Wonderful Technology
Written: Dec 11 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Pocketable, CD quality
Cons: Need to use good quality discs
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| DWW's Full Review: Sharp MD MT15 MiniDisc Recorder |
I've tried a few different portable CD players in my car, but they all skipped. My car is an old diesel and it shakes a lot. Besides, CD players aren't all that portable. Early this year, I purchased the Sharp MT15 MD Recorder on-line from minidisc-canada.com. Since that time, I have created my own portable mixes from my CD collection, recorded meetings at work, and recorded my German language instruction tapes.
I can itemize the reasons why I love minidisc technology:
1) Editing and re-recording is a snap. You can erase tracks and shuffle them on a disk as many times as you like, or erase the whole disk and start over.
2) You can split tracks or merge them. When I record meetings at work, I can mark the sections that I want to save, delete the rest, and archive just the important arguments and conclusions.
3) The unit fits in your hand or your jacket pocket. When I jump out of my car, I just drop it in my pocket.
4) MiniDiscs are much smaller than CD's or cassettes, and the disc surface is nicely protected from fingers and coffee.
3) You don't need a computer. Just jack-in to any audio source. That said, a computer is a good audio source, too.
4) Track repeat. Good for repetitive German language lessons. Wie geht es Ihnen? Sehr gut! Random play is another good option.
5) Audio quality is excellent. Better than MP3. Makes perfect copies of CD's. Also, MD players don't skip like CD's do. I've never heard a skip.
6) 74 minutes on a disc, or 148 minutes of mono. See my notes on blank discs below, please!
In particular, I chose the Sharp MT15 because it was the cheapest recording minidisc player available in my market. It is also the smallest recording minidisc player I have seen. I also liked the display. The LCD panel displays a recording level indicator, an output volume indicator, battery indicator, current track number, the number of tracks on a disc, track time, total track time, time remaining, your own disc and track titles, and also acts as a menu for all the editing/recording/titling functions.
Like the Sony's, the MT15 has an input for an optical fibre cable that you can connect directly to the optical output of your CD player, if you have one. I don't; I just use a standard stereo miniplug cable. It also has a stereo MIC jack for live recordings.
The battery compartment can hold a Sharp Nickel-Metal Hydride battery, alkaline cells, or any kind of Ni-Cad rechargeable batteries. It also comes with a power adapter when you are using it at home. I usually get 8 hours of play on a set of batteries, or on one charge of my Ni-Cad's.
All in all, I am extremely pleased with the Sharp MT15, both in making excellent digital recordings from any source and playing back through my home stereo, car deck, or headphones. I haven't had a mechanical or audio problem with this unit in the eight months that I have owned it. Having a recording MD unit is very useful to me, and I appreciate how small the unit is.
BLANK DISC NOTES: I've had dreadful experiences with Memorex MD's. I've purchased blank Memorex discs now and then (because they are cheap), and every single one has multiple dropouts and failures. Never again. Sony makes a great disc, as you might expect, but they are the most expensive. HiSpace is an inexpensive brand that is excellent. I trust HiSpace. HiSpace also makes an 80 minute disc. Don't buy a ten-pack of any brand before trying one or two singles. And don't fret about the price (about $4.00/single) for a good disc. You can re-record them forever.
MD vs MP3 NOTES: Okay, MD's are way better than CDs (recordable, editable, smaller, etc.), but what about the new MP3 portable units? First, you cannot record on them, nor can you edit your recordings. You need a computer to download the MP3's to them. Either they have fixed memories or use very expensive memory sticks. Right now, there is no comparison.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
DWW
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Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 2 members
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