The main screen is nice and big. Large enough to display the title of the disc while the song title (or music notes) float by underneath. I noticed an interesting detail about the battery level display. Its more of a "time left" bar rather than "charge left". This means that when you're recording, the battery level is different than if you are just playing. This is because battery life is different when recording than from playing.

Buttons are small but it doens't seem to matter. The 3 (really 6) buttons below the big circular button are easy to push if you cut across them with a fingernail, as they are not flush with the top surface. The design of the circular button, which includes +/- volume, |<< and >>|, requires a push in the general direction of the button you want to operate. Even the small REC and MODE buttons don't require the fingernail to operate. Phat. Pushing the Bass button once will display what the currect setting is, another push will change the setting.

Ok, sound......SOUND IS AMAZING!!! The BASS is rediculous. I'm not sure that I would really want the 8 steps of treble and bass that the R900 offeres. The 4 steps of bass boost seem to take care of the treble as well. I digitally recorded some Paul Van Dyk in SP, LP2 and LP4. SP is really indistinguishable from the CD. LP2 is just as good and unless you really go back and forth between SP and LP2, you won't notice the slight lack of detail. LP4 is crap, use it for voice recording. Being able to adjust the recording level on the fly is a REALLY nice feature. I guess Sony can't be exactly like Sharp. (flame suit on)

The stock earphones are also crap, but only because I haven't burned them in and they need some foam earpads to get a better seal. I'm using the Aiwa acoustic plus earbuds, the ones with the little air filled cushions, with foam earpads to get that good fit. Maybe I'll get some MDR-888LPs but these guys work pretty good.

The Remote is actually not that bad. The remote for the 722 had "MD-J" in the background which made it difficult sometimes to read the screen. Sharp did away with this. The +/-, |<< and >>| buttons are fine. I don't really like the position of the volume controls. I wish they were up near the top so you could use your thumb. All the controls are buttons, except for HOLD slide switch, which is pretty flimsy.

The charging stand looks nice, just as long as you hide the AC adapter plugged into the AC transformer...which makes me think, "Why not just get a 120VAC ac adapter that had the same output voltage/current as the 100VAC adapter?" (5V 800 mA). Damn..Anyone want to buy my 120 to 100 VAC transformer? People have mentioned that battery charging can only happen on the stand. I think this was done in order to keep the charging circuitry out of the unit. It was worth it. You can play and record with the unit on the stand, by the way.

To finish up, even though it was a hit to the ole checking account and being available only from Japan (or HK, Korea or Singapore), it is SUPREMELY cool. I am very happy with it and even though I'll miss my 722's slot-in and jog dial, I manage somehow :).I can't IMAGINE the size of recorders decreasing anymore. Maybe thickness, but for god's sake, its SMALLER than a disc in a slip case. Nice work Sharp. You really nailed this one. Howdie! Well I've had my new Sharp MD-MT877W for three days now and I love it! I think it's been in Australia for ten days and only a few were imported in so I'm counting my lucky stars! The Sharp is such a sexy, sleek looking piece of art. The buttons are a little small and pressing them repeatedly for track titles etc can get annoying and hurt the fingers but hey it's a small price to pay!

The recording is easy to use and with the 24 bit (beats Sonys 16) recording makes the most of the analogue and blows your mind when recording with the optical cable!

The remote control is small and light and looks great with the blue backlit display but seems very fragile and I'm afraid that I'll push the buttons right through the remote!

The headphones are definately an improvement from previous models but there is still room for improvement but satisfies your needs easily.

But the bigest plus for the Sharp is the Long Play function. Take one 80min MD and record more than 300mins of Stereo audio! It is fantastic for making those train or travel discs!

Also the battery life is very impresive with the additional AA battery addon. Also to charge or operate your MD on mains power a nifty recharge base is supplied so you can sit it in that and charge or run it from the mains. Simple like a palm pilot but very convienent.

Overall it is an awesome unit targeted past the Sony consumer market and right at musicians and music professionals wanting a professional recording and unit with all the features.

FOR : Small and sexy design, Long Long Long Play Function, 24bit recording, Battery life.

AGAINST : Small buttons, Fragile feel remote, Headphones.

Overall Rating : 9 1/2 out of 10 Recently I bought a sharp MT877 from a local electronic store in my district after hearing the hype about he new lp mode that is available on new md models right now.

I as quite distracted at first because the model that the shopkeeper showed me the r900 & mt877 was quite a hotseller at his store.After a long thought, I finally decided to go for the sharp model & I am pleased to say that it is not a bet choice that I've made.Despite lacking some in- built function like programmable play mode,preset memory recognisition & internal alarm mode that is available only to the sony r900, there is also features that is quite appealing that is available with the sharp unit.

Example of that is the battery saving mode,which after experimenting with it actually is on par with sony's longlife battery capability.The LCD is also quite large if I might say so & the function is easy to use even to a new md user.Compared with the r90 that I have before, this one really knocks the socks of my feet!!! My comment to the people out there who wants to get an Md unit,go grab it NOWWWWW!!!