After owning Sony R70, R90, and Sharp MS722, I decided to go for a portable player that's truly portable. (smaller in size and lighter in weight compared to recorders). I narrowed my choices to Sony E900, Panasonic MJ77, and Sharp ST66, which are about the same small size. I researched many online MD boards in Japan and Korea, and found out that Sharp ST66 is the most popular among the 3, and the current best selling model in Japan and Korea. I found that ST66 has the advantage over other portables in sound output, bass, and most importantly, design.

I passed up on E900 because of its high price tag, plus I don't need MDLP(I do not own R900, and plan not to do so in the future). Also, E900's sound output is too low compared to ST66.

I found that both MJ77 and ST66 are very attractive in design and features. The deciding factors for ST66 was:

  1. I already have a Sharp recorder, so the remotes work on both models.
  2. It has a LED light on the front of the unit that lights up when the unit is being controlled or charged (it looks AWESOME and turns the heads around you!)
  3. It has a charging stand that looks nice and makes it very EZ to recharge the battery. (Just place the unit on the stand and go!, and the LED on the unit lights blinks to let you know the battery is beding recharged. After the battery is fully charged, the light goes completely off.).
  4. The paint finish of ST66 is very nice. I have no scratch at all!
I was astonished as I opened the box and saw it the first time in person. The unit is smaller than the blank MD case and about the thinkness of two blanks. You have to see it to believe! I found the sound output is just about the same level as my 722, which is very satisfactory (I own Sony R70 and R90, and I am very disappointed in their sound output). The remote is the same one as of MT66, and looks the same except for the color of ST50. It's very fuctional and most of all, looks really nice. The buttons are well placed, and it has a nice "click" feel when I press them. The supported earphone is semi-transparent in color, not the black one. It is definitely better than Sony's supported E805 (on R900), but I seldom use it (I use ED268 and ED228).

Few complaints on ST66:

  1. MDLP (Though I don't need it)
  2. Can't charge w/o the charging stand.
  3. No hand strap included (You can buy one for 3 bucks.)
  4. It looks just TOO cool! I'm really aftraid that someone might steal it! Everyone wants a piece of my ST66!
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE COOLEST LOOKING MD AVAILABLE, THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO BETTER ONE THAN ST66!!!