Sony MDSJE480 MiniDisc Player / Recorder

I play in a band. We hook this up to our mixer and create great recordings. We use these recordings for practice, writing songs, and self critique of live performances.

This is an excellent sounding, easy to use minidisc unit. The only obvious feature I can think of that it's missing is a headphone jack. I bought mine through Amazon and it was the best price around with free (and fast) shipping.

this was a great buy for the money, the product came a little early which was a plus but the one down side was after one week the player broke and i had to send it back but as long as you save your receipt everything is good! i sent it back" i had to pay for shipping " and it was back in about 15 days and is working great so far!

As a DJ, I have been using the Sony MXD3 and MXD40 because they have the CD player and 4x burn speed to MD feature, they sold for around $375 back in 2002. Unfortunately, I can no longer find any new CD to MD burn unit except the Tascam unit which sells for $800. This Sony MDSJE480 is a MD play/rec only model and for around $121 seems to be the only unit available anywhere near this price point. Tascam has a MD only model that sells for $400. It is ashame that this medium never caught on here in the states, but is still very popular in Europe and Asia. The MD advantage over CD burners has always been the extensive editing features available, from splitting or combining tracks, renumbering tracks, titling tracks, rec on demand with a built in delay, etc. The remote is full of features. Unlike CDs, the MD is encased which eliminates the scratching and skipping that is always a headache for CDs. My only complaint is that I wish the display on this unit would be a 2 line readout like the MXD units instead of just 1. You can toggle from track title to track and total time remaining with a too small button to the left of the display, but it is annoying and time consuming, esp if you are a DJ and would like to see what track is cued and the time remaining. Of course, these were designed as home units and again for the money cant be beat.

I have been recording music as a hobby since I was a kid in the mid 1960s. I am familiar with all of the pre-computer formats. I find little joy in messing with a computer to make music. The best sound comes from the older, analog formats. If you have a good LP and turntable, that sounds the best. Reel-to-reel is awesome too and can make anything sound warmer.

I purchased the Sony 480 as an attempt to replace a DAT (Digital Audio Tape) deck I used to master certain projects. I expected less than I hoped for. I was pleasantly surprised. I use the slow "speed" to master my recordings and then dub (copy) tracks onto another minidisc recorded at standard "speed". Once I have what I want, I make a digital copy of the final minidisc onto a CD. The only thing I do not like about this deck is that the face plate is plastic. Otherwise, this machine is an "A". The power switching has a relay like expensive components, the remote is well made, there are useful features galore, everything works, and works well. I am scooping up two more before they disappear. How nice to have had this experience.