Minidisc Appreciation thread

[Dawson12]

@Gray


"I read that ATRAC was suposed to be less detrimental than mp3.
Who's to say the effect must necessarily be negative? - it might be affecting in a way that people prefer."

i agree mate... sound is subjective, consonance and dissonance are based on perception, if you like it, you like it... big up

 

[Al ears]

Hi, new to the forum,just picked up five md players from a mates attic for free....

now, i know that solid state is smaller, more capacity, cheaper......

but i care not, because for DECADES, i wanted a Sony MZ-R35.. now i DO...

and i agree with the posts on here, RECORDED ONTO md, THE QUALITY STILL knocks spots off Spotify, Tidal etc...

(oh, to the user who asked "How do Spotify play they music they dont own..... its like radio.. they license and pay for airplay..... fairly simple)

Welcome to the forum.
Please check the dates of posts as this thread is quite old and many of the original posters may no longer be on the forum.
often better to start a new thread than dig up old ones.

 

[Gray]

for DECADES, i wanted a Sony MZ-R35.. now i DO...

Enjoy it 👍
I own that model - it's a technological marvel.

 

[Dawson12]

Enjoy it 👍
I own that model - it's a technological marvel.

yes, i saw one in a mag in about, what, 98.... even then it looked smooth..
now, nearly a quarter century later, maybe more... and they are great.

 

[Shrek]

This thread got me hunting this is what i found 😆

 

[Dawson12]

This thread got me hunting this is what i found 😆

Mate, you just reminded me i have one of green portable md player recorders somewhere from a car boot box a while ago. thank you.

also @Gray, again, would you happen to have a recommendation for a supplier for replacement li-ion battery packs for the MZ-R35? Hoping to find a reputable one before i dive on eBay or Amazon for a generic one... thanks.

 

[Gray]

would you happen to have a recommendation for a supplier for replacement li-ion battery packs for the MZ-R35?

I've never investigated that, sorry.
You probably know what you need, but in case yours is missing:
LIP-12 (H) 3.6v 1350 mAh.

You may also have the attachable holder for 2 AA batteries, if not you might be able to obtain one.
(Seen on the left of the picture I've just taken)

As it was purchased in March 1999 (for £179.99) mine could probably do with a new li-ion....so I'd be interested to see what you might find 👍

 

[Witterings]

Says so much that everyone's players are still working.
How could anybody not appreciate MD?
Obviously, not enough people did.

An old resurected thread which I skimmed and saw this comment .... I believe (but could be wholly wrong) ... people did like it but I think Sony developed the MD but their licencing fee demands is what stopped it in it's tracks.

I still have a Yamaha MD recorder / player and in the loft and an in car 4 MD interchanger (think it was Kenwood) in the loft somewhere ... best in car system I ever had by a LONG way.

 

[James105]

Any one know when iPods are coming back?, I've got a 14 year old one in my car.

 

[Dawson12]

never owned one... but theres still a nice big underground community though.. i know a few folk who have changed the moving head storage for solid state, and upgraded storage volume, or fitted Bluetooth mods..

 

[Gray]

also @Gray, again, would you happen to have a recommendation for a supplier for replacement li-ion battery packs for the MZ-R35? Hoping to find a reputable one before i dive on eBay or Amazon for a generic one... thanks.

I found that mine wasn't charging (no surprise).
With nothing to lose, a hacksaw opened up the sealed unit (in such a way that it can be resealed).

The battery is 64mm long by 18mm diameter.
If you can find one the same, or smaller physical size, you might have more (and cheaper) choices.
(There's a charge regulation circuit under the yellow tape).

With (current limited) voltage on the removed battery, I've got mine to take and hold a charge - but after 24 years, I'm not optimistic for its future.

 

[Dawson12]

I'm wondering if that isn't almost a 18650... They're both ,3.6v cells..

Edit, lol. It's literally written on there ..

Time to get the Stanley blade out..

 

[Witterings]

I'm wondering if that isn't almost a 18650... They're both ,3.6v cells..

Edit, lol. It's literally written on there ..

Time to get the Stanley blade out..

also @Gray, again, would you happen to have a recommendation for a supplier for replacement li-ion battery packs for the MZ-R35? Hoping to find a reputable one before i dive on eBay or Amazon for a generic one... thanks.

Yes they are 18650's, I can't see the ends but some have buttons on the positive ends and others don't (flat tops).
You want to have a look and see if they do or don't and then search for Samsung, Panasonic or LG ... they'll do them both with and without buttons.
Also make sure you've got an accurate measurement of the length as they can vary by a
few mm which can be the difference between them fitting and not, if you use calipers make sure you put a piece of paper over one of the ends to stop the battery shorting when measuring.

Most VAPE shops will sell 18650's could take the ones you have in and put them next to each other.

 

[Gray]

Yes they are 18650's, I can't see the ends but some have buttons on the positive ends and others don't (flat tops).
You want to have a look and see if they do or don't and then search for Samsung, Panasonic or LG ... they'll do them both with and without buttons.
Also make sure you've got an accurate measurement of the length as they can vary by a
few mm which can be the difference between them fitting and not, if you use calipers make sure you put a piece of paper over one of the ends to stop the battery shorting when measuring.

Most VAPE shops will sell 18650's could take the ones you have in and put them next to each other.

Yes, I've seen that the Samsung version (with the necessary solder tags) is available for less than half the price of the 'original' battery in its specific caddy.

 

[Dawson12]

I found that mine wasn't charging (no surprise).
With nothing to lose, a hacksaw opened up the sealed unit (in such a way that it can be resealed).

The battery is 64mm long by 18mm diameter.
If you can find one the same, or smaller physical size, you might have more (and cheaper) choices.
(There's a charge regulation circuit under the yellow tape).

With (current limited) voltage on the removed battery, I've got mine to take and hold a charge - but after 24 years, I'm not optimistic for its future.
View attachment 4651

A miracle occured....I opened mine, as you did, although my opening effort was a little err messier.....
the cell read .09v on the multimeter.
So, i thought id hit it with the 18650 cell charger i have for the torches, and a few hours later... we were reading 3.6v... and is holding it.. though lets see how long for once ive played a few on it.
its now (rather a snug fit mind, back in the case, taking charge from the minidisc psu too.... ive still ordered a replacement, but for now.. im back in 1999, with a waistpack full of minidiscs, reliving my music taste from 20 yrs ago....... bliss..
big up to the WHF community, x

 

[Gray]

A miracle occured....I opened mine, as you did, although my opening effort was a little err messier.....
the cell read .09v on the multimeter.
So, i thought id hit it with the 18650 cell charger i have for the torches, and a few hours later... we were reading 3.6v... and is holding it.. though lets see how long for once ive played a few on it.
its now (rather a snug fit mind, back in the case, taking charge from the minidisc psu too.... ive still ordered a replacement, but for now.. im back in 1999, with a waistpack full of minidiscs, reliving my music taste from 20 yrs ago....... bliss..
big up to the WHF community, x

...I reckon that, for both of us, the battery voltage had dropped below a threshold level - meaning that the Sony couldn't kickstart the charging....whereas our externally applied power did the trick.
Nobody said my hacksawed entry was neat by the way

Glad you're sorted and happy

 

[Witterings]

...I reckon that, for both of us, the battery voltage had dropped below a threshold level - meaning that the Sony couldn't kickstart the charging....whereas our externally applied power did the trick.
Nobody said my hacksawed entry was neat by the way

Glad you're sorted and happy

You're probably right as most chargers for those type of batteries will only charge them if the voltage hasn't dropped too low ... the reason is the battery becomes damaged / unstable if you let it go below a certain level which means it could potentially burst into flames when charging so personally I'd still try and find a replacement.

An old trick with Lipo batteries if they'd gone too low and you had a charger that could do it was use a NiCad or NiMH program to bring it up to a level that a LiPo program would recognise / accept but as I say they were always a potential hazard after that and I#d never leave them charging unsupervised.

 

[Dawson12]

Oh absolutely mate, wasn't about to leave it unsupervised, and a replacement is on the way. Big up for the warning, always great to double check..
Currently listening to a Ritchie Hawtin album on it, in the sun on a roof. Periodic check of battery pack too for power holding and temperature checking too. And checking for any swelling of the actual cell as well.
All seems great. Will definitely be using the new pack as the primary when it arrives, but til then, this LIP battery seems to be holding up great.

Really enjoying the nostalgia of the music from the 98-2002 period.....

might dig out my Walkman n tapes now... 🤔

 

[Cricketbat70]

So I just recorded a bunch of minidiscs digitally off Spotify, and the recordings actually sound better on minidisc than they did on spotify

Am I imagining this? I think it might be to do with the DAC on a minidisc player compared to my phone, but the difference is just like WOW, they sound really really amazing, very close to CD quality....

What a truly great format the minidisc was. Why did we ever abandon it in favour of MP3s?

Late to the party here but back in June I bought a Tascam MD350 from ebay and using a Chromecast audio connected via toslink I recorded an album off Spotify. I love it, more to come it's just having the time.

 

[davidf]

Noticed the other day that an upcoming album from an artist (I forget who it was now) was being released on MiniDisc. If I remember what it was, I’ll post back.

 

[davidf]

Clocolan - releasing his new album “Incide” on digital download, vinyl, and Minidisc.

 

[Cricketbat70]

Noticed the other day that an upcoming album from an artist (I forget who it was now) was being released on MiniDisc. If I remember what it was, I’ll post back.

I did wonder if minidisc would be the next format for some to start releasing music on after the cassette revival.

 

[Revolutions]

I did wonder if minidisc would be the next format for some to start releasing music on after the cassette revival.

Too niche, too expensive, sadly.

 

[Witterings]

Too niche, too expensive, sadly.

Didn't Sony shoot themselves in the foot by making the licensing too expensive so virtually no one adopted it?

 

[Revolutions]

Didn't Sony shoot themselves in the foot by making the licensing too expensive so virtually no one adopted it?

as far as I know, that was the problem- it was super hard to get hold of recorders that weren’t Sony, so prices were prohibitively high

There’s so many case studies about how Sony learnt from the Betamax vs VHS debacle to dominate with blu-ray. Seems that lessons from limiting licensing with video cassettes weren’t applied with audio cassettes either 🤷‍♂️