Sony MZ-R70 Personal MiniDisc Player
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Similar in Personal Audio Mini Disc Player
- Recordable: Recordable
- Headphones: Yes
- Remote Control: Yes
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Who needs an mp3 player?
Pros
Tiny, VERY portable, It's digital! Records a wide variety of media, each minidisc can be written/rewritten an infinite number of times, unbelievable battery life.
Cons
Takes a long time to record music to minidisc, not practical to title minidiscs, noticable operating noise, no analog cable included.
Recommended it?
Yes
My folks flat out shocked me when they gave me the Sony MZ-R70 Minidisc player/recorder for my eighteenth birthday. I had no idea what a great device it was; a toy that I never knew I needed!
My parents later explained to me that they were interested in getting me an mp3 player, but a salesman at Circuit City had talked them into the minidisc instead. I was astounded at all the minidisc had to offer, and I now can't imagine buying an mp3 player for about the same price that has so many fewer features.
The first thing that struck me about the minidisc (MD) player was that it was incredibly small. One can take these things anywhere. It has forty second ESP (which I honestly have not really intensively tested, but it hasn't skipped on me) It has a wired remote that you can hold out of your pocket while jogging or whatever and the headphones plug into the remote so you don't lose a headphone jack. (see picture) Among the many nice extras on the MZ-R70 is that it has two headphone jacks. Two can easily listen to the same thing at the same time.
Another nice quality of the MZ-R70 is the battery life. One AA battery is all it takes, and it supposedly lasts 15 hours for playback or 3 hours of recording. I tend to use the ac adapter for most recording situations though. Battery life is impressive, but I haven't used the MD player enough yet to see if it lives up to their claims. I will update this review soon with a more accurate report. (sorry)
Mine even came with a Nickel Cadium battery, (6-7 hours for playback or 3 hours recording per charge) and the player has a built in charger. When going portable, I have generally been keeping the Ni-Cad battery charged for use.
The minidisc is quite impressive in what it can record. With an analog cable (which unfortunately you have to buy separately) It can record from Cd's, radio, cassette, anything with a line out. There is even a jack for a microphone. Upon investigating buying a microphone, I was very dissappointed to see that they cost at least $50, but I soon discovered that the $10 mic I use with my computer worked just dandy! (I plan on using it for recording classes in college) You can even record in mono to double how much you can fit onto a minidisc. I have also plugged the analog cable into my sound card and recorded mp3's right off of my computer!! Who needs an mp3 player? Now, with the analog cable, there is some quality lost in all of these medias, but I don't have a good ear for it and I can't usually notice a difference. If you DO have a good ear for sound quality, then you may want to investigate the digital transfer.
An optical digital cable is included with the MD player, but in order to take advantage of it, you have to have a cd player, or deck with an optical out. I certainly don't have this availiable to me, but someday I hope to. The next stereo I buy WILL have a digital out.
Take this for what its worth, but the salesman said that probably 75% of the DJs have switched to MD. It is very easy to record over and over again on the MD's. The minidiscs themselves only cost about 2-3 bucks each and hold 74 minutes per disc. (some hold 80 as with some cd-R) The only real downside to the minidisc, is that if you want to copy an entire CD to minidisc, you have to wait that entire time while it plays and is run through the line out on that cd player. When transferring a cd it is a good idea to have something else to do in the meantime. It is also a hassle to go through and name each minidisc (for the digital display to used) so I rarely go to the trouble. I guess it's a feature they didn't have to offer in the first place though.
Other than the recording time being a bit of a hassle however, I would say that the minidisc, and in particularly this model, the sony MZ-R70, is a great buy. I give it a very enthusiastic 4 out of 5. It does everything I could have ever wanted with great quality (and the possibility of digital quality) The flaws are few and it is quite a joy.
(On one last note, because this player is new, I will update this review after I have been using the player for a while to document any additional troubles or merits of the product that I have discovered.) Thanks, I hope this was helpful.
My parents later explained to me that they were interested in getting me an mp3 player, but a salesman at Circuit City had talked them into the minidisc instead. I was astounded at all the minidisc had to offer, and I now can't imagine buying an mp3 player for about the same price that has so many fewer features.
The first thing that struck me about the minidisc (MD) player was that it was incredibly small. One can take these things anywhere. It has forty second ESP (which I honestly have not really intensively tested, but it hasn't skipped on me) It has a wired remote that you can hold out of your pocket while jogging or whatever and the headphones plug into the remote so you don't lose a headphone jack. (see picture) Among the many nice extras on the MZ-R70 is that it has two headphone jacks. Two can easily listen to the same thing at the same time.
Another nice quality of the MZ-R70 is the battery life. One AA battery is all it takes, and it supposedly lasts 15 hours for playback or 3 hours of recording. I tend to use the ac adapter for most recording situations though. Battery life is impressive, but I haven't used the MD player enough yet to see if it lives up to their claims. I will update this review soon with a more accurate report. (sorry)
Mine even came with a Nickel Cadium battery, (6-7 hours for playback or 3 hours recording per charge) and the player has a built in charger. When going portable, I have generally been keeping the Ni-Cad battery charged for use.
The minidisc is quite impressive in what it can record. With an analog cable (which unfortunately you have to buy separately) It can record from Cd's, radio, cassette, anything with a line out. There is even a jack for a microphone. Upon investigating buying a microphone, I was very dissappointed to see that they cost at least $50, but I soon discovered that the $10 mic I use with my computer worked just dandy! (I plan on using it for recording classes in college) You can even record in mono to double how much you can fit onto a minidisc. I have also plugged the analog cable into my sound card and recorded mp3's right off of my computer!! Who needs an mp3 player? Now, with the analog cable, there is some quality lost in all of these medias, but I don't have a good ear for it and I can't usually notice a difference. If you DO have a good ear for sound quality, then you may want to investigate the digital transfer.
An optical digital cable is included with the MD player, but in order to take advantage of it, you have to have a cd player, or deck with an optical out. I certainly don't have this availiable to me, but someday I hope to. The next stereo I buy WILL have a digital out.
Take this for what its worth, but the salesman said that probably 75% of the DJs have switched to MD. It is very easy to record over and over again on the MD's. The minidiscs themselves only cost about 2-3 bucks each and hold 74 minutes per disc. (some hold 80 as with some cd-R) The only real downside to the minidisc, is that if you want to copy an entire CD to minidisc, you have to wait that entire time while it plays and is run through the line out on that cd player. When transferring a cd it is a good idea to have something else to do in the meantime. It is also a hassle to go through and name each minidisc (for the digital display to used) so I rarely go to the trouble. I guess it's a feature they didn't have to offer in the first place though.
Other than the recording time being a bit of a hassle however, I would say that the minidisc, and in particularly this model, the sony MZ-R70, is a great buy. I give it a very enthusiastic 4 out of 5. It does everything I could have ever wanted with great quality (and the possibility of digital quality) The flaws are few and it is quite a joy.
(On one last note, because this player is new, I will update this review after I have been using the player for a while to document any additional troubles or merits of the product that I have discovered.) Thanks, I hope this was helpful.
