Sony MZ-R70 MiniDisk Player/Recorder



Intro


MiniDisk Players are a wonderful combination of a CD-Player and MP3 Player. It can hold any type of audio you have. You can record your favorite CD to a minidisk or your favorite MP3 collection. You can even record .wav files or your own voice if the MiniDisk Player comes with a Microphone Jack. MiniDisks themselves are based on time similar to a cassette tape. You can have the highest birate MP3 or the longest .wav file that may take up 200mb, but that doesn't matter because as I said, they are based on time. MiniDisks allow you to store up to 74 minutes of any type of audio at any birate from any source. If something has an audio-out jack, you can record it.

The Sony MZ-R70 comes in two colors. A stylish blue and a metallic Silver. I got the silver one shown in the picture above. This is MY first MiniDisk Player/Recorder though it's not the only one I have seen or heard. I want to strees "Player/Recorder" because it can not only play, but it can record. Something some MD-Players cannot do. Unless you have a seperate MiniDisk Recording deck, you will want to get a Player/Recorder or else you will not be able to get audio onto your minidisks (make sure you remember this when looking for a MiniDisk Player) I also want to point out that this is NOT the MZ-R70PC which comes with USB cables.

Back to the review. The MZ-R70 is the best MiniDisk Player/Recorder that I could find for less than $200. You can find it as cheap as $167.88 at etronics.com (at the time of writing this review that is) This is where I bought mine. I have never dealt with this company before hand so naturally I checked on their return policy and how they handle damanged packages. It sounded good to me, so I went ahead and ordered it. Approximately 5 business days later, I recieved the MiniDisk Player via UPS ground.

In The Box


This is what I got in the box from etronics.

  • Sony MZ-R70 MiniDisk Player/Recorder
  • MZ-R70 Remote
  • Sony (MDR WO34) Headphones
  • AC Charger
  • "AA" battery w/case
  • Nylon Sony carrying case with "Sony Walkman" logo on it
  • Optical cable
  • Manuals

    The remote is rather pathetic actually. It's a shotty piece of plastic which does get the job done, but not in style. I'm used to the remotes that Sharp offers with Back-lit displays which come in very handy at night. Although sony does make remotes with backlit displays, one didn't come with the MZ-R70. Maybe next time Sony

    The headphones also (shown here) are pretty weak. They are very light which is nice but they become uncomfortable after an hour or so of listening. They sound decent, but I think the sound quality would improve with a different set of headphones. Although, the headphones disappointed me, it was expexted since I have never bought a personl audio device that had headphones that were actually good. This is just me, of course. So with the headphones out of the way, the only thing that I didn't really like was the remote. But as I said, it gets the job done. Though if you are the type of person that has to have everything flashy, you can order the remote for the MZ-R55 (older model) which has a back-lit remote from Sony.

    I was rather surprised it came with an Optical cable, but not an analog cable which is more commonly used. The optical cable is about three feet. I was also happy that a battery came with the package. One "AA" battery will last 17 hours.

    Specs


    While I'm talking about the specs, I'll give them to you. Ripped directly from Sony

    - Includes PClink (USB cable, PCLink converter and mini-mini stereo cable) for recording your favorite