The unit is small, measures 81x74x26.2 mm (for the guys in the US this is 3 1/4x3x1 1/16 in) . Slightly larger than MZ-R90 but small enough to lay comfortably in a shirt pocket. The bumpy battery compartment at the bottom doesn't make it much thicker and there is no need of detachable battery case. Talking about batteries, the MZ-R70 is a clever concept. Comes with a rechargeable NiCd AA-size battery (NC-WMAA listed at 700 mAh) which powers it for 6.5 h. Not the longest playback time with the supplied battery, but probably enough for everyday use and AA size Ni-Cd's are much cheaper than the gumstick ones when it comes to replace the original rechargeable (I hope, the unit will last much longer than the battery though). On the other hand, a single alkaline battery will last for 17h of playback time. Not bad at all. Compare this to JVC's 38 hours with 3 AA alkalines plus the rechargeable. Here you get in total something like 57,5 hours with the same amount. Haven't tried to run the MZ-R70 on NiMH batteries but expect to get about 10h of playback on fully charged 1200 mAh one. In short, the power consumption of MZ-R70 must be one of the best found on MD portables. This is probably due to the way it reads the data. First, it looked strange to me that one cannot turn off the anti shock memory. On my Sony D-345 Dicman this saves a lot of battery life. However, when I listened to the MZ-R70's mechanical noise I got the picture. The motor spins for about 10 sec. and reads with something like 4x speed to the buffer memory and than rests for about 40sec. This cycle is continuously repeated during playing. Thus the motor works only 25% of the time and this of course saves energy-clever.

All the controls and knobs are logically positioned and it took me only a few hours to get used to all normally performed operations. The LCD on the front panel, though not very large, displays all the needed information. Editing would have been faster and easier with a jogdial, but add this and a better remote control and you get a MZ-R90 which costs considerably more. I mean, to lower the price something really must be omitted. The markings on the side are not easy to read since they are not printed but rather engraved on the black metal piece between the two parts of the body (I have the silver version), so it takes a closer look when plugging something. The remote control is not the best in the universe in my view, even though editing can also be done from it. Feels cheap and plasticky and doesn't have the clip to attach it to the clothes. Not a big deal really, but when it is hanging and pulling the earphones it becomes annoying. Somebody on the net stated that a R-90 remote will work properly on R-70, (including the backlit function) so I may buy one in the future. The supplied earbuds, MDR E-805 are of reasonable quality and all the contacts both on the earbuds and the remote seem gold plated.

Since I don't have large experience with MD sound, cannot compare it to anything else in the MD world. If you ask me does it sound good? Yes it sounds great. In fact recordings made from high quality CD-players sound probably better than my old Discman, but then again I'm not the person with the most sensitive ears in the world. In any case the quality drop upon recording is either not audiable or very, very minor. The digital mega- bass also work fine for me. The only remark I have is the low output volume. I've seen other people on the net also complaining about that. It's OK as long as you don't walk into a noisy city area. The external noises mix with the music and this is unpleasant. Maybe a better/louder earphones would solve this.

All in all, great MD walkman, well built, up to the Sony's highest standards with few, rather minor remarks. Considering the latest price cuts (at least in Sweden about 20%) MZ-R70 is a good deal if you don't want to pay the extra bucks for MZ-R90. The first impression with the MZ-R70 was, that's very small and cute. The bump on the back makes you wonder how it will ft in a pocket.

The fact that it uses a dry cell, is very convienient, I had a MZ-R55 before, which you could not listen while charging. With the R-70 you buy an external NiCad or NiMh charger with a few batteries and you can totally forget the included charger and you're off for days. The bump, you don't even notice it after a while and it's pratical, when you have it on a table in front of you it puts the unt on an angle so that you can read the LCD screen.

For the 17 hours playback, I have not set myself on a side with a stopwatch to test it, but it is really long. There is also the fact that there is no external battry pack, 17 hours battry life is as it is. The battery saver fonction does make it longer to react to user changes of track, but in normal listning or shuffle mode there are no "whites" inbetween tracks. It does also make more noise than the R55, but while you're listning to the music it's hard to hear anything else. Recording, works well and you can adjust the level of the it with the digital input or the analogic.

The remote: my first impression that it was really a plastic gadget, but after using it, it works well. You only need one hand to use it unlike the one delivered with the R55. Inconvienient, it doesn't have a clip on the back of it so it's allways dangling around, and with the delivered headset, it puts weight on your ears...

I'm very happy with this unit, the batteries last really a long time, great sound and very small, I'm just looking to put the remote from the R90 or R91 on it. Well I finally got my long awaited mini disc walkman, and i decided on the sony mzr 70 in the end. And i'm very glad i chose this one. It's very small and extremely well built. Very solid and sturdy and quite attractive.

I'm very impressed with the unit so far, i've only had it for 2 days and i love it. The manual suggests that the supplied ni-cad battery takes 3 hours to charge, and i just charged mine in a little under 2 hours. The sound quality of this unit is absolutely fantastic, lots of bass, and the treble response seems great too.

Recording is very simple too, and titling is much easier than i imagined. The controls seemed a bit intimidating at first, but within 20 minutes, i was an expert at operating it. I had read the complaints about the low volume level and the noise the unit makes, but i found these to be very minor and have little or no effect.

This unit is very well priced, extremely good value for what you get. An LCD remote would be nice, but seeing as the one from the MZR 90 is fully compatible with this unit, it is an easy fix, and i'll be buying this remote soon.

I would recommend this unit to anyone who is interested in MD, whether they are a newbie like me or in the market for a new unit. Today I went out and bough a Sony MZ-R70, and I really like it!!!

I just sold my Sony MZ-R90, and many of you probably wonder why I'd sell that unit and then buy the cost-reduced... But I really had no use for the namebank, the joint-text feature, nor the time/date stamp... So I today I checked the stores - One had the Sony MZ-R70 on sale together with 4 blanks, plus rechargeable batteries... Well I went into the shop and asked about how many batteries were included and it turned out that it was only the one that is in the packet... So I wasn't going to pay (in dollars) $40 extra for 4 blanks since I already have 13 or so... So instead I went into a big supermarket chain here in Denmark, who had the same recorder for a good price - unfortunately they only had the silver version, and I had just seen the black one at the other shop which looked awesome... But I figured that spending more money would be stupid just to get a black model - besides, I'm happy I got the silver now, because it really shines!!!

So now to my comments... compared to I used to own a R55 and R90 model... Well first of all - the size is very nice - it's actually smaller then it looks like from the pictures I've seen on the net - only a little bigger then my R90... and the extra small room for the AA battery - well it's not a big deal at all!!!

The display - it's probably just me, or the fact that it's long and thing, but it really looks clearer, and the letters even a little bit size bigger - but again... I'm sure it's just me - I think it's probably because the display is long.

To my surprise the digital cable supplied was a newer model then the previous I have had included - it even had small "dots" to protects the 2 ends of the cable! And the carry-pourch - it's also new. Much cooler then the other "soft" bags.

I was a bit concerned about the remote, since the previous two units I owned had LCD in their remotes... but I like the remote - doesn't weigh much, and it has more (if I'm not mistaken) editing features to be used for, then the other models.

So overall I think I'm really gonna like this unit!!! I don't miss the small jog-lever that my R90 had, because it wasn't a real jog-dial, and if you're gonna title with the remote it doesn't matter much.

All in all - a great unit!!! I still remember when I first saw pictures of it - I thought it looked bulky and ugly, but it's a great little piece of portable audio!!! And a little tip, it has two headphone out's, so you can connect the remote to one of them, and use some other headphones in the other - or just use two headphones so you can listen together with a friend (or a girlfriend !!!).

Oh I just discovered a neat thing - in the menu you can turn off the "Beep" - must be a new feature from Sony - I think I read somewhere that you could do this on the Sharp or Aiwa, but I haven't been able to do so on my previous Sony models - very neat!!!

Well these were my thought of this recorder...! Hope I didn't bore you too much!!! Having owned a mz-r90 before this unit, i dont feel the need to ever go back! my r90 had some troubles (in the end was the department stores fault because of carelessness into storage) but since they had none left i opted for the r70 and got my money back for the diference. I got home, unwrapped it, suprisingly, battries are allready charged! i plug the headphones in and expecting diferent soundquality, i am suprised! it sounds just as good! also the size is not much bigger than the r90, just a little bit thicker, but only 10grams heavier i think soo... practicully, its a r90 without the timestamp and memory bank features and without the lcd remote (r90 and r55) (wich is compatible with the r70 despite the fact that sony mention in their manual that it would cause "malfunction" ) ... wich you cannot blame them, considering people would just by this model and the extra remote! I noticed the unit is a little quieter than the r90, also the display doesnt mysteriously turn off for no reason either :) But having said all this, there is a down. ...... *thinking* ....... *still thinking* ahhh... see! its preety hard to find a problem with it. well the only problem i could find was it took a little long to seek and change tracks but i have rectified this problem via using sony MD's! apart from that i can just keep on ranting on about this unit!

All in all, having owned a r55 and r90 and the equiv sharp model (sorry, cant remember model number :) ) i think this is the unit for you if you are looking for a recordable portable small unit that is sexy! this is it. (i even find this unit better looking than the r90) For anyone who is looking out to buy a r90, dont bother unless you would use namebank and timestamp, add a lcd remote and save yourself 200 bucks (AUD) or so... And one more thing, the remote on this thing is not that bad either, and also works on my old sony 20th anaversary walkman too :D I have owned my sony R70 for about two months and feel very satisfied with it's performance. In comparison to the next model up from sony which is th R90 it is I think, a better buy for your money.

It records perfectly, has 3 mega bass settings, all the editing features except for time/date stamp and CDto text automatic function. Neither if these are important to me as I couldn't care less about time /date and I don't know anyone with a cd player with CD to text functions. The supplied digital cable is ok but do what i did and ask for both types of cables (square plug and stereo mini plug). You will still need to buy a analog cable with RCA adapters most likely,( should be supplied I think) The remote is great lightweight and does everything the r90 does . There's no jog dial on the R70 but who needs it . The player looks great (silver recommended as anodised blue scratches off) and sounds fantastic through the supplied headphones, you may prefer to buy close ear phones though.

The end search button is weird but you get used to it. Make sure that you press hold on either the unit or the remote when it is not in use to lock the controls as T-MArk can be accidently pressed. Titling is easy and hassle free and can be done while recording . Sync record is a very useful function and does it's job. The recording levels can be change or altered during analog or microphone recording . Mic recording is very good quality even with a 50 dollar mic.

The hump for the batterie on the back of the player is great! I really like it . It makes it easier to hold and props up the player on a slight angle when it is resting flat which is very useful to see the screen better and monitor recording or labelling.

Size wise it is only a tiny bit bigger than the R90 and to be honest I wouldn't want it to be any smaller ! they are tiny things and easily fit in your pocket , it is the accesaries that take up the space not the players.

The supplied little sony bag is ok an does the job but a hard case is much better and means you can worry less about knocking it around.

It is very hardy though and doesn't skip unless you drop it or really throw it around. Fine for downhill bike mountain bike rides and jogging. Charges up in a couple of hours and if you take a spare aa with you then you are very unlikely to run out. Interesting point is that the R90 has longer batterie life only because you can clip on a case holding two aa's which makes it bigger than the R70! The cadium batterie is fine. Works great in the car if you buy adapter and it's definately worth it.

The unit does make mechanical noise and sensitive microphones need to be keep at a distance from player to not pick up noise. The remote doesn't have a clip but that can be solved by getting one of a hands free mobile cable and swapping it , works great!

DISADVANTAGES- NO LIGHTING FOR DISPLAY NO SCREEN ON REMOTE

ADVANTAGES - two headphone jacks is extremely useful and an underated feature that I simply couldn't live without! the bump! it's like a mini stand and a bit of extra grip cheap in comparrison to most it's a sony! I love it and definately recommend it. The only drawback is you can't see the display by night! but it saves you a few hundred dollars and R90 remotes can be bought seperately and used with the R70 .

Buy it!

I'd like to add a few comments on the MZ-R70. I cannot directly compare the MZ-R70 to other MD recorders, but some things I noted may be useful to others anyhow.

Here's the summary:

+sound quality (digital recording is brilliant, and the fiberoptic cable is included)
+playback time
+battery type
+size
-headphones (get better ones!)
-anti-shock
-controls are a bit slow

Actually, I agree on most accounts with the other reviews, but I have one outright complaint (which fortunately is easily solved, read on): the headphones that come with the R70 are incredibly cheap. The sound quality is very poor, they are uncomfortable (they do not have any padding, just hard plastic, and in a completely non-ergonomic shape) and power output is low.

When I first tried the R70, I was really disappointed with the sound quality. Especially high frequencies had a hissing, hollow quality, I found it so unpleasant I could not stand to listen for an extended period of time. Not willing to give up my investment this easily, I bought a set another set of headphones for about $ 20,- (USD), Sony MDR-ED228. To my relief, these cured the problem completely, are comfortable and are more sensitive as well (ie. more output). I know manufactures often save money on the headphones, but the supplied headphones don't do the player justice at all.

Digital recordings with the supplied optical cable are of very high quality. When compared to the original CD back-to-back, a difference can be heard, but only then, and the difference in sound can only be described in subjective terms (the ones you will find in speakers test ;-) Furthermore, the synchronisation feature (where the recording starts when it gets an optical signal from the CD player) makes recording very easy.

Analog recordings are not nearly as good.

The remotecontrol is a cheap plastic thingy without a clip, but does the job.

I really like the fact that the R70 uses simple (cheap) AA batteries. I use NiMH batteries, they last so long I can't put a number on it, in practice I have plenty of opportunity to recharge them before they run dry.

A disadvantage of the power saving features of the R70 is that it is a bit slow when you change the track or search. Everytime it has to 'power on' before it does what you want.

Finally, (this is probably a general MD issue): the anti-shock buffer. I expected the 40 second buffer to be plenty, making skipping impossible. However, it is not as simple as that. You can shake the system violently without causing the system to skip, however, the buffer is also filled when the unit is subjected to less violent movements, depending on the speed and direction of motion relative to the unit.

I have just done a little test, I strapped the unit to my hip, and jumped up and down and left and right, trying to get the thing to skip for a couple of minutes continuously, and it did not skip. However, occasionally, it will skip even when I walk.

Part of the problem is that when it finally skips, the sound is sometimes gone for several seconds, so it does not have to skip often to get your attention...

All in all, I am very happy with it. As long as you get different headphones, I don't think you will not be dissapointed. This is my first MD recorder/player, and it's been a learning experience, but worth the effort. I just got my little MZ-R70 a week ago, and I've been able to familairize myself with the unit and have been able to formulate a good review.

Once you get used to the menu, it's quite logical in operation. It's handy to be able to do things as you record, such as titling and adding track marks, plus charging the single AA Nicad cell. As others have mentioned, the MD recorder makes odd noises, but that's part of the energy-saving feature and memory retention for the anti-skip software.

I have only used the line input to make analog recordings through the headphone jack from my JVC mini-system, and the sound is fabulous. I suppose, someday, I might get one of those digital boxes and use the digital cable (supplied) to make even better recordings, but I'm very happy with what I get from this setup. BTW, the connecting cord can be bought at Radio Shack for a few bucks.

The output is fine if you use the manual recording level function, which requires a bit of skill, and if you make a lot of tape recordings with cassettes, and have a deck with meters, then it's pretty easy to watch for distortion with the overload mark. Of course, your ears can tell if the level is too high. I find that the auto level is a bit low, thus maybe the source of the complaints.

The earbuds sound great, I think, but I have nothing to compare this with. Undoubtedly, you could buy better Sony (or other generic brands) earbuds if you want more volume.

I have only tried TDK blanks, but I have a slew of Sony recordable MDs on the way. Just as in other recording mediums, I would avoid cheap blanks.

So far, my first reaction is very positive. I hope this unit is reliable and will be trouble- free for years to come. I just got the Sony MZ-R70 as a replacement for the R55 (which broke and the store I got it from no longer stocks it). The model I got came with the PC Link.

The good news about the PC Link: I hooked it up to my Mac, and it worked first time. I didn't need to install any software, I just pressed play in my audio app and out came the sound from the PC Link.

The bad news about the PC Link: unless I'm missing something very obvious, it's a waste of money. I thought that it would hook from the USB port of the computer to the optical input of the MD recorder. Nope, it just converts the USB signal to analog so you end up hooking an analog audio cable from the converter to the MD recorder. I have to ask, what is the difference between doing that and just hooking an analog cable directly from the computer to the MD recorder? Disappointment there, it seems like Sony only included the link for marketing purposes, so they could lure buyers into thinking they're MP3-savvy.

On to the actual recorder. As I said, I traded in my broken R55 for the R70, and so far I'm not too impressed. The remote on the R70 is made of cheap plastic and has no display (the R55 remote works with the R70 though). The headphones also are cheaper, and constantly feel like they are about to snap. To be fair, the R70 is meant to be a cheaper model than the R55, so corners had to be cut somewhere.

But there are other things that bother me more about the unit. Sony has implemented a 'menu' system on this portable, from which you access settings like the bass level, the play mode (repeat, shuffle...), the screen display, and other things. It's fairly easy to navigate, but still a real pain in the ass compared to what other portables use. With the R70, if I want to change the bass setting I have to press enter, the right menu button 3 times, enter, the right menue button a couple more times, and enter again. Compare this with having a dedicated 'bass' button which I would only need to press once or twice, and you can see it takes many more steps. You also need to be looking at the display on the main unit to see where you are in the menu. The same thing goes for any of the other settings (play mode is especially a problem, because I tend to switch between normal and shuffle very often).

Second major problem is that the unit is very noisy. It takes a long time to change tracks or to start playing when it's off, and during this time you can hear the disc spin up and the head moving back and forth reading different parts of the disc. After it has started playing the disc spins up about every 40 seconds to refill the memory buffer. This isn't a large problem if you use headphones, because they will block out some of the sounds. But if you hook it up to a pair of speakers you will constantly be irritated by the unit's noise. The biggest problem with this is when it's hooked up to a microphone, because the mic will pick up the the noise and cut off any chances of making a decent recording. (Also, the unit doesn't seem to have any mic sensitivity switch, which is fairly important).

My last complaint is a bit more minor, and it might be an advantage for some people depending on your how you use the R70. Sony has included a second headphone jack on the unit, but this unfortunately takes the place of the line out jack on other models. The line out jack is very useful when hooking up to a pair of speakers because it automatically sets the volume to the correct level and takes out the bass boost (in other words, it ouputs sound at line specs). With a second headphone jack instead of line out you have to adjust everything manually. And that's a pain when you realize that you have to go through the menu system to adjust bass.

One last problem I just remembered: Sony doesn't provide proper synchro record for analog input. This is a problem with all Sony's models, not just the R70. I had a Sharp 702 a couple years ago, and the synchro rec on that was superior to sony's. It wouldn't start recording until it detected an analog signal, and would stop recording when the signal was silent for more than 3 seconds. Sony makes you manually start and stop the recording which means you can't just let a the unit record from an analog source and go off and do your own thing; you have to be present to stop the recorder.

So all in all I'm not too impressed. I guess if you're looking for a small portable with decent features, the R70 is OK, but you can probably find a better offering from another brand. Over the past couple years I've grown to dislike Sony's audio products because I feel they have poor interface design (witness the menu system on the R70, or the small buttons on the R55 which are hard to differentiate between without looking at the unit), they don't offer as many features as competing products, and the quality isn't too good - this is my 3rd portable sony MD player in 2 years. The other two broke down after about 7 months each which just isn't acceptable for a product that costs this much. I can buy a $10 tape player that lasts longer than that. I know that MD players are much more complicated than tape players, but when I pay $250 for an MD player I should be paying for high quality as well as high technology. I recently purchased the Sony MZ-R70 (black) in europe. The only things that differ, are the optical cabel and the headphones are a little different.

For a long time I have been borrowing my brothers MZ-R55, but I got tired of not having one myself. This gives me a fairly good idea about which of the two is the better buy.

I liked the MZ-R55 extremely much, and there were only a few things wrong with it. First of all I never used the remote. The backlit display is cool and everything, but i eats up all battery, even if you put the additional 2xAA holder on the back. That is one of the major improvements on the MZ-R70, it conserves energy with the new 40 second playback deal. It makes a little noise for 4 seconds where it stores 40 seconds of playtime, and then plays it, and so forth...(it plays continuous) This insures that the engine inside is run at an absolute minimum, to save battery power. Sure it makes a little noise, but it also plays music for the same amount of time the MZ-R55 does, only it does so on a single AA battery. BIG ADVANTAGE!!

Another cool thing about the MZ-R70 is the second line out. I know a few people have said that they have no use for it, but to me it has two advantages.

1. It allows other people to hook up there headphones to your music... You know if you want them to hear something cool, but you wanna be able to hear it at the same time. I remember sitting two people, each holding one part of the headphones,to be able to hear the same thing.

2. I like to use slightly bigger headphones(Sony MDR-CD180). The only problem is that the cord for them is already a little long, and after hooking up the remote the cord hangs all the way to the floor. On the MZ-R55 i had to roll the extra cord in a ball and put it in my pocket... SUCKS. But on the MZ-R70, I can stick the remote in one outlet, and the headphones in another. That way the remote dosenīt drag down on the headphones either. BIG ADVANTAGE!!

Just for the record. The bumb on the back is not a problem...

Light weight. BIG ADVANTAGE!!

The draw backs:

The remote doesnīt have a display, but as I stated earlier, I donīt have a problem with that, saves energy, and the remote can be handled with one hand (unlike the MZ-R55 remote). But if you wish you can hook up one of the other remotes with display to the unit. (Someone said it worked).

The noise, that the machine makes, which really isnīt a problem, as you are gonna listen to the music and not the unit.

If anyone disagrees with anything stated here, please write me at t101@haloonline.com This Mini Disc Recorder player comes with an assortment of pro's and cons - all in all I am extremely pleased with my purchase and would highly recommend the MZ-R70 to anyone. However, I must caution you on a few cons with respect to the MZR-70. Yes, we all agree the player should come with a back-lit remote and display - the remote control is real cheap but extremely functional - a friend has the MZR-90 but it's remote is slightly cheapesh as well although it is back-lit - it also according to my friend malfucntions all the time - he would rather have the MZ-R70's remote since it is more robust - but I cannot figure out why SONY didn't add a clip to the damn thing - it just dangles and pulls on the left earphone all the time - I am thinking of glueing on my own clip because it does get annoying. The second biggest gripe is the supplied head phones - although the sound is pretty good they are uncomfortable as hell and keep falling out of my ears - I went out and did some research and settled on the best sounding & fitting earphones in the world - SONY's MDR-EX70LP are amazing - it takes the Mini Dsic to new levels of sound enjoyment - it truly is a must buy to get the best out of your digital or analog recordings - go buy them - you won't regret it. Third problem is you have to go out and buy all the necessary wiring which can cost quite a bit - I mean you already pay over $400 Cdn it can add up - it's good they provide you with a TOSLINK cable but they forget that most people don't have a compatible CD-player or Sound Card - the simple RCA to Digital should have been added. Fourth problem - the mechanical noise is so loud - for those of you that are planning to use this a voice recorder you must keep this in mind - frankly when it's tucked away inside your pocket and the ear phones on you will not hear it at all - however when you're alone in a room this annoying noise keeps rumbling on and on. Fifth problem - the MZ-R70 takes forever to shuffle between songs - you have to wait 3 to 4 secs. I know this is related to the memory buffer and also the battery conservation (which is quite low 4 hours tops) but very disappointing. Sixth - although people say that it does MP3's this can be misleading - you can record MP3's sure but the Mini Disc does not decode the MP3 - you're basically feeding the player with music and it records it the same as if you where recording off a CD - think of thr Mini Disc as simply as very versatile recorder using a bunch of different mediums - it does not DECODE Lastly, SONY provides you with a real cheap bag tha is about two sizes big made from some cheap vinyl material with no padding. To think they could provide you with something slighlty more stylish with some sort of padding considering that this is quite a delicate peice of equipment.

I don't mean to discourage you but I feel you should be aware of all the facts before you spend a few hundred of dollars. On the bright side the MZ-R70 is so easy to use - never skips - very stylish - amazing sound with the MDR-EX70LP Fontopia Ear Phones - extremely compact and light - only uses one battery (recharable) - excellent display which is easy to read - record MP3 straight to the recorder from you PC - SONY quality all the way. Go buy it for it's well worth the money. Just about two weeks ago, I purchased the Sony MZ- R70 from Circuit City. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the MZ-R90, it's the Sony Walkman Minidisc player which is in all the commercials with the furry alien.

Previously, I had purchased the Aiwa AM-C80, a machine which, unfortunately, did not live up to my standards. First of all, it didn't come with an internal battery (instead, it came with a car kit). Second, I accidently closed my car door on the remote (because the weak clip didn't hold to my clothes) and the LCD on the remoter failed. Third, when attempting to insert a minidisc into the machine, it wouldn't go in, and I had to send the machine back for a refund. This all too place within two weeks of purchase. I also personally found the feel of the machine too weak. No matter what, do not get the AM-C80. The AM-F80 is a much better choice ('cause it comes with an internal battery).

THE APPEARANCE: I've got to say, this machine looks really nice. I got it in the blue color, and it looks fantastic. A lot of people badmouth the bump on the back, but it's actually not that bad. If I put it on a table, it's at an angle for easy viewing of the LCD. It's no problem for your ordinary pocket.

THE FEEL: When I first removed it from the packaging, I was extremely pleased with the feel. Compared to the AM-F80, this thing was much stronger. It felt strong and durable. This is very important for me.

THE EJECT: Another problem which I didn't mention with the AM-C80 was it's eject. You had to pry apart the lid, and often times one side would open before the other. The MZ-R70 has a one touch eject system... Yes! It has a small button on the side. When you push it, the lid pops open cleanly and the disc shoots out half way. Nice. I did run into a small problem, where it needed a little help, but it worked well again afterwards.

THE BUTTONS: On the MZ-R70, there are play, back, forward, stop, pause, volume up, volume down, end search, REC, enter, open, Tmark, Synchro REC, Hold, and Menu. I have to say, I think the AM-C80 did better than the MZ-R70. It had no end search and a jog dial (for easy editing and volume control). However, I can't say that the buttons are bad on the MZ-R70. They work, are durable, and suit the situation.

BATTERY LIFE: I don't remember the playback time for the AM-C80, but that doesn't matter 'cause it didn't come with an INTERNAL BATTERY! I think the playback time on the MZ-R70 is around 11 to 14 hours. I myself recharge the machine whenever I get the chance, and I use it a lot, and I've never run out of battery. That's good enough for me.

SKIP RESISTANCE: I can't compare the AM-C80 to the MZ-R90 on this one. My AM-C80 never skipped (I don't recall). I skateboard a lot. I go down bumpy streets and boardslide things, ollie, etc. and it has never skipped. That is just amazing. The Skip Resistance is good.

END SEARCH: I have heard a lot of dirt on the end search. I heard some people have accidently deleted entire recordings. I have dreaded Sony Machines because of this, but I find it not that hard to deal with. For those of you who do not know, End Search is a button which takes you to the end of the disc so you can start recording from the end. If you don't press end search before you start recording, you'll start recording from the beginning, through the music that's already there! I have made two recordings so far, and after hearing all the dirt about end search, I've learned to press it instinctivly. So I have no quarrel with End Search.

RECORDING: I had never recorded with the AM-C80. I have a minidisc deck, so I already had a complete collection. But I tried to record with the MZ-R70, and everything went wrong. I didn't care, because every recording I did afterwards went perfectly. Pretty easy, so disregard what I said above, recording is good.

EDITING: Long ago, I recorded a Soundgarden Mix. It was incomplete, and I wanted to add another song. So I recorded it. Then I wanted to move it from the last song to the fifth. Not that hard. Pretty easy. Then I wanted to name it. Well, the AM-C80 had a Jog dial, for very easy labeling. Since the MZ-R90 didn't have a jog dial, I had to press the button a lot of times before I got to the right letter. Nevertheless, it still works well. I heard the MZ-R90 and 900 have Jog Levers, so I'll check those out later.

THE REMOTE: The AM-C80 had an excellent remote. It even had an LCD screen on the remote. But the clip on the back was weak, and it ended up screwing up the whole remote. It's pretty simple, there are buttons for play/forward, back, stop, volume + and -, hold, delete, Tmark, and Edit. It has no LCD screen on it, so you'd have to look at the main LCD to see the track name or track number. I has no clip on the back, which is a big burden because you can't clip it to your clothes. However, my belt does fine. The buttons are fairly easy to use, you'll be able to handle it without looking in no time. It's made of plastic. Not bad, quite durable.

LCD SCREEN: The LCD screen on the AM-C80 was fine. It was nice and large. It was backlit. The MZ-R70's LCD screen is not to shabby. It's long and thin. It displays track name, track number, sound level, battery life, playback mode, track time remaining, mono indicator, bass level, synchro recording indicator, REC indicator, and a spinning disc to show that it's working. Unfortunately, it isn't backlit, so it's hard to see in the dark. Not that big a setback though.

INCLUDED HEADPHONES: I've got to say, they're not that bad for included headphones. Most of the time, the headphones or earphones that are included are downright dispicable. These aren't that bad. However, I do prefer earphones. A good thing about the MZ-R70 is that it has an extra headphone jack. Nice.

SOUND: When I put in my Rage Against the Machine minidisc, the sound was great. The bass was nice and clean, and the sound quality was excellent.

COMPUTER CONNECTOR: My MZ-R90 came with a connection to your PC, so you can record songs from MP3s and rip CDs. For me, it worked well. I use my Minidisc Deck for recording though, so it's just an extra for me.

OVERALL: Putting together all the elements, the MZ-R70 is a great machine, Super! Shibby! Cha! If you're looking for a strong, durable minidisc player with recording capabilities, small size, good sound, and nice looks, this is a great buy! I've owned the Sharp 702 portable recorder for several years (as well as two Sony home MD decks), and yesterday bought the Sony MZ-R70. Most of what the other reviewers have said about the R70 is very true, but there is one aspect they have paid little attention to, primarily because most of the reviews talk about listening, not recording. That is the noisy mechanism.

I use the Sharp 702 and Sony MZ-R70 mostly for live recording. The Sharp has a good manual recording volume control, which is ideal for recording music, especially classical music, where you want to set the gain once and then leave it for the rest of the concert. I bought the Sony strictly because of its automatic recording level control, which would "ride the gain" when I record voice or lectures, automatically compensating for volume differences between closeup and faraway speakers.

The high mechanical noise level is OK if you keep your microphones far away from the recorder, and if you don't mind people around you hearing the unit work.

Unfortunately, I have two sets of microphones -- a stereo mike made up of two electrets, and a compact mono electret mike primarily for recording meetings and lectures -- both of which mount directly on the recorder. This setup works very well with the ultra-quiet Sharp, but is virtually useless on the Sony MZ-R70 (unless you record ear-splitting loud rock music), because both mike setups pick up far too much motor noise.

In fact, the noise is loud enough to be clearly noticeable to people sitting near you. No possibility of making a "stealth" recording!

Furthermore, because the motor is constantly changing its speed (and therefore pitch of the sound), it is not even possible to come up with some DSP signal-processing scheme to filter it out of the recording later.

All in all, the MZ-R70 is an impressive little unit, light, power-efficient, and all that, but readers should be aware of this one problem if they intend to use it for any kind of live recording. I received my Sony MZ-R70 today in the mail. I bought it to replace a Sharp 702 which, while a solid performer, leaves me paranoid about the possibility of UTOC ERROR or TOC ERRORa messages while I'm recording a live show or something else.

First impression: it's tiny! The face of the unit is the size of an MD in a slipcover. The thickness is about that of two MDs in covers, with a little bump for the AA-form factor battery bay. I've read other reviews in which people gripe about the bump -- having had a Sharp 702, a 722 and an MD-MT15, the tiny size of the R70 is a dream come true.

It comes with all the necessary accessories -- AC Adapter, TOSLink cable with a miniplug end, headphones (which I'm not going to use, I hate those in-the-ear style headphones), a NiCD battery (which I'm probably not going to use, since I already have 8 NiMH batteries and an external charger), the remote (non-LCD, not a big issue for me) and a carrying case/pouch.

The sound quality on this unit is superb. As I've already indicated, I've used Sharp units in the past. Sharp units are very bass-heavy -- and the newer the model, the heavier the bass. I have to believe that there's some dynamic range loss involved (and eventually some hearing loss for their users, too.) Fortunately, the Sony's sound reproduction is very precise all across the spectrum, bass is not over-emphasized, it's just right. Another complaint I've read about the MZ- R70 is that the headphone output is too low -- while I think that at an equal volume setting with the same headphones, the Sharp seems louder than the Sony at first, the Sony sounds better longer, if that makes sense. The AVLS seems to work well, although I was surprised at how loud the volume was when the AVLS warning came up. It could be the headphones I was using (MDR-V600) are fairly sensitive, I don't know. I just know I'm 30 and paranoid about hearing loss after a few earplug-less concerts in my earlier twenties... I've not tried any analog recording with it yet.

Editing is fairly easy, although not very intuitive if you're a Sharp user. I recorded a CD onto a Minidisc that already had one CD recorded on it, then removed the track marks from the first CD, then moved it to after the CD I'd just recorded, then put the track marks back in manually (the CD I recorded was older than the one already on the MD, so I wanted them in chronological order) -- the track mark button makes it very easy, no "edit" then "divide" like on the sharp. The same with removing track marks, just hit the track mark button at the beginning of a track with the unit paused. Very easy.

Now, the cons.

Coming from the Sharp MD world in which it's assumed you don't want to overwrite preexisting audio on a disc, the necessity of the "END SEARCH" button is absolutely beyond me! What a pain! Oh well... just have to remember to write protect discs before I put them in the recorder, lest I lose music.

The unit does make a fair amount of mechanical noise, but it's bearable. I usually listen to my MDs at coffee shops with conversation and music, so it's not a big issue for me. The seek time is also a little bit slow because of the power- saving feature. I can live with it, though.

To sum up -- a great machine that's getting cheaper nowadays, since the R900 is coming out. I highly recommend the R70. My experience with minidiscs has been pretty short but I have experienced alot. It started when I bought a Sharp MD-MT15 in June 2000. I used it until early February 2001. It got a little banged up. I also was looking around the net and I realized I can get recorders that are MUCH smaller and have alot more features. So I look on ebay for a cool deal. I end up looking at the Sharo MD-MS 702. Even though it is the same size as the MT15 and a bit older, I really liked the Backlit remote and the slot-in feature. But I quickly found out the UTOC malfunction that Is common among those players.

So that brings me to about a week and a half ago. I got my money back and returned the 702. I decided to steer away from Sharp minidiscs and go to Sony which is what people keep telling me to do. I went to the store and bought the MZ-R70 because It was in my price range and I figured I wouldn't need the bigger features that models like the R90 had. I brought it home and man was it great. It was SO much smaller than the Sharp units. At first I thought I wasnt going to be able to figure out the controls beacuse they involved much more button-pushing than the Sharp ones but I quickly mastered them in about an hour. I wasn;t a big fan of the Automatic Gain Control feature on the volume because I like loud muisc. But I quickly solved that problem through mannual volume level setting. The battery life is great and the fact that I can use a AA or a rechargeable without having to use a different compartment is very convenient.

The one downside is the remote. While it is cool that you can use it for editing, it has no LCD, let alone backlit LCD. So I went around the net and looked for a solution and they said that you can use the remote from the R90 or a "universal" remote that sony makes but they were both too expensive. So i found a remote on ebay from the MZ-E60 player , tried it and it worked to my surprise.

So all minor problems were solved and now I have the best Recorder out there in the $200-300 price range. I Got this great minidisc recorder a few weeks ago and i am dead impressed with the sound quality on the playback of the unit. i definitely don't notice any drop in sound quality and i think it is a bit better than c.d quality sound.

here are the good points about the player -:

1. High quality recording sound even with analogic input
2. Very small compact and lightweight, you forget it's in your pocket most of the time
3. 40 sec ASP is so wicked when like me you are out jogging a lot this is a godsend as i used to have a personal c.d player and you couldn't even walk without it skipping.

1. the mechanical noise of the player. this is ok if you keep it tucked inside your jacket pocket or something but if you're titling without the earbuds in then the noise is bound to infuriate you.
2. the supplied earbuds. the sound quality is ok but the volume is far too low to be heard and they don't fit very comfortably in your ears so if anyone has any suggestions of decent earbuds please e-mail me at sam@heathcroft.freeserve.co.uk
3. when your recording with line input it can sometimes misplace tracks and it's very annoying when you have to go back through and find out which tracks are duds and the ones which will give you more space.

well this is what i thought of the mz-r70 so overall i am very happy with it but please e-mail me with suggestions of decent earbuds please as these ones are horrible

Buying

I have, for most of my life had a cassette walkman of some type. Normally either a Sony or Aiwa and allways a good model > Ģ100 with a pair of after market cannes (supplied headphones are PANTS, not normally even covering the frequency range of the walkman ?). So upon the increasing popularity of Minidisc i decided to buy one for my birthday. Off i trotted to the shops with Ģ250 quid in my pocket...

All the usual brands supplied a player at that price but only one or two offered a recorder, due to the lack of my kind of music being availible on Minidisc i opted for a recorder, the Sony MZ-R70. Now bearing in mind that for the last 15 years ive had probably 2 walkmans a year all high models with good headphones, i initially found the sound quality of the R70 to be absolutley HORRIBLE. The type of strong fat bass i was used to with good quality chrome/metal tapes was totally absent, although what the player lacked in bass it made up for in mid/upper range. I guessed i would have to do some recording of my own before i could really judge the quaility of sound (and dump the pants cannes that came with the MD).

Recording from a cd

Off home i go to put some tunes on the ten Minidiscs i managed to blag from the retailer for nowt. Using the analogue out (the suplied optical connector did not fit my amp or cd) of my very expensive meridian cd player via a 2 x gold RCA(phono) to gold 4.5mm headphone plug lead i recorded the Chemical Brothers Elektrobank, first using the onboard autolevel thingy, then by setting the level manually. As you might have guessed upon playback the autolevel was up and down - in and out to the point of insanity. TIP: Allways set recording level manually over a few tracks on the intended album !(not just a few seconds of one track).

Recording from a pc

Recording mp3's from a pc is a different bag of marbles altogether. The amount of noise generated by the computer is almost unbearable via an analogue connection. I could hear the cycling whistle of the cd motor, the harsh grinding of the hard disk and the incesant whistle of the monitor. I dont have the use of a digital output on my Soundblaster pci128 so i cannot comment on that as a viable option, suffice to say light dosent suffer from the electrical interference that a standard physical connection does. So i imagine a whole world of improvement !

Sound quality

Now i dont know about you guys but i have a portable music device so that i can listen to my tunes as loud and as often as i like so, the quaility is VERY important to me. My initial reaction to the quality of the Sony was that it wasnt all that good, when compared to my current Sony WM-EX674 walkman it sounded like an orchesra in a bean tin ! But after several fiddlings with recording levels and megabass it became bearable. Now some four months later the sound qualitiy has improved, mainly due to my recording experience and the six pairs of headphones i have tried before finding a set that brings the best out of the player.

Conclusion

I would reccomend this Minidisc recorder only to people that are buying for the first time, it seems to have a good set of features and an easy to use contol panel. I reccomend anybody buying a new Minidisc player or walkman to consider investing in a set of after market headphones, this can make the world of difference even on top end devices. If you are going to be recording from a pc you WILL need a digital output to avoid the noise problems i encountered. If you are used to high quality walkmans as i am then this player will be a bit of a let down on sound quality but for Ģ199 or there abouts you cant really go wrong. Its also good for recording audio with a microphone (spying).

BTW: If anybody knows what version of ATRAC this player uses can they drop me a line with the relevant info ? I have had my recorder since july of 2000 and love it. I have the blue one and someone said that the paint chips off this is true if you use it as a hockey puck. What im saying the paint stays on it.

Comparing i also had a MD-R90 (sony) and didnt really need the added features and bought a 70 tested both and realized simple is the way to go. Returned the 90 and kept the 70. Granted the 90 has a lit remote but who really looks at the screen anyhow i dont i use it in my car if im driving i need to look at the road not a screen (sonys way of preventing trafic accidents?). Nevertheless the editing freatures on the remote are cool too (90's remote had no edit features). My brother has a sharp (i have no idea what model) and we switched just to see which was the better and we both agreed that the 70 was by far the best of the 2.

There is a rechargable battery included (cost no joke 80 bucks i asked circut city if they had more and they said ya for 80 dollars and they have to order from sony). That battery is fine AS LONG AS YOU RUN IT ALL THE WAY DOWN ************ DO NOT CHARGE IT EVERYDAY AFTER A LITTLE USE IT WILL MESS IT UP DEEP CYCLE IT IF YOU NEED A FRESH BATTERY PUT IT ON REPLAY AND DRAIN IT THEN CHARGE THE BATTERY ****************

I have also heard about a noise factor 1) You cant hear it when using headphones 2) You can hear it while its plugged into your home stereo if you right up on it or if you have the volume really down its not a horrible noise either.

I use it to record my band right from the sound board (better than the old cassette tapes we used to use) and it performs perfectly. It does have one glich and its not really a bad thing i have heard that it is too quiet when playing back thru a stereo or whatever there is a way to increase the volume (obviously someone didnt read the manual hummmmm........?)

BOTTOM LINE:

Great Sound, Great Features (all the good stuff none of the junk), Great Price

oh ya final note the bump is cool I purchased this unit about a month ago at Future Shop. The salesperson was friendly, he even joked around with me.

I went home and recorded some MDs from my cable box. I found the unit to be noisy, but after a while, I got used to it.

After listening to a few MDs I recorded, I wanted to make a copy of a cassette. So, I used the Manual Record level control, and did some recording. The recording did OK, but I lost the MD due to the Sony telling me "the MD is not record able."

So, I went back to Future Shop, and returned it. That went all right. I went to the mall to look inside the box, and there was the wrong remote! I phoned back, and told the salesperson my problem. He agreed to take a look at it.

The next day, I talked to the same salesperson (now he's got an attitude.) He said to the customer service person, "Now what's wrong?" After a while, he did come to see my predicament. I got the right remote, and a new optical cord. No problems now with the MZ-R70.

Good Points: Good sound overall. The earphones are tiny, so I haven't used them. I like the remote. It's cute and small. The unit itself is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, or jeans. The twin headphone jack is a good idea; so far I've used it once (in a car). The display is big enough to see the track title, time, and miscellaneous. Battery compartment is in a good place. Dust inside the unit is not an issue. Using a head cleaner, and a laser cleaner gets rid of the dust that may cause skipping, and misalignment.

Bad Points: The carrying case is showing signs of stress. I don't know where to get a replacement, but that is not a problem. When i first got this, i felt that the whole recording and listening simulation was going to be trouble, but after a day, i knew everything about it like i had it for years. i've always wanted this because since i'm not good with cd's, it's impossible to break.

Sound-i have to admit, a regular sony cd player beats the volume on this, but with rich, and deep sound who cares about how loud it is?

Recording-this section of it is amazing, becuase you can record from anything as long as it has a line out. i only record from my CD Player, PS2, and my PC.

Battery Life-This is very important to me, but the battery life is pretty good for me because i barely listen to my music so i always have time to recharge the battery when it's not in use.

Price-i bought this for 150.00, this price is not bad at all for such a universal object.

Durability-this has a pretty good life when it comes to this because i dropped it 7 times already and it's still brand new.

blanks-the blanks are not that much, they are about the same price you pay for a CD, so this is good because it comes with 5 blanks.

Overall-This is worth every penny of any price you pay, and i think that this will serve well to whoever buys it. The Sony MZ-R70 is what everyone wants in a mini disc. Small portable and esay to use. The one I got came with an optical cabe and USB to analog converter. The player in itself come in 3 colors the front displays an array of buttons and a generously sized screen.

Digital Recording with the optical cable is as good as it gets. With un-audiable distortion. It allows editing of mini disc and adding things like names and song information. The most significant problem is that downloaded MP3's can only be recorder in analog and already mastered mini discs can't be compied in analog. but a way to get around this is to burn it on a CD and then copy it digitally. The headphones it came with were surprisingly good for something that came with a product. The only problem with that is that the remote already comes with an almost full langth cable and the cable for the headphones is too small for any other use but both combined make a perfect sized cord. Although that sounds good if you try to add another headphone set (i.e. Sony Street Style headphones) The cord is abotu 10 feet long so it will be draging on the ground. But a way to fix this is to roll up some of the cord a little and put it in your pocket.

Labeling the disc and tracks is a little hard sense you have to scroll through the whole alphabet. The battiers life is OK but Sony give you a recharger and a rechargable Battery. All in all, one of the best players out their it has its weak points but the good definetly out weigh the weak, made none other but everyones favorite, SONY!!!!

A BEST BUY for sure!