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Average Reviewer Rating:
 
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Number of Reviews:
21
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( Displaying Reviews:
1 - 10 )
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a good machine but a short life...
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Reviewer: Anonymous
from LILLE,north of franceby
November 12, 2002
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i bought this recorder 2 years ago and admitt that's a good product,sounds like a cd even in the lp4 mode,but often bugs during the play;but however i used every dayabout 4 hours of recording (radio most of the times)and 4hours listening i still think that sony has to make an effort about the mécanism,may be i'm wanting too much considering the price of this md...?,well ,i noticed the sames problems of fiability with tapes or cds walkman from sony..but here in france,panasonic or jvc minidiscs recorders are not easy to find,i think ,or i wish..?,you can keep those recorders longer than 2years...this is my experience with the mzr700,really good,but it doesnt last enough...by the way this website is great...so long,mdfans...
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Fantastic
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Reviewer: Anonymous
from Adelaide, Australia
June 28, 2002
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I know that some mp3 players are smaller than md, but if i had anything smaller than a md i would loose it somewhere in my room plus md sounds heaps better. MD rocks!
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0
out of 1
people found this review helpful
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Good, if you treat it properly!
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Reviewer: Anonymous
from NYC, NY
February 20, 2002
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The 700 is a good unit, although the build quality on the newer budget priced MDLP models are definitely inferior to those of old. More plastic construction. I had it for a few days until it cracked in my bag, the chassis broke and the mechanism which closes the door also broke. The most annoying thing was the glass above the LCD cracked, which is difficult to repair, as Sony DOES NOT fix any physical damage. Cost me a good amount, well over 50 dollars to have that simple part replaced, including the labor, and then Sony fixed the unit, the door and also any other problems. The whole Sony process took about 3 weeks, to send it and then recieve it back, although it came back in perfect condition.
Music is great, for the undiscerning listerner, the MDLP modes are quite fine, for the more discerning listener, LP2 is still a great mode, LP4 might be too flangey and the channel seperation might not be good enough either. All in all, a quality unit, put NO pressure on the front and do not drop it though!
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2
out of 2
people found this review helpful
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A Great Buy In Nearly All Aspects
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Reviewer: Michael (mwno1@hotmail.com)
from UK
February 07, 2002
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After reading many reviews i finally decided to shell out for a minidisc, having heard many other people MD's i knew how great long play was, i could not tell the difference between LP2 and normal yet it meant twice as much music, the battery life seemed a lot better on the MZ-R700 than on all the 500s i had tried, id borrowed a few to try out, the 900 i was impressed with however i didnt think it was worth the extra money and it seemed to me that the treble didnt sound as good although the bass was the same, in terms of features everything you need is there, as for jogging, it has never jogged for me even though ive tried to make it, the remote is very good as well, people have critised it for being cheap looking and not having a screen however i just clip it to my inside pocket and use it to go back and forth between songs, i dont look at it so thats not a problem, the headphones that come with this let it down, i bought a new pair the day after i got it, i didnt realise how much better the ones i was using when i was just borrowing were, so i now have a pair of sony groove which apart from being very bad for my ears are great, if you are looking for a LP MD recorder then look no further
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Good and basic, but funky in ways
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Reviewer: Anonymous
December 27, 2001
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I hope some of this helps someone new to the world of MiniDisk recorders or those planning to upgrade. I'm comparing the MZ-R700 to my trusty old Sharp MT-15(S), which has widely been known to be a no frills unit and still can be purchsed for under $100 (US)...You decide.
Pros
Small. About half the thickness of the MT-15 and weighs about 1/2 less.
MDLP- Don't let this gimmick fool you, it is useful in some applications and others not. 2x mode is acceptable for most general CD or MP3 recording but 4x really stinks. However, if you need to record lectures or "talk radio" programs, 4x dose great and being able to record up to 320 minutes on one disk is priceless.
Bundled PC Link- Mine came with the Xitel MD Port DG2, this is a TRUE USB to optical interface. But beware, some MD units (MZ-R37) come with the Xitel AN1 which is USB to analog, and in some cases sounds worse than taking a direct line out from your PC's soundcard. The AN1 I tried added about 20 hiss to the recordings and it could be heard with no audio signal.
Manual AND auto level control- Auto level control works fine for digital recording, but FORGET it when recording loud analog sources (mic or line). If you don't like clipping or that all too familiar "pumping" effect don't use ALC.
This feature has sucked since the days of cassettes and it still dose.
AC Adapter, Headphones, rechargable battery and remote are all included, but be sure to read "cons" below.
Cons
NO ANALOG SYNC!!- This seems to be an oversight in Sony's MD units and it's irritating. Sync recording can ONLY be done with an optical cable. My MT-15 can do both analog AND digital sync and it dose it flawlessly. The MZ-700 coupled with the optical PC-Link misses 1/2 to 1 second of the beginning of each recording session. Why dose Sony even include sync record when it can't be done in analog AND if you diable it, it's still active via optical cable!?!
To avoid the above, get ready to use two hands, one on the R700 and one on your mouse to begin recording.
Ergonomics- Sorry Sony, Sharp has you beat hands down on this one. Why do I ALWAYS have to scroll through a menu just to get manual recording levels? And if I want to change them I have to put it on pause? Sharp's can be changed on the fly...which is wonderful.
Flakey Bass- The depth and dynamics of the bass reduces considerably when the volume is turned beyond 75, whereas the MT-15 can pound your ears out.
Remote- Handy but very cheap and cheaply made.
Headphones- All stock headphones suck.
Rechargable battery- Only a 700mAh nickle cadmium!? How about a 1300mAh nickle metal hydride instead? It'll last twice as long, have no memory effect and should only cost about 10 cents more.
All in all the MZ-R700 is decent but if any of the above really gets your goat, or if you don't need the frills, go with an older and cheaper closeout model. They all do about the same, except for MDLP.
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13
out of 13
people found this review helpful
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A GREAT BUY!!!
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Reviewer: spi_mike@yahoo.com
from texas
December 06, 2001
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this is the greatest digital product that iv bought. i use it for everything(record classes, cd's, to redord the audio part of my videos, excersize with it ,even run with it, and record local bands for editing, for home/car audio.
the earphones suck but thats the only thing thats bad.
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student, cinamagrapher, audiographer |
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Some Drawbacks.
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Reviewer: m-a-l@asianavenue.com
from Toronto
November 26, 2001
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Since almost everyone has given this unit a raving review, I will list some drawbacks.
1. Compared to other MD units, the 700 has a loud motor especially when first turning on the player or at the end of the disk and esp intermitantly when recording. This can be embarrassing when you're in a class or meeting and all of a sudden there is a somewhat lound noise coming from a small case.
2. Most disturbingly, this unit does skip (and its not a manufacturing flaw) When I clip it to my hip when jogging, it WILL SKIP and unlike CD players, there will be no music for about 3 seconds. Clipping the unit near the front of the pants will prevent it from skipping. Perhaps the hip bone jars the unit when jogging.
3. Remotes is very difficult to use and you'll most prob want a better pair of head phones.
Other than that, I agree with most of the other reviews. BOTTOM LINE. SONY MD players DO SKIP IN THE REAL WORLD (not shaking it by hand like a mad man)
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Student |
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1
out of 3
people found this review helpful
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Good entry level portable MD recorder
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Reviewer: Andrew
from Singapore
October 08, 2001
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I got the MZ-R700 sometime in April 2001. It is the one and only MD unit that I've used. I use this unit mainly for listening to my MP3 collection while on the streets. Let's admit it, when I'm home I'd rather use the CD player so personally I feel that MDs are for use while running around. Anyway the 700 performed well in terms of expected sound quality, although you might not realise it because of the crappy earphones that came with it. I got a pair of budget Aiwa HPV165 in-ear buds for less than 10 bucks and it almost blew me away. However I feel that sound quality has a lot to do with the earphones you use, obviously the supplied phones is a sore point. Go get better pair, something like the Aiwa or the Sony 888. As for user-friendliness, I find that keying in track names was a chore and would recommend it only for long rides on the trains or buses. The play, ff, rw and stop buttons were placed on the same circular panel, a good designed because it reduces the number of separate buttons, allowing me to operate the unit effeciently without having to take the unit out of my pocket. The display panel wasn't important to me but I feel that it would do better to have backlight because the overlying plastic cover is highly reflective. The remote was another disappointment, the use of plastic makes it look cheap and I found that it wasn't that easy to use because the controls were cramped together. Anyway I leave the remote home most of the time. Battery life was acceptable for the supplied NiCad batteries but I feel that Li ion should be the standard given the drop in prices of batteries.
Overall it's a good entry level unit though with hindsight I should have gotten the cheaper R500 because I have no use for remote and mic recording. The R700 goes for slightly under US$200 while the R500 costs around US$160.
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College student |
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7
out of 7
people found this review helpful
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True digital recording of all media
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Reviewer: Joe (bermeomex@hotmail.com)
from Mexico
June 22, 2001
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This is by far the best MD portable that has been on my hands! I also have an MZ-R70 which is really similar physically but lacks a lot of advantages included in the MZ-R700DPC.
First, with MZ-R700DPC you can make recordings using MDLP technology, which by far is going to finally let people know that MP3 is just a way of sending music over the net, but MD is the way to have them go with you! Specially with the DigiLink included, since you can truly record all media types digitally and the quality is outstanding, sometimes "better than the original" since the D/A and Output sections of the MD are a lot better than most sound cards available! Portable MP3 Player? What for??? With MDLP you can have up to 320 min. of recording time using one 80-min disc!
Another extra, buy a stereo mike (I highly recommend Sony ECM-DS70P) and you can have brilliant recordings from nature sounds or whatever turns you on, in stereo! yowza!
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11
out of 15
people found this review helpful
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Unskippable, and unbeatable.
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Reviewer: Jeremy Crabtree (jeremyc@tmbg.org)
from Texase, USA
June 17, 2001
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This is the first MD unit I've ever owned, and I think it is a great unit to start with. I've wanted to get into the MD scene sinc the technology was invented (when I was only 12), but I haven't ever had the cash until now. So, after much research, I bought the R700DPC. I am not disappointed. This thing is incredible, even when dropped (accidentally mind you) three feet to the floor it did not skip. The sound quality is excellent. The soundstage is utterly immersive. I have found myself listening to tracks that were recorded live, and looking around for the "people behind me" only to realize that, D'oh!, that was the recording. The LP2 mode is great quality, good enough to dupe CDs two to an MD. LP4, however, is not good at all...unless you want to, as I will when classes start again, record lectures. For voice LP4 is excellent. This is also a really slick looking unit. I wasn't brave enough to try the lime green, so I went with blue, but the blue is VERY nice looking. The included headphones sound pretty good, though not as good as my (Koss) A200's. All in all, this is a great unit, it's durable, and affordable. My only complaint is that I don't enough discs...YET!
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Permanent student, and music addict |
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10
out of 10
people found this review helpful
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