I spotted this thread: http://stereo2go.org/forums/threads/sony-mz-1-first-portable-minidisc.225/ and remembered that I might still have my old Sony MD rig from when I was a groundskeeper at a golf course back in the early 2K's. After digging through a tote and a shoe box I found my old Net MD MZ-NE410. I just popped in a fresh Toys-R-Us (yes, Toys-Are-Us) AA battery and it seems to work just fine Before I went the iPod route, I picked up this MD player some time in late 2001 - early 2002. I was tired of listening to machines 3-6 hours a day so, instead of wearing hearing protection, I bought this MD player that was louder than most of the machines I was operating (makes sense, right?). I didn't want to spend too much because I knew the player would be subject to lots of water from ponds, irrigation, and weather. That's how I decided on the MZ -NE410. I honestly don't remember how much it cost, but it was cheap enough I could afford it on a groundskeeper's salary. I do remember buying it at Best Buy and I also grabbed a set of Sony MDR-V150 phones for $19.99. The pair in the picture is actually a replacement. I can't remember why I replaced the originals, but I'm sure it involved some physical damage. You can see the pair in the picture has some hard miles. I used it in a Zip-Lock bag with a twist tie when I was working to protect it from dust and a sh-- load of water. Looks like it did the trick. I kept the MD's in a pocket in my lunch cooler, which was usually strapped to whatever I was operating at the time and I should have several more, either in another tote or in my mother's garage somewhere. Thanks for reading... Here ya go:
Very nice, i bet your glad you kept the unit now. It was a very well thought out format i think mp3 just killed it off. Yours looks in great shape.
Thanks T-ster. This thing is louder than any smart phones I've had and about the same as my video iPod Classic from '04. Not only did it drown out the machines, it would also drown out the course super', who would take out his marital woes by screaming at any course employees within his peripheral vision. It was funny to watch his face turn purple - much like the display on this MD player! Course Superintendent: ...... Course Employees: ...
Ha, as long as it drowned out his whining then all's well I still love the old mini disc players, I have a few here that i use a lot including a well cherished MZN-910 that i bought second hand and have used to death so i could keep my silver MXZN-910 in mint condition !
Considering the environment my Net MD was exposed to, it appears that they're pretty robust. T-Ster, I see your MD players have record functions. My player can write MD's via USB, but no direct recording feature.
They are very cool, i like the concept of an encased disk that cannot get scratched etc, they are also versatile, you can record 1 cd to them at max quality, two at slightly lesser and 4 at slightly lesser again, the quality remains better than mp3 at any level to. You can also use them to record live via line in or plug them into a pc to transfer and encode mp3 to them. Yeah i have a couple like that but i always liked the record option, I used to use mine to record radio sessions in the studio. A friend of mine was a well known hip hop mc and in the summer used to be on the radio. I would go down to the station and they'd let me plug my mini disc player in to record it, still have the disks now!
