Sony MZ-R70 Personal MiniDisc Player
Out of stock |
Similar in Personal Audio Mini Disc Player
- Recordable: Recordable
- Headphones: Yes
- Remote Control: Yes
- Overview
-
Reviews
-
Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Good entry-level minidisc player
Pros
Small, lightweight, good battery life, doesn't need extra battery case, good value
Cons
Short cord on headphones, no M/M stereo jack, bulge on back, real-time recording.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
These days, you can get much better minidisc players or mp3 players.
It may not have the bells and whistles (it really is just a stripped down model of the R90), but it gets the job done. The recording is good, the sound is good, the battery life is great. I have few and minor complaints about this MD player.
The bulge in the back of the unit for the battery has never inconvenienced me. I enjoy the flexibility that the unit has in being able to take a standard AA battery without carrying a separate attachment unit. It means that when I go on a long drive or flight, I can simply bring a single spare AA (which is supposed to last 17 hours?). I've never actually tested the battery time, but for the rechargeable, I think it's slightly less than the advertised 6 hours (at least, that's what I remember it being billed as), maybe you'll get 5. And I've never come close to running out a regular AA, it's at least 10 hours of listen time.
The unit does have the slight inconvenience of having a long spin-up time, meaning that starting a disc from a stopped position takes a while (~5 seconds, which can seem like a minor eternity when you're waiting, and also makes me wonder every time if I've actually hit the button or missed it by accident).
My only real gripe with the unit is that they package an optical cable so you can digitally record onto the unit. It is the most useless wire I've ever seen. Admittedly, I am not an audiophile, but I've never seen the type of jack that's supposed to plug into. It's square, with a round protusion in the middle? Anyway, it would be more practical, in my opinion, to include a male/male stereo jack (like the one that runs from your computer to your speakers, except mine is hardwired into the speakers).
The included remote works fine, isn't backlit (they had to cut corners somewhere), and I like it, but the headphones have a cord that is about a foot or two long, which is pretty useless unless you use the remote with it, and the remote doesn't come with an alligator clip, so it ends up hanging from your ears. Not a huge deal, but a minor complaint.
All that aside, the sound quality is great, the unit is small and light, the battery life is good, and I think this is a good deal for your money. I spent a lot of time looking at what was out there, and I think I made the right choice.
As an addendum (written a few months later), I've also noticed what other people have commented on about the weak sound levels put out by the unit. It's fine for the included in-ear headphones, but when I put it to use with my high-quality whole-ear headphones, it didn't provide enough volume to drown out the noise from the flight I was taking. I had to switch back to the included headphones...
Second addendum - recording turned out to be a pain because it only records in real-time. I think the newer models record directly via a USB connection in faster than real-time. I would go with one of those. Or an mp3 player.
The bulge in the back of the unit for the battery has never inconvenienced me. I enjoy the flexibility that the unit has in being able to take a standard AA battery without carrying a separate attachment unit. It means that when I go on a long drive or flight, I can simply bring a single spare AA (which is supposed to last 17 hours?). I've never actually tested the battery time, but for the rechargeable, I think it's slightly less than the advertised 6 hours (at least, that's what I remember it being billed as), maybe you'll get 5. And I've never come close to running out a regular AA, it's at least 10 hours of listen time.
The unit does have the slight inconvenience of having a long spin-up time, meaning that starting a disc from a stopped position takes a while (~5 seconds, which can seem like a minor eternity when you're waiting, and also makes me wonder every time if I've actually hit the button or missed it by accident).
My only real gripe with the unit is that they package an optical cable so you can digitally record onto the unit. It is the most useless wire I've ever seen. Admittedly, I am not an audiophile, but I've never seen the type of jack that's supposed to plug into. It's square, with a round protusion in the middle? Anyway, it would be more practical, in my opinion, to include a male/male stereo jack (like the one that runs from your computer to your speakers, except mine is hardwired into the speakers).
The included remote works fine, isn't backlit (they had to cut corners somewhere), and I like it, but the headphones have a cord that is about a foot or two long, which is pretty useless unless you use the remote with it, and the remote doesn't come with an alligator clip, so it ends up hanging from your ears. Not a huge deal, but a minor complaint.
All that aside, the sound quality is great, the unit is small and light, the battery life is good, and I think this is a good deal for your money. I spent a lot of time looking at what was out there, and I think I made the right choice.
As an addendum (written a few months later), I've also noticed what other people have commented on about the weak sound levels put out by the unit. It's fine for the included in-ear headphones, but when I put it to use with my high-quality whole-ear headphones, it didn't provide enough volume to drown out the noise from the flight I was taking. I had to switch back to the included headphones...
Second addendum - recording turned out to be a pain because it only records in real-time. I think the newer models record directly via a USB connection in faster than real-time. I would go with one of those. Or an mp3 player.
