# Minidisc versus iPod



## Albert7

I managed to resurrect my Minidisc player last night and get it hooked up to my Windows 8 laptop. I really miss that distinctive Sony sound. Here are some things that I concluded:

1) Minidisc sucks for loading large amounts of songs... honestly I can get about 2-2.5 hours per disc. However I like Minidiscs over CD's because they are much harder to scratch and they can take a slight beating.

2) The 160gb iPod classic is incredible and can hold up to a zillion songs which is the equivalent of a thousand Minidiscs. The sound quality is very good as you can encode into Apple Lossless and have CD quality on hand.

3) Both the Minidisc and the iPod can play tracks bought from iTunes and Amazon mp3. Just loving that aspect. Too bad the Minidisc doesn't play any lossless.

4) I prefer the slightly warmer sound of the Minidisc than the iPod classic/touch. However, my iPhone 6 has the best sound quality so far.

5) Minidiscs take a standard AA battery which is pretty nice if you aren't near mains. The iPod touch gets the longest battery than the Minidisc player and lastly the iPod classic in my experience.

6) It's just cool to eject a Minidisc and it reminds me of the good old cassette days  LOL.

Anyone else who is a fan of the Minidisc format? I really wish that CD had the protective cover that Minidiscs had.


----------



## MagneticGhost

Although I have nothing but fond memories for the mini-disc. I could no longer live without my iPod Classic. 
To have all that music there on tap is still amazing when I think of having to carefully choose which cassettes / CD's / Minidiscs - to take with me on long journeys.

When I first went to University and had to carry all my stuff - I remember taking 10 tapes with me and I had to listen to them and virtually nothing else for the first term (before I stopped worrying about being careful with money).

Who knows how many times I listened to Brahms's Requiem in that time.


----------



## Albert7

I agree with you there. iPod Classic rocks over the Minidisc in storage capacity. Now both are extinct animals.


----------



## MagneticGhost

I'll nurse my classic along for a few more years I hope. Goodness only knows how I'll cope without it


----------



## Guest

^ I'm on my 3rd iPod (2nd iPod Classic). This one is only about 2 years old, but it's wheel is a little sticky (inconsistently so, sometimes it scrolls fast, sometimes it barely works) already. Now that they've been discontinued, I'll have to treat it as one might treat a ten-pound diamond. I will probably literally cry if it breaks.

Now if only some genius company would, oh I don't know, invest in a device with storage space again, then all would be right with the world.


----------



## KenOC

I use two 160-GB iPods, both working most excellently. I assume Apple will service them as needed, and I know new batteries are easily and cheaply available, installed.

Still, it would be great to have new iPods, totally solid state rather than using those chancy hard drives. But we'd need the right software to manage them (like iTunes). Without that, they'd be close to worthless.


----------



## Albert7

KenOC said:


> I use two 160-GB iPods, both working most excellently. I assume Apple will service them as needed, and I know new batteries are easily and cheaply available, installed.
> 
> Still, it would be great to have new iPods, totally solid state rather than using those chancy hard drives. But we'd need the right software to manage them (like iTunes). Without that, they'd be close to worthless.


Nice... I hope to have two 160gb iPods too fairly soon. One for home use and the other for running around town with.


----------



## pianississimo

MagneticGhost said:


> I could no longer live without my iPod Classic.
> .


ditto
I make a new playlist for each working day as I spend at least 2.5 hours per day travelling and 45 minutes walking at lunchtime. I like that I can just abandon my playlist if I want and listen to anything out of my collection of almost 700 cds.
I've also got a couple of audio books and a radio play on there. LOVE my ipod classic!!


----------



## pianississimo

KenOC said:


> I use two 160-GB iPods, both working most excellently. I assume Apple will service them as needed, and I know new batteries are easily and cheaply available, installed.
> 
> Still, it would be great to have new iPods, totally solid state rather than using those chancy hard drives. But we'd need the right software to manage them (like iTunes). Without that, they'd be close to worthless.


They won't make them now. Streaming means you can charge a monthly fee. This is too attractive to media companies like Apple and Spotify to allow people to hold all their music themselves.
Solid state has come on so much in the last few years. They could make fantastic ipods with huge capacity which would be very robust and the battery life would be even better as it takes more power to spin a disk.
ipods are selling like hot cakes on ebay because people still want them. I doubt that'll make a difference though


----------



## fjf

There are 128gb microSD cards. Not 180gb, but close.


----------



## pianississimo

fjf said:


> There are 128gb microSD cards. Not 180gb, but close.


I have one of these
http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-San...&qid=1422813529&sr=8-1&keywords=sansa+sandisk
which I bought before the ipod. It has a 16gb micro sd in it. I don't know if it'd take 128gb cards. It's a lovely little player - smaller than a matchbox and the battery is amazing. It just doesn't hold enough for me now.


----------



## Albert7

I hate streaming music for collecting.


----------



## bigshot

They have a replacement hard drive for the iPod classic now that holds 240 gigs.


----------



## Albert7

bigshot said:


> They have a replacement hard drive for the iPod classic now that holds 240 gigs.


Or even up to 480 gb or 960 gb right now with SSD . However, the iPod classic only recognizes up to around 32000 songs then it fails due to a bug in the iPod OS.

iPod Classics new in the box are costing up to $1200 on eBay right now.


----------



## Albert7

I am using my Minidisc player a lot more lately. IPod classic wonderful for downloaded albums .


----------



## Albert7

To do gapless playback on my Minidisc I've been ripping my CD's as a single track which is pretty awesome. However, the iPod is much better at doing gapless playback.

I prefer the sonic quality of my Minidisc player however despite the lesser sound quality.


----------



## Albert7

Great find this week:


----------



## Albert7

I am wrong and admit it: my iPod classic does sound better than my Minidisc player. It is a matter of what headphones is being used. My earbuds on the iPod aren't going to be as good as my nice cans on the Minidisc obviously.


----------



## Albert7

albertfallickwang said:


> Great find this week:
> 
> View attachment 63345


Tested this out finally and the sound quality is awful on LP2 and LP4 modes. SP is the only listenable way which is sad.

iPod much better in this respect.


----------



## Albert7

albertfallickwang said:


> Tested this out finally and the sound quality is awful on LP2 and LP4 modes. SP is the only listenable way which is sad.
> 
> iPod much better in this respect.


Man I was wrong in fact. Looks like LP2 and LP4 modes are great just my cheap Samsung earbuds had some issues. Apparently the Minidisc player is sensitive to cheap earbuds so I switched to my Skullcandy ones and they work perfectly.


----------



## Albert7

I really prefer my iPod classical or iPod touch for sound quality and albums I buy. For YouTube clips and radio recordings the Minidisc player works better.


----------



## Albert7

Sadly enough my Minidisc player has been sitting at home all week long. the 5th generation iPod Touch rules the roost now. Killer sound quality better than the iPod classic.


----------



## ladyrebecca

Interesting to hear about the differences between MD and iPod. I suspect the majority of this is ATRAC versus AAC/mp3/ALAC that I suspect you're using on the iPod, though the hardware may contribute too (many iPods were known to use pretty decent Wolfson DACs if I recall, and I'm not sure if most consumer MD players were up for it). If memory serves, my biggest gripe with MD was the mechanical noise that one gets with all of these transport mechanisms—my player was a bit egregious. Oh, haha, I even had a home MD deck for my stereo; I had completely forgotten about that.

I have fond memories of MD, as I used it in lieu of DAT as an inexpensive way to record live shows (with permission and for personal use only) and to have convenient access to my music on LP. This was all back in the day of still excruciatingly slow CD ripping and not-yet-high capacity PMPs. I recall always trying to find at least one pre-recorded MD that I could stand and finding the catalog to be pretty ridiculous ...


----------



## Albert7

ladyrebecca said:


> Interesting to hear about the differences between MD and iPod. I suspect the majority of this is ATRAC versus AAC/mp3/ALAC that I suspect you're using on the iPod, though the hardware may contribute too (many iPods were known to use pretty decent Wolfson DACs if I recall, and I'm not sure if most consumer MD players were up for it). If memory serves, my biggest gripe with MD was the mechanical noise that one gets with all of these transport mechanisms-my player was a bit egregious. Oh, haha, I even had a home MD deck for my stereo; I had completely forgotten about that.
> 
> I have fond memories of MD, as I used it in lieu of DAT as an inexpensive way to record live shows (with permission and for personal use only) and to have convenient access to my music on LP. This was all back in the day of still excruciatingly slow CD ripping and not-yet-high capacity PMPs. I recall always trying to find at least one pre-recorded MD that I could stand and finding the catalog to be pretty ridiculous ...


Thanks for such a wonderful reply. And you are right... ATRAC doesn't sound as accurate as AAC. But ATRAC does mask harshness of noises in the background I've noticed. I really love my iPod classic/touch/shuffle combination the best still. Easier to deal with.


----------

