crump13's Full Review: Sony Walkman MZ-R70 Personal MiniDisc Player
First and foremost let me start out by explaining my "need" for some sort of portable music storage device. I purchased a Suzuki Marauder motorcycle (see "Marauder.....Great bike" for more details) a year ago and I have spent 15,500 long miles using a Sony Sports AM/FM radio as my only means of music. The problem with the radio that I encountered is that I didn't ride around in a circle for those 15,500 miles and it didn't take me long to get out of range for my radio to pick up any decent signals. So I have been on the hunt for a fairly inexpensive portable audio device that will hold at least two hours of music and have a decent battery life.
Well, I have found exactly what I have been looking for. I purchased a Sony MZ-R700 a week ago and I absolutely LOVE it.
Before I took the plunge, I researched all of Sony's MiniDisc as well as Creative Lab's Nomad Jukebox. I narrowed it down to either of those two products. I ultimately made my decision on the Sony based on the battery life. The battery life of the Nomad is only up to four hours and the battery life on the Sony MZ-R700 for playback in LP4 mode is 18 hours with the NC-WMAA Nickel Cadmium rechargeable battery that comes with the unit (the Sony Alkaline dry battery gives 53 hours of play back, this has to be purchased separately).
There are lots of features this MiniDisc offers. Once you record songs on a disc you have the ability to change the order of the songs, delete one specific song and record another in it's place without overwriting any of the other songs already recorded. You have repeat 1/all/shuffle modes. You can label the MiniDisc as well as each individual song (this is my only complain, it does take time to label every song on the disc, so you might want to think twice before starting this venture).
By far the most impressive feature that this unit as well as other Sony MiniDisc models have is the ability to record in MDLP mode. MDLP mode is unique to Sony products in which allows you to be able to record 5 hours of music on one single 80 minute MiniDisc. To me that is amazing. This is what I was looking for. When I read this feature I just figured the quality of the recording would be terrible and I wouldn't like to listen to my music. But I was all wrong. You have to hear it to believe it. The quality of the music is amazing. I can't tell a difference from the music on my computer to the recording (in MDLP4 mode) on the minidisc.
This unit also has what Sony calls G-Protection which allows you to jog, skate or do most other physical activities without affecting the playing ability of the unit. This is true with riding my motorcycle. As on can imagine there is a lot of vibration riding on a motorcycle. Because this unit is so small (3" X 3", .75" deep and about 14 oz in weight) I put the minidisc in my pocket while I'm riding my motorcycle. It has never skipped a beat.
There are lots of other features this minidisc offers, I just touched on the ones that stuck out for me.
I think anyone who likes music and is looking for a small personal audio device should consider the Sony MiniDisc, whether it be the MZR700, MZR750 (which includes an AM/FM radio), MZR800, MZR900 or MZR909. They all have their unique features but essentially they all are the same size, have the same battery life (for the most part), and allow you to record the same amount of music on a minidisc. It just depends on how much you are wanting to spend (160.00 for the MZR700 to 399.00 for the MZR909). My only suggestion is to steer clear of the "E" models those models only allow you to play minidisc and not record them.
What comes with this unit: a USB cable to record from your computer, headphones, and a Sony rechargeable battery with carring case for an extra battery.
40-second shock resistant memory and high quality recording with digital automatic gain control Dual headphone jack allows use of remote control while...More at Amazon Marketplace
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