[stymie miasma]

Would anyone like to comment on this? I have heard bad reports from friends regarding the Sony MZ-R70 and R90 with respect to recording. ie: very easy for the recording head/lens (?) to slip out of alignment. Furthermore, there appears to be oodles more problems reported with Sony portable MDs than Sharps (although I assume Sony have a greater market share than Sharp in portable MD):

http://minidisc.ch/problems.asp

Some may recall I was looking at the Sony MZ-R500. I am actually beginning to shy away from Sony all together, and not just because of durability. The Sharp MT80/99 and SR60/70 seem to be not only more robust, but also have better functionality/user friendliness, even if they don't look as cool as the Sony's.

TIA

 

[MacDEF]

I would take everything on the MiniDisc Problems site with a big grain of salt. The only people who post are people with problems. Just because a unit has a lot of "problem reports" doesn't mean that its an accurate representation of the failure rate of that unit.

For example, the Sharp MS-702 has a HUGE number of problem reports. But these are deceiving. First of all, the 702 is one of the biggest-selling MD portables ever. It was on the market for years, and had a great feature set at a low price. Second, early versions of the 702 had production problems. Combine big market share with a run of bad units, and you get a unit with so many problem reports that you would think you should avoid it like the plague. But the truth is, the later versions of the 702 are some of the most durable units ever produced. The 702MK ("MK" was added to the box's model number to indicate the latest production runs) is still one of the best MD units ever.

That said, forget anything anyone says about Sharp vs. Sony reliability. Both companies have made tanks *and* junk. The Sony MZ-R50 is one of the best ever made, but the MZ-R90 was junk. The early Sharp MS-702s had problems, but the MS-831 is a classic.

On a unit-by-unit comparison, between the Sony MZ-R500 and the Sharp MT80/90 or SR60/70, I would personally go with the Sharp.

 

[stymie miasma]

Hey MacDEF, thanks for that info. The Sony R500 does really look flimsy in comparison to both the higher Sony's (700/900) and all the Sharps available here (80, 99 and 877). The Sharp SR60/70 is available on-line, but I am really reluctant to buy something until I can have a play around with it myself

I'm glad you mentioned the R90 was junk...that was one of the models that took my fancy! Looks can be deceiving I guess.

I'll try and hunt down an 831 to audition!

 

[Deuce_Bigalow]

I once met a guy that has the Sharp 702 and he'd had it for a couple years and used it all the time and it was really beat up looking. It'd been dropped a lot and it still worked perfectly. Just an example to back up what Macdef said.

 

[blr]

Yeah, when looking at the problems list take into account how many units have been sold or how popular is the unit. If the same problem is reported say 50 times (like R90s spring that pushes against the disc protection lever) that may mean something. The other thing is that no one knows how these folks have treated their gear. Generally, I'd say a MD won't survive as many drops and kicks as would a portable CDP. That said, I've had my Sharp MT866 for over a year now and have used it almost every day without a single problem. Used to have Sony R70 and it also worked fine.

 

[stymie miasma]

Thanks everyone...apart from MacDEF pointing the bone at the Sony R90

- it seems with proper care and respect I should enjoy troubl-free MD listening!

I'll let you know what I end up going with