Sony Portable Mini-Disc Player/Recorder (MZ-G750DPC)

Minidisc continues to be the Rodney Dangerfield of recording media, i.e., it "don't get no respect." This is too bad; after all, minidiscs are small, exhibit terrific sound fidelity (it's unlikely that the average person can distinguish an MD recording from one made on a CD), and now can be stretched to record as much as five hours of material on a single disc. The newest recorder/players are so tiny they can fit easily into a shirt pocket. Minidiscs can be used to record music from cd's or MP3's, or can be used with a microphone to record lectures and conversations.

Incredible! Yet this amazing technology continues to languish as an afterthought within the U.S. electronics market as a whole, largely because of the domination of the commercial market by cd's and the existence of alternative types of players for MP3's (e.g., Cd/MP3 players and single-use MP3 players). Because people (including me) generally buy their music in the form of commercial cd's, using minidiscs requires some additional laborious steps that apparently discourage most people. You have to obtain a cd player with an "optical out", you have to use an optical connector (one is included with this Sony unit, by the way) to deliver the music from the cd to the md player, and if you want to be able to keep track of what's what on your md's, you have to devise a system for labeling your md's (this is actually kind of a fun activity, but I can see how some people might consider it simply "more work").

This is all too bad, since minidisc units like the MZ-G750DPC are amazing little pieces of technology that are fun to use and amazingly versatile. This is my second MD player, my first being a previous Sony model, the MZ-R55. This older unit was fine in most ways, but had one annoying flaw in that its battery capacity was a mere three hours or so unless one attached an external AA battery holder. And besides, it required an expensive Ni-MH "gumpack" rechargable battery. Newer units like the MZ-G750DPC, however, can play for six hours or more using a single rechargeable AA battery (these are cheap and easy to find), and will perform far longer using an ordinary AA alkaline battery.

Other improvements include the advent of the new MDLP technology, whereby the recording time of a minidisc can be either doubled or quadrupled. At 2x, there is virtually no discernable falloff in audio quality, but I would recommend the 4x setting only for the recording of voices and other non-music sources. This unit also comes with a small device for downloading music in MP3 form from the Internet. In light of the struggles that Sony, Sharp, and other md manufacturers have experienced in promoting minidisc in this country (it is far more popular in Japan and Europe), the industry has been actively promoting the concept of md as a device for storing and playing MP3 files.

The reason I bought this particular unit is that it comes with a remote control unit that includes an am/fm tuner of reasonably high quality. This renders the MZ-G750DPC even more versatile, a virtual all-in-one portable audio entertainment center.

The only reservation I would express about the unit is that because of its very versatility, it can be complicated to use. There are a LOT of commands and options, and so a purchaser had better not lose the instruction manual! Fortunately, the manual is decently written and illustrated.

Let's see: it has "G protection" so that it will skip only if you are running really, really fast; it has the capacity to allow users to insert introductory scrolling text onto their recordings (this is indeed laborious, but it can be done); it allows the insertion of track marks onto recordings that arrive as one long track (useful for dj mix sets or many Internet concert broadcasts); it comes with an AC adapter both for plug-in play and for recharging the battery-and it is very, very cool-looking, to boot.

All in all, this is a unit that should appeal to all music lover/gadgeteers. I think it's terrific.

I have just recently purchased this product and it is absolutely one of the best electronic investments I have ever made. It is light weight, easy to use, stylish, convenient, and has wonderful sound quality for a small minidisc player. In my opinion, this product was worth every penny! With this little device, you can record up to 4 CDs onto one minidisc! It also provides you with the Mega Bass system to enrich the sound quality. Plus it has Skip-Free G protection which is nice. The package includes a Digital PC link cable, a rechargable battery, a USB cable, an AC adapter, and a Digital Connecting cable. One of the advantages to having a portable minidisc player instead of an MP3 player, is that you can continue to make more and more MDs without having to worry obout the memory, where as with the MP3 player, you have to worry about how much memoryyou have taken up on the unit. What I like about this device, is that you can also access the radio with the small yet practical remote control and also edit. It also gives you 24 hours of playback with one Sony AA battery! Oh and did I mention that this little thing weighs only 4.2 ounces without the battery? One thing that did dissapoint me however was the fact that the LCD display on the unit as well as the LCD display on the remote control was not backlit. But overall this little life saver is an EXCEPTIONAL piece of equipment and is very reliable I might add. Hope this review was of help to you!

Buy Sony Portable Mini-Disc Player/Recorder (MZ-G750DPC) Now

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.

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Sony makes great products and this is one of them. I like their minidisc player because of its's small size and mine came with a free armband (carry case) so it's super easy for me to take it along while running or just working out (if you're looking for a non-skip workout player; this is it; mine hasn't skipped yet and I run, jump, and practice martial arts while I have it on). The pc connection makes it simple to burn a song onto the minidisc but it burns in "real time" so it can take a while... but if you have something like a windows media player on your pc you can copy any of your favorite songs from different cds or from the internet on a playlist [the minidisc's discs work just like a cd-rw so you can add and delete songs on them (and they come in neat colors)] and while your computer plays them back to you, the minidisc can be recording them. For anyone shopping for a minidisc~ you may want to opt for one of Sony's cheaper models; they have much better color options (this model only comes in silver unless they updated it) and you probably won't be using the radio much anyway unless you're a real radio buff, lit screens and lit remotes are nice too; I would tell you how nice but the model I bought didn't come with this option; also, being able to label your songs is nice and all but it takes a while so unless you REALLY want your songs labeled, don't make that a consideration. I'd rather have a cheaper lit model than one with song labeling capability & a radio but of course, that's just my personal preference. Last but not least, the rechargable battery is GREAT, I love not having to buy new batteries every month; when the batteries get low (I think they last about 4 hours or so??) just plug the minidisc into the wall and press charge; after it's fully charged it will shut off by itself or if you're at home, just listen with the unit plugged into the wall intead of using the batteries =) I haven't had and problems with the batteries draining unless I hit the play button up against something with the "hold" not on [this model when I bought it came with a battery case too so if it wasn't in use I could always remove the battery so it wouldn't turn on by mistake (and drain the batteries)]. If you're in the market for a portable minidisc player don't forget to shop around and keep an eye out for in store and online sales~ sometimes you can save a lot ^_^ Good Luck at finding a good deal and Xiexie (Thanks) for taking the time to read my review ^_^

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Buying this MD was one of the smartest thing I did, for several reasons. One because it's price is really good, also it comes with a great bundle (PC link...) also it has an FM/AM radio if you get tired of listening to your recorded minidisc, also it records with great sound and with the Lp2, Lp4 and Mono mode you save battery life and you have much more time to record songs.