Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous Machine
Review: Absolutely Great! No problems with software at all. Open MG recorded great and easy as did Simple Burner, and finished music sounded great all around. Have not tried LP4 yet but I see no reason why it won't be good also except for small reduction in quality. I would purchase again without question.
Rating: 
Summary: Sony is a record company too
Review: As far as a piece of hardware goes, it's great. I'm in the military and mine has led a very hard life without a glitch. Batteries last a very long time. Controls are easy to use, particularly the thumbstick.Music reproduction is extremely good. The Open MG software that comes with the device is not so great. Everytime you burn something onto an MD you have to leave a copy on your hard drive for rights management. I just bought my first copy-protected CD that used Windows Media Toolkit encryption (XP and Media Player 9 users lookout!) and Open MG can't read it worth a damn. If the Windows Media Toolkit encryption becomes popular (Virgin seems to like it) the device will soon be useless.
Rating:
Summary: Yipee!
Review: This is one of the greatest gadget I have around (well, next to my cellphone)! If you want one, or is thinking to buy one, well stop thinking and just buy it! It's pretty cool in the outside, very sporty, (it is built for sporty people, anyway)and it works pretty good too!
Rating: 
Summary: It should be about Practicality
Review: There's only one feature that needs to be discussed here, which is the lack of either an arm band or belt clip. How does one design a "sport" model of minidisc player, then demand that you hold it while using it? The ruggedness and durability of the player are fine and dandy, but if you're looking for something that you don't have to hold in your hand the entire time, then you'll have to look elsewhere. I find the hand strap completely useless! Who would actually let the player dangle from the strap and attempt anything close to a sport? Personally, I find it a huge annoyance while running, and an impossibility while working out, to have something in my hand the entire time. Note to Sony: you should have included the arm band! It would have meant the difference between having something durable, practical, and functional instead of nice to look at, but annoying because of its lack of usability. In the end, the product is only as good as the usage you're able to get from it in the capacity that you plan on using it. If I were on a firing range, then I might be impressed at the apparent bulletproofness of the player in case someone decided to shoot it, however, I'd have a hard time shooting accurately because I'd only have one hand to do so with! In the sport context, this player simply does not work well for me. Maybe it will for you.
Rating:
Summary: Really cool piece of work
Review: It works perfect, battery lasts a lot and is perfect to go out exercise,really resistant and well done, I was worried about the joystick thing but it is strong and have had no problem with it yet, great price, nice headphones, shame that there is no case for it, "Case Logic MCP-2" doesn't work for it so don't buy it for this minidisc.
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff!
Review: I bought this mini disc to use while running. It does everything I want. Five hours of music on an inexpensive disc in a shuffle mode in fantastic. The discs are cheap, so I can load up a bunch of them. Both pieces of software that come with the machine work fine. I am ripping from my cd collection, so the NetMD software works great. I have used the OpenMG software everybody complains about to punch up an audio signal from one cd, and it worked great. I don't know how the software works with bootlegged mp3s, since I like the musicians to get paid for their work. Only downsides: No attachment for belt clip or arm strap. I am used to using an arm strap. The volume does not quite go as loud as I would like, even with the AVLS turned off- but I like really loud music. It still plays fairly loudly. I wish it took less time to copy from cd to player, but that is probably the fault of my computer/CD Rom. I am also very impatient. This thing rocks! Mini discs are the way to go, and if you are listening to music during sports/exercise, this is the machine.
Rating:
Summary: keeps on ticking
Review: i got this mz-s1 3 weeks ago ive beenrunning it night and day i have a30 day warranty with circuit city. i cant get it to malfuncing its build like a tank iam very happy with it.the battery last me6 days i love this thing.hugh mcdonald chiefland fla
Rating:
Summary: Better design than the MZ-N505
Review: I bought the MZ-N505 (the gaudy little gold or silver one) but returned it for the MZ-S1. While the two are almost identical in recording and playing features, the N505 was so small and light that it felt dangerously flimsy. The more robust body of the S1 makes it a better buy. I'm planning on bringing my player around campus with me in (the bottom of) my backpack, carrying it when running, and keeping it in my jacket pocket while skiing. Nothing heavy duty--I think most people will subject their players to all kinds of similar use when they realize how convenient and portable they are. The S1 is a shade bigger and weighs almost twice as much as the 505, but the only way you can tell the difference between 4 ounces and 7 is when you're holding one in each hand. That extra weight is used to make the body thicker and more 'drop-resistant'. Should I wipe out while skiing, the last thing I'll have to worry about is this player. I can hold it in my sweaty clutches or get it rained on and the rubber gaskets around the MD and battery compartments and the playing controls will keep it from getting wet inside. The player controls put the 'joy' back in 'joystick'--they're designed to be easy to control when you hold it upright in one hand (while running,for example) but can be operated from any angle. The backlit LCD screen is another improvement over the N505. I also found the design more tasteful--it lacks the "please steal me" ghetto design philosophy of the 505. When you throw in the hand strap and better headphones that come included in the package, the MZ-S1 is the better choice.
Rating: 
Summary: above average player
Review: i got into the minidisc medium several years ago, when it first came out. i bought a large, clunky, vcr-sized sony recorder-player deck, which came w/ a "free" portable player. the portable player was problaby the worst piece of electronics i've ever owned (i won't get into the attrocities of it). about 3 years ago, i upgraded my portable unit to the
sony mz-e44 model. it's a fantastic player, and i really can't say much bad about it. small, stylish, and efficient. a sweet blue/purple irridescent color scheme. but after 3 years, it was time to upgrade again. i purchased the sony mz-s1 model about 2 weeks ago, and absolutely love it. the minidisc technology is not for everyone. it is not the most perfect medium w/ which to record and listen to music. but from what i've seen and heard, if you are a fan or user of this technology, the mz-s1 will suffice for all your needs. the pros:
- stylish. off-white and orange colors. smooth, rounded edges. not the smallest and most compact model, but it's good enough for most purposes.
- comes w/ software containing two seperate recording/playing programs. i've seen some negative opinions about the software, but it's nothing that should prevent the average user from enjoying the player, or the recording process.
- you can record up to 5+ hours of music to one minidisc. this is the most major upgrade to the 2 previous players (3, if you count the home deck) i've owned.
- my previous 2 models have occasionally skipped, even just during normal walking. this player has yet to skip on me. even once. even during rough, rugged movement. i once dropped the player while trying to put it in my pocket- it hit the ground, but never missed a beat (and the casing didn't scratch or scuff, either! needless to say, a pleasant, and great surprise) the cons:
- a little bigger than it probably needs to be, but this is just nitpicking. the mz-e44 model is smaller, but only slightly, and the mz-s1's features more than make up for it. it still fits quite nicely in the inside pocket of my leather coat, but it doesn't fit as well into my jeans pocket, as the mz-e44 did.
- the included software is a bit complicated and cumbersome at first, but after playing around w/ if for a short while, is easy to get used to.
- this is probably nitpicking as well, but 2 things this player lacks, that my former, 3 year old model had, is a rechargable battery (still, you get 50+ hours of playback w/ a single AA battery, which really is nothing to complain about), and one of those remote-stick thingies that you can change tracks, volume, etc. from. in order to do these basic tasks, you have to actually touch the player itself. again, not a big deal, but a feature that would've been nice. in conclusion, i would reccomend this player to anyone, though not highly. i would suggest doing some research and shopping around, to find the best fit for you. there's nothing here that should deter anyone from purchasing this model, but other models out there may contain other features that this one lacks, that may suit you better. still, this is a player that the average consumer can't go wrong w/, and should make most consumers happy w/ all the features and abilities it has. i know i myself am happy i bought it. and i owned what i previously considered to be a top of the line model (paid [money] for it 3 years ago).
Rating:
Summary: Great Hardware - Bad Software ...
Review: The "electronics fan from Austin" was 100% correct. The software is hideous and the Mini-disk player is great. They need to make it compatable with Windows Media Player. For now I use RealOne...
I absolutely love this player! I wanted to hate it and punish Sony by returning it because of their hideous software, but once I realized that I could keep the hardware without using their software I decided that it is a fantastic device. The key for me is using RealOne Player to add files to the device. Using RealOne I can get MP3s onto the unit quickly and easily, without any of the restictive "check-out" procedures that Sony is trying to cram down our throats. As for everything else about the device...absolutely no complaints. I was worried it would be too heavy for long runs, but I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't bother me at all. The ability to have great, customized soundtracks with me on runs more than made up for having to carry the player in my hand. I think the wrist strap is fantastic because it gives me the confidence to carry the player very loosely in my hands, instead of a death grip that would fatigue my hands and arms. Yes, some people might prefer a clip or belt strap, but I find that I would much rather carry this in my hands given its weight. The sound is absolutely fantastic. Although some reviews have said the volume level is a little low, I have found that even with hearing that my wife claims borders on deafness, I can get this player cranked up loud enough that it hurts. I received this as a gift and was initially disappointed that it wasn't a memory-based MP3 player. But the more I researched the various options, the more I realized this is a fantastic solution. In my opinion, what sets a mini-disc player apart from memory-based players is the ability to create different sets of music on dirt-cheap media. Instead of having to constantly connect my player to the computer for loading and unloading tunes to fit my mood, I can cheaply create a whole bunch of different discs - one for endurance runs, one for pace runs, one for sprints, etc. If not for the Sony software, this player would definitely be a five. But since you can work around it easily enough, I will give it a four.
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