My First Mini Disc (not for long!)
Written: May 03 '00 (Updated Aug 08 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small, light, excellent sound quality!
Cons: Fiddly remote,
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| Taoski's Full Review: Sony Walkman MZ-R91 Personal MiniDisc Player |
Unlike normal i really did my homework and research for a few weeks before i splashed out on my new Sony MZR-91. Many times in the past i have purchased things before really knowing whether i was buying the better option and regretted it later. Epinons was a good start as was www.minidisco.com.
My main use for the the new purchase was going to be to listen to in the car and it was a toss up between a Sony Portable CD Player and the minidisc. I have lots of CDs already which would allow me to use them straight away but I find most of the portable CD players to be a little "plastic" and flimsy. Therefore the flexability of the Minidisc won - being able to record from any source - CD, MP3 etc and the fact that it has a good anti shock system (which i have tested and cannot make the damn thing jump!). The battery life is also very good - although after a few charges to prime the battery from new.
The unit itself is very small and lightweight. You sometimes feel that it is not in your pocket and often have to do a reassuring grope around your clothing to make sure it is still there! The eject mechanism is ok. The disc spits out and is easy to remove. The display is good but the track name disappears too soon to reveal just the track number which could be changed. I like the jog wheel which provides quick access to all options like naming the track or changing settings. I found the unit to be very solid and have no issues with the physical design. My friend has a MZR-55 and i prefer the remote control on that unit - being a twist end model rather than a clicking end to move between tracks. I find the 91's remote to be fiddly and the labelling on the buttons is hard to read easily. You can also press other buttons by mistake whilst moving to a new track.
I tested the unit by recording a track i test most stereo equipment with - Pungent Effulgent by Ozric Tentacles. A good track to use as it has all frequencies of music (and an excellent song!). Even though i had recorded using a cable straight from the headphones socket on my stereo to the line in on the MD it was an excellent start. The quality was superb and i was very impressed.
After using the MD for a few more days and getting to grips with the titling and recording levels i am very very happy with the unit. I use it in my car via a tape adapter which is also produces very good quality as long as you turn off the Mega Bass (my car speakers are not up to it!).
MD won't be for everyone as you will need to spend time recording your CDs onto it. You need to weigh up how much time you are prepared to spend on making the discs against the immediate play of a CD. As i have found my local HMV does not stock many Minidiscs and most seem to be movie soundtracks so you will still have to buy CDs to get the music you want. I think to get full reward from the MD you will also need a stereo with optical out for better recording and possibly a built in MD recorder. This is of course if you can afford that too! I am looking at a PC based option with optical out so i can record CD and MP3 onto the unit.
**UPDATE 08/08/2000**
A few days after using this product i ran into a few problems. Without a minidisc recorder stereo system i found it a little hard to get the recording done easily. It would miss track marks and the quality was not great. I found that the best method of doing this was to use my PC USB Speakers to output the signal into the Minidisc using WinAmp with the minidisc plug in which adds 4 second gaps between tracks. I then had to enter all the names of the tracks (alot of which were MP3s) which was also tedious.
Then i thought - why don't i just use an MP3 player instead!
I re-boxed the Minidisc player and took it back to the retailer who offered a 72 hour return policy. I explained to the spotty 16 year old that i had bought the wrong item and he exchanged it for a Diamond Rio MP3 player. They did'nt even look in the box for the Minidisc! Silly.
Anyway. I could waffle on about the benefits of having an MP3 player over a minidisc but the main one is convenience. I can get up in the morning - switch on my PC - Encode a CD into MP3 - select the tracks that i want and download them onto my Rio within 45 mins. Rather than adding track by track like an audio cassette tape freak a-la High Fidelity.
I still rate the Sony item but choose any other MP3 device over it just for my convenience more than anything.
I shall do an opinion on the Rio - expect it soon.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Taoski
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Reviews written: 2
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