Sony Portable Mini-Disc Player/Recorder (MZ-R500PCNAVY)
Mixed Feelings
This was a gift so I can't complain too much. It's not the unit I asked for (the Sharp model). <br />I had one of the old Sony MD recorders - cost me alot of $. It quit working a few years ago. I think it was the MZ-R1. I needed something to play the 30+ MDs I had. <br />For the average user, this unit is fine. It works as advertised for the most part. The PCLink barely works on my PC. There's a conflict with the USB drivers. PCLink is designed to take over the speaker output so if you can get it to work, you can't leave it connected. I'm planning to get a Y-adapter so I can connect both my speakers and any recording device at the same time. <br />There is no Line Out connection so you have to use the headphone jack if you want to hook it up to a stereo system which I often did with my old MD unit. <br />The MZ-R500 also seems to operate more slowly than Sony's older recorders. The controls are not as straight forward as they used to be. Erasing MDs and tracks are more difficult than before. It wasn't something you could easily do on the old unit. The menu on this one isn't organized in the best way. <br />On the plus side, you are able add titles with this unit. The battery seems to last forever - on one AA battery. Sony used rechargeable battery packs in the past - with a battery pack that used 3 AAs that could be used as a backup. <br />The controls are a bit small for people with big hands but it's not impossible. I just have to be careful.