i'm sure many of you saw the reviews of incredible mz-r91.. I got mine in like 2 weeks ago... direct from Japan.... i went there and bought for about... um.. 330 dollars?.. it wasn't that bad.. aite.. i just wanna make a quick and not boring review..

first.. the impression of the md is..Dang @%#^.. so small.... you see all these measurements in web.. but it's nothing like seeing it for yourself.. it is really small.. believe me. aite.. good thigns

1. small..

2. cool remote.. I like this better than the last one.. cylinder type remote... cuz it's more sleek and sporty.. hehe l like sporty.. oh well.. and those who complain cuz there isn't track mark button on the remote... i dont' really care. cuz only the main unit is like 2 feet away from the remote... dang lazy ppl..

3. name bank... if you are like me and want to label every songs you got in md.. though it takes alot.. it's really nice... the name bank stores 600 .. more than you need... imagine typing long singer's name over and over again.. with name bank.. you do that once.. and save it.. than next time you need it.. just press button like 5 times and it's there~

4. so many things.. like titling during play/ rec.. jog dial.. coo coo cool~

aite.. now bad things..

1. crappy earphone?.. many say this.. but i don't know.. cuz I didn't get the original one.. the store owner gave me cool one.. for free of course.. so lucky me, i guess?

2. not much.. um.. like it looks like it's gonna broke if you drop it only once.. but.. who cares about that..

oh well.. if you are thingking about buying one.. like MD unit.. I really like sony.. over sharp.. because of name bank and titling during play/rec if you wanna buy sony 91.. go to hyperjack.. it's web store.... they got 91 for 30000 yen.. which is about 290 bucks.. hehe.. enjoy The MZ-R91 is the c00Lest model around. I was forced to get the reddish pink one and it looks kinda feminine at some points, but the light just affects that. The recorder itself really is the size of two minidiscs stacked together. It is very light and easy to use. Others may have had trouble charging the battery, but if they spent the time to actually read the manual...well, maybe they would have figured out the battery goes in backwards so that the + is facing outwards. My stick battery really did live up to it's playback time, which was pretty impressive for a battery that small. Recording from my computer to the minidisc was really easy with my analog line. My soundblaster Live! card does have the option to upgrade to a digial i/o optical card and I'm eager to try the digial recordings. The stick remote that the provide is adquate for the job, but the display never seems to light up enough. The accessories are ok for the job, but the earbud headphones are really lame. For the price I paid, i think Sony should include some better ones at least. This is my first recorder and I have to admit i don't know all the functions and gimicks, but i really have to admit that the MZ-R91 is one kick a$$ recorder. I don't regret my decision at all...well maybe about the color...heh but everything else is awesome I bought this R91 in this May at RMB2900($349) in shanghia china. It's a blue one and an European model, which include international power adaptor and a fibre cord. Overall feeling is just as the review on the MD.org, cute shape, good sound, mismatched erabuds. The battery is about the same as 11hrs,enough.

One thing seems intresting is the sound interrupt occured not at the shaking time but at smooth section. Maybe interrupt just happened at the buffering out point, not matter how stable it is then.

Although the remote is multifunctional and tiny, but I still feel unconfortable when it hung on shirt. Thanks to base box's full function (Some Walkman's base unit exclude volumn control like FX-8), I use 821LP, Now it feels better.

Blank MD is something rare ans expensive here, But I found on Amozon.com bood price on it. I got my Japanese import earlier this year, 2000. Before I'd purchased this model I already knew some things about it, like the good and bad points in general, but still decided to purchase it since I'm a collector.

The R91 is just a clone (alternate version) of the R90. Both their features are pretty much the same. Compared to the R90, in terms of appearance this model actually passes off better than its counterpart, not much because of its available colours, but rather the design alone. The protruding LCD appeals to me; - it's all a matter of taste, really.

The size really drew back many things which, although we may not realize, would have otherwise contributed to the recorder being much more user friendly and commendable.

Firstly, the jog dial is gone again, as it has always been; appearing irregularly model after model. The new dial that is featured by the side of the recorder that allows us to access the menu options cannot be considered a jog dial, but rather a fixed dial instead. The jog dial allowed you to reach far down in the row of alphabets with just one flick, but you'd still have to turn the fixed dial either up or down and HOLD it there if you'd wanted to move far down the row - as good as using the Rew/Fwd buttons. Still impaired, if you get what I mean. At least there is a dial, let's just put it this way.

Secondly, the disc reading on the unit is slow enough to cause a slight impatience, though it is not as slow as been described by the other users in reviews. It takes about ten seconds or more from the time you load in a disc just to get the first track playing. Even when you press the Fwd button a few times to jump to a certain track, it still takes about four seconds at least to get that track playing. Quite bad, I must comment??

One more thing is the Line Out on the unit has been taken away and - worst of all - has been combined with the headphones-out, so you'll have to access the menu to switch to and fro here and there. It can be really irritating if you're playing your unit on an amplifier, because every time the unit powers off the parameter is automatically switched back to headphones, so you'll have to switch it back to Line Out again manually. There's no other way of doing it.

Another apparent problem that is seen by other users is the magnesium clamshell lid. People have claimed the lid to be too weak and said that it could be dented too easily. Well, this I wouldn't know, for I usually take really good care of any unit I own. I have four portables now, and all are still in excellent like-new-just-out-of-the- box condition. I guess that applies to collectors of anything.

Other than that, there are certain good points to this unit, too.

I have noticed when using this recorder that if battery life runs out completely the recorder would power off by itself. But after letting it rest for a while it can still play for a significant amount of time! Which means the battery seems to be able to charge itself a little bit (of course not as much as half, but noticeably) when the unit is powered off! This never works for units like the R50 or R55 which I own as well. I also believe this model is much preferred over the R55 mainly because of its improved battery life.

Another thing is, if you'd noticed, the stick remote is lighter (and more sleek, maybe) than the previous design, which was like a cylinder- tube.

Lastly of course - the size.

Other than the three main disadvantages mentioned above it is still rather nice to own this minute gadget, although I cannot understand why until now Sony still has not come up with a backlight for the LCD on the unit itself, which I believe would be SO much more convenient for users, eh? I got my 91 almost a year ago now and i absolutely love it. i upgraded from the 55 which was a decent unit. but the 91 is a great improvement. First of all the batterly life is great. with my 55 i had to recharge it every night and sometimes i didn't even get through the day without the battery dying on me. but with the 91 i have to recharge it about twice a week, four times max, if im listening all the time. the recharge time is relatively short, but that was never really a concern for me, since i always just charge it when i wouldnt be listening anyway.

the unit itself looks amazing. i got the blue one, japanese model. it even has japanese characters as a titling option (not that i know what they mean, but they cetainly look cool). the raised lcd gives the unit a very sleek look, and the way my gadgets look is of utmost improtance to me.

of course the headphobes that came with the unit are pretty crappy. but i dont think that any standard headphones are really that good. i got a better set and the sound is really good. nice bass, even with the bass level set on zero (it goes up to 2). the jog dial is nifty, but not that great, the unit could function just as well without it. the remote looks damn good and its clear to boot. recording qualityis a sgood as ive seen.

overall i would recommend this product to anyone. ive never had any problems with it. definitely a good choice. (that is until sony makes another unit thats smaller and cooler looking) I bought this back in April of 2000 and is enjoying it...

since i must have the latest technology and the product.. this was at that time the best MD recorder....

well.. i had chance to compare mine to many other top-notch MD recorders like (sony MD-R55 and MD- R90, sharp MT-831 and panasonic... um.. the latest one. and sony MD-R900)

i'm only more impressed by MD-R900...

ok.. the battery life is supposed to be *12 hours.. well yesterday .. mine ran for 5 hours and died... i think that's problem with battery not unit itself.

and the sound quality.. is.. less impressive than sharp mt-831.

but it is very small.. (as small as it can get) and you can now get this for very affordable price around $250 (if you go to japan.. it's about $200)

if you're thinking of buying latest like MD-R900 i recommend you not to.. because soon sony will release new model and it sucks not to be on top of the MD recorder..

btw.. for earphone.. i really recommend MDR-E888 i have MDR-E805 and it sucks... E888 i just got is the best.. (you can't notice it at first because you expected so high on that.. but as you listen more.. you can't go back.. hehe) I owned 4 MD portable recorders before, and i have an Home deck. I only bought recorders because i do titling on the move. My 4 Portable units:

1. Sony MZ-R50
   Absolutely Kick ass, Great unit for titling due to jog dial. But it grew too big and heavy.
2. Sharp MT-821
   Great Fantastic unit, Everything i wish for, tried and loved its recording functions (analogue synchronised recording proved to be a bliss for recording from computer's MP3)
3. Sharp MT-831
   Has everything the 821 got to offer, but smaller in size and longer battery life!!! better remote, and added Digital recording level adjustability. This is the Best unit so far.
4. Sony MZ-R91
   Cool looking unit, bought it cos like the size and cool looks. BUT this proved to be a MAJOR disappointment. The remote is upsidedown (does sony engineers walk with their hands?), The battery life is shorter than the 831. Some editing functions are not found on the R91 (such as join tracks), Irritating beep tones on pause. The worst problem is it skips out of nowhere, i am just walking on the street with the MD in my Bag, and it just skips. Problem which i NEVER had with my 831, I use the 831 to my Mountain Biking trips and they never skip under the vibrations too.