Purchasing MD Equipment
Many large appliance/electronics stores carry the recorders and blank
discs (e.g. Best
Buy (who has a serious MD promotion),
Circuit City, Service
Merchandise, and most electronics specialty shops). There are also
mail order places that sell MiniDisc equipment. Have a look in the rec.audio Mail Order
FAQ if you are wondering which places are reputable. You can also
try
Sony's Dealer Locator service (for the USA only) or their Factory Outlets. For Sharp equipment, call
1-800-BE-SHARP to find a Sharp dealer near you.
Price Comparison Search Engines
Aaron Satz maintains the Price Comparison Table, listing online MD merchants and their prices for current MiniDisc portables.
Used Equipment: You can browse
or post
to the MD used equipment classified ads.
Used and refurbished MiniDisc equipment can often be found at Sony
Outlets (check your yellow pages), and is sometimes sold in online auctions such as:
Attention Suppliers: We will be happy to provide a link to your
page providing you supply MD blanks, equipment or accessories. Banners
are placed in exchange for monthly donations to a charity that we can
agree upon, please contact us for details.
MD audio suppliers in North America include:
- 8th Street
Music in Philidelphia (Yamaha
& Sony
MD 4-track recorders)
- AAANet in
Los Angeles (Sony, Sharp, Aiwa portables)
- All Pro
Sound (Sony
MDM-X4, Sony
MDS-JE520),
- Amazon.com offers a wide selection of MD equipment.
- Amerinet Electronics sells modern
portable MD gear and accepts credit cards.
- AMS (Sony MDS-JE510) 1-800-458-4076,
- Bradley Broadcast, 800 732-7665, (professional MD equipment, MDS-JE520)
-
BSW, a pro radio
supply house selling pro MD equipment (Denon, Sony, Tascam, Yamaha).
- Camera World of
Oregon (Sharp R3 & 702, Sony Bundle5 and others),
- CarAudioWorld (JVC KDMX-3000 CD/MD in dash
receiver).
- CarMedia1 has good prices on Car MD equipment.
- CityGadgets.com sells a few portable MD units.
- Consumer
Connection (Denon DMD-1000)
- Crutchfield
(Sony, Kenwood, JVC, Pioneer: car audio, portables, decks, shelf systems, optical cable, blanks)
- The DAT Store, Los Angeles,
California (310) 828-6487 (MZ-R30, MZ-E40, MD blanks. Ask for Michael,
tell him you heard about the store on the MD Web page.)
- Discount
Warehouse in New York City (Sharp 702, a few Sony portables, Bundle5)
- DoctorMiniDisc.com offers various MD units as well as blank MDs.
- Electronics eMall stocks a variety of Sony MD gear.
- Fullcompass (TASCAM
564 Portastudio, Denon pro MD recorders, Sony)
- Future Shop (in Canada) offers a few MD portables.
- Fry's Electronics, Sunnyvale, California (Sharp MD-MS702).
- GiantSavings.com stocks a variety of MD products at reasonable prices.
- The Good Guys, Seattle, Washington (Sony MZ-R50, MZ-EP11).
- Global Mart (MD players and many accessories)
- HiFi Buys, Atlanta (800) 277-3296, ext 370 contact: Mike Weathers
(Sharp MD equipment)
- Hilton Audio
Products (specially modified
variable speed Sony MZ-R55, Sony MDS-S39, see Price List).
- Intl-Connection.com (Japan HQ, US warehouse), selling MD portables,
accessories and blanks.
- Inet
Shopping has a good range of Sony and JVC MiniDisc products, but no accessories.
- J & R in New
York City (Home, Portable, blanks, batteries, etc.)
- Markertek
(Blanks for $7.49-$8.99 EACH, Sony MDM-X4)
- Masque Sound
& Recording (pro MD odds and ends)
- MDlink offers MD equipment and blanks, as well as SCMS-free duplication services to
professionals.
- Mercata.com
e-tailer with occasional sell-outs on MD equipment (e.g. Sharp
MD-MS722).
Proceeds from this banner are donated to
The Greenpeace
- MinidiscAccess.com, California (MD accessories,
blanks, and some MD equipment)
Proceeds
from this banner are donated to
The West Island Women's
Shelter
- Minidisc-Canada in Montreal (portables, blanks, prerecorded discs, and accessories).
- MinidiscMall.com
(MD portables, blanks, and accessories).
- Minidisco in
California (variety of portables, microphones, blanks, and accessories).
- MiniDiscWeb.com,
(popular MD portables and accessories).
- Melting
Pot, located in the US with mail order from Japan. (Sony MD and
electronic goods). Payment by credit card possible.
- Mother's Music (pro recording equipment).
- Musician's
Friend in Medford Oregon (Sony
and Tascam
multi-trackers, MD
Data Blanks)
- NetMarket
(wide variety of MD stuff), offers discounts for members
- Onecall
(Sharp and Sony portables) [Link is part of their BannerCash program].
- onsale.com (some refurbished Sharp portables).
Proceeds from this banner are donated to
The Surf Rider Foundation
- Planet MiniDisc Internet retailer, Los Angeles, CA (MD equipment and accessories)
- Priceclick.com, sells several MD portables and home equipment.
- Professional Video & Sound, 36 West 46th street, New York,
N.Y. 10036, (212) 944-5540, e-mail: [email protected], Contact: Eduardo
Vieira (good prices on Sony decks).
- Pro Sound and Stage Lighting (Pro DJ MD equipment).
- QVC (search for "MD" or "minidisc").
- RadarCity.com has low prices on Sony MD portables.
- RealElectronics.com (Sharp MD portables).
- Reference
AudioVideo 1-800-947-4434, various audio equipment (including
MZ-R30 for $339+$15s&h).
- RefurbishedStore.com has a large selection of MD portables at great prices.
- S.B.H enterprises 1-800-451-5851 or 718-438-1027 (Sony auto MD units:
MDX-61, MDX-C150, MDX-400)
- Sears and Roebuck (!) (Sony MDS-JE510 and BUNDLE4)
- Shopping.com
sells portable MD units at reasonable prices.
- ShopAudioVideo.com occasionally great prices on MD
equipment (they sold a Sharp MD-X5 system that
went from $100 to $200 in a flash).
- Smalldisc.com
specializes in Minidisc gear for musicians and composers.
- Sony Gallery 312-943-3334 (optical cables, MD blanks)
- Various Sony Outlet Stores
- Sound Conceptions (Autotoys)
(Car audio: Sony 7900, 8900, C62, JVC KDMX3000)
- SoundCity (various MD equipment, including the old, relatively
unknown Sharp MD-S50 player).
- Sound
Professionals MD equipment and accessories.
- Speed and Sound Electronics in NY 1-800-647-6863 or
718 531-1300 (Sony MDX-C670).
- Statman
Electronics, carries several pieces of MD equipment.
- Suburban
Audio in Pennsylvania (Sony 7900, C62).
- Supreme Audio sells units like the MDS-S39, R30/50/55, E40, and dance audio equipment.
- Supreme Video sells Sony and Sharp MD gear at
competitive prices.
- TechToys4U (Salt Lake City, Utah) offers MiniDisc portables and decks.
- Ubid.com, a site auctioning company merchandise,
offers MD portables.
Proceeds from this banner are donated to
Dharma Seed Tape Library and the Insight Meditation Society
- Video Direct
Distributors Generally quite qood prices on Minidisc decks. Since
they can no longer carry Sony on their website phone (1-800-368-5020)
or email ([email protected]) is the best way to request
quotes or place orders.
- Warehouse123.com sells MD, CD, DVD, and MP3 portable players at exceptionally low prices.
- Wholesale
Connection (Decks and shelf systems)
- WholesaleProducts.com has a few JVC MD decks to
choose from.
- WoofersEtc.com,
an online car audio dealer, has a selection of car MD units.
In South America, suppliers include:
- Premiata Video in Po os de Caldas Brasil (260Km
north of Sao Paulo) (Sony MD gear and blanks).
In Europe, suppliers include:
- Abargain.co.uk (UK) sells MD equipment.
- Argos (UK), a popular chain store, offers portable MiniDisc units with through their online store. (choose
Browse By Category / Audio and Video / Portable Hifi / Personal
MiniDisc)
- Ask Direct (UK) offers equipment and blanks from Sony, Sharp, Panasonic and others.
- AVLand.co.uk (UK) has a assortment of MD equipment, with detailed product descriptions.
- AV-Store.co.uk (UK) sells a good collection of Sony MD
gear (use search, product "minidisc").
- Beyond HiFi (UK)
sells MD accessories and blanks.
- Binary Enigma (UK) importer of Japanese, US and European products.
- CarStereoComponents (Germany) sells car audio, CD and MD equipment.
- De Luca (Italy) sells various MD decks.
- The Direct Shop (Germany).
- Electric-Warehouse (UK) carries Sony portables, decks and mini-systems.
- EmpireDirect
(UK) generally has good prices on some portable MD gear, including some of the newer Sony units (Follow: Home Entertainment->Portable Audio->[select]
MiniDisc Portables).
- HiFiBitZ (UK) carries Sony, Sharp, Denon, Pioneer, Nakamichi and Marantz home MD units as well as a few portables.
-
HIFI COMPONENTS (Germany) has many brands of MD decks and portables.
- In-Car
Express (UK) offers in-dash MD
tuners and
changers.
- Interstudio
Limited (UK) offers new and used pro audio equipment and some MD gear.
- LetsBuyIt.com (UK) offers some MD portable units for low prices through group buying.
- MiniDisc & CD Solutions (UK) has a selection of MD
gear and accessories.
- MiniDiscWorld (Netherlands) offers a few MD decks.
- Minimaniax (Germany), one of the first German Internet MD retailers, has portable MD players and recorders. (Closed, as of Aug 2002)
- Musical Sounds (Germany) sells professional audio equipment.
-
Musikhaus Thomann (Germany) has several MD decks available.
- My MiniDisc (Germany) offering MD portables, decks, mini systems, car units, and more.
- Ogormans (UK) sells various MD portables.
- Peterka in
Rapperswil Switzerland has various MD equipment.
- Quality
Electrical Direct (UK) has good prices on MD
equipment.
- Radio Waldecker (Germany) has various Sony MD gear including the RM-D11P titler.
- Richer Sounds (UK) has several good MD bargains.
- Rowtex (UK) sells Sony MD portables for promotions and incentive plans.
- Singer Audio/Video
in Switzerland has MD portables, decks, and car audio.
- The Sony Shop
in Lausanne Switzerland.
- Superfi (UK) sells a wide range of Sony MD decks and portables.
- Techtronics (UK) carries Sony Minidisc decks.
- TechnikDirekt (Germany) sells a variety of MiniDisc equipment.
- Unbeatable.co.uk (UK) has good prices on decks, portables, in-dash receivers, and blanks.
- Victor
Electronics, "UK's Largest Supplier of Minidisc Product," offers an extensive line of MD products.
- Weibel HiFi (Switzerland) offers a selection of MD gear.
- In Paris
- Europ photo son video - 18 faubourg Poissoniere, 75010 Paris - 01
47 70 67 62 (you can buy by phone, they deliver all over France), MD
equipment, some blanks but the price is not great.
- Concurrence - 19, Place de la Madeleine 75008 Paris - 01 42 65 35
99, MD equipment (they give no price info by phone).
- Fnac - several addresses in Paris, MD blanks.
- Cobra - 66 ave Parmentier 75011 Paris - 01 49 29 10 80, Sony
blanks.
- Amsterdam: For travellers going through
Amsterdam airport, consider checking out the electronics store. They
have a good selection of MD players and recorders at excellent prices and
offer a worldwide guarantee. Remember that the adapters are 220
volts. -E.B. Scheuer
Japan-Direct will purchase and ship any equipment
available in Japanese shops per your request.
Australasian suppliers:
Attention: Import duties and surface shipping
alternatives should be borne in mind by those importing electronics
goods to America.
- Bluetin (Singapore) has surprisingly low prices on
MD portables (e.g. MZ-R900: US$267+shipping).
- David
Console Shop (Hong Kong) offers low prices on both MD players and
recorders.
- Digitmall.com (Hong Kong) sells portable MD gear.
- Hat-In (based in Japan) offers several different
varieties of MD gear.
- MD Portal
Based out of Singapore, offers deals for MD portables and accessories
for shipment worldwide.
Proceeds from this banner are donated to the World Wildlife Fund
- Minidisc
Australia offers MD and Sharp portables, blanks and accessories.
- MinidiscDirect.net (Australia) has a selection of MD portables and accessories.
- VIP, a Russian MD dealer
and information page.
- HyperJack, in Osaka, offers low cost MD portable sales, complete with
post paid 1 year warranty coverage. (Michael Petnuch offers a review of Hyperjack).
- Micmic, based in Hong Kong: MD decks and portables.
- Nic Boyde no longer offers his sales service, but Nic's extensive snapshots and
information on MD portables is still available.
- Japan Direct, mail order from Japan (MD
portables). Japan-Direct will purchase and ship any equipment
available in Japanese shops per your request.
- Kimiwa,
international mail order from Osaka, Japan, accepting payment by
credit card. (Sony MD and electronic goods).
- Mydo, a
Japanese retailer selling Sony and Sharp portables at
reasonable prices. They accept credit card payment. Details are scanty, but they accept English language
email.
- Melting
Pot, located in the US with mail order from Japan. (Sony MD and
electronic goods). Payment by credit card possible.
- Maxfire (bookshelf systems (including the latest Sonys) and
portables), direct import from Japan.
- KNG Market
Japanese domestic sales only.
- Dynamic
Audio, Tokyo, again Japanese domestic sales only.
- Electronic Shopping
Mall, mail order from Hong Kong (MiniDisc portables and other
electronic equipment). Payment via credit card.
- Hitek in Melbourne, 03-94821744, (MDS-JE510, MD blanks).
- The Chatswood Sony
Centre in Australia (Sony MD decks and portables) (their MD page points
back at us!).
- MDCity
(Australia) offers MD equipment at competitive prices. Not
Recommended -- A customer has been waiting 3 months for a reply after
sending hundreds of dollars. -eaw
- Team Digital (Singapore) carries Sony and Sharp MD
portables.
- VideoWorld in Adelaide, Australia sells Sony MD
decks, portables, and blanks.
A few individuals have contributed information about purchasing MD
equipment while traveling:
As of Oct. '99 there are recordable MD blank facilities in:
- Japan:
Sony,
TDK (their
English and
Japanese MD pages),
Hitachi/Maxell, and
Xeus (aka Axia).
- Taiwan:
RITEK (aka Arita, Traxdata, BestMedia, MMore)
- Korea:
Saehan (supplies Sony, Alpine, Aiwa, Clarion, JVC and Yamaha)
- France:
MPO (aka Hi-SPACE, others)
- UK:
Maxell (assembly lines only)
- Germany:
Intenso
- Luxemburg:
TDK
- Austria: Sony
Other web pages for companies selling blanks under their name:
Wholesalers:
-
Fels Limited in
Hong Kong, selling Sony and TDK MDs wholesale (min. order 2000),
prices are below $1.50 each for orders of >5000 pcs. Also carrying MD storage
and optical cables in wholesale quantities.
Suppliers in North America include:
- Berger Bros. (800) 262-4160
- Cassette House
(TDK). Occasionally very low priced specials, and blanks available in 100 quantity
bulk shipments.
- Cassette
House has good deals on blank MDs, some as low as $1.25 each.
- Circuit
City offers MiniDisc blank orders online, for as low as $1.50 per
disc (search for "memtek").
- Crutchfield
search for MiniDisc
- The DAT Store, Los Angeles, California (310) 828-6487
- eMemorex sells
MD blanks online.
- Hitmall (blank MDs, MD
cases, and TDK
Head/Lens cleaners)
Proceeds from this banner are donated to The Nature Conservancy
- MiniDisc
Passion (Sony and TDK blanks)
Proceeds from this banner are donated to The Nature Conservancy
- Minidisco in
Berkeley, CA (MD blanks, gear and accessories. Credit cards
accepted). Phone: 1-510-848 6703, Ordering: 1-877-MD-ROBOT (877-637-6268), FAX:
1-510-848 6083, email: [email protected].
- MusicMixers.com offering a selection of TDK and Hi-Space blanks among others.
- Mystic Minidisc offers MD blanks at low prices.
- OMNA,
in Ohio, (Sony MD Data blanks).
- One Call (800) 340-4770
- Recorded Media
Supply (Sony and HHB audio and data MDs)
- Soundtract sells Nashua brand Minidiscs online.
- TapeAndMedia.com, Sony blanks, MD cleaners and racks.
- Tapeonline.com (Sony, Fuji and HHB MDs)
- Tapewarehouse.com, various brand MD blanks and
cases.
- Tapeworld.com
offers Sony, Maxell, JVC and HHB blanks.
- Tapeweb in San Diego
(Sony)
- Wyco (Sony and TDK)
European suppliers:
- Blankshop.com (UK) offering Sony and TDK blanks.
- Canford Audio (UK) sells blanks, cases, and labels,
including individual MD
jewel cases which match the dimensions of standard CD cases.
- Conrad Electronic (Germany).
- Digital-e (UK) supplies competitively priced blanks.
- Discount Discs (UK) sells a variety of Blank MD discs, including Hi-Space and TDK.
- Feltech (UK) a reasonably priced UK electronics dealer offering MD blanks.
- First4Media (UK, located just off Oxford Street in London) sells MD blanks (HHB, Hi-Space, Sony, TDK, JVC), MD-Data blanks (HHB, Sony) and MD accessories (Pressit labels, Lens cleaners).
- fsn.net (UK) sells JVC blanks at low prices.
- Jackerman (UK) sells
MD blanks, with good prices on their Samsungs.
- KVJ
Fairdeal Limited (UK), 76 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX, Tel:
0171 247 6029, Fax: 0171 247 5099. Sells Maxell 74's for 3 GBP in
quantity, TDK and Sony also available. No credit/debit cards
accepted. (See also the (old) MD blank price
guide).
- Mandarin MiniDiscs (UK) offers Sony and TDK blanks.
- Music City (Germany).
- Music Store Professional (Germany).
- Musikhaus Thomann (Germany).
- Musik Produktiv (Germany).
- Pricebuster
(UK) sells discs for as little as 79p each (about USD $1.10).
- PROAV (Finland) offering Sony Pro-use MDs.
- Reichelt Elektronik (Germany).
- Richer Sounds in the UK (UK).
- Roll-On Tapes (UK) has cheap Maxell blanks.
- Russ 'n Stuff in
North Wales (UK) offers blank and prerecorded MDs.
- SRTL (UK) carries TDK blanks.
- Starmount (UK) has Hi-Space, Samsung and Sony blanks.
- Stromson
Trading (Sweden) sells Hi-Space and JVC blanks.
- SVP Communications (UK) has low prices on MD blanks.
- Synchro (France).
- TapeCity (UK) has a good selection of MD blanks.
Australasian suppliers:
- Shaka Media (Japan)
offers their own line of MD blanks, and in wholesale quantities.
- Blank Media in
Sydney, Australia offers MD blanks at competitive prices.
An old price survey of blank
MiniDiscs gives further MD blank suppliers, world wide.
See the MD Data products
table for other suppliers of MD Data disks.
Listings of Pre-recorded discs:
Suppliers
- 101cd.comMinidiscMusic.com (Tennessee) offers
hundreds of prerecorded Minidisc titles to US customers.
- Sony Music Store (on eBay!) featuring
prerecorded Minidisc titles from $7 to $27.
- N5MD is a MiniDisc-only recording label specializing in experimental electronic music, their released albums are available for purchase.
- DJMixTapes.com offers Techno, House, Trance, and
Drum & Bass Dj mixes for sale on Minidisc.
- Naxos has a
Prerecorded Classical
MD and New Releases section.
- Sony's music site
has their entire MD catalog online. Click view by format, then MiniDisc.
European suppliers:
Australasian suppliers:
- Sanity.com
(Australia) sells pre-recorded MDs (but not over the web, you must call or come by the shop
to discover which ones).
- Hammond Music Entertainment in Australia sells
pre-recorded MDs.
- Tradertrax, a
business which thrives on eBay auction dealings, offers MD blanks, storage
racks, 100VAC step-down transformers and lots of optical cables.
- Real
Electronics offers Sony AC adaptors.
- MinidiscAccess.com, California (MD accessories,
blanks, and some MD equipment)
- Opticompo (in Germany) offers optical I/O
brackets, sound cards, cables, and components.
- Sound Professionals offers a wide selection of equipment for live audio recording.
-
Please also check the Equipment Browser under
Accessories.
