By David Miles Huber
The Sony MZ-G750DPC Recorder/Player
I'd like to lay a little groundwork before getting to what I hope will be a short review of a killer, new and inexpensive product.
Over the past few years, I've really gotten into MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) for encoding my CDs to hard disc, archiving to CD-ROM and for downloading to my handy-dandy MP3 player. In short, high-quality, compressed audio has made it much easier for me to listen to music on the go. The downside of all this is that most media players use fairly expensive solid-state memory cards that are often limited in size (even 256Mb cards don't hold that much music and the stuff that you want to listen to usually back at home on your PC). The technology is really cool, but after a while I began to tire of the space limitations and started to look elsewhere for a small and simple solution — I found it in the MiniDisc.
Why MiniDisc?
This is an easy question. The MD is cheap (my favorite local office supplier has 5 discs in a nifty case for $10). It also lets you record tons of music (74/80 minutes in the standard mode, over 2 1/2 hours in MDLP Mode 2 and 5 hours in Mode 4!). I've found Mode 2 to be high enough in quality for even semi-critical music, while Mode 4 is decent for non-critical music and voice. Enuf of this...on with the review of a cool MiniDisc recorder!
The Sony MZ-G750DPC includes three components — the recorder/player itself, a small remote control and a USB lightpipe port for recording digitally from your PC or Mac.
The Recorder/Player
Measuring roughly 3" x 3" x 1", the MZ-G750D ($299.95) is a trooper of a portable recorder. The transport and system controls are easy-to-use and, unlike other MD recorders that I've seen, the disc edit controls are straightforward (due to the small LCD readout display).
Playback and recording can be done in any of 3 modes — Standard (ATRAC), Mode 2, Mode 4 and Mono). I've actually standardized on Mode 2, as the audio quality is very close to the standard mode and record/play times are increased from 74min to 2hr 49 min.
On the audio-quality front, I find the sound to be amazingly good! Recording live from a mic results in a sound quality that's high enough to be used in a project (personally, I use it to record nature sounds and for sampling instruments into my studio sampler...although, from what I've heard, it shouldn't have any problem capturing a live concert or impromptu jam).
Of course, the best part of having a G750 is the ability to easily go into record mode almost anywhere, often in a matter of just a few minutes (or seconds, if you're already setup). Unlike tape or DAT, the MD has an " end-of-disc" feature, that automatically starts recording at the point where the disc ends... therefore, using the automatic level-setting circuitry (which can easily be manually defeated), going into record can be done by simply sliding the record switch. With the optional Sony ECM-DS70P stereo, electret condenser mic (which is incredibly small, light, gets it's power directly from the MD, is surprisingly decent in quality and costs about $70), your entire recording setup can literally be about twice the size of a pack of cigarettes.
Power is supplied from a single, rechargeable AA NiCad battery, which is included in the bundled package. Here's the fun part: using the one battery, the recorder can run non-stop for up to 5 hours! Recharging is as simple as plugging in the unit's wall wart and pressing the stop/charge button (which usually takes about a half hour).
The Cool, Little RC
OK, let's get the best part about the remote control outa the way. When plugged into the recorder, the teeny-tiny RC not only gives you immediate access to basic playback transport functions (great when jogging, working out, etc.), but it also turns the system into a good AM/FM-stereo radio. Just think of it as an extra bonus, when waiting for a bus or listening to your favorite radio show (as far as I know, you can't record a program off the air).
The USB Digital Port
An included USB "Digital PCLink" allows a soundfile to be digitally streamed from a PC or Mac, via an optical S/PDIF lightpipe cable that plugs into the MD's audio in jack (either stereo analog or digital inputs can be plugged into the jack). Once installed, any media playback application can be routed to this port, allowing audio to be played into the MD in real-time. Although the transfer is done in real-time, you won't have to babysit the recorder as the start, stop and index process is completely automated. Just place the MD into record, start the music playlist and walk away. Since discs are cheap enough to record lots of music, I find that recording audio in real-time is less of a hassle than continuously downloading audio into an MP3's solid-state memory.
In summary, for folks who want to take hours & hours of pre-recorded music or listen to the radio on the go...with the luxury of literally being able to pull your recording gear out of your pocket and start recording at a moment's notice...I'd suggest that you give the Sony MZ-G750DPC a serious listen.
— David Miles Huber