[chadbang]

Well, this may be old news to some, but I see that Sony has just replaced its MDR900 minidisc player with a new machine, the 909, that offers Type-R ATRAC! Type-R is the compression scheme that What Hi-Fi hails as the best sounding, found of Sony better home decks. As a recent purchaser of an R900 I'm rather bummed, especially as I hunted the web trying to find out which ATRAC version the R900 used (at the time, no portable used Type-R). And now Type-R raises it ugly/beautiful head on the first MD portable unit a month after my purchase. Oh well. Life's a bitch, then they upgrade.

Here's a fairly raggedly translated version of the Sony press release for anyone interest.

http://www.minidisc.org/translations...909_trans.html

 

[coolvij]

Well, I thought they never put in Type R in the portable's because the electronics were to large. I somehow get the feeling this will be a "crappy" Type R compared to the homedecks....

 

[Redwoood]

coolvij, in electronics size changes more dramatically than in any other field.

What you put onto a huge board last year, you
can stuff into a single chip today, and all this will be obsolete next year.

 

[coolvij]

That's certainly true, Redwood - and you're probably correct.

However - I get the feeling that the MD decks are still gonna outperform these babies.....I'd save my pennies, personally.

We'll find out as soon as a head-fizer get's one of these.....that'll be quick enough

 

[blr]

chadbang,
why don't you get a home MD deck instead of upgrading your portable. It would be even cheaper. A deck has other advantages also, easier titling and always would sound better connected to a home system.

 

[reynman]

chadbang,

I hope you're not getting buyers remorse. Just enjoy your 900, it IS a fantastic portable even though the 909 has a docking station, Type-R compression, a newer efficient jog dial, longer battery life, etc. (he-he-he!)

Regards - reynman

 

[chadbang]

You're breakin my heart Reynman...

Actually I won't upgrade to another MD, but ride out the storm until we see who comes up with the best hard drive recording unit that I can employ for live recordings, and one that records without compression with using the wav format. Now that will be an improvement!

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

ride out the storm until we see who comes up with the best hard drive recording unit that I can employ for live recordings, and one that records without compression with using the wav format.

Hmm... you might want to consider DAT

Still the absolute best portable recording out there.

 

[Neruda]

man, this thing sure looks a lot nicer than the r900, at least to me:

not that I'm trying to rub it in, it's just that I always disliked the styling on the 900.

 

[Vertigo-1]

I'm glad they got rid of the jog dial for the play function, I always thought that was going a bit overboard with the jog dial concept. And it seems the 909 has a full 360 degree "true" jog dial too.

I know what my next portable player is gonna be already.

 

[Mike Walker]

ATRAC reached the point several years ago (about Sony ATRAC 3.5 or 4.0) where digital copies of cds were indistinguishable from the original to the vast majority of people, under the vast majority of conditions (in SCIENTIFIC double-blind testing...the kind you can be sure an "audiofool" publication like "What Hi Fi" ("What Journalistic Integrity?" it should be called) can be counted upon to NEVER do!

Hey...these Looney-Tunes (at "What Hi-Fi") believe there's a big difference in the sound of blank mds from different companies. Surely nobody with an iq bigger than their shoe-size would buy ANYTHING on the recommendation of "What Hi Fi"? (Hey, I read the mag too...for ENTERTAINMENT! DO NOT BELIEVE these "Flat-Earthers"!)

Enjoy your md recorder! In the world of electronics, there will always be something bigger/better/cheaper tomorrow. It has ever been thus! But that doesn't degrade the quality of the damn fine gear we already own! ENJOY your 900 and chill! Want to REALLY make better recordings, particularly better live recordings? INVEST IN BETTER MICROPHONES! There is VASTLY more difference between the sound quality of different mics than there is between md and dat, between 16 and 24 bit, or between 44.1khz and 96khz!

 

[leon]

The R909 jog dial is supposed to be speed-sensitive and allows you to scroll down a song list to jump to another track during play. Something that would mean never using the remote in my case.

It is also supposed to display an entire palette of characters when you do titling - sounds quite user-friendly. Sharp headed the other way with the MT770 by movng the main operations from the unit to the remote.

But, but - is that a full jog dial, or just a + shaped button with play/stop/REW/FF? Or both? Having seen the pic Neruda posted, I'm not so sure anymore

About Type-R: The R900 already had a respectable RISC processor, and the R909 processor is probably faster than that. If the LSI is capable of all the necessary computing (which hasn't always been the case - read the JA3ES interview @ the community page), then type-R algorithm will be implemented properly.

 

[coolvij]

wow......Neruda's pick DOES make that make that machine look awful good. As soon as my R700 dies.....I'll be one MD richer....though I am really starting to admire how much I got from my R700 for just $208.....the only other "BANG FOR BUCK" type-thing in MD is prolly the Sharp SR60 (or equivalent). The MT90 is just a lower class.....

 

[aos]

How much is this new toy? I want to have a point of reference from you US guys if I walk into local Sony store some day and have a craving...

 

[chadbang]

Thanks, Mike Waller, you made my day. Yes, sometimes we all need a little "Earth to Audiophile..." snap back to reality. I'll relax and enoy my portable. And, yes, the Atrac on my R900 sounds VERY sweet to me. In regards to What Hi-Fi, I've also wondered about their integrity and how there seems to be a progression of "Products of the Year" that runs through their various advertisers. In small speakers: BMW giving way to KEF, then KEF giving way to MISSION... and on it goes. It's like crop rotation.

My thanks also goes out to Neruda for the close up of the 909. It is awfully pretty, but if you consider the dimensions involved, that jog dial is petite! That was actually the reason why I chose the R900 over the top of the line Sharp in the first place. (Yes, I did want that adjust the recording level on the fly function on the Sharp). When I when down to the dealer to play with both units, the Sharp's dime-sized jog wheel turned me off. I have fingers like Shrek and I knew that jog dial was gonna be a pain. The dial on the 909 seems to be exactly the same size, so I may be glad I jumped in when it did anyway! And there you have it.