This is a weird topic to be on the front page, but since it is:
If you're into collecting MiniDisc stuff (or, like me, just never got the message that we were supposed to stop using it), the "MDLP" badge on recorders and players is what you want to look for for the best quality equipment.
Even if you never use LP mode, the MDLP-badged equipment come with improved versions of the SP codec, as well.
("Hi-MD" is the ultimate evolution, but not worth trying to use now, since while they still make blank MDs, they stopped making blank Hi-MDs years ago, and they now command absurdly high prices.)
Probably should mention that minidisc saw a big revival for the anniversary and the fact that NetMD has been almost fully reverse engineered (allowing for uploads from any NetMD unit). All you need is a NetMD unit, a USB cable, and a chromium-based browser (needs WebUSB, then go here: https://web.minidisc.wiki/ )
On the LP topic, that site allows for encoding higher quality LP2 to minidisc by using the PSP SDK's ATRAC3 encoder, which I guess was newer and improved than what the original Sony software used for minidisc burning.
Fun fact, Arnold Schwarzenwggwe in Last Action Hero has a mini disc player in his car. I always thst looked really futuristic.
Still bitter that Sony squandered some fantastic tech because they were so shit scared of audio and data mixing. I know the solid state stuff is miles better but the '90s teen in me who grew up watching animes set in 20XX with characters using MiniDiscs still romanticizes about what could have been.
Back in the day, when I had a Minidisc player, I heard in Japan, there were Minidisc drives for PCs as data storage. I would have liked to have one of those, but if that was true, they didn't find their way to Europe. They were very pretty and I liked the haptics.
> ATRAC1 Type R
I love this. Please bring whimsy back to computing. VTEC just kicked in yo: http://minidisc.org/type_r_atrac.html
For everyone out there who wants to get into this wonderful world, I recommend visiting MiniDisc Wiki's Get Started Guide (https://www.minidisc.wiki/guides/getting-started) and its subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/minidisc/)
I was a bit annoyed with labeling options on pre-NetMD devices and built a little device to do it for me (https://www.tindie.com/products/fijam/gmdrec/). Went from just about knowing what a resistor is, through a couple breadboard prototypes to over 70 devices sold worldwide.
I miss those MD days. I still have a few of TDK's Bit Club and XSIV series blanks, the classic RXG's and a Maxwell that glows in the dark.
Reference to Techmoan is de rigeur:
Especially any of you kids who weren't around when the MiniDisc craze swept the world like a wildfire gone berzerk.
Weird to see this here. However, I happen to be a minidisc user/collector and really enjoy the format. I make a mix tape nearly every week. I know how archaic this is, but I find the process and the results to be very gratifying.
I often compose fun little melodies while noodling around on the electric piano. So I always have my Sony MiniDisc deck hooked into my mixer, ready to record. It just takes two button presses to begin recording---convenient and reliable. And with subsequent playback, I can also play along with what I just recorded.
For ham radio, all my radios are connected through a line mixer and play through an Onkyo MiniDisc bookshelf system to amplify the audio. Again, it's two button presses to record anything I'm listening to.
I really love MiniDisc. It's a wonderful format.
I have a Sony MZ-R700, still working perfectly. I haven't made real use of it in the last 20 years, but back then it was one of my most important/used piece of "everyday tech".
Minidisc lover here - I bought my first MZ-R50 in 1998 and a quarter of a century later I still occasionally use it.
With secondhand players getting expensive now what are the odds of somebody bringing out a new one? I'd pay good money for something that's backwards compatible, has the same chunky metallic look and feel and comes with a few new features.
You'd be better off with an 00's portable CD player that supports MP3 playback. Much easier to manage music on something that isn't a complete technological dead end.
The CD-R audio recorders that came out in 1997 made MD obsolete even before computers got involved.
While MD was real neat for the time, the first revision of the format didn't sound as good as a good quality cassette recorder with a high bias tape and Dolby B, especially with transient broad-band signals like cymbals and snare drums. Later on they fixed this to some degree but the issue was compatibility hell. A couple friends of mine had MD portables and while they were neat I was never really tempted because as a Linux user at that time, there was no way to get music onto them. I also had blown a big wad on a professional cassette Walkman.
I got back into minidiscs a couple of years ago and I'm really enjoying the revival. Modern software exists to use the NetMD players with current computers and the software is actively growing in capabilities that never existed before.
A lot of md players have great DACs and headphone amps and sound great when paired with new headphones.
I love the convenience of streaming music but what md reminded me of was how much I used to enjoy making "mixtapes" to give as gifts. That blank minidiscs are available in a wide variety of colors and designs makes this even more fun.
Until recently, it was fairly inexpensive to pick up old md gear. Lately the prices are shooting up as more people get interested in md.