Last week, I bought the MD-60 at Uncle's Stereo in NYC for $US 189.

I have been playing music and recording for years, but this is my first use of the MD format. I've had a bias against md because of the compression, and I would still not use it for critical multi-track applications. However, I was looking for something to replace an old Sony Walkman pro that I had used to record myself practicing. A little research showed that MD was the way to go.

I got some good advice from the people at Core Sound about Sharp vs. Sony for my particular application. Sharps have two levels of mic sensitivity, important if recording material of different volumes. Sony's in my price range lack that feature.

So, I went about looking for a Sharp below $200, as I wanted the whole outfit, with mic, to be below 300. Uncle's Stereo showed me both the MD 15 and the SR60. The latter was preferable because it was a newer model, came standard with a remote, TOSLINK cable, and rechargeable NiMH batter, all of which the 15 lacked.

I have used it at home for a week with a Sony 907 (I think it is) stereo electret mike, which I simply hang behind the music stand on my baby grand piano. The results really surprised me. It sounds surprisingly like what I hear with my own ears. I think that the weak links in the chain are probably the mic (and the mic placement), and the mediocre headphones.

The operation of the machine is completely straightforward. You do need to read the manual, but only once, and everything works pretty much as one would expect.

One area in which Sharp economized on this machine is the shock memory buffer, which is only 10 seconds. I've ridden in my car with the thing, in NYC, and it hasn't skipped yet, but I wouldn't jog with it in my pocket.

I think that the headphone output volume may be a bit weak, but it seems to be rated the same as everyone else's (sorry, don't have the spec with me, but will provide upon request).

The machine looks fine, is small enough to fit into a shirt pocket. If it proves to be durable, I will be very happy.

This tool fits my needs perfectly, and I can't recommend it highly enough for informal live recordings of music.

Glad to answer any questions. The MD-SR75 (MD-SR60 with backlit remote) is a great MD recorder with many of the same features as the SR50 so if you want to read about what it can do read the previous review, then come back and read what extra things you get which make this recorder many-up above the SR50.

Firstly with this model you get:

  1. A remote control
  2. in-earphones
  3. AC adapter
  4. Rechargeable battery
  5. battery carry case(small plastic case)
  6. Analog connection cable for analogue recording
  7. Optical connection cable for digital recording
  8. Carry case
  1. The remote control that you get with this model is much different from the SR50 remote. This remote has an LCD display which is back-lit when used. It displays track name, remaining time and a picture of a spinning disc to show it's playing. It also has a shuttle control which allows you to play, pause, increase/decrease volume and select what to display (track, remaining time). There are also two buttons on the side which enable you to change bass and select play mode (random, repeat etc..). You can also slide the hold button so that the remote can't be used when you don't want it to. There is a clip on the back so you can clip it to a piece of clothing. This remote is as good as a top of the range sony remote!
  2. These in-earphones take a bit of getting use to but the quality of sound and bass it delivers is well worth getting use to for. They connect ot the top of the remote.
  3. The AC adapter used to charge the re- chargeable battery. This is done by connecting the AC adapter to the main unit and charging the battery within the main unit.
  4. The re-chargealble battery needs about 5 hours charging and can last about 7.5 hours depending on how it's used. They say it can used up to 300 times.
  5. The battery carry case is used to store the re-chargeable battery in.
  6. The analogue cable connection is used for analogue recording and gives double recording space on a mini-disc.
  7. The optical cable is used for digital recording and can be used if you have and optical out on you hi-fi.
  8. The carry case for the MD recorder is soft and has a velvet touch which is good and prevents scratches on your MD recorder.
Overall i think this player is great i would recommend it to anyone. The sound delivery is excellent and better then most players. One bonus for this player is that it comes in an attractive champagne gold colour which makes it look cool. If you have a bit more cash go for this model instead of the SR50. I would rate this player 9 out of 10. I want to say this early, DON'T BUY THIS RECORDER! I got mine only a few weeks ago, and already it doesn't work anymore. I haven't done anything to it (ie. drop it, smash it into a wall) but I can't use it anymore. One day I'm listening to it, everything's fine. I turn it off, eat dinner, come back an hour later and BAM! Huge amounts of static. I've tried multiple sets of headphones, using it with and without the remote, and multiple discs. I've even tried the discs on a friend's player to make sure they weren't the problem. I'm going to see if Sharp can help me out, but please don't put yourself in this situation, don't buy it.

I guess I should talk about it's other features, in case you decide not to listen to my warning.

Sound: It really does sound great (when there's no static). The three bass modes are really nice, they don't feel as artificial as Sony's "Mega Bass". Both digital and analog recordings sound good, just make sure you increase the recording level a bit on the analogs, or it will sound too low

Functionality: Great. Everything's easy to use.

Remote: First off, I want to kick the crap out of someone at Sharp about the remote. What kind of MD doesn't have a display on the remote? My friends got their players YEARS ago, and they all have displays on the remotes. I just assumed mine would too. Since I bought it online, I didn't notice the lack of remote till it was too late.

Size: Way too big. Too long and too thick for a relatively new unit. Maybe it's just because my friend got a MT-77 that I think my SR60 looks too big, but it's compareable in size to much older units.

Overall: If it wasn't for the fact that it doesn't work anymore, I would say this is a great unit for its money. Sounds great, and it's easy to use, and I can forgive the other problems because this was so inexpensive ($180 US at Minidisco.com). However, I will not recommend it based on my experience. Maybe it's just a fluke, but I wouldn't take the chance if I were you.