Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony MZ-R909 Silver Recordable MiniDisc Walkman

This sony mini-disc recorder is amazing. It is almost like the MZR-900 but with many more features, first what strikes me first is the amazingly small size of this player. It is so small and yet has so many functions you wonder where they are. This is Sony's first unit to have group mode that allows you to put groups on your Mini Disc(many users found it annoying to go through all the tracks and using LP4 you could have over 50 tracks on one mini-disc). The choice is yours to keep it on but i find it extremey useful. The unit has a 3 Dot-Matrix screen showing you all the vital information you need to see. The buttons are layed out very well, and it has a Jog Diall that fully rotates(gets you into the main/complex system). The Mini-Disc Long Pay option is very good, letting you record up to 5 hours of music on a 80minust mini disc(using LP4). The remote supplied with it is as good as it gets, but if i was forced to make a crtisism about it i would say that having the option to record from the remote would have been nice. All in all this is a very solid unit and one of the tops around.

The Sony MZ-R909 is one of the best MD walkmans ever. It is packed full of useful features. It is very easy and simple to use with the aid of the jog Dial which proves to be very handy and quick to use. Recording is very easy indeed. All you do is play the music you want to record, hook up your walkman and press record. I have to admit that I needed to buy another cable but that was only because my Hi-Fi is really old.

The remote is very handy and stylish. It means you don't have to go reaching into your pocket to alter the volume or go onto the next track etc. but it lacks a record button. Most of the features on the walkman are accessible via the remote so it is very handy.

The MZ-R909 is great if you are new to the MiniDisc phenomeon and at a relatively low price as well. The manual is almost made redundant as it is so easy to use but it is required to look up technical terms such as AVSL and so on.

The Battery life is incredible and can last for a very long time with very short recharging times. Although, when recording, the battery power is used up very quickly. The package comes with a recharable battery which is used in conjunction with the charging cradle and it also comes with an external, dry battery linking device where you place a normal AA battery inside and connect it up to the walkman and use normally. I haven'y found a use for this yet as teh rechargable battery is so long lasting but it can be used as a backup. It also adds on a bit of extra weight and it makes the walkman bigger but it can be quite useful.

Overall this is a great, small, stylish, lightweight, affordable, useful, easy to use and durable little MD walkman, so BUY IT!!!

Once again I ummed and ahhed for months over which Minidisc player to buy. Should I go for the NetMD or should I stick to the standard technology. My two main uses for the Minidisc recorder were copying stuff from CD so I can listen to music on the MD-changer in the car, and also recording samples and live gigs using an external microphone.

Because I wasn't really that fussed about hooking the recorder upto my PC and copying across MP3's - I decided to save £50 by plumping for the top-end 'standard' model, over the top-end NetMD model. And it was the right decision.

The MZ-R909 is a lovely looking piece of kit, small enough to fit in the palm of my big sweaty hand yet strong enough to withstand my squeezing. While the loading mechanism appears a little flimsy, once the machine is closed everything is solid. The external remote-stick is a welcome inclusion - and is backlit for those dark nights.

Using the additional AA battery, battery-life easily complies with the boasted levels - but does run down much quicker when recording, then when playing back.

Hooking the unit up to a stereo for recording is easy - providing your CD has an optical out - the cable for this is included. Hooking it up for playback will require you to purchase an audio-jack to twin phono cable - but these are available from all highstreet audio outlets for a few quid.

The charging cradle is also quite funky looking, and will appeal to all gadget lovers. And the leather-effect carry case is just what you need to ellicit stares of intrigue on the train...

To sum up: I was using the machine within five minutes of unpacking, and within 24 hours I'd already filled 20 blank discs. Highly recommended.

.... This is an excellent minidisc - excellent sound quality, small, light and so well designed that I barely had to touch the manual - the controls are very intuitive and for me that is the mark of great design.
Recording for the first time was entirely pain free, simply plug it into your stereo hit play on the album/song you want to record and leave it to it!
The remote is also well made - cute choke design for toggling between track-skip and volume control and the battery lasts more than long enough even without the aid of an extra AA. Simply put - superb value for an excellent product.

The answer to my title is a big emphatic "NO"!

I wanted a new MD player because my old Sharp recorder was very basic and though it may sound quite improbable, the main reason I needed a replacement was because I needed a backlit remote!!!

And look what I got along with it:

1. A MDLP recorder that gives me over 5hrs of listening pleasure on my 80m disks
2. G-Protection that makes my jogs in the soggy weather that much more bearable
3. Jog dial that makes accessing controls an absolute breeze (this is the best invention yet by Sony)
4. Name bank capability that ensures your disks reflect knowledge, though it requires a good deal of patience to sit through and use it well. A good blank weekend should do just fine!
5. The battery life is amazingly long even without the supplement. And it charges in double-quick time too.
6. The remote is amazingly adept at doing a lot of jobs eg. working on playmode, display, repeat, edit, bass and hold combined with the obvious functions of play, stop, fwd, rwd, pause and vol!!! I am a big fan of the marvellously composite flip-knob on the edge of the remote that allows play, stop, fwd, rwd and vol all in the same place! Kudos to Sony for the best example of space management.
7. This might be my personal weakness but the silver color is simply too gorgeous.

Oh ... did I mention ... the remote is backlit!!!