Sony MZ-R37SP Personal MiniDisc Player
- Recordable: Recordable
- Headphones: Yes
- Remote Control: Yes
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An Almost Great Product...
Pros
Small & lightweight; features superior to CD player; cheap media; can charge batteries
Cons
slow record speed; limited digital recording capabilities
Recommended it?
Yes
I have always thought a MiniDisc player would be nice to have, and when this one was offered to me for $70 I had to take it. The MZ-R37 is a very sleek, very sexy looking device. Its about 3/4 the size of a CD jewel case and very lightweight. The player/recorder is a mix of good and bad, but overall is a fun product to own.
Sony included headphones, a USB-to-analog converter, a 6' USB cable, a line out cable, an optical line out cable, and 2 manuals.
The device both records and plays minidiscs,(blanks are available for around $2 a piece)and has quite an assortment of jacks and ports. The unit includes microphone, line out, optical/analog in, and earphone jacks. For some reason Sony decided to put 3 of these jacks next to each other on one side of the player, and if you're fumbling around in the dark it can be a little difficult trying to get the correct cable into the correct jack. The units small lcd has no backlight, and thus is impossible to read in the dark. Battery life tops out at around 12-13 hours, but the unit is able to charge rechargable batteries on its own.
Minidisc is a format that has fizzled on the market, and it is easy to see why when using this device. True digital-to-digital recording can only be done from a CD/DAT player using the supplied optical cable. Recording from a computer involves converting the digital music to analog. Also the unit can only record at the speed of the music; meaning that if you have one hours worth of music you want to put on a minidisc, it will take one hour to record. This is inadequate when compared to an mp3 player or a CD burner, which can record/download at much higher speeds.
However, minidisc does have a few advantages over CD. Tracks on a minidisc can be moved around at will, so with a spare minute the entire disc can be rearranged however the listener likes. Also, disc and track titling is possible, although this can be a bit time consuming as each letter must be scrolled through and selected; it took me about 10 minutes to label a 20-track disc with just the song names. Individual tracks can also be erased without erasing the entire disc, and then new tracks can be recorded without destroying anything the user would like to keep. Sony claims a 40 second anti-shock protector on the device, and I have not yet been able to make the player skip, no matter how hard I have tried.
Recording and playback with the device are very simple, each just requiring one button press (the record button must be pressed in and then slid, this keeps it from being accidently pressed. However, buttons on the MZ-R37 are small. Very small. Someone with large hands would have difficulty navigating through the controls without inadvertently pressing a wrong button.
Overall the Sony MZ-R37 is a good complimentary gadget to anyone who likes portable music. Cheaper portable music solutions can be found, but with the deal I got on the unit I am mostly pleased with it. I would recommend the MZ-R37 to anyone without a computer who is looking for a portable player, as CD mixes and the like can be done. Anyone who owns a computer would probably be happier with a portable mp3 player, because the the zippy download speed and similar features.
Sony included headphones, a USB-to-analog converter, a 6' USB cable, a line out cable, an optical line out cable, and 2 manuals.
The device both records and plays minidiscs,(blanks are available for around $2 a piece)and has quite an assortment of jacks and ports. The unit includes microphone, line out, optical/analog in, and earphone jacks. For some reason Sony decided to put 3 of these jacks next to each other on one side of the player, and if you're fumbling around in the dark it can be a little difficult trying to get the correct cable into the correct jack. The units small lcd has no backlight, and thus is impossible to read in the dark. Battery life tops out at around 12-13 hours, but the unit is able to charge rechargable batteries on its own.
Minidisc is a format that has fizzled on the market, and it is easy to see why when using this device. True digital-to-digital recording can only be done from a CD/DAT player using the supplied optical cable. Recording from a computer involves converting the digital music to analog. Also the unit can only record at the speed of the music; meaning that if you have one hours worth of music you want to put on a minidisc, it will take one hour to record. This is inadequate when compared to an mp3 player or a CD burner, which can record/download at much higher speeds.
However, minidisc does have a few advantages over CD. Tracks on a minidisc can be moved around at will, so with a spare minute the entire disc can be rearranged however the listener likes. Also, disc and track titling is possible, although this can be a bit time consuming as each letter must be scrolled through and selected; it took me about 10 minutes to label a 20-track disc with just the song names. Individual tracks can also be erased without erasing the entire disc, and then new tracks can be recorded without destroying anything the user would like to keep. Sony claims a 40 second anti-shock protector on the device, and I have not yet been able to make the player skip, no matter how hard I have tried.
Recording and playback with the device are very simple, each just requiring one button press (the record button must be pressed in and then slid, this keeps it from being accidently pressed. However, buttons on the MZ-R37 are small. Very small. Someone with large hands would have difficulty navigating through the controls without inadvertently pressing a wrong button.
Overall the Sony MZ-R37 is a good complimentary gadget to anyone who likes portable music. Cheaper portable music solutions can be found, but with the deal I got on the unit I am mostly pleased with it. I would recommend the MZ-R37 to anyone without a computer who is looking for a portable player, as CD mixes and the like can be done. Anyone who owns a computer would probably be happier with a portable mp3 player, because the the zippy download speed and similar features.
