Sony MiniDisc recorder > Reviews (1)

When I first purchased Sony's MZ-R900 minidiscrecorder, I didn't have to even open the manual to use it. The buttons are very simple to use - volume, stop, record on the front of the device; play, search, fast forward and rewind on the edge of the minidisc player on a jog dial. A separate jog dial allows menu navagation.

After recording some music onto a blank minidisc, I found that the sound quality of the MZ-R900 is great - there is no loss in quality. I also discovered that I had an optical connection on the back of my Playstation 2, which can also be used to connect the minidisc player to it.

The case supplied with the MZ-R900 is very handy, and although I have had the player for a year now, there is not even a fingerprint on it! I have simply used the 'hold' function on the device itself to stop accidental button pressing and used the remote control, which has a total of 11 functions (display mode, play mode, repeat/enter, sound mode, pause, hold, play, stop, fast forward, rewind, search and volume. There is also a pleasant green backlight!). One negative point is that there is no record function on the inline remote.

The look/style of the MZ-R900 is wonderful. It is very small (slightly larger than a minidisc in length/width and about 4 times as thick as a minidisc). The upraised Sony logo adds a feel of authenticity to the device and the whole minidisc player is made of metal, making it more durable. The button to open the minidisc player and change discs is at the top of the button, and is chrome. This button is easy to press, but the lid of the player pops up too suddenly, in my opinion, and takes some of the functional beauty out of the device.

Finally, the leather case included with Sony's MZ-R900 is very nice as it is not too bulky and has a soft inside to protect the device. It also has a belt clip, which comes in handy when going out for a stroll in the park. It could, however, do with a small pocket on the side for the remote control, as I find it a bit annoying to wrap the remote around the player each time I put it away. Overall, the MZ-R900 is a great minidisc player, offering hours of music with its MDLP compression and portablility with its very small body.

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Other great features
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-The slimline battery lasts quite a long time, and makes the case of the minidisc player quite small.
-The headphones can be disconnected from the remote, so the minidisc player can be connected to the aux. input of a stereo system.
-The player can be paused while recording, so sounds can be selected without a hurry.
-The minidisc player automatically detects track changes and makes a new track on the minidisc being recorded onto. This is sometimes a problem, because pauses in the sound being recorded can provoke the player to make a new track.