There were workarounds like TOC cloning to keep the transfers digital (by making the device think it was playing something from an analog source, not a digital

There were workarounds like TOC cloning to keep the transfers digital (by making the device think it was playing something from an analog source, not a digital one, so it would allow a digital copy over SCMS), but those were not possible on all devices. And even the digital transfers were over SPDIF, not direct data transfer (so it depended on the quality of your encoder chip). There was one way around this: the MDS-W1 (http://minidisc.org/part_Sony_MDS-W1.html http://minidisc.org/part_Sony_MDS-W1.html) could move tracks in raw data format between discs. Of course, it erased the source track, but if you did this twice (it defragmented as it went) and then TOC-cloned, you could have two identical MD's. They're available on eBay, but they're $400-500 and ship from Japan, so good luck powering one if you're in Europe. It really was a lovely format that was crippled by the music side of the company. 170 MB on a rugged, infinitely-rewritable, non-accidentally-erasable format that was smaller than a 3.5" floppy?