Customer Reviews

Sony MDSJE480 MiniDisc Player / Recorder

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you like minisdiscs, this is a good recorder. The earlier version 500 series had more features. I miss the headphone jack, but like the SF edit that allows me to raise the entire volume of the disc. Overall, a good purchase.

I've always loved music, particularly portable music, be it 45s, 8 tracks, cassettes, cds, and our modern offerings. I recall when cassettes became so easy to create, we thought we had reached the promised land. Then the cd format stepped in and changed the world. Digital files and home computers opened some fantastic doors, while closing some others. I have an extensive collection of analog sourced music, and have fought the battle of converting it to digital for years. Until the purchase of this unit, I have been dissatisfied with the results. I have converted analog to wav or mp3 with mixed results, mostly with less that acceptable quality to both my ipod and MD. In respects to the MD, most of the problems seem related to the software Sony has provided us with. However, Sony has also presented us with a solution in respects to this unit. If you would like to take the computer out of the equation and simply record in a format superior to cassette, this is it. If you have the old skills of cueing music on a turntable, or other analog source, salvation is at hand. This device fits into your old component system via RCA cords, or by an optical cable (digital). Also, the basic understanding of making a cassette applies directly to the operation of this device. You have to realize that you won't be improving the sound quality of your analog recording, but you will be able to replicate it and carry it with you much easier than ever before. MD is a fantastic format for those of us who came from a different time and like to have the ability to physically change what is in the player, as opposed to sifting through the flash or hard drive of a portable player. For those of us with a portable MD player/recorder, and a home system, this should be a welcome addition to your audio toolbox.

The Mini Disc format lost out to inferior CDs, just because CDs came first. MD is a far superior format to any other consumer format available today. It's has editing capabilities that can't be performed with any other format. Such as, cut and paste, change volume level for any portion of a track/disc, full text entering and displaying. You can even make very good medleys with this system, by cutting and pasting bits of songs together. The disc itself is very, very durable compared to the CD format, The sound quality is as good as CDs. This format deserves to be number one choice of music lovers. Sorry, SONY.

I have been recording music as a hobby since I was a kid in the mid 1960s. I am familiar with all of the pre-computer formats. I find little joy in messing with a computer to make music. The best sound comes from the older, analog formats. If you have a good LP and turntable, that sounds the best. Reel-to-reel is awesome too and can make anything sound warmer.

I purchased the Sony 480 as an attempt to replace a DAT (Digital Audio Tape) deck I used to master certain projects. I expected less than I hoped for. I was pleasantly surprised. I use the slow "speed" to master my recordings and then dub (copy) tracks onto another minidisc recorded at standard "speed". Once I have what I want, I make a digital copy of the final minidisc onto a CD. The only thing I do not like about this deck is that the face plate is plastic. Otherwise, this machine is an "A". The power switching has a relay like expensive components, the remote is well made, there are useful features galore, everything works, and works well. I am scooping up two more before they disappear. How nice to have had this experience.

All electronics should work this easily. You hook it up, read the manual, play with it alittle bit and it works like a charm. I've been using two (home desk and car player) for 5 years now. They just seem to last forever.

As a DJ, I have been using the Sony MXD3 and MXD40 because they have the CD player and 4x burn speed to MD feature, they sold for around $375 back in 2002. Unfortunately, I can no longer find any new CD to MD burn unit except the Tascam unit which sells for $800. This Sony MDSJE480 is a MD play/rec only model and for around $121 seems to be the only unit available anywhere near this price point. Tascam has a MD only model that sells for $400. It is ashame that this medium never caught on here in the states, but is still very popular in Europe and Asia. The MD advantage over CD burners has always been the extensive editing features available, from splitting or combining tracks, renumbering tracks, titling tracks, rec on demand with a built in delay, etc. The remote is full of features. Unlike CDs, the MD is encased which eliminates the scratching and skipping that is always a headache for CDs. My only complaint is that I wish the display on this unit would be a 2 line readout like the MXD units instead of just 1. You can toggle from track title to track and total time remaining with a too small button to the left of the display, but it is annoying and time consuming, esp if you are a DJ and would like to see what track is cued and the time remaining. Of course, these were designed as home units and again for the money cant be beat.

I purchased this machine 18 months ago and have loved every use of it. I have not had a problem with this unit playing even warped discs. The only thing I wish it had was a peak level readout when playing back discs (it's only active during recording). The level readout is one of the things I missed about cassette decks (my JVC KD-D40 cassette deck had a 5-band spectrum readout! WOW!). Maybe it's because I am old and controlling. I think it's nice to see what's going on. An optical-out would have been nice too (it does have an optical-in).

It doesn't have any big bells and whistles. It's just a rock-solid workhorse. If you can find a decent used one in solid working shape, pick it up.

This is a great recorder. It supports the old MD format and the slightly newer MDLP format. It does not support Hi-MD. It is a good all around recorder for the cost. Keep in mind MD is a dead product.

Here is the not so great part: There is no digital out! Only a digital input. I solved this by tapping a hole in the back of the chasis and I added my own toslink transmitter. The cricuit board has a digital out, but Sony must have been trying to save money by not offering a digital output. This was impotant at the time because I used this recorder to get my recording out of the dead MD format onto CDs and ultimalty into WAV.

I play in a band. We hook this up to our mixer and create great recordings. We use these recordings for practice, writing songs, and self critique of live performances.

This is an excellent sounding, easy to use minidisc unit. The only obvious feature I can think of that it's missing is a headphone jack. I bought mine through Amazon and it was the best price around with free (and fast) shipping.