Unbelievable product, but open your wallet
Written: Oct 08 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Size, Ease of Use, Weight, Features, Great Sound and Battery Life.
Cons: Its from Japan and the earphones stink.
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| witz's Full Review: Sony Walkman MZ-R91 Personal MiniDisc Player |
I am not one to make a purchase like this lightly. My friend here in New York had showed me the real advantages of MiniDisc, but I remained dubious. Thus began six weeks of ludicrously detailed research - the result being the purchase of this supercool, barely there chunk of japanese supernanotechnology.
If you are reading this review, you are in doubt already wise to minidisc's many advantages. You are also fairly aware that there is a serious uprising bubbling up when in it comes to MiniDisc - its getting more popular by the day. Rather than buy a cheap player, I decided to take full advantage of the portability by getting this very light player right from Japan. Why the mz-r91?
1. The brand. SONY has a good reputation. Being a pioneer of MD helps as well. This unit is very popular in Japan, a country known for its MD obsessiveness.
2. Slightly better than the mz-r90. While being basically the same unit, the mz-r91 is slightly more robust - a tad (like 4 grams) heavier, with a less "cheap" feel than the mz-r90.
3. Ease of use. Its so easy I barely read the instructions. The controls are pretty intuitive though, but only for someone who is into gadgets.
4. Size. Its light. Really really light. I barely notice it in my pocket. Really.
5. MP3s. Lets face it - $3 on a minidisc beats a $75 flash memory card any day.
That said, I did find some HUGE cons with this unit, so be prepared.
1. The earphones. They stink. You are better off buying higher end Sony earbuds, which work like a charm. I got the Sony MDR-ed268LP earbuds and they sound FANTASTIC. Sadly that tagged $50 onto the price.
2. The power. Yes, people selling the unit to you will say the Japan to US voltage difference is neglible, but is still enough to cause problems over time with the unit. I got around this problem by buying a battery charger, which can work on any voltage all over the world. It also means I always run the unit on battery power, but that has not been a problem. Consider this as well, the charge was another $50. Its way better than using the unit to charge the battery, though. Japan has 100v, the US has 110-120v. The percent difference does have an effect on the unit. Check out minidisc.org for more details.
3. Warranty is only 3 months outside Japan. Since this is an export unit, you can buy a warranty from a place like WarrantyNow. They will warranty the unit for 3 years for 40 bucks or so.
Otherwise, great unit! I jumped right into Minidisc with this unit as my first, and its well worth the expense.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
witz
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Location: new york, new york
Reviews written: 1
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