Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony MZ-R55 Portable MiniDisc Player and Recorder

I've read the other comments on this unit, and I have to say that they don't provide you prospective buyers with a very accurate view. I've used the Sony MZ-R55, owned a Sony MZ-R50, and own an Aiwa AM-F70 so I can easily compare this unit to others. The MZ-R55 may currently be the smallest unit in the US, but that's really all it is; what you do have is no battery life (4hrs) and a lack of features (more on that later). The Sony MZ0-R50 may have been large but at least it ran for more than twice the time of the R55, and the Aiwa AM-F70, may be slightly larger than the R55, but fully loaded it works for a whopping 30hrs. Now for the (lack of) features...no jog dial (very useful for titiling), no progammable play, and no backlighting on the unit itself. I'm sorry to bash this unit so badly, but those are the facts. On the upside, it is currently the smallest portable MD player/recorder (until something like March when the Sony MZ-R90 comes to the US) and hey, its made by Sony!

P.S. Both the Aiwa and the R50 have jog dials and longer play time. The Aiwa also has main unit backlighting (not only on the remote), and programmable play (true, this feature is somewhat useless on an MD). And guess what? Both players/recorders are much cheaper than the Sony.

So, you're interested in a Minidisc, eh? Good choice! Minidiscs are just great, beat the pants off CDs and MP3 for portable music. After learning to transfer MP3s to a Minidisc, I'll never go back again, I have seen the light!

Now, about this particular player. The size is wonderful, if you have had one of the larger players, you just won't believe the size of this. It is small and light and wonderful to carry around. However, as others have mentioned, battery life sucks. There really are better choices. I personally went with the MZ-R90, and it is superb. Tiny, tiny recorder/player with excellent battery life and great features. Unfortunately, Amazon.com does not carry it yet, but there definitely are places you can get them now with a US warranty. Check around.

Junk! Absolute junk!

The MZ-R55 looks and feels great - it fits into just about any tiny pocket! It has a neat remote control with a nice backlit LCD screen. Unfortunately, that's about where it all goes downhill.

Battery life sucks. If you're using the rechargeable chewing gum battery that it comes with, you'll be lucky to get through 2 discs before you hear that awful loud beep telling you that the battery has died ... AGAIN! If you're using the optional 2 x AA alkaline batteries, you might get through about 3 discs. Hell, if you're recording something, don't even bother, if what you're recording is likely to go for more than an hour. Gone are the days when you could play your minidisc for 12 hours straight, as you could with the previous model.

When you hook up the MZ-R55 to your hifi, the sound comes out a lot softer than other music sources. I've tried it with other MD decks, CD players, etc, and they all sound a lot louder than the MZ-R55.

The MZ-R55 doesn't seem to be able to take small vibrations very well. It does alright with big, sudden bumps, but when you've got it seated on the passenger seat in the car and you're going over a slightly bumpy road for a continuous period of time, it'll start to jump, and jump regularly.

Now to the functionality of the MZ-R55. You can't program tracks. It's difficult to edit song titles for your tracks as there's no 'wheel' - you have to rely on the up and down buttons.

Just don't bother with the MZ-R55 - you're better off going for the older or newer model. Size isn't everything - I'd much rather have a bulky MD that plays and plays, rather than a tiny toy who's battery won't last a 2 hour car journey.

I have had 3 different sony mini-disc portables.

If you are going to buy only 1 unit ( I have a full deck and this portable ) you'll be frustrated with anything less than this one. That's because the control placement for editing are well designed.

If you have two units ( 1 deck and 1 portable ) you should have this as part of you portable. I bought the sony bundle first ( the deck and portable unit ). The problem here is you can't record or edit with the portable. I real bummer if you go over to your friends place and hear something you've gotta have. Not to mention if you need to record a meeting or a lecture, you'll be out of luck if you've bought the sony bundle.

I run with this unit and it will skip only about 3 times over 8 miles of terrain.

The other nice thing about this is it small. Fits in you shirt pocket. If you'll be editing while your jogging like I do, the add on battery pack that holds an additional 2 AA is a nice feature.

If you want this unit to go out biking or blading or running, you are out of luck. I bought mine last May; by the end of Summer, and after a couple of accidental normal pulls the headphones stop working. At the juncture of the cable and the plug from the remote the inner cables became exposed. Then I dropped the unit from a 3 feet hieght and it stopped working all together. I'm really sorry I bought this thing.