It’s an excellent live recorder with an appropriate stereo Mic. Mine is a Sharp portable I bought in Japan in '95. I used it to record myself practicing (I was a musician at the time). The 20-bit 44kHz sounds notably better than compact disc standard, ironically. I’m considering digitizing my vinyl with it, but my TT needs some TLC first.
Thanks for opening the thread! Nice to hear from others with the tech.
It’s amazing how so many people have no idea this format exists. I show it to random people and they look at me like I have 10 heads.
Minidisc is the reason I found this forum and started getting into audio equipment! I recently found my old MD player and some CDs. Needed some headphones to listen to my old discs, was living the bluetooth only life, and so my journey began. I’m really happy with my setup and I have Minidisc to thank!
Ha, wow. I had no idea people were still into MiniDisc? I had a standalone Sony MiniDisc player back in… I guess this would have been '97 or so? It was super cool.
Edit: This is the player I had:
I’d love to get my hands on a unit like that, right now only have a portable
Dope! Yeah I had/have a portable player/recorder, MZNF610
Its a netMD model so I can hook it up to my PC to transfer Mp3s, dont really use that function as it has its own set of headaches, classic Sony software. I now use it to edit my disc, update the track names and organize. I picked up a stand alone unit with a portable player, my netMD stays on my desk for editing, standalone for recording from my PC, and I can use the portable player on the go. I really like this set up. Its crazy how much tech these things pack in such a small form factor. Bonus I get to outhipster my friends 
Portable player:
Standalone unit:
If you have the time ebay has stand alone units that you can snag for a reasonable price, just have to keep watching. If you are in NA just make sure to filter out the listings from Japan, you’ll find some real gems only to be crushed by import taxes and delivery delays!
Yeah when I finally clear out some space l, I’m definitely gonna pick up a standalone unit
Great video by Techmoan about the format and the different players that he has tried.
Saved, will have to watch later this evening. Thanks!
I really liked my time with MiniDisc! I’m too young to have grown up with them, but my dad surprised me with a really nice Sony player several years ago that he picked up for $5 from a garage sale, along with about 15 blank, SEALED discs. I didn’t really know what it was, so it wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally plugged it into my stereo system and tried it out. It was so much fun! I had been into cassettes for about 2 years at that point and had a method of recording those, so I set up the same gear to play music into the unit and burn it on the discs. I’ve filled about 5 so far with various playlists. Definitely a dead (mostly dead) medium though!
Awesome! Glad your are enjoying, it’s a neat hobby. I’m hooked.
Fantastic video! Watched last night, does a great job in explaining MDs history/progression.
I’m looking to buy an MD player/recorder, just for the nostalgia. I used to have one many many years ago.
Probably the MZ-N920, or the MZ-R900.
What I really want is the MZ-RH1, but sellers are asking for ridiculous $$ tbh.
Is there any place better than eBay to find one of these?
Yeah those are spicy. I got my stuff all from eBay, had to set up some searches and haggle but i was able to snag my stuff for a good price. Its given me a new appreciation for physical media, and I feel cyberPunk af when I go and switch up discs. My collection now includes: two stereo units, a portable player, and a net MD portable player. Honestly I would say set a price and try and find something to test it out. If you do find an alternative to eBay lmk!
I ended up buying two 920s from Japan’s Yahoo Auctions. Excited!
Let’s go! I should peep Yahoo JP, feel like that’s a can of worms lol.
I used https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/
Bidding was super easy, not much different that eBay. They even warn you if they think the auction looks fishy.
I’ll let you know how the rest of the process goes - they now have to receive the items, charge me their service and delivery fees and actually ship the stuff to me.
Awesome yeah keep me posted! Rip wallet lol.
