Sony MZR70 Minidisc Recorder

Rating:
Summary: Good, but could be better
Review: I have a very large collection of mp3's (about 2000) and i was looking for a way to listen too them when I'm not infront of my computer. I first saw the minidisc players a year or two ago, I thought that they would be awesome. After looking at several I finally decided to buy this one. At first it was awesome. I love the freedom you have when recording minidiscs. You can name tracks and rearrange them too. I then came to realize that it wasn't accually that good.

First, it is really annoying recording the minidiscs. You can record from a cd player that has optical output very easily, but if you try to record mp3's from the computer, you have to put in track marks and basically watch it record the whole cd.

Another thing that is very annoying is that the accual minidiscs are not very portable. they are pretty thick and there is no good way to store them. I have about 50 minidiscs and when I go on a long trip, I want to take them all. No one has really made a good storage unit either, the bigest one i saw was a binder that held 24. When i go on a trip i normally end up just throwing them all into a backpack or something like that.

On the plus side, the unit works flawlessly and does what it says it is supposed to do. I would advise you to think carefully about what you want in a portable music player before you buy it. If you just go to work and would only take two or three minidiscs with you each day, this thing would be great. but if your like me, and go on long trips where you just have to have all you music i would recomend Nomad Jukebox or a MP3-CD player.

Rating:
Summary: A Jewel from Sony
Review: I know the item is currently out of stock, but this little machine works up to its name. The outer shell of my player/recorder is blue like the MZR90 model. I do all my recordings in half the time I'd do them with an audio cassette recorder. There's no comparison in quality and efficiency with the latter equipment.

Best features are: 1) Is very compact, it fits in my shirt pocket 2) The remote comes in handy when my coat is closed 3) It fits in a standard discman accessory case with discman 4) Included phones are enriched with amazing bass boost sound 5) The best of all is for skipping a track takes about 3 to 4 seconds. This feature is convenient for me when I only want to hear certain songs. 6) The shock absorbtion is great. Never to worry about a song skipping again. 7) The adaptor comes in handy for recording while saving on batteries 8) With accessories, you can record from phono, CD, cassette, and from your VCR hookup on the stereo. With all that, you can't go wrong. SONY has lived up to its name in quality.

My MZR70 works like a charm. I won't upgrade yet, as this machine meets my expectations. I quickly bonded with such a quality item. For someone looking for a unit with the equivalent in volume to a Discman, the Minidisc has a softer sound. You can't obtain with this unit the same volume strength as the Discman, but for the amount you can get, you have the most out of the 1.2 volt battery provided with it. If the volume is up to about 85%, it's enough for me. I say this because some songs are recorded louder than others. The battery life is normally ( 7 to 8 hrs. ).

In my accessory kit, included with the player was among others, a rechargeable Ni-Cad battery ( NC-WMAA DC 1.2V 700mAh ) that lasts the said amount. SONY does offer a DRY battery, not available here in Montreal. IF SOMEONE CAN LET ME KNOW WHERE I CAN GET ONE??? at mailto:[e-mail] .

As soon as this item is available, get it!

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Rating:
Summary: Really Good, despite the poor reviews written recently.
Review: I own the blue MZ-R70. I reviewed it in the fall of 2001. You may have already read my first review.

It works fine. Recording from MP3s works really well, even though you have to be sitting there while recording. When I bought this unit, Mine came with the AC 3-Volt adaptor, the Headphones, carrying case, remote, owner's manual, and a 3 year warranty. Of course, now, it's over its warranty, but still works fine.

If you read carefully, like me, you WILL be able to find the service manuals online, through SONY. I have printed out a manual for my MZ-R70, MZ-R55 and MZ-R50. All are really helpful when I need to know the inside of the machines. I am an electronics buff, and like to take care of my Mini-disc players, while knowing all about them.

The 3-volt "supplied" power supply is compatible with the MZ-R55 also. Nice to know, especially when you like to have more than one power supply.

I am not crazy about the plain-looking remote that comes with the unit, but it does its job just the same. It would have been better with a clip on the back, to hold it onto my coat or shirt.

The headphones work great, and hold lots of deep digital bass. I can enjoy both the accoustic side of songs, as well as the deep bass. Another thing, I like the bass control from level 0 to level 2 bass. Good when you have a headache but still want to hear music.

I still don't have any problems with recording, whether it's on a cheap disc or an expensive SONY shock-resistent disc. I think it's all in the way some people take care of their mini-disc players. Mine has always been well taken care of.

You can't believe all the reviewers and what they say. As far I'm concerned, SONY hasn't made a bad product at all, when they released the MZ-R70. Of course, it's becoming out of date, on account of updating to newer models, but this item is still great.

Rating:
Summary: Best Mini disc so far
Review: I recieved this Mini Disc for my birthday, and at first I thought that this Mini Disc is boring, all my friends had it, etc. but then when I checked out the player itself, and then started recording, I realized that this Mini Disc player is perfect for anyone that loves music, and it comes with all the proper recording materials, and the clearness etc. is wonderful.

This product is for any age. I give it 18 stars!!!

Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: I was looking for a minidisc player/recorder which was small, good, and inexpensive. After a lot of looking and no finding I finally found this. The Sony MZR70 Minidisc Recorder is everything I was looking for and more. It is the cheapest you will find that can record as well as play. It also includes a PC link which most others do not. If your looking for a good inexpensive MD player this is the one.

Rating:
Summary: Coal In My Stocking
Review: I was pleased to recieve the Mini Disc Player/Recorder I was puzzled by the condition it was in. It appeared to be heavily used with out too much care. The Discs I previously recorded did not play well on this machine and the audio sound was poor 1 out of poss 5. No Battery, no head set, no other accessory was sent with it, nothing not any soft ware or cables not even an old owners guide to show me how to use it properly.
I think I've been good this year, Santa why do I feel like I've been ripped off by Elfs.
Maybe two stars was too generous, maybe a star and a half is closer to the truth.
Needless to say I'm not happy at all

Rating:
Summary: Great player
Review: I'm surprised that mini disc hasn't caught on. It's small, you can record MP3s (the reason I wanted this in the first place), and it's easily concealable. The only problem I have is that recording takes forever, it's second-for-second (meaning that the time it takes to record is the amount of time the song lasts), and pre-recorded mini discs are hard to come by. Not even Amazon sells them. Other than that, it's a great player. I don't have this particular model, but mine's very similar. I like the fact that you can assign names to each song. Another big, big plus is the cost of the discs: $2 a piece. It doesn't skip and you can record and re-record several times over. I could go on and on about how great mini discs are...

Rating:
Summary: Sony MZ-R70
Review: I've been messing with cd burners for years to make my own compilations, and i have to say that buying the Sony MZ-R70 was the best audio buy i ever made. It's got so many conveniences, like it runs off of one AA battery, which you can buy anywhere if your rechargable one (included) dies, and you can record from any sound output, icluding optical, and it's one of the smallest mini-disc recorders in the world, it's smaller and lighter than my wallet! Some people say that the earphones which are supplied have a short cord, but it was designed like that so that the remote hangs at your chest; or that the response time to commands is slow, but the laser has to read ahead to record 40 seconds into memory, so naturally it takes a second or two to get back to what you're hearing at that second. With a stereo mini-plug (available from any electronic store or radio shack, cost = around $5) you can record any sound from your computer, making it possible to make all the compilations you'd like from mp3's, or any other pc media. Also, this same cord can be plugged into the line-out or headphone jack on any cd player to record CDs. The MZ-R70PC seems to be a waste of money to me, because it does the same thing as the stereo mini-plug i just mentioned, and the signal is only analog. You can also plug a microphone to the microphone input to record lectures, and if you record in mono (it would be a waste to record a lecture in stereo) you get double recording time, making a 74 minute disc able to hold 146 minutes. The only downfall of this product is that the dislplay doesn't have any backlighting, and the remote doesn't have a display either, but if this is a big concern for you, you can buy a used remote from Sony's MZ-R55 mini-disc player, and that remote has a backlit display, and functions perfectly with the MZ-R70. This product is definately a good buy, and the blue color will impress all the ladies. Good luck with yours, i'm having a blast with mine...

Rating:
Summary: On-the-go + hi-fidelity!
Review: I've been putting off buying a portable listening device since my last '90 Aiwa tape player. But after seeing the Minidisc in action - it's a definite buy and constant use gem.

First, do the math if you're seriously comparing MP3 format vs. Minidisc. A single MD at 74min costs 2 dollars at most - Read/write capabilities, move tracks, edit, 'tMark'=index songs, etc. You don't need a computer either - use your existing AV setup to record - while having the option to use PC, DVD, etc.

Sound quality? Can you say OPTICAL input. You cannot get any better sound resolution than this; any decent DVD player has an optical out; decent CD players too. RCA IN is a plus (not included) and the PC IN option is mediocre - it is convenient with all the CD-R/PC/MP3 formatted music. It's got a two-stage added-bass feature that works quite well. The standard headphones are excellent - an updated version with position detents for fixed fit. The remote fob device is essential for total playback+record control once your MDplayer is tucked away in the pocket. (look for the RM-MZR55 remote with backlighting if you want to upgrade)

The unit has never skipped even with major motion, jostling, or shock. I haven't done a drop-test, but I'll skip it for now. The biggest drawback is the lack of a custom case/holster for the unit; it does come with a bag, but it isn't adequate for protection or carrying with any confidence. Plus, the lack of backlighting on the main unit is a bummer.

It comes with it's own AA ni-cad battery and charger, and runs for a prolonged period of time ~ 6 hours playback, 1.5-2x as long on a regular AA. The half-sized ice cream sandwich form kicks the CD portable players to the curb. It isn't as ubiquitous as some MP3 players - but why would you want to drop several dimes on something invisible. Personally, the anodized blue colored one has more impact than the silver, but the form and interface overall is a delight. The battery bulge just slightly cants the display up, the button separation and placement works great for easy access. I find excuses to block the world out and listen to high-fidelity music on the go.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome but Fragile.
Review: I've had this model for a little over a year, and here are my thoughts:

There is simply no other way to carry music around. I am a college student, and I wanted to listen to my blossoming MP3 collection. However, at the time, MP3 players could only hold something like 4 songs, and if you went on a trip, there was no way to put in new songs! I ended up recording a majority of my music onto minidisk and took it with me to summer camp (I was a counselor) and I was able to listen to the majority of my MP3 collection without a hitch. In fact, I was even able to make recordings of some rare bootlegs of a buddy of mine, and I have the disk to this day. Minidisks don't scratch, and they have the versatility of tapes with a much improved sound quality. An audiophile friend of mine says that minidisk's sample at at a lower rate than CD's, (theoretically producing inferior sound) but I couldn't tell the difference. Minidisks themselves round about 2 dollars/disk. The big advantage over CD's is the portability. The MZR70 is smaller than my wallet! Furthermore, the battery life is incredibly high, and the fact that they give you a rechargable battery helps this immensely. The version of this model i purchased did not have the USB interface, but I plugged in male/male stereo cord (a cord with headphone plugs on both ends) into my computer and I had no problems. To record I used winamp with the "Pause between songs" plugin to space the tracks out correctly. (The MD tries to space tracks out automatically based on dead air)

So why didn't I give the item 5 stars?
After a little over a year of admittedly heavy use, my MZR70 no longer records. Instead, it simply creates errors on the minidisks. Even editing existing tracks causes this problem. For a couple hundred bucks, I want to be able to use this thing for a couple of years. Unfortunately this is not the case. I currently have an older (supposedly more durable model) being shipped to me.
In summary, the minidisc format is fantastic. There is currently no better way to take your music with you. However, if you think that the MZR70 is for you, be sure to get some protection for it, and perhaps consider getting an extended warrenty.