Sony MZ-R700DPC MiniDisc Walkman with Stick Style Remote
By: Sony Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 24
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 On: 2008-06-11
I could never understand why all the people I knew I had 3 or 4 ipods (most of them broken) but my ipod had stayed alive for the past 3 or 4 years. Then my ipod broke. I was crushed!!!
It was then I rediscovered this little gem - ahhh my old minidisc player! Massively underrated, much beloved.
I bought this model about 7 or 8 years ago. I realize, its "obsolete" - but its got so much going for it. My biggest agony with the ipod breaking is that due to the amount of music I have purchased, Im stuck buying another ipod forever - or burning dozens of cds and then ripping them all back into my computer. Or alternatively, I can take a minijack to minijack and plug it into any computer or audio source and grab what I want. How easy is that?
It may seem pretty far out but studies have proven that too much choice can make people unwell, anxious - sick! Im a cronic shuffler. With my ipod I catch myself constantly shuffling my entire collection - skipping 95% of my music. With 4000+ songs, what the heck should I listen to? Too much choice!!! Too much choice!! I cant handle it! Music is supposed to be nice!!!
All resolved with the minidisc! Due to space limitations I had only my actual favorites on the discs, and every disc was "made with love" - not some playlist thrown together in five seconds on iTunes.
Other perks? the battery lasts a million years unlike with my dead ipod. And the fact that it accepts regular batteries is unbelievably handy for traveling, too.
I just really, really wanted to sing the praises of this little machine. Let the kids give Apple all their money. Ill be the square on the train fumbling with a collection of discs.
On: 2004-01-29
I BOUGHT ONE A WHILE AGO AND IT WAS SO GOOD I BOUGHT 2, I AM SELLING ONE IN MINT(PERFECT) CONDITION FOR 199.99 ON THIS SITE... CHECK IT OUT IT IS WELL WORTH YOUR TIME.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-06-30
i have had it for 1 year and it play good and does not skip and i will be using it for the frist time in my car so i dont no how it will sound but i hop it will sound good
On: 2003-05-11
Ive had this model (Sony MZ-R700) for over 2 years now. I love it so much and HIGHLY recommend it. The audio quality is excellent -- I record in LP2 mode most often and cannot tell the difference in quality between that and Sp mode. The size of the walkman is perfect -- small, portable, and easy to reach into your pocket and fiddle with. Operating the recorder is very easy -- especially when you use the SYNC RECORD method (hooked up to a digital output). Ive even recorded from VHS tapes and my old turntable (LPs) onto minidisc and the quality is amazing. The only thing I can complain about is the TMARK system of placing "markers" on the disc. The process of combining or removing markers is a bit convoluted -- it took me a while to master it. It is possible to do some basic "editing" with markers, but be ready for a learning curve. The other complaint is that, much like Apple users, you will be one of the few (but lucky) owners of a minidisc player/recorder. If sharing music is important, then think about your minidisc purchase. If you like, for instance, to make mix-discs for your friends, then think about how many of your friends have a minidisc player. If you are simply looking for an excellent, portable way to listen to music, then MD is the way to go!! Also, using the PC connect is a great tool -- Ive transferred MP3s from my computer to minidisc effortlessly. With my Dell laptop I had to change a few audio settings to get the tracks to output correctly to the MD player. Thats more of a laptop problem than a Sony MD problem, though. So .... if you are on the fence about MD player/recorders, DONT BE. This model is great.
 On: 2002-12-28
I bought this about one year ago (2001, Dec.). I loved it. It was light, and also very easy to operate. However, it broke right after the warranty (2002, Dec.). I had no idea why it broke....I didnt drop it...didnt abuse it.... it just died.So disappointed.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-11-03
Buy this electronic device!!! Trust me. I bought mines ... and i love it. ... I am not sure about the others but Sonys players are especially reliable. Mines has taken a couple hard falls and still works perfectly. Unlike my friends Aiwa which broke ... . Minidisc players are the new way to go. Besides looking more appealing, they fit alot more songs on disks then cds and the disks are more convenient. They are alot smaller and cant get scratched up like cds. I can do mostly anything with my minidisc player. I go jogging in the morning everyday and not once have i heard a skip, which used to happen on my cd player quite often when i was just walking. So get a mindisc player. It is alot more cheaper than buying a burner ... and then keep buying disks that can get messed up. Trust me its worth the money
On: 2002-10-07
I bought one about a year ago, and it is so cool. Its very
small and convenient, and I think its very "slick." Its not that hard to learn how to use, and the screen is easy to read. Plus you only have to carry around your favorite songs, and only in a few discs that are the size of a playing card. The only problem I have with it is that it records at a low volume so you need a good pair of head phones to go with it.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-08-16
I am in college and bought a sony MD player last summer. I use it all the time, it is great for studying because you can put about five hours of music on it. I have only had one small problem: One of the screws on the door fell out. The problem was small, the Player still functioned, and when I got home sony fixed it for me. It is also one of the most resillient players I have ever owned, I took it running (no skipping), lifting, and any other place I could. I droped it a lot but never had a problem, not even a skip.
On: 2002-06-02
I just bought this player, and I love it! I sold my old player (Sharp MD-SR60S) because I wanted one with the LP modes and also one that would support digital recording. After browsing Sonys extensive line of MD players, I chose this one because I thought it was the best value. The price was a little high, but I found some good deals on refurbished ones online, so I was all set! I decided on this one for two reasons. First, it has digital PC Link feature, allowing you to record digitally from your computers USB port. Second, it had LP modes, allowing me to get tons of music on a single minidisc. The features are great. It has the editing features that I liked on my old one, and its small, lightweight, and extremely easy to use. I was actually surprised to see that it came with 2 rechargeable batteries and the charging time is a mere 3 hours. After looking over the manual, I hooked it up to test the features. Windows XP automatically picked it up and made it the default output device (instead of the soundcard). The manual says to use LP2 (160 Minutes) or normal stereo (80 minutes) modes for best sound quality, but I cant tell the difference between the mp3 files on the computer and the sound quality on the MD. The only downside is the way the synchro-record feature inserts extra track marks all over the place! I found at least 15 extra track marks that were inserted, but removing them is relatively easy, so I cant complain. The battery has a long life (7.5 hours recording/18 hours playback in LP4 mode), which allows you to create a playlist on your computer, set the unit to record, and walk off as the computer goes through the songs. Its awesome! This thing is fun! If you cant decide between an MP3 player and a Minidisc player, the ultimate decision should be based on how much youre willing to pay. Sure, you can get an MP3 player with 20GB of memory, if youre willing to pay nearly [a price]. On the other hand, you can buy this for [a price] or less (Yahoo! Shopping), and never run out of space! Need minidiscs? No problem. Theyre [inexpensive]! Bottom line: This is the best Minidisc player/recorder for your money. The higher-priced models dont have much else, except maybe a fancier bass boost system or something like that.
On: 2002-05-25
Sony has the final word in audio at this point in time. I have 5 hours 20 min of audio (actually prayers) on my minidisk player right now. It has changed my life. I purchased a very high quality neoprene belt holder from Best Buy for the unit and it works perfectly -I wear it all day and no one notices.
Battery time is phenomenal. I use rechargeable batteries and replace the SINGLE double A battery only once every three days. Praise God! A CD portable player would suck batteries in half a day (Ive had four or five). Also, doing your prayers is not an easy activity, and when you have to switch a CD or replace a battery, thats usually where you leave off and go do something else.
The software DOES NOT WORK. It works if you do not care what order you put your tracks in. For example, I drag and drop a track onto my playlist and sometimes it puts it at the bottom but most of the time it puts it on top. That means you have to drag your favorite song on last. So put worst to best. But that wont work because a small portion will drag and drop anywhere sometimes last.
The worst part is when you move the tracks. Youd think you could just drag a track to the position you want -especially since a black line appears showing where it would land -but no, it often times yanks back to where it was, but strangely one space above where it was. So if a track is twenty tracks down and you drag it up you will find it rebounds back to 19 tracks down, then 18, then 17 etc. Now, when you do finally get the track in the right place everything above it is fine, but below it changes. So if 36 tracks are fine except the 34th track needs to be in the 7th place, everything from 1-7 will be fine, but everything after 7 will get juggled around -its insane -I have spent hours trying to get playlists right -its absolutely crazy!!!
My fix was to create a new folder in my Sound Forge program folder (Sound Forge is a piece of software that came with my Sound Blaster sound card that records music from various sources and allows you to cut and paste etc. within a piece of music). I copy my music files and then paste them into my new folder -lets say "playlist 1" thus I leave the original music in tact and have a manipulateable copy which I can rename with a number in front of. So in my "playlist 1" folder I rename each track with 1-9 in the order I want. Then I make a second folder called "playlist 2" for tracks 10-99 because windows alphabetizes by first letter and puts #10 after #1.
Now, DO NOT FORGET that you will never be able to change the format you put a track into unless you change its name. I accidently recorded once in LP2 instead of LP4 and my CD was only half as long. I even uninstalled all sony programs off my hard drive and scoured all my folders and when I reinstalled the tracks still came up "optimized in LP2" So I was getting CDs with LP2s and LP4s on them. My above playlist folder fix ends the problem.
The software loads automatically without any choices before during or after -it just loads and askes you to agree to contracts about 10 or 11 times -who knows what all the software it loads are? I have found one horrible thing thus far. I found it because Norton Internet Security claimed it was trying to access the internet (I blocked it). My computer was crashing every time I clicked any personal file I wanted to open in Word, Excel, Photoshop, Sound Forge, and my computer was going so slow I couldnt stand it.
All such trouble went away after I uninstalled this mostrous Webhancer garbage that claims in its documentation that it silently sends over the internet the users habits and patterns to a central database.
I am not the type to take the effort to SUE SONY, but someone will since this unsolicited software is silently installed on the users computer without any choice whatsoever (there is no choose the software you wish to load option at any point -just "I accept this agreement" buttons a dozen times"). It then silently relays personal information to who knows where and it hurts productivity by slowing down your computer. Since the Minidisk player can accept a microphone and record 5hrs 20min of voice at CD quality, many executives, professinals and inevitably, lawyers will start using it.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-04-23
This mini disc player has everything you would ever want from a portable music device. the sound quality is superb and the editing funtions are 2nd to none. Also I think that the best feature is you can get 4 CDs to one mini disc. Trust me this will not be beaten for a long time.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-03-15
This was a waste of money. The manual says that the line out can be connected to stereo system, but when I tried it, the sound was terrible. My old player was fine with line out (MZR55), but this one actually has less features.
On: 2002-03-12
...I purchased the minidisc recorder to listed to music while on long runs along the canal banks in the Phoenix area. The g-protection is worthless. It skips more than my [other]full size sony disc player. As for working out in the gym or traveling, its great. I dont recommend it for running. Because I bought this item for running, and its performance is poor for this activity, I am putting it up for sale.
On: 2002-03-11
This MD player isnt perfect. But its close.
The duration one must hold the fastforward/rewind button in order to rewind was a bit unnerving at first, but Ive quickly become used to it. And it definitely took a chunk out of my wallet, but it was worth it.
This model is so small that it seems like my pockets are drastically too large for just this device. The size is great -- it is the perfect size for the hand: smaller would be too small, bigger would begin to be bulky.
Of course, having the different variations of recording options is very nice, too. For MP3s, I can record over 5 hours on LP4 mode and have a huge mix that will last a trip to Irvine and back. I record my CDs on LP2 mode without any audible loss of quality, sometimes having up to 6 albums on one disc. A couple classical numbers Ive recorded on Stereo mode, to preserve every note, as classical music is a bit more fragile than rock and roll. And the best yet! I can easily record all my vinyl albums to MD and have easily accessible and transportible digital copies, edited and divided into tracks without breaking a sweat.
And who can forget the tremendous battery life? By using the AC adaptor when Im at home and recharging the battery once it gets low (just hit one button, no extra bulky charger) -- I have not drained even one battery in the innumerable hours Ive spent listening to music with this.
No longer will I be annoyed when jarring motion causes my audio pleasure to halt. No longer will I be plagued by the demons that cause scratches on CDs. No longer will I have to carry a pocket full of spare batteries. No longer will I have anything in my wallet -- well, not for a while, at least, but Ill tell you -- it was definitely worth it.
On: 2002-03-05
OK, so this is my first MD device, and so far its just great. I couldnt decide wether to get an MP3 Player or anything else, and to my surprise, I found that this MD was more appealing to me. The media is Rerecordable, sound is great, battery life is up to my expectations,and sound quality is awesome (even in LP4 mode, which gives you 320 minutes of great sound; I havent tried the Mono mode because it isnt worth the lack of sound quality).
Theres only two features I dislike:
i. The PC Link could be tricky to get to work. And usually, even though its a digital conection to my PC, puts several different track marks in the songs, and sometimes the music skips.
ii. Theres no case included, and it is really hard (has been so far for me) to find cases for this device.
But hey!....my Vynil and tapes sound great on MD, even in LP4 mode. So if you are looking to stand out from everybody else, get this MD, its cool, tiny, reliable, great, etc.......
On: 2002-02-27
Well, like most of you, I purchased an MP3 player and returned it a week later, due to poor battery life and expensive memory.Before making my decision on a decent music device to purchase (for the gym and air travel), I read all the reviews here and found it most helpful (Thank you all for writing these reviews!) Anyway, the only flaws I can mention for this Mini player, is the 1:1 for time it takes to record (loved the MP3 for that!) and the volume is not loud enough!!! - Thanks, Sony, for protecting my ears, but when I am in the gym (all the noise with wgts. and people working out) - the volume needs to be louder! The Sony MZR700DPC player has an option where you can record songs manually (to increase the volume during playback), but the menu is so damn cumbersome, I can never find the "recVolume" function to adjust my volume while recording. One more problem....and this is a small one....Why didnt Sony include a carrier with this Minidisc, instead of having its customers mail away for it? (...) Overall, as the other reviews have mentioned, this is the best music device for your money and your time! - I have never had a problem with skipping, and I get miles of hours out of a regular battery. Happy shopping!
by: Anonymous On: 2002-02-21
The mini-disc player is a great technology and this model includes the ability to record live performances with a microphone (purchased seperatly) The system includes a USB/optical digital transfer of data from your PC to the MD however the capability to transfer digital music from the MD to the PC via the USB does not exist! In other words you can make great recordings of your band but you cant make an exact CD of that recording without going through the headphone and analog input jacks on your sound card. Why was this left out? Im sure nervous copywrite holders had some input into that decision!
On: 2002-02-11
First off this is an excellent MD Player for anyone wishing to buy one. Its decently priced and comes with all accessories one needs including an AC Adapter, Rechargeable battery and so forth. Ive made one minidisc in it and have tested it thoroghly and taken it with me out.The only few problems I have is I notice there are tWO hold buttons. If you hit the hold on the actual MD player you can still operate it with the remote. So remember to hit both of them to hold. Another small but still annoying thing is as others have pointed out the track labeling system, but I dont need to know track names so unlessyou do thats minor. My only other notable irk was that sometimes the MD Recorded two songs in one track when I did it from Real jukebox. However thanks to Track Marking you can slit the track where the first song ends and the second begins. Next the last flaw is the rediculous amount of time it takes to actually shut off. Really it takes triple the time of a regular CDplayer to shut off. A small thing really because I know itll turn off but sometimes I wonder if i hit the button properly. However all in all its a wonderful MD Player. Besides those flaws i listed above the audio is excellent, the amount of tracks recordable is quite decent and it can read 200+ Tracks on a single CD. Recording, editing, and deletion are a snap to so you can edit with out fear of screwing up (though I suggest you read the manual first!). Charging is a quick thing and it comes with its own battery (yay!) However if I were you id stick to duracel or energizer if you intend to be on a long term trip out of the country where there are different voltage settings and such.
On: 2002-02-06
As a great fan of music, this MD-player is excellent, as I can fit over 5 hours of music on one MD. The quality is bit worse than on LP2-mode, but its a compromise that I can take, the quality is high enough... I have a few things to complain: when recording on LP4-mode, it usually puts the auto track-mark about 0,5 second after a new track has begun.. it is pretty annoying to fix, as when you do it manually, it still puts the mark 0,5 seconds after you press the T-mark button. And sometimes (When recording on a LP4-mode) there are some horrible extra plix-plox-sounds, so you must delete it and record again, but this is rather rare.. about one track on every two LP4-minidisks is ruined by this awkward bug.
The earphones are excellent and quite durable, after ½ years of heavy use it has worked great, only recently the left-phone has gotten weaker, and Im afraid that soon no more sound come from that...
On: 2002-01-26
I have two of these units for running. Ive run 10K to marathon with a waist pack. Ive tried them all and nothing beats a minidisc...not CD (still skips sometimes, bulkier), not MP3 (expensive media, very poor battery life). My unit gets 10 times the battery life of an MP3 player (30+ hours), has never skipped even with sprinting, and easily allows transfer of my CD collection to minidisc. I also purchased a home CD/MD deck that allows high speed dubbing AND capture of complete songs off the radio with a delayed 6 second buffer. Only negative: I have yet to find a good waist carrier and had to modify a Tune Belt. Add one of these to an Ironman Fuel Belt and you have everything...water, music and a pocket for keys and money.
by: Anonymous On: 2001-12-30
After researching for weeks what MiniDisc recorder to buy, I decided that this is the best player for the price, and boy was I right? With the DPC you can record from ANYTHING. The PC link lets you record mp3s from your laptop (but beware: the recording is a 1:1 recording, no MP3 player like instant tranfers. To puy 80 minutes on a MD, itll take 80 minutes), My Aiwa stereo has an optical out so I can record from that with pure digital clarity. Ive used it to record my band, and it sounds great. You can separate tracks, combine them, and delete them all from the player. The MDLP modes that let you put 2x -4x more music on a MD work great, but the LP4 mode looses quality. The music sounds "muddy" and the stereo channels bleed into eachother, but for the convience of having all of an artists CDs on one MD its worth it. LP2 has no loss in quality, and the whole unit is well made. For one, its impossible to skip! I played catch with it and it still wont skip, and if I dropped it, it could take the hit. Its tiny as anything too! The only drawback is the remote doesnt have a display, but you can upgrade if need be. Forget the R900, its too expensive for not enough features, if you shop right you can get this player for under $200, making it even better than the others. You cant go wrong with this player!
by: Anonymous On: 2001-12-29
i just got this for x-mas and i already have a home player w/ my stereo system in my room made by sony and its capacity is on MD. anyway, i have been goin crazy over the digital pc connector and downloading songs from my music source iMesh. the only downside about it is that when i record in LP modes i can only play the MDs in a player the accepts LP modes...overall it is awsome!!!
On: 2001-12-15
This is my first piece of MiniDisc equipment. Mine is is the metallic green version shown in the pic. Ive never seen the silver in person, but Ive seen the blue, and even if the thought of a green walkman turns you off, its still a lot more striking than the blue, which isnt metallic like the green, but flat and dull. I think the lustrous sheen of the green gives it a much more expensive look. Anyway, I am mostly satisfied with this unit. It sounds great, although I have never used the bundled headphones with it, and I do wish the volume would go a little higher to compensate better for noisy urban enviroments. The controls are mostly easy to use, build quality is high. The MDLP mode is nice. Right now I only use it (LP2) for double albums and adding more remixes to the end of an album that would otherwise fit, but the sound quality is still really high and most people wont notice the drop in quality. Also, the remote is nice. While it feels a little cheap and doesnt have an LCD screen, the lever setup is rather clever. Youll probably want to upgrade to a better model of remote however, I aquired the RM-MC11EL for mine, which comes with the MZ-R900.Some gripes I have is while the front casing is aluminum, the back is plastic, and loses its paint from friction on the edges rather quickly. Also, my unit does tend to skip from time to time, though I think the problem may be either dust on the heads or maybe just a defective unit. To access some commands, like the bass controls, you have to navigate through a menu system, which is sort of tedious. Lastly, the battery that came with it isnt the greatest... it gets the job done but youll want to upgrade that too. The Xitel optical mp3 thingee is nice too, though to be honest I dont use it that much, instead dubbing CDs that I already own to MD. Overall this is a solid performer, and much nicer to tote around (in your pocket) than a big clunky CD player.
On: 2001-11-28
Ive been putting off buying a portable listening device since my last 90 Aiwa tape player. But after seeing the Minidisc in action - its 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. Its 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 havent done a drop-test, but Ill 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 isnt adequate for protection or carrying with any confidence. Plus, the lack of backlighting on the main unit is a bummer. It comes with its 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 isnt 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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