sound, comfort, looks, stability

none

after i bought the mds-520 from sony, to try the new soundcarrier MD, i was amazed by the sound. I bought this one for 500 hfl(400 Dm) to try it out and see if i could do anything with it. I like the sound of the optical recordings, but i hated the sound of the analog input.
after one year of use I sold it for 300hfl. , and now i got a bargain on the sony mdsjb920, i got it for 569 hfl!
I really like the sound of this one, it is better than the 520, and since i am used to the MD, i will continue on this system. the system for me is just a replacement for my cassetterecorder, not as a cd-copier!
i think, considering the price, i can't get a better way to record my music....
for my proffessional use i still use a DAT-recorder and I believe that DAT is still a whole lot better in sound, but at home i use the 920 a lot and it comes close to the DAT, but not quit!
For all those who still don't believe in the MD, try it and love it!
thank you very much Sony!

Similar Products Used:

mds 520

Outstanding recording abilty, truly MD is the replacement for the venerable audiocassette.

None

All my important cassettes and vinyl LPs have been dubbed to MD on the 920. For some reason these seem to present a sound that is superior to the original. I just dubbed a German language version of West Side Story and Gene Pitney Español onto minidisc. These LPs never sounded as good as they now do. Several weeks ago I dubbed a cassette of medieval Christmas music to minidisc. It was a remarkably well-recorded cassette, and now it is an even more remarkable minidisc recording. Add to the benefits in apparent sound improvement, add the ability to divide into tracks what once was a tedious for random access cassette. The former LPs, though well cared for, were subject to develop transient pops and ticks and, of course, stylus wear. As minidisc recordings their sound is frozen-- no more wearing of the vinyl. Track titling is also possible. Its easy portability is another factor. The myriad features of the 920 nearly transcend my ability to use them all. A fine minidisc deck worthy of superseding the audiocassette. Dubbed minidiscs of CD originals are indistinguishable from one another. I also use it for making excellent voice recordings using Realistic PZM microphones along with a Realistic mixer. Highly recommended for digital and analog recording.

Similar Products Used:

MDS-JB500 and 520

Excellent sound quality -- superb editing features

Only one minor (very) flaw -- see review

I've had this deck for only about 2 months, but I've been using it quite a bit. So far, satisfaction with it is very, very high! In fact, I think it's the best audio recording device that I've ever used. That qualifies as high praise indeed coming from someone who's been recording audio for more than 50 years using a plethora of recorders that span a fairly broad range of prices.

The only flaw in the design of this machine that I have found ... and it's really a nit-picker,is in the "track marking" facility. The only variable that can be controlled is signal level. The time interval is fixed at 1.5 seconds, which in my opinion is too short. There are occasional "silences" in some music that last that long, and the MD deck registers as a new track. If the time interval could be set to say 3 seconds, it would be better. Of course, the deck has editing capabilities that allow you to correct for this minor problem.

All in all, a most gratifying piece of equipment ... I heartily recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Similar Products Used:

None

I bought this deck for $350 at the good guys. It has plently of ES functions at a midrange price. Recordings sound just as good as the originals. It's better than analog recordings, but no big deal. It's connected to my Yamaha RX-V793 through can optical cable. This unit loads faster and quieter than the lower sony models because it doesnt spin the disc in record-pause mode (as the JE500 and JE510 do). The Undo feature works well, and text scrolling is nice. Titleing the tracks is fairly easy too. Digital In and Digital Out can be set to 16, 20 or 24 (!) bits.Erasing and editing tracks needs some getting used to, but not impossible.
As an added feature: An automatic demo mode pops up when the deck has been on for 10 minutes with no disc! Cool!

I have had this unit MDS-JB920 for close to a year now. I have had no problems at all with it. I have noticed disc's played in it sound better and the analog output is excellent. I had a 520 and it had audible high pitched noise in the analog output. I would recommend this unit to anyone when it was $400.00 ++, now that it is in the $200-300 range it is an even better deal.

I got this recorder for about $250 on Netmarket and it has proven to be a very nice MD recorder with the ability to change the pitch and with its multiple inputs and outputs which really add to its flexibility as a unit. The only thing that would have made this unit a little better is if it had more high range pitch tweaking, it will go down in pitch to -48, but on the high end it only goes to +2, other than this minor problem I think this is one of the best MD recorders available.

An avid MD fan, I have been following the technology for a while. This unit utilizes ATRAC 4.5 compression (currently the best around, kicking MP3's butt to the stone age), same as my MZ-R55 walkman. What's different as far as RECORDING and PLAYBACK is concerned is it's ability to record with a 24-bit bistream filter. The default for all MD's is 20 bit, which is also what the walkmans record at. The point with this deck is that you MUST ENABLE the deck to write using this higher quality filter!!
Sound quality from this is awesome, with only a few niggling bits with violins in orchestral recordings (high pitch points may be a bit over-emphisized, making dynamic range sound stretched... and tapping on cymbals in a drum kit a bit "clicky")..... using r&b/rock/pop/techno you'd be pushed to tell the difference between CD & MD. You can start to determine a few MINOR points of difference when comparing between a DTS disc, or a hi quality recording without dynamic compression in the recording.

Overall, this is fantastic. QS is exactly that, quality sound; ES features hi fidelity sound, with a price tag for the for the common Man.

A lot of features come with JBS920.It's very close to some pro MiniDisc systems that I know (like TASCAM 8XXR) ,but I'm not
sure to it's Hi-End sound but sure very acceptible sound.I tested it against to
my ONKYO Integra DX7711 CD Player,it sounds more naturel and warm in tonal balance ,but after all,it's a serious CD player and not cheap while SONY costs me just 800DM. Recording tests showed that MDS-JB920 is better than MZ-R3 MD walkman (I only have that to compare,but it's good and serious walkman in my opinion...) Also , I have Pioneer MD/Tuner in my car model:MEH-P5000R, its sounds very very good with my home-recorded MDs and MB-QUART speakers model:QM 2213 KX(with JBS920) There is two things I considered; no handbook or ownermanual denotes to 24bit Digital input for this recorder,but it does??
and its not made in Japan (probably the reason of cheaper in range)?? Consequnetly,highly recommended this MD...

After 15 years my Nakamichi LX3 tape-deck wil have a new little brother...Untill now I have always put the MINI-DISC in the "mobile-Hifi" corner.

2 mounths ago I had my serious "First Contact" with Mini-Disc.

For less then halfthe price, the 920 is performing better then any Nakamichi..
I'm very impressed by the performance from this Mini-Disc deck.
Within 2 mounths I have replace my walkman, car-radio and home deck for
mini-disc devices.
The RZ55,CDX5960 and JB-920QS have pushed my HIFI-life into a new dimension.
I give all these devices a 5 star (!) rating

These deck will function together with mij KENWOOD L-1000 + M-1000 (pre- and main amplifier) , TEAC RDVS-10 (cd-player) and KEFF RR105-3 (speakers) for a long time.

greetings
Lex.

Feature Rich.

Bad interface to higher functions

The 920 is the second MiniDisc Recorder that I have owned. It replaced a Sony 510 that had a bad case of loading errors.

Thankfully, I bought an extended warrenty with the Sony 920. . .eight months out. . .it gives constant C-13 errors on Maxell Golds

The Good Guys of California are eating it on this deal. . .the solution is a new loading mechanism (the one sold with the units is too narrow for the range of acceptable tolerances of minidisc media).

It has been sent to Sony Repair twice and no solution is sight. . .I'll be demanding a new player (either a 930 manufactured after 11/99 or a Yamaha 793 or 593 - not a feature rich but I've had better luck with Yamaha over the years(a total of ten units ranging from CD players to preamps to amps and only one CD failure). Out of Four Sony products( one laserdisc(movie)player, two minidisc recorders and one 5-change CD player. . .only the CD player operates correctly).

THE SONY 920 IS JUNK FROM THE BEGINNING. DO NOT BUY.

Sorry Sony. . .but you let me down three out of four times. . .one star product in a 5 star package

Similar Products Used:

Sony 510