Disclaimer: I purchased this badboy from Yahoo! Auction here in Japan. It was precious. The DH10P is an MP3-playing Hi-MD Minidisk downloader that also takes photos- a useless feature for which we can thank a colour screen capable of displaying album art. Yep, four years before the first iPod nano to sport a camera, was this Frankenstein’s monster. The good news is that it sounds good. The bad news is that its battery life is gone before you know it. Sony have practically scrubbed the internet of it. If you want manuals and service advisories, hit up this page. If you’d like to know more about it, hit up Mindisc org’s MZ-DH10P page.
What I love about the MZ-DH10P is that, regarding audio performance, it apes most Sony Hi-MD players/recorders. Benefits abound: low hiss, low THD, high SNR, DR and the rest. Sure, stereo separation falls rapidly under load, but which MD unit has ever provided anything much beyond 11bit (66dB) of separation? The DH10P has a good sound enhancement engine, and the music comes through loud and clear. Sadly, Sony baked in a huge bass boost, forestalling a truly neutral signal. Worse, and like the MZ-NH1, the DH10P is incapable of spitting a stable signal from its output without hoisting some a load of some sort. So, if you want the best sound possible from your 2,1 system when fed by a DH10P-linked line, you’ll have to plug in a load of some sort in parallel to keep down the nasties. Also, jitter is pretty high.
As to its camera, I’ve got a review coming. Preview: it’s not good. But what did you expect from a 14 year-old portable do-it-all whose main purpose is the playback of music?
Relevant links:
Minidisc VLOG - 07: Sony MZ-RH1 Review
Minidisc VLOG - 05: Sony MZ-NH3D
RMAA: Sony MZ-RH1 16-bit
RMAA: Sony MZ-NH3D 16-bit
RMAA: Sony MZ-B100 16-bit
RMAA: Panasonic SJ-MJ500 16-bit
RMAA: Kenwood DMC-S55 16-bit
RMAA: Sony MZ-E55 16-bit
RMAA: Sharp MD-DS8/9 16-bit
Source: Sony MZ-DH10P Hi-MD downloader / MP3 player / Digital camera
ADC: Lynx Studio HILO LT-TB
Computer: 2012 27" iMac
Cables: 1,5m Hosa Pro 3,5mm stereo to dual 3-pin XLR (around 8$); bespoke y-split 2,5 TRRS to dual 3-pin XLR made by Musashi Sound Technology.
Loads:
NL - no load
SM2 - Earsonics SM2
ES7 - Audio Technica ES7
DT880 - Beyerdynamic DT880/600
24-bit VOL (Full) @+6dB - all targets
24-bit VOL (Full) @+6dB - summary
End words
So, its proviso’s are many, but gosh darn, if the DH10P didn’t see the future, and run right to it. It’s a Minidisc smartphone as far as I’m concerned, with a simple GUI, solid build quality, and sleek, if funny, stylistic flourishes. I love the DH10P. I wish it recorded from a line. I wish it was stable sans load. I wish it had better battery life. I wish I didn’t dig the bass boost so much.
Awesome, if confusing Hi-MD unit.