Cons: Awkward interface, lack of a Mic jack poses problems for live recording
The Bottom Line: A great starter's MD Player/Recorder but if you want to record live, I'd suggest looking for a higher Sony model with a dedicated Mic jack
Tsilva25's Full Review: Sony Walkman MZ-R500 PC Personal MiniDisc Player
In addition to my hobbies of reading, cooking, and computers I am also an avid music collector and aficionado--also, I am a classical musician (working on my master's degree in performance). I bought this MiniDisc recorder with the hopes of using it as a live recording tool for recitals, concerts, and practice sessions. I have heard for a long time how useful MiniDisc recorders were in this area so I thought it was time I bought one.
I found the MZ-R500 online for approximately 150.00 and thought that was an incredible bargain so I ordered it an a microphone and had high hopes for recording. The only problem with this model is that the 500 model does not have a dedicated Microphone jack and can only receive such signals through the Line-In jack. What this means is that no power is provided to the jack and therefore the recording signal is very weak (even with a powered microphone). It was suggested that I might want to purchase a microphone preamplifier, which amplifies the signal to the Line-In jack, however most of them were nearly as expensive as the recorder itself so I decided to return it for the 900 model, which I have had much success recording on live.
If you plan on using your MiniDisc recorder to store downloaded music or tracks ripped from CDs, this would be a good investment with you (a PCLink is provided) but if you want to try to record anything live, I'd suggest trying a higher model.
Portable mini-disc player with recording capability Digital gain control ensures quality recording Automatic Volume Limiter System for even, consisten...More at Amazon Marketplace
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