When Sony introduced a format upgrade to the MiniDisc format in 2004, the NH1 was the flagship unit. I missed the chance to get one at the time, and they’ve been hard to find as of late. I lucked into one only recently.

The NH1 has a magnesium body, which makes it a bit heavier than expected. The controls are similar to the older NetMD recorders, and they’re easy to manipulate from inside a pocket. That’s an improvement over some of Sony’s, shall we say, creative setups on newer units. It certainly beats fumbling with a touch screen while walking or being jostled.

When the Hi-MD format was announced, I passed this over in favor of the MZ-RH1, which was the only unit to allow for uploading of older recordings to the computer. Since then, we’ve seen the release of open-source software that allows uploads from any Hi-MD recorder. As such, one of these became much more appealing.

The downsides? It doesn’t charge the batteries over USB, and it uses a proprietary connector. Since I’ve got other units hooked to the computer, that’s not much of an issue. This is for portable use, and it’s still the best thing for that.

One question remains. Is it too soon for this to be retro?