Sony Portable Mini-Disc Player/Recorder (MZ-R500PCNAVY)
For folks on the go.
This little MD player is one of the greatest audio investments I've ever made. I can't figure out why folks are buying MP3 players. These MD recorders, especially the MZ-R500, seem to be the best kept secret in the world of mobile personal audio.<br />One complaint however... I don't like the fact that the recorder always defaults to &quot;automatic&quot; recording volume level. You will quickly find out that the auto volume feature doesn't let enough sound in. It also makes &quot;mush&quot; out of live albums as it compensates too much for the crashing percussion instruments. I found this out when I recorded the live version of Orange Blossom Special by Johnny Cash. I thought something was wrong with the MD recorder. When I set the recording volume manually, the mush went away. <br />It must be set to manual each time you record, from song to song or album to album. Any time you start recording, in other words. All other settings the user makes stays put, just this ONE feature resets to auto. Quite frustrating.<br />Once these small issues are figured out, this is a fantastic little gadget. Certainly meant for folks on the go. Simply start it playing and slide the &quot;hold&quot; feature in place. All the buttons are now disabled and can't be hit accidentally. Drop it in your shirt pocket and go! This thing does NOT skip either!<br />Cheers.