drive spinning up and down and the laser hunting. No such problems with the Maxell discs, worked first time. Since then, I've found that a CD walkman won't recognise the TDK discs at all, so maybe their reflectivity is not as good.

I'd be interested to hear whether any other CDRHD1500 owners have had trouble with certain discs.

Despite these niggles, the Yamaha is a great bit of kit, and being able to spin the dial and select any CD is a joy. Great when you've got friends over :)

A.
 
I've just bought Yamaha's new CDR HD1500 and have upgraded it to a 400gb disk immediately in an attempt to get as much of my vinyl on the HD as possible....400gb gives enough space for 674 hours of uncompressed music.

Hi,

How easy is it to upgrade to a bigger disk? Presumably it doesn't screw up the firmware or anything. What make of disk did you use? I know you can get a 500gb 7200 for £118 now.
 
Replacing the hard disk was not a problem but which wires go to which pin configuration on the disk is crucial. The tech line at Yamaha UK was extremely helpful with this issue and I would suggest you contact them once you have the replacement disk.

Can't remeber the make of disk I used but it requires a particular type of hard disk so I would advise you check this out in advance as well with the tech line.

Not sure I'm technical enough to answer your lossless question but my understanding is there is no compression involved in recording.

You'll find the software to connect to a PC at :

http://www.yamaha-uk.com/downloads/software/


If you have any other questions, let me know.

Paul
 
Hi,

I was thinking of replacing with Samsung HD they are supposed to be the quietest and perhaps the fan with a Silentx (is the one inside noisy?).

I'm probably going to get mine from http://www.hifi-components.de/versand.aspx as they have black and you can't get it in UK.

How did you think the sound quality compared to a reasonable CD player? Although it might save as true WAV inside this sound is also done to the rest of the electronics.

Can't see why more people don't have them, great replacement to ye old jukebox.

Many Thanks

David
 
As far as I know, the only HD recorder Samsung make is for DVD.

For more tech info on the CDR HD1500 and possible replacement disks try :

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo-1.cfm/Product_ID/2292

I would still advise a phone call to Yamaha before parting with any money for a replacement disk.

It's also possible to download the operating manual to get a feel for the machine.
 
Hi, sorry last question.

On the manual it doesn't look like you can randomise track playing across everything on the disk. You can only do it by album, group or bookmark.

Is that true? I think then the limit is randomise on 99 tracks.
 
No problem.....pose as many questions as you like.

You can randomise track playing across the whole of the disk but albums (or playlists if you prefer iPod terminology) are limited to 99 tracks.

My hope is that Yamaha will eventually update and improve the software to allow more MP3 type functions and user-friendliness. In the meantime, it still seems the best way for me to ultimately transfer my vinyl onto the iPod short of buying them all on CD.......plus it's streets ahead of the iPod in quality for playing through a good system.
 
Hi All,

I'm considering a hard disk storage system to replace my somewhat elderly Arcam CD player which died yesterday.

Does anyone have an opinion on the sound quality? I'd have to try one before investing, but I'd be running it through Audiolab 8000 pre/power and Kef Reference 1 speakers which can tell a little bit too much about the source!

Thanks
 
I'd be surprised if it equals your Arcam but you never know. I'm still umming and arring on buying one.

Cheers
 
Hi All,

I'm considering a hard disk storage system to replace my somewhat elderly Arcam CD player which died yesterday.

Does anyone have an opinion on the sound quality? I'd have to try one before investing, but I'd be running it through Audiolab 8000 pre/power and Kef Reference 1 speakers which can tell a little bit too much about the source!

Thanks
Storing uncompressed or using lossless compression should leave you with bit perfect copies of your CD's. I would go for it and the worst that could happen is you might want to consider a DAC if you are not happy with the sound because the fundamentals are there.
 
Does the 1500 use audio cdrs or PC cdrs ?
 
The Yamaha can only record to the "For Consumer" type audio CD-R/RWs
 
Thanks anyone know the best disks to use ?
A friend is about to buy one and would like to know the best kind to get.
 
My favourites are TDK CD-RXG (80min) - never had a failure yet (touch wood). Many others from 'good' manufacturers (eg. JVC, Sony etc) work fine too, though the bulk buy cake CD-Rs from Maplins etc are probably best avoided ...
 

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