I have used a lot of time getting familiar with the specs of several portables. I still haven't found a portable that would make my MD useless.

I most definately need:
Line in -connector.
Level meters for recorded source.
Adjustable rec level.
Rec quality atleast 192kbps, wav preferred.
1GB of space.
USB.

I would really like to have:
Removable storage.
OGG support.
USB 2.0.
Built-in mic.
4GB of space.

It'd be cool to have:
Optical S/PDIF in.
Small size.
Playlist support.
Long battery life.
USB mini-B connector (same as Canon digicam).
External mic connector, plug-in powered.
Radio.

I'm not going to pay for:
Color display.
Gapless playback.
Good sound quality for headphones.
Games, or any other nonsense.


Get the picture? Even iAudio U2 would be perfect with input level meters and wav record. Edirol L-1 is perfect, but 1h battery time for recording?! Get real! Sony NW-HD is small and looks really nice! Perhaps NW-HD5 will have a line in?

I suppose people will suggest a Hi-MD. Old MD's or digital recordings not transferable, compulsory SonicStage software... Otherwise it would be good. Rockbox for Hi-MD? ;o)
iRiver H-120 would be the perfect one with the Rockbox.org firmware. Is there anything else I can do but wait for the Rockbox for iRiver?

Thanks for any ideas!


-Aki.

The old Nomad Jukebox III seems to accomplish your basic needs. Not sure about the adjustable rec level, I've read that it needs a preamp/level adaptor to provide optimum recording levels. Also it's not as portable as a minidisc unit. I don't know about more recent Creative players.

Marantz MAR-PMD670.

Neuros has everything on your first 2 lists and at least a scattering from the rest

I've used the jukebox3 for all my field recordings, i've never been let down by it... its quality is great.. always record at 48khz waves... dual batteries means its got the power to last in this setup with the heavy hdd access required for such big files.

You can adjust the gain of it but its a software gain and not worth bothering with.. capturing at 0db gain is the way forward, do any normalising in software later..

I have a mic pre amp with adjustable volume control but i generally have it at near full volume.. only VERY loud sources cause problems..

You can monitor the input volume but there isn't much accuracy to it..

The only problem is you dont see a lot of jukebox3's around anymore..

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions, guys!

Okay. Now, the idea is to find something that would be MORE attractive than my MD (MZ-R909). JB III has popped up in several occasions. But the size is terrible. It would definately make me want a flash player for listening purposes only, but the use from the recording option in the JB would be lessened if the darn thing isn't with me when I go around. JB is still available, 241€ is the cheapest, others sell for 390€-432€.

The Marantz... Even the most succesful used car salesman couldn't sell it as a "portable" jukebox. I could actually simulate carrying it taking a 1,3kg pile of A4 paper with me! The size is not that far from it...

The Neuros players woke my interest a long time ago, but I have only read about some serious reliability problems. Also, no-one sells it here in Finland, so any guarantees would be really hard to make use for. Also, they seem to be not nearly as small as any MD-r. Also, 8h recharge for max 10h playback. That isn't quite 2005. But I guess usable recording options do have drawbacks.

I was hoping a lot more from the Sony NW-HD3 (in a recording sense that is), but I guess Sony can't do anything but disappoint us anymore.


-Aki.