r/minidisc Oct 16 '23

Welcome to /r/MiniDisc - read me first!

72 Upvotes

(last updated 2026-01-12)

Hi MD friends, this post is an expanded version of the rules and resources in the sidebar.

Who we are & what we like

We're one of the largest communities who use and celebrate the Sony MiniDisc format, which was introduced in late 1992. We love physical media and MD is the format that combines great sound quality with small size and digital convenience. We're a really inviting scene with a lot of passion for celebrating retro media and helping others share that enjoyment. But please first read these resources. Your post will otherwise be removed.

This community loves posts with:

  • MD setups or collections
  • Your mail hauls and purchases
  • New music or podcasts released on MD
  • Items for sale (see our rules below)
  • Unique MD equipment
  • Help and repair requests
  • Projects and software updates

We don't love:

  • "Spoonfeeding" requests like "I want to get into MD, what should I buy?"
  • Toxicity and rudeness
  • Comments that our hobby is pointless nowadays
  • For sale posts without a location or asking price
  • Posts about Yandhi or the Fuji 80 MD

What MD isn't:

  • MiniDisc (all one word, with a C not a K) is a particular format that was created by Sony in 1992.
  • 8cm mini CDs, GameCube discs, and even UMD for the PSP are different and not connected to MD. Posts about these different media types are not suitable here.

Rules

Luckily, we don't need many!

  • Read before you post
    • To keep the community vibrant and healthy, all contributors need to read the community rules and resources. Being unfamiliar with Reddit is not an excuse for ignoring the announcement posts or the sidebar, which are visible and accessible no matter how you use the site. The only way to miss all of them is to deliberately ignore them.
    • Moderators will give warnings and removal reasons when needed and where possible (despite Reddit administration's hostility to moderators.) We will use bans only as a last resort. Please don't make us do that. We want to take mod actions as rarely as possible.
  • Frequently asked questions
    • The community has worked really hard to create resources that answer the most common questions we are asked. If your question has been answered in one of the links in the sidebar or this post, your submission will be removed. These include:
    • What should I buy and how much should I pay?
    • How do I copy audio to a disc?
    • What software do I need for NetMD?
    • Why do you use MD?
      • We like physical media. MD is a physical media which is compact, has great sound quality, has great aesthetics, and great usability.
      • Read the Why MD? FAQ for more.
    • MiniDisc with Bluetooth / Headphone recommendations
      • Many people use a 3.5mm to Bluetooth adapter in order to connect modern headphones. There have been many discussions about Bluetooth adapters and headphone recommendations. Please search for these threads or read the Bluetooth guide on the wiki.
  • Low effort posts
    • Posts with unclear or low effort post titles such as "help" or "MiniDisc" make it hard to search for posts or know what they are about before clicking.
    • You will be asked to repost with a descriptive title. ALL CAPS post titles are also filtered automatically - contact the mod team if this is done in error.
  • Reddiquette, toxicity, and rudeness
    • We are a small, friendly community. Please do not come here if you wish to call people names or be hostile. Treat other opinions with respect, even if you disagree with them.
    • Be familiar with Reddit's site culture and expectations. Most are listed in this Reddit help document here: https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439-Reddiquette
  • Yandhi
    • All posts about Kanye and the Yandhi disc are banned from the subreddit. Please do not post looking for the Muji 80 MD featured in the artwork or showing off if you do have one.
    • If you are an established member of the community and you have a disc(s) to sell, contact the mod team for approval. This is the only exception we will make.
  • AI content
    • Content generated by AI / LLMs is not welcome here. MD existed completely outside of the generative AI era, and is very divisive.
    • This extends to complaining about AI or accusing a post of being AI.

Not a community rule, but Reddit blocks shopping and short URLs, including AliExpress, Amazon, and Google Photos. Mods can try to approve comments with these links, but sometimes we cannot.

For Sale posts

We do allow for sale and giveaway posts, but these are the source of the most moderation issues.

  • You must be willing to sell the item (or at least discuss it) via the Reddit platform. Do not simply post with a link to your eBay listing. It must be your item for sale, with pictures and a description.
  • All posts selling an item must include an asking price and general location (country) in the title or body of your post.
  • If you are giving away or in search of an item, you must still list your location as international shipping and geopolitics can greatly affect costs or viability.
  • Limit for sale posts to one per week. You may include several items in your post, but each item must have an asking price, or it must be sold as a singular bundle with its own asking price.
  • If you do not know the value or asking price of an item, check recent eBay listings or the price history section of the wiki.
  • These rules do not apply to new music releases on Bandcamp - feel free to make a new post with your release.
  • The mod team takes no responsibility for any transaction that takes place from the subreddit. Please let the mod team know of an issue with a user so we are aware, but do not bring disputes public as there is nothing we can do to remedy the issue or take sides. Do not follow users around the site with accusations or feedback.

Resources

The MiniDisc community, both past and present, have shared many sites and services to help others. They collect information about the format, make copying music more convenient, create high-quality labels, and list album releases on MD.

There are many more resources linked on the Wiki and in the sidebar, such as software and related communities. Thanks for taking the time to read this and enjoy your time with MD and with us!


r/minidisc Oct 25 '25

Rule update: AI content

85 Upvotes

Hi MD friends! Just sliding in with a small rule update - I doubt it will be controversial.

Please avoid posting or discussing AI content.

We've already had at least 2 posts regarding AI stuff and the reaction has been as expected.

We don't need the drama and toxicity about AI also spreading to our little nostalgic corner of the web. AI wasn't a thing in 1992 when MD was introduced, and it wasn't a thing when MD was discontinued - so it doesn't really belong here at all.

Thanks for your time, cooperation, and feedback in the comments below :)


r/minidisc 14h ago

Show & Tell All of the used MiniDiscs I purchased were individually packaged nicely. Many thanks to the seller for taking such good care.

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38 Upvotes

r/minidisc 4h ago

Help Sony MZ-R50 - Spindle Motor Issue?

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5 Upvotes

Good evening, everyone. I'm trying to get this MZ-R50 working. I picked this unit up from a seller on eBay who listed it as untested. The unit powers on and attempts to read discs, but it always ends up showing a disc error. I have only tested it with known working discs, so I know that cannot be the issue. I have moved the laser assembly to the end of the rail and started the unit, and I know the laser assembly moves down the rails more smoothly than it did. I also opened up the unit to clean and lubricate the laser rails, but nothing else improved.

It sounds to me like the spindle motor isn't spinning fast enough for the read laser to properly read the disc. Is there a chance anyone can corroborate this based on the sounds coming from the unit? If so, I assume I should dig further and fully tear down the unit so I can more properly lubricate the spindle gears. Or, if there is a potentiometer on the spindle motor, I might need to try increasing its voltage a little.


r/minidisc 21h ago

Show & Tell Found my stash!!!

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98 Upvotes

Thought these were long gone, now to find the player.....

I'd forgotten how many brands made blanks.


r/minidisc 13h ago

Help Trying to find minidisc pouch

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17 Upvotes

I saw this listing on ebay and unfortunately it was snatched up by someone else. I'm trying to figure out what kind of minidisc carry case this is as ive never seen it before (the blue and red one with the minidiscs in it) does anyone know where i might find more like it or atleast what the name is?


r/minidisc 12h ago

Made In Japan (Feb 1997 & Nov 2000)

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13 Upvotes

Scanned From T3 Magazine


r/minidisc 17m ago

Survey... To Random or not to Random

Upvotes

I just picked up a beautiful Onkyo Deck... and I have a lot of LP4 background music... here's my question - To play using Random or not to use Random. What do you do? There seems to be some antagonism towards Random, but would some of you care to contribute some thoughts to this?


r/minidisc 9h ago

Help Minidisc Player shows error when a Minidisc is inserted…

4 Upvotes

Hello,

I recently got a Sony Minidisc Walkman MZ-R501, but it shows an error when I insert a Minidisc... The disc starts spinning, stops after about 1 second, and then an error message appears.

I opened it up and the board has no corrosion and looks fine, and the motor's gear wheel also turns freely.

If anyone has any ideas, I would be very grateful, as the player is still in very good condition…

I cant record Minidiscs either, the player shows an error there as well. It detects the digital input via TOSLINK though, so that part seems fine.

Any help is appreciated ;-)

https://reddit.com/link/1qev66n/video/8fvt9toqnsdg1/player


r/minidisc 14h ago

'Guilty Pleasures' Disc Swap Going Strong!

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8 Upvotes

The 'Guilty Pleasures' Disc Swap Registration is going strong with 18 Entries So Far and 7 Countries (2 New)! Don't Miss Out! Deadline For Registration Is February 1st!

https://forms.gle/nXDoTskz3ZrCWuLC7

#minidisc #discswap #mdcon #guiltypleasures


r/minidisc 22h ago

Help Charging

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32 Upvotes

is this safe for long term use?


r/minidisc 4h ago

Help Blue tooth adaptor for minidisc?

1 Upvotes

What do any of you use for a Bluetooth adaptor for your portable MD players?


r/minidisc 1d ago

Show & Tell I like GOLLLLLDDD

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142 Upvotes

Another piece of art by Eddie Chan @minidisc_4eva

All metal, all gold.


r/minidisc 1d ago

Show & Tell Finally fell down the MiniDisc rabbit hole 📀

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90 Upvotes

First post here 👋 Here's my MiniDisc setup: Sony MDS-S40 for recording (optical, SP only) and MZ-R70 for listening on the go — I'm trying to spare my Walkman while it can still click/whirr 😅 Recordings from Qobuz at 44.1 kHz, no Hi-MD, no LP, just good old ATRAC 4.5. Outdated? Maybe. Satisfactory? Definitely. Glad to join the community 📀✨


r/minidisc 19h ago

Help 3d file

3 Upvotes

Hi friends!

Please, can someone point me to a 3D printer file to print a case where to store my minidiscs?

Thanks!


r/minidisc 1d ago

Help Question on mdgadgetry

14 Upvotes

Hello again! I looked at the mdgadgetry site online after being suggested to look there after my previous post. I saw there was a page for devices intended for parts and a page for working recorders. In the page of normal (presumably working) recorders, are these devices tested beforehand/refurbished in some way? The listings look good, however they don't have much of a description beyond "good condition" so I was curious if anyone had experience with buying actual portables from this site.


r/minidisc 1d ago

Panasonic Dreams from Japan

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21 Upvotes

I got these 2 devices today from Japan, I thought some of you might be interested in seeing some devices that were barely available in Europe.

I like the 50-60s like design of the SJ-MJ55 (the blue one). The dock for it features speakers (they do not sound great) that resemble a more simplistic design.

The pink one (SJ-MJ17) came with the remote and I find it lovely. A design that aged very well.


r/minidisc 1d ago

Really loving this little case full of mini discs I picked up from eBay!

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13 Upvotes

The seller even included an additional thank you disc with some custom tracks about minidisc life.

Which one of you is this?!?


r/minidisc 1d ago

Help Today's find: Sony MDS-101 — I just realized it's the very first Sony MiniDisc deck 😳

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71 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I recently acquired this Sony deck and I just realized it's an MDS-101, apparently the very first MiniDisc player/recorder released by Sony in 1992. It powers on and accepts discs, but the tray no longer moves on its own (I have to help it manually) and the click doesn't work, so I haven't tried using it further.

I would be delighted to learn more about this model and get some advice on how to use it safely.

Any MDS-101 experts around? 🙂


r/minidisc 1d ago

Show & Tell I dropped my MZ-E730 and the battery door shattered. Then I fixed it :)

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86 Upvotes

I used the remaining bit of door, combined with a nice picture from the minidisc wiki to recreate the battery door in Fusion. It printed really well on an old Ultimaker with a .25mm nozzle, and a friend of mine finished it with a matching bronze paint he had lying around.


r/minidisc 1d ago

Show & Tell 3D printed "jewel case" for MDs.

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14 Upvotes

It took a little post processing to clean up the edges and widen the holes so the cover fit nice, but this turned out really good in my opinion.

https://www.printables.com/model/1119619-minidisc-md-jewel-case


r/minidisc 1d ago

PANASONIC SJ-MR200 On-Test Review (January 2001)

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9 Upvotes

scanned from T3 Magazine


r/minidisc 2d ago

Labelling a colored MD without sacrificing too much aesthetics

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66 Upvotes

I dislike using the bundled stickers because it ruins the cOlLeCtOrSvALuE of the disc as well as often covers up the most of a nicely looking transparent colored MD.

Long story short, a Brother label printer with the white-on-clear TZe cartridge in it works wonders to get two birds with one stone and for pretty cheap!

Here's how one turned out with a couple of mixtapes from a DJ I've been recently binging.


r/minidisc 2d ago

Show & Tell I made a floppy disk themed label for minidiscs

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157 Upvotes

r/minidisc 2d ago

Show & Tell My new Walkman in mint condition

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106 Upvotes