Customer Reviews

Sony MZ-R700DPC MiniDisc Walkman with Stick Style Remote

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After researching for weeks what MiniDisc recorder to buy, I decided that this is the best player for the price, and boy was I right? With the DPC you can record from ANYTHING. The PC link lets you record mp3s from your laptop (but beware: the recording is a 1:1 recording, no MP3 player like instant tranfers. To puy 80 minutes on a MD, it'll take 80 minutes), My Aiwa stereo has an optical out so I can record from that with pure digital clarity. I've used it to record my band, and it sounds great. You can separate tracks, combine them, and delete them all from the player. The MDLP modes that let you put 2x -4x more music on a MD work great, but the LP4 mode looses quality. The music sounds "muddy" and the stereo channels bleed into eachother, but for the convience of having all of an artists CDs on one MD it's worth it. LP2 has no loss in quality, and the whole unit is well made. For one, it's impossible to skip! I played catch with it and it still wont skip, and if I dropped it, it could take the hit. It's tiny as anything too! The only drawback is the remote doesn't have a display, but you can upgrade if need be. Forget the R900, it's too expensive for not enough features, if you shop right you can get this player for under $200, making it even better than the others. You cant go wrong with this player!

This is my first piece of MiniDisc equipment. Mine is is the metallic green version shown in the pic. I've never seen the silver in person, but I've seen the blue, and even if the thought of a green walkman turns you off, it's still a lot more striking than the blue, which isn't metallic like the green, but flat and dull. I think the lustrous sheen of the green gives it a much more expensive look. Anyway, I am mostly satisfied with this unit. It sounds great, although I have never used the bundled headphones with it, and I do wish the volume would go a little higher to compensate better for noisy urban enviroments. The controls are mostly easy to use, build quality is high. The MDLP mode is nice. Right now I only use it (LP2) for double albums and adding more remixes to the end of an album that would otherwise fit, but the sound quality is still really high and most people won't notice the drop in quality. Also, the remote is nice. While it feels a little cheap and doesn't have an LCD screen, the lever setup is rather clever. You'll probably want to upgrade to a better model of remote however, I aquired the RM-MC11EL for mine, which comes with the MZ-R900.

Some gripes I have is while the front casing is aluminum, the back is plastic, and loses its paint from friction on the edges rather quickly. Also, my unit does tend to skip from time to time, though I think the problem may be either dust on the heads or maybe just a defective unit. To access some commands, like the bass controls, you have to navigate through a menu system, which is sort of tedious. Lastly, the battery that came with it isn't the greatest... it gets the job done but you'll want to upgrade that too. The Xitel optical mp3 thingee is nice too, though to be honest I don't use it that much, instead dubbing CDs that I already own to MD.

Overall this is a solid performer, and much nicer to tote around (in your pocket) than a big clunky CD player.

I've been putting off buying a portable listening device since my last '90 Aiwa tape player. But after seeing the Minidisc in action - it's a definite buy and constant use gem.

Sound quality? Can you say OPTICAL input. You cannot get any better sound resolution than this; any decent DVD player has an optical out; decent CD players too. RCA IN is a plus (not included) and the PC IN option is mediocre - it is convenient with all the CD-R/PC/MP3 formatted music. It's got a two-stage added-bass feature that works quite well. The standard headphones are excellent - an updated version with position detents for fixed fit. The remote fob device is essential for total playback+record control once your MDplayer is tucked away in the pocket. (look for the RM-MZR55 remote with backlighting if you want to upgrade)

The unit has never skipped even with major motion, jostling, or shock. I haven't done a drop-test, but I'll skip it for now. The biggest drawback is the lack of a custom case/holster for the unit; it does come with a bag, but it isn't adequate for protection or carrying with any confidence. Plus, the lack of backlighting on the main unit is a bummer.

It comes with it's own AA ni-cad battery and charger, and runs for a prolonged period of time ~ 6 hours playback, 1.5-2x as long on a regular AA. The half-sized ice cream sandwich form kicks the CD portable players to the curb. It isn't as ubiquitous as some MP3 players - but why would you want to drop several dimes on something invisible. Personally, the anodized blue colored one has more impact than the silver, but the form and interface overall is a delight. The battery bulge just slightly cants the display up, the button separation and placement works great for easy access. I find excuses to block the world out and listen to high-fidelity music on the go.

I just bought this player, and I love it! I sold my old player (Sharp MD-SR60S) because I wanted one with the LP modes and also one that would support digital recording. After browsing Sony's extensive line of MD players, I chose this one because I thought it was the best value. The price was a little high, but I found some good deals on refurbished ones online, so I was all set! I decided on this one for two reasons. First, it has digital PC Link feature, allowing you to record digitally from your computer's USB port. Second, it had LP modes, allowing me to get tons of music on a single minidisc. The features are great. It has the editing features that I liked on my old one, and it's small, lightweight, and extremely easy to use. I was actually surprised to see that it came with 2 rechargeable batteries and the charging time is a mere 3 hours. After looking over the manual, I hooked it up to test the features. Windows XP automatically picked it up and made it the default output device (instead of the soundcard). The manual says to use LP2 (160 Minutes) or normal stereo (80 minutes) modes for best sound quality, but I can't tell the difference between the mp3 files on the computer and the sound quality on the MD. The only downside is the way the synchro-record feature inserts extra track marks all over the place! I found at least 15 extra track marks that were inserted, but removing them is relatively easy, so I can't complain. The battery has a long life (7.5 hours recording/18 hours playback in LP4 mode), which allows you to create a playlist on your computer, set the unit to record, and walk off as the computer goes through the songs. It's awesome! This thing is fun! If you can't decide between an MP3 player and a Minidisc player, the ultimate decision should be based on how much you're willing to pay. Sure, you can get an MP3 player with 20GB of memory, if you're willing to pay nearly [a price]. On the other hand, you can buy this for [a price] or less (Yahoo! Shopping), and never run out of space! Need minidiscs? No problem. They're [inexpensive]! Bottom line: This is the best Minidisc player/recorder for your money. The higher-priced models don't have much else, except maybe a fancier bass boost system or something like that.

The mini-disc player is a great technology and this model includes the ability to record live performances with a microphone (purchased seperatly) The system includes a USB/optical digital transfer of data from your PC to the MD however the capability to transfer digital music from the MD to the PC via the USB does not exist! In other words you can make great recordings of your band but you cant make an exact CD of that recording without going through the headphone and analog input jacks on your sound card. Why was this left out? Im sure nervous copywrite holders had some input into that decision!

This MD player isn't perfect. But it's close.
The duration one must hold the fastforward/rewind button in order to rewind was a bit unnerving at first, but I've quickly become used to it. And it definitely took a chunk out of my wallet, but it was worth it.
This model is so small that it seems like my pockets are drastically too large for just this device. The size is great -- it is the perfect size for the hand: smaller would be too small, bigger would begin to be bulky.
Of course, having the different variations of recording options is very nice, too. For MP3s, I can record over 5 hours on LP4 mode and have a huge mix that will last a trip to Irvine and back. I record my CDs on LP2 mode without any audible loss of quality, sometimes having up to 6 albums on one disc. A couple classical numbers I've recorded on Stereo mode, to preserve every note, as classical music is a bit more fragile than rock and roll. And the best yet! I can easily record all my vinyl albums to MD and have easily accessible and transportible digital copies, edited and divided into tracks without breaking a sweat.
And who can forget the tremendous battery life? By using the AC adaptor when I'm at home and recharging the battery once it gets low (just hit one button, no extra bulky charger) -- I have not drained even one battery in the innumerable hours I've spent listening to music with this.
No longer will I be annoyed when jarring motion causes my audio pleasure to halt. No longer will I be plagued by the demons that cause scratches on CDs. No longer will I have to carry a pocket full of spare batteries. No longer will I have anything in my wallet -- well, not for a while, at least, but I'll tell you -- it was definitely worth it.

Well, like most of you, I purchased an MP3 player and returned it a week later, due to poor battery life and expensive memory.

Before making my decision on a decent music device to purchase (for the gym and air travel), I read all the reviews here and found it most helpful (Thank you all for writing these reviews!)

Anyway, the only flaws I can mention for this Mini player, is the 1:1 for time it takes to record (loved the MP3 for that!) and the volume is not loud enough!!! - Thanks, Sony, for protecting my ears, but when I am in the gym (all the noise with wgts. and people working out) - the volume needs to be louder!

The Sony MZR700DPC player has an option where you can record songs manually (to increase the volume during playback), but the menu is so damn cumbersome, I can never find the "recVolume" function to adjust my volume while recording.

One more problem....and this is a small one....Why didn't Sony include a carrier with this Minidisc, instead of having its customer's mail away for it? (...)

Overall, as the other reviews have mentioned, this is the best music device for your money and your time! - I have never had a problem with skipping, and I get miles of hours out of a regular battery. Happy shopping!

This was a waste of money. The manual says that the line out can be connected to stereo system, but when I tried it, the sound was terrible. My old player was fine with line out (MZR55), but this one actually has less features.

I have two of these units for running. I've run 10K to marathon with a waist pack. I've tried them all and nothing beats a minidisc...not CD (still skips sometimes, bulkier), not MP3 (expensive media, very poor battery life). My unit gets 10 times the battery life of an MP3 player (30+ hours), has never skipped even with sprinting, and easily allows transfer of my CD collection to minidisc. I also purchased a home CD/MD deck that allows high speed dubbing AND capture of complete songs off the radio with a delayed 6 second buffer. Only negative: I have yet to find a good waist carrier and had to modify a Tune Belt. Add one of these to an Ironman Fuel Belt and you have everything...water, music and a pocket for keys and money.

Sony has the final word in audio at this point in time. I have 5 hours 20 min of audio (actually prayers) on my minidisk player right now. It has changed my life. I purchased a very high quality neoprene belt holder from Best Buy for the unit and it works perfectly -I wear it all day and no one notices.
Battery time is phenomenal. I use rechargeable batteries and replace the SINGLE double A battery only once every three days. Praise God! A CD portable player would suck batteries in half a day (I've had four or five). Also, doing your prayers is not an easy activity, and when you have to switch a CD or replace a battery, that's usually where you leave off and go do something else.
The software DOES NOT WORK. It works if you do not care what order you put your tracks in. For example, I drag and drop a track onto my playlist and sometimes it puts it at the bottom but most of the time it puts it on top. That means you have to drag your favorite song on last. So put worst to best. But that wont work because a small portion will drag and drop anywhere sometimes last.
The worst part is when you move the tracks. You'd think you could just drag a track to the position you want -especially since a black line appears showing where it would land -but no, it often times yanks back to where it was, but strangely one space above where it was. So if a track is twenty tracks down and you drag it up you will find it rebounds back to 19 tracks down, then 18, then 17 etc. Now, when you do finally get the track in the right place everything above it is fine, but below it changes. So if 36 tracks are fine except the 34th track needs to be in the 7th place, everything from 1-7 will be fine, but everything after 7 will get juggled around -its insane -I have spent hours trying to get playlists right -its absolutely crazy!!!
My fix was to create a new folder in my Sound Forge program folder (Sound Forge is a piece of software that came with my Sound Blaster sound card that records music from various sources and allows you to cut and paste etc. within a piece of music). I copy my music files and then paste them into my new folder -lets say "playlist 1" thus I leave the original music in tact and have a manipulateable copy which I can rename with a number in front of. So in my "playlist 1" folder I rename each track with 1-9 in the order I want. Then I make a second folder called "playlist 2" for tracks 10-99 because windows alphabetizes by first letter and puts #10 after #1.
Now, DO NOT FORGET that you will never be able to change the format you put a track into unless you change its name. I accidently recorded once in LP2 instead of LP4 and my CD was only half as long. I even uninstalled all sony programs off my hard drive and scoured all my folders and when I reinstalled the tracks still came up "optimized in LP2" So I was getting CDs with LP2s and LP4s on them. My above playlist folder fix ends the problem.
The software loads automatically without any choices before during or after -it just loads and askes you to agree to contracts about 10 or 11 times -who knows what all the software it loads are? I have found one horrible thing thus far. I found it because Norton Internet Security claimed it was trying to access the internet (I blocked it). My computer was crashing every time I clicked any personal file I wanted to open in Word, Excel, Photoshop, Sound Forge, and my computer was going so slow I couldn't stand it.
All such trouble went away after I uninstalled this mostrous Webhancer garbage that claims in its documentation that it silently sends over the internet the users habits and patterns to a central database.
I am not the type to take the effort to SUE SONY, but someone will since this unsolicited software is silently installed on the users computer without any choice whatsoever (there is no choose the software you wish to load option at any point -just "I accept this agreement" buttons a dozen times"). It then silently relays personal information to who knows where and it hurts productivity by slowing down your computer. Since the Minidisk player can accept a microphone and record 5hrs 20min of voice at CD quality, many executives, professinals and inevitably, lawyers will start using it.