Never was interested to use a minidisc. I have used the atrac format (my Sony discman can use it) and I found it just OK. At low bit rates, it introduces some artifacts but at MD bit rate it's decent enough. Well, as decent as a 44k digital audio can sound.
In comparison with mp3, I found that atrac does sound more vivid. I guess it's the more aggressive compression it does but I'm not sure enough.
Back to the story! I was searching for a second Walkman at ebay and in the suggested items a minidisc popped up. It was the Sharp MD-MT20H. To tell the truth, I liked the way it looked. But wasn't in the mood for spending some 100€ for a working one. Then I saw that a lot non-working were advertised, all with the same problem (reading error). I searched the net and found that this error was common among these series that share the same transport. But never found a solution.
Anyway, I found a broken one, locally at a good price and I bought it. Just for my collection. It proved to be a one-hour job to fix it. A tiny gear at the pickup assembly was cracked. With some improvising, it was fixed. Now, I have a working minidisc.
I used it with a commercial playback-only disc I have in hand, at the moment. It can sound really good. I was impressed how that entry-level portable can sound. I was also impressed with the building quality. Very limited use of plastic. The most part is metal, including the shell.
I don't intend to make heavy use. In absolute terms, I don't need it. But I don't regret buying it.
In comparison with mp3, I found that atrac does sound more vivid. I guess it's the more aggressive compression it does but I'm not sure enough.
Back to the story! I was searching for a second Walkman at ebay and in the suggested items a minidisc popped up. It was the Sharp MD-MT20H. To tell the truth, I liked the way it looked. But wasn't in the mood for spending some 100€ for a working one. Then I saw that a lot non-working were advertised, all with the same problem (reading error). I searched the net and found that this error was common among these series that share the same transport. But never found a solution.
Anyway, I found a broken one, locally at a good price and I bought it. Just for my collection. It proved to be a one-hour job to fix it. A tiny gear at the pickup assembly was cracked. With some improvising, it was fixed. Now, I have a working minidisc.
I used it with a commercial playback-only disc I have in hand, at the moment. It can sound really good. I was impressed how that entry-level portable can sound. I was also impressed with the building quality. Very limited use of plastic. The most part is metal, including the shell.
I don't intend to make heavy use. In absolute terms, I don't need it. But I don't regret buying it.