1. The most important factor is SOUND goddamnit and my old MZ just sounds better.
2. The 900 shows FAR more noise on analog recordings !!! (on dig rec. itīs about the same)
3. The max. volume on the headphone output is critically low. Not enough for listening to some recordings in loud environments.
4. Since I usually have my portables connected to my HiFi (Accuphase & Co.) and the 900 just has one output, so switching from the default headphone setting to Line out via menu is a real chore. You have to do it any time that thing turns off / you turn it on. Uagggggghhhh.
5. Erasing is another pain. Donīt even think about buying this little sucker if you wanna use it for a lot of mixing or moving stuff. When I tried some mixing on that unit it really gave me a hard time. To erase a track you have to go thru a menu, and if you have to do this often just think about buying another unit.
6. I donīt need any of those new doodads (music alarm, var. pitch, personal settings, bla bla)
7. Telling from my experience with other SONY gadgets and the reviews I stumbled across I have that strange feeling that the 900 wonīt last too long and Iīm not gonna spend about US $330 for a toy thatīs built to last about 2 years and then needs to have that optical block/laser exchanged for about half that price. Nah.

PS: Well done SONY. The 500 looks like itīs made in Russia and the 700 has no time stamp and a plastic back. Brrr. Canīt have it all. Having used a Sharp MT821 for over a year, mainly to record my 3-hour lectures, I was delighted to hear that Sony brought out a MDLP recorder, which would allow me to record the WHOLE lecture on one MD in LP4 mode, and in stereo as well.

I bought a silver Hong Kong model from the Sony operated Sony Pro Shop, which comes with a UK power supply (we share the same mains sockets), earphones, rechargeable battery and case, an external AA battery attachment, optical cable, AND 15-month local Sony warranty! A 3-month parts-only international warranty is also available from Sony on request. If you are buying it from a local reputable authorised dealer, they sell the unit at the same price as the Sony shop, so that will save a lot of legwork for you.

Being unfamiliar with Sony MD machines, it is advisable to read the whole manual to get acquainted with its idiosyncrasies. Since Sony puts jog dials on their Vaio and Clié machines, I was surprised to find 2 jog levers instead of dials on this one, but they operate just like any other jog levers. With past Sony MD recorders, recording starts at the current position on the disc (just like a cassette) unless the user specifically use End Search to get to the end of the previous recording. This model is the first to have the End Search enabled permanently, and as soon as I started the unit, the first thing I did was to switch the Recording Position to FROM END. Speaking of similarities with cassette recorders, another feature I like is the auto recording level and the level lock during recording - you can only adjust it during PAUSE. It may be a pain recording lectures at the beginning, but I often made the mistake on the 821 of adjusting the recording level when recording music, so I'm not complaining. One of the main reasons why I initially bought the 821 was because of its periodic Track Marking feature. Now this model has it too, with 5/10/15 minutes intervals, although I prefer the 3min interval of the Sharp for my lectures. The LCD is clear despite the small size and the remote is much neater than the 821's - only the remote has backlight. The NiMH battery lasts longer on one charge too despite the 821 using Lithium battery. For those who use different playback settings on different discs, you will now be able to save your personal preferences such as volume for each disc, up to 20, and so long as you do not change the content of the disc, the unit will recall the settings automatically as soon as you insert it.

What don't I like about it compared with the 821? For one thing some customised options such as Track Marks switch back to the default setting after it's switched off or disc change, so you have to set it all up again. The recording level indicator has no dB marks on it - actually it has no markings on it whatsoever, making it hard to judge where the 0dB mark is when adjusting recording level manually. There is no Synchro- recording without using the optical cable. Also, one cannot operate the unit while the battery is being charged.

Finally, there is the bundled MDR-E805 headphones. Wearing the earpiece simply hurts, in as quickly as 20 minutes, and they sound awful! The MDR-E888 was recommended to me as a replacement, so I looked all over for a pair, but no one stocked them. I eventually found out back at the Sony Pro Shop they had plenty of MDR- E888SP (with a 40cm cord for use with remote controls) in stock at US$38. I was blown away by its vibrant sounds and rich bass - I never knew earphones can sound this good! Definitely an accessory worth having with your MZ-R900. Well I took the plunge and bought one of these units. Previously I had a Sony MDR-35 recording unit which I was extremely pleased with. However once I opened the packaging on the new 900 unit I realised just how big and heavy the other unit was.

In use the machine is a joy. Track access is faster (although the R35 was pretty damm good as well). The MDLD2 is excellent and I suspect I shall be using that for most of my recordings from now on.

Battery consumption appears to be spot on. Luckily I have three Gumpack batteries spare so I don't think I will have any problems there.

Recording using the optical cable from my Pioneer PD-8700 produces outstanding results. BTW - the headphones supplied with the unit are dreadful - what the hell is Sony thinking by bundling this crap with a flagship product - anyone rememeber the outstanding headphones which came supplied with the original Walkman Professional?

That's it for now. After my mr91 failed to record, after about 3 weeks after purchase,the company i bought it from sent me the new one cos the 92 was discontinued. I was quite chuffed with this, as it was the top of the range mini disc.

The first the is its size, its smaller than any other sony mini disc, but its not really noticable.One thing that is noticable is the style, its alot more stylish than my old 91, and the remote is too.

The battery life is huge at about 58 hours on stereo and longer on longplay.Longplay is quite useful by the way and i see hardly any difference in quality between lp and stereo, so i use lp when recording most of the time.

It is also quite handy having 2 jog leavers, as they are faster to use than the buttons.

The 900 is a good mini disc all round, but it seems to cave in about 2mm when you push it down is the only bad point, plus the ugly case you get with it.If you are buying an md, i would reccomend this one after having owned a 91 and used the mzr-700.