Aural Pleasure (Panasonic SJ MJ88)

Member Name: assistant_14

Product:	Panasonic SJ MJ88
Date:	05/03/02 (439 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great sound quality, Good battery life, Sexy Looking

Disadvantages: Easily scratched

Minidisc has always been a very underrated format. It has been around in one form or another since the very late 80's but unfortunately it has never had the success it deserves. With the discovery of a technology which allows the conversion of .mp3 from the internet onto MD comes a new breath of life for a format that was starting to struggle and gasp for air.

Luckily for Minidisc the .mp3 players brought out so far have some serious problems. Not least of these is that in order to get a decent amount of tracks onto an .mp3 player you need a huge amount of storage and in order to get that you need very, very deep pockets. So with Minidisc set to get a second life over the coming months which players out there have caught my eye.

Having already got a Minidisc deck in amongst my HiFi separates I decided that it would be a waste of my hard earned money purchasing a playing and recording portable Minidisc player as I had the facility at home already. That decision narrowed the field dramatically and with a budget of about £140 I set off for Currys (I actually work there so I am slightly biased). Upon heading for the Minidisc cabinet I already knew from a bit of research that I really had a choice of two Brands that were any good. Sony, the original creators of the Minidisc and the manufacturer with the most models, and Panasonic who have entered the race slightly later but whose recent players have been of an excellent standard. After weighing up the options I decided to go for the Panasonic and this opinion is going to tell you why and how I got on.

For starters the Panasonic I chose is the SJ-MJ88, which is billed as the smallest and lightest MiniDisc player in the world. This has got to be true as the unit is really very small. Exactly what you want for something that you are going to be carrying around in your pocket a lot. Its shiny silver and blue and very good looking at that, with buttons located on the edges and volume settings
on the back of the unit it is not only attractive but very functional as well and although small is by no means delicate. It is one of the most solid feeling MD players that I have had experience with (this is my third).

The unit includes features such as an amazing 88-hour battery life provided by its flat dry cell Ni-Cd battery. This is very impressive and close to being the best in its class. Not only is the battery life excellent but the battery is also tiny allowing you to carry a few spares and not take up too much room and also allowing the player itself to be tiny. Also included in the box is the usual AA battery adaptor that allows you to use the MD with the trusty old AA batteries if your Ni-Cd runs out. Included in the box is also the charger that you need in order to top up your battery with juice when it runs out. Other features include a 40 second anti shock which is pretty much standard on all players now and also the Panasonic X-Bass system to give tracks that extra bit of bass.

The MJ88 is not exactly a feature packed device but my point is that it doesn’t really need to be. All I looked for when choosing my Minidisc was something that was small, light and played MDs to a good quality. This is what I found in the MJ88 and it does what it does well. The remote with it includes a backlight screen, which my old Sony never had, and the use of dry cell batteries allows for a smaller lump in your pocket when in use.

The headphones that come with the MJ88 are excellent and very comfortable even after prolonged usage. They are also very stylish in silver to match the MJ88. The sound quality produced by the player is fantastic and even beats my Sony. MD technology has really moved on in the last year or so and now the quality is so good that it is hard to tell the difference between MD and CD. The MJ88 has an excellent weighty sound and doesn’t strain at higher than usual volumes. It even has a special mode on the r
emote called train that attempts to block out noise coming from outside your headphones. This is definitely a very clever feature but with the train strikes going on at the moment it may not get used that often.

Without a doubt the MJ88 is an excellent player and without it College would be very boring. Definitely worth a look if you are in the market for a new minidisc player. Its in the Currys sale at £139.99 but that ends soon and will be available at £149.99 at all good electrical retailers.

Summary: