SONY MZ-RH1 Minidisc

SONY MZ-RH1 Minidisc

I bought this unit about 18 months ago, and  no doubt some will be thinking *why would anyone buy a minidisc these days?*, so I’ll explain. I also own a 20gb hdd sony NW-HD5 which I have owned for many years. I use this model(NW-HD5) because I found the ATRAC3plus 352kb lossless compression was the best at the time. I use the MW-HD5  unit as my main source of music in my car. Its like having my own radio station that just plays the music I love.

I bought the Minidisc unit to primarily use as a recorder, because unlike early Minidisc units, this device allows me to record in full CD quality (PCM 44.1khz 16bit stereo).  I can record using a microphone or feed digital or analogue straight into the unit. At the time equivalent recording devices were much more expensive and really pro-audio gear. It represents the pinnacle of the Minidisc format and as well being a portable recording studio, its a great personal music player.

I can take this unit anywhere and record any sound I want, in the highest quality. As my other portable unit lives in my car so I use this as my portable music player. I can store data on it the disc as well, as it appears as another drive on the computer(great for hiding my plans for world domination….ooops guess I shouldn’t have mentioned that here),

As a recorder it has great functionality, allowing me for example to adjust the recording levels as I’m recording. If I need to change discs mid-recording it will remeber my settings. It also date and time stamps all recordings.

The minidisc media is one of the most reliable and durable of media available today, and so I can store original recordings and not have to worry about a hard-drive failure, and losing anything important or irreplacable.

I rate this product 9.5 out of 10.

Specs.

• Illuminated OLED display on main body through which all recording-related information (including level meters) is available.
• Full backward compatability with std-MD system — records SP/Mono/LP2/LP4 format audio to std-MD discs and uploads std-MD recordings to PC in PCM, Hi-SP or ATRAC3 format audio files. Uploading is in no way restricted (unlimited uploads of mic, line and digital recordings are permitted) and speeds of 10X (SP->PCM), 16X (mono->PCM), 15X (LP2->ATRAC3) and 26X (LP4->ATRAC3) have been observed.
• Records and uploads all Hi-MD format audio (PCM/Hi-SP/Hi-LP).
• Date/Time stamp recording.
• Switchable Headphone/Line-level output.
• Digital Pitch Control (change playback speed without changing pitch) -50/+100%
• HD Digital amp.
• All mode settings (e.g. auto/manual recording level selector, headphone/line output, etc.) retained over power cycle and disc change.
• Mic sensitivity (high/low).
• Mic sensitivity and manual recording level can be adjusted on-the-fly, while recording is underway.
• Spectrum analyzer display mode available during playback.
• AGC on/off. AGC mode: Standard/Music.
• Dynamic normalizer (equalize track-to-track volume differences).
• A-B repeat.
• 2 custom EQ settings.
• Track-mark rehearsal mode available.
• Battery charging via USB port.
• Non-skid rubber feet on base.
• Metal case.
• LiIon battery
• Ships with SonicStage 3.4 software.
• Can be used as a USB drive for storing data.
• USB 2.0 interface.