Hi-Fi In Your Pocket (Sony MD Walkman MZ-R900)

Member Name: TallTone

Product:	Sony MD Walkman MZ-R900
Date:	18/08/01 (1099 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: small & light, MDLP recording/playback, very good battery life

Disadvantages: not cheap, no radio

The Sony MZ-R900 is my first venture into the world of the MiniDisc (MD) format, and let me say from the outset that I am impressed. Thanks to the MiniDisc Long Play (MDLP) system and the supplied optical lead, you can record almost two-and-a-half hours of music in LP2 mode direct from CD onto a sturdy 74-minute disc costing less than a quid with no discernable loss of sound quality. MDLP will in fact allow you to double that recording time again, but at the cost of poor rendition of high-frequency sounds (such as acoustic guitar) - therefore I would not recommend the use of that particular mode (LP4) for anything but voice recording. Give it a go and judge for yourself if you decide to buy one of these little boxes of tricks, but remember that while recording it monitors the source - you will need to play your disc back to hear what has been laid down.

The supplied headphones give remarkable performance, especially in the bass department. My only niggle is that the cord length is ridiculously short - to listen without appearing to be committing a lewd act, you must wear the remote on your collar and thus look quite the prize idiot. Be prepared to spend at least £20 on replacements of equal or better sound quality - cheaper ones will be badly exposed.

The life of the custom battery is quite astounding. Quoted at 60 hours' playback from a 3.5 hour charge (remember to press the stop/charge button after connecting the included power adaptor!), it will easily last out a whole week of arduous commuting; alternatively it will quite happily record an entire disc and play it back to you at full volume on the way to work the next day.

While we're on the subject, I think it's worth pointing out that if you're used to recording a CD in seven or eight minutes, be it to hard drive or as a CD-R burn, going back to real-time, 1x speed transfer is going to come as a shock. At least you don't have all that messing about with leve
ls and timing that vinyl to tape requires - if you're recording digitally that is. As I already mentioned, Sony provide an optical cable to facilitate this that would normally set you back £20 - but make sure that you have an optical output on your CD player. This is sometimes labelled 'TOSlink' and looks like a square hole and should be plugged with an angular dust exclusion peg. Beware the output labelled 'S/PDIF', 'digital coaxial out' or plain 'digital out' and looks like the 'TV out' on your video recorder - this produces an electrical signal that will require a trip down Tottenham Court Road to get £45 worth of digital coaxial cable and conversion equipment before you can record. Any official Sony Centre will also be able to supply the converter bundled with the mains adaptor it requires, but chances are they will not keep it in stock and you will need to clearly state that you require a 'digital coaxial in to optical out converter' - the direction is important as the reverse is also available. Don't forget to buy a short length of digital coaxial cable to connect it to your CD player output. If your CD player only has a coaxial output, or no digital output at all, remember that DVD players can also play audio CDs - so if you have one, check its outputs before setting off for central London. Alternatively you could shun digital recording altogether and buy an analogue lead - these are available for £7.99 from the average high street electrical retailer. If you're thinking of recording your old vinyl or tape collection onto MD then you will need one anyway, but by recording through an analogue lead from a digital source you will be losing some sound quality and the automatic track marks that are transferred with the format, plus you may need to adjust the recording level.

The MZ-R900 is not cheap; the recommended selling price is £250, although you can pick one up from an internet reta
iler for £200 - and this figure will only go down as new models are introduced. Apart from the cost, the only thing against this little box is that there is no integrated radio. I don't think adding this extra would increase the size much and there is plenty of space on the fascia for base unit controls. It would be a challenge to add the functionality to the already versatile remote, but I'm sure it could be done with a little thought...

There are a few gimmicks included such as the auto volume limiting system (AVLS) which makes sure sound output does not rise above a certain (for me, fairly low) level, and the ability to vary the speed of playback by steps (a bit playing a 7", 45rpm single at 33 or 78rpm - fun for about 10 seconds). Sony also include a leather pouch with a belt-clip to carry the unit in, but it does seem a shame to hide those beatiful metallic silver or blue looks away (other colours are available, but not in the UK for some reason).

Overall, the MZ-R900 package is a fine offering, and if the lack of a radio is not a problem and you have the money to spare, I highly recommend it.

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