Finally, a MiniDisc Player/Recorder for the Masses
Written: Dec 27 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good Price, Jog-Dial, Backlit Remote, User Friendly
Cons: None.. Really.. There are none!
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| tyscat's Full Review: Sharp MD-MS722 Personal MiniDisc Player |
I bought my 722 in August 2001 off of uBid.com. I had debated a MiniDisc player vs. an MP3 player for quite awhile. I decided on MiniDisc because blank 70 minute discs only cost about $4 while 64 megs for an mp3 player costs upwards of $120 or more. Honestly, I went with the 722 because the price was low and the features seemed good. It is my first MiniDisc player, so I didn't know what to look for or expect, but in the end, I have pleasantly surprised.
First of all, the 722 is a MD Recorder and Player. When I first started looking at MD players, I thought that they all could record. This isn't the case. There are a couple of different recording options. You can record analog audio (this is the option most people will use) or you can record digitally (assuming you have the right hardware, such as a soundcard or stereo system with a digital out port). You can also record using a microphone.
The 722 isn't the smallest player/recorder on the market. Sony makes smaller and lighter ones, but they cost a lot more. And this one is still pretty small. It is about the size of a 3x5 disk and about as thick as 6 disks stacked together. I use my player mostly at school. I leave the player in my backpack and use the remote control to change songs and adjust the volume and more. I really love the remote. It displays the track number, name of the song, volume level, and more. It also has a backlight so you can use it in the dark. You can even adjust the bass levels and the program mode from the remote. I really like Sony's slim stick remotes, but this one good too. It is about the size of a 50 cent piece and you can use any earphones you want with it.
There are too many features to list, so I'll point out the ones that I like the most. First of all, the jog dial is really great. It makes titling songs and making menu selections a lot faster and easier. When you record, you can adjust the recording levels. This is great if you are mixing songs are putting mp3's on a minidisc. You can adjust the levels so that all the songs are at the same volume level. Gone are the days of having to adjust the volume every time a new song started. Recording mp3's is easy too. Just plug the supplied record cable into the speaker jack of your soundcard and hookup your player and record! The battery lasts a long time (about 6 hours) and it recharges quickly too. You can also run the unit off of one AA battery for several hours.
One of the most overlooked features (in my opinion of course) is the ability to set tick marks when recording from a microphone. As a journalist, this works great when I am doing interviews. When someone says something I want to remember, I just hit a button and a mark is set. Later, when I am going back through the interview looking for quotes or soundbytes, I use the tick marks to find what I need. It is just like going from track to track on a CD. Each tick mark is its own track. I don't know if other MD recorders have this feature, but I am sure glad mine does.
Okay, I admit it, the 722 isn't perfect. There is one annoying thing I have found. When I am looking for songs to play in Winamp, my soundcard puts out a barely audible high pitched little screeching noise. This happens when I move the scrollbars in the file open window. You can set the 722 to start recording as soon as it senses music coming through the record cable. But when I am looking through my mp3's to find some more songs to put on a disc, the high pitched screech will sometimes cause the player to start recording. You have to stop it, delete the empty track, and start it again for the song. It only takes an extra 10 seconds to do all that, and this problem only happens about 10% of the time, but it is annoying.
All in all, I am extremely happy with my purchase. The 722 does everything I want and more. I got it for a good price and it came with more features then I expected. If I lost mine right now and had to buy a new minidisc player, I'd get the 722 again.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tyscat
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Member: Tyson Snow
Location: Provo, Utah
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Attorney practicing in Salt Lake City, Utah. I love riding BMX, reading, and stuff.
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