Sound quality, Build (Aluminum Face Plate), Remote, Keyboard Input (A+), Editing, Record Level,

No warning if you eject a disk before saving the TOC, Divide/Rehearsal Bug (locks machine up)

I can't say anything about this machine that some else hasn't already. The sound quality is superb for a Mini-Disc Player. Sony definitely borrowed from their ES line to built this unit.

The keyboard input is the best thing about this model. Not only does it allow edit album/song titles but it also allows you to control the player. I ended up buying a very nice matching black keyboard at CompUSA which I find is great for editing.

The only weaknesses I found with this unit are minor in my opinion. You need to be really careful to save the TOC before ejecting the disk. The unit won't warn you, and you will lose everything you just typed in (not too big of a deal when you have a keyboard.)

Another more annoying problem is the divide/rehearsal bug (see previous review for details.) The unit will completely lock up that you must unplug it to get it to come back. It's happened to me 3 times since I've owned it. I wish there was a way to fix this problem (although, my unit is only 5 months old!!) as I heard in the new units this does not happen. Been meaning to call Sony to see what they say (if anyone finds out, please let me know.)

If it wasn't for that last bug, I'd give it 5 stars - but since it's not a major problem I'm giving it 4.5 stars.
(I'm sure in the next version Sony will take note and fix these problems.)

I highly recommend the unit. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDS-JB920

Keyboard input
Build quality
Number of inputs
Sound quality
Value

Display
Menu

I went shopping for a new MD recorder when my JE510's self turn on problem progressed to only recording when it wanted to. I had long had my eye on the MDS-JB920, but when I looked at the improvements of the 930, I decided that was the one to look at. I also looked at the JA20ES, but it lacked the keyboard input, and I had a few JA20ES owners who told me to save my money and get the 930.

The first thing I noticed about this unit is the weight. It probably weighs around 10 pounds. I would not have expected this from a non-ES product. Then I looked at the back panel, which has two optical inputs, one coaxial input, one optical output, and one coaxial output. It also has the standard RCA plugs for analog in and out. Every connector on this unit is gold plated. Even the keyboard input! Next, I found the remote, which has a few more buttons than my 510 one. Most noticeable is the recording level control on the remote. Very nice.

So how do I like this unit, how is it to use, and how does it sound? I really do love this piece. As a MD user for the past 2.5 years, I found it to be as I am accustomed with one minor downside and one big upside. The downside is that I found the menu system to be a bit more cumbersome that the one on my 510. I also don't like how the unit launches into playing a track when you are trying to do any editing. If you delete a track, for example, it will start to play that track as you select if for deletion and will then play the next track once you've deleted it. I find this a bit annoying, but have gotten used to it. The upside is this gem called a keyboard input.

The way the 930 uses a computer keyboard is so absolutely fantastic. You can do just about everything from it. From playing, to operating the menues, to titling. There is a handy sheet included which shows what all of the keys of your computer keyboard to when hooked to the 930. It makes editing so simple that I don't even use the remote during editing anymore.

There are a few other things I'd like to mention about using this unit. First the digital record level adjustment is fantastic. My 510 didn't have this feature, and I hated recording from different CD's that were recorded at different levels. When playing back in the car, the volume would change with every song. Now I can make them all the same. The menu also contains a function that will let you copy the title of one track onto another. This is handy when splitting a track since the name always stays with the first part of it. Now you can copy it to the other part in case you're deleting the first part. I also enjoy the time/date stamp feature on this unit. It marks each individual track, not just the disc.

The sound of this unit is outstanding. In most cases, the recordings sound as close to the original CD as I could want them to. This unit has ATRAC Type R and it's outstanding. It is a big improvement over the ATRAC 4.0 found on the 510. I've been going back and re-recording all of my old MD's. The A/D converter in this unit is 24-bit and it is outstanding. I record some music off the radio and it sounds just like the origianl broadcast. I was also extremely pleased with the results of the analog recording I made from the Eagles: Hell Freezes Over DVD. The D/A converter in this unit is also excellent. It has a variable filter on it and the manual explains the settings. I prefer the normal setting.

With all that said there is only one other thing I don't like about this unit. I find the display to be a little small. The music calendar is only 15 tracks long, and I miss the 25 track one on my 510. The display is better in that it displays 2 lines of text, which is handy.

One final note is that some units have had a divide/rehearsal problem on them. I've tried to duplicate the problem on my unit unsuccessfully, and I have read that the newer ones don't have the problem. It occurs when you attempt to move the dividing point of a track when that track is the only one on the disc. The unit will freeze and make a clicking noise. This is not an issue for, if I had the probelem, since I don't ever try and do this. The easy way around it is to record a second small blank track on the disc and the proceed as normal.

This is really a great unit.

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDS-JE510

keyboard input, multiple I/O options, sound quality, build quality, Undo last edit

none

I got a super-bargain on this as a OneCall "B-Goods" item. I would have paid more. I don't have much to add to the other reviews here except -

(1) As everyone else says, this is a great sounding unit. I have a digital receiver (DE835) but prefer to route my digital sources through the JB930 because to my ears, it has better digital audio conversion than the amp.

(2) The keyboard input is MUCH more stable than that found on Sony's CD jukeboxes. The keyboard input has totally changed my approach to ittling - from "not worth the trouble" to "easier than making a list on the computer."

(3) The unit has optical I/O, toslink out, two (2)toslink in as well as RCA analogue I/O - and I use them all.

Apart from its considerable virtues as a minidisc playuer/recorder, I could imagine using this unit as low-cost bare bones digital preamp. The remote has a variable volume control on the line out which could be used to control the system's volume.

(4)Unlike most other Sony products this has an actual, substantial manual. And it needs a good manual because it has LOTS of recording, editing and playback features as well as a very full featured remote.

The editing features are all easy to access form the front panel and there are recording features (filter, variable pitch etc.) that I haven't even played with yet.

One feature I miss on the Sony is fast forward - not a standard feature in the minidisc world but it IS available on my Sharp MD-R2. This feature makes it a lot easier to edit a disc where there are lots of long tracks that I want to split and combine. Because of this one feature, I use the Sharp instead of the Sony for editing session that requires lots of splitting and combining.

On the other hand, I've occasionally saved my butt with the Sony Undo feature and the Sharp doesn't have this feature. Also, it's a lot easier to keep track of what I'm doing when I label the tracks - easy to do with the Sony keybaord input, very tedious with the Sharp that lacks this feature.

Similar Products Used:

Sony JE520, Sharp MD-R2, JVC XM-448

Nice Sound, bags of functions.

Poor INSERT SLOT to let dust/hair go in. Rewinding and Fast Forwarding are slow.

1. Analogue input recording is better than the digital for most of the recordings.
2. Be careful to put your MD with dust/hair into the deck. It may dirt or damage the motor.

Having acquired a JB930 this week, I thought it might be helpful to prospective buyers if I gave some insight into my experience with the unit to date, since information on this home-deck seems rather hard to come by at the moment.
I have deliberately included a lot of description of controls, connections and functions since the official Sony brochure entry for the 930 has a number of inaccuracies and a picture of an entirely different deck (I believe another contributor identified it as the earlier 920). Not helpful Sony! I have also tried to keep it simplistic and non-technical so that newbies don't feel intimidated.
What's in the Box
The 930 comes beautifully packaged with
 2 x stereo phono to phono leads
 1 x Toslink fibre optic cable
 2 x (Yes two !) weighty instruction manuals ... the English bit takes up just one quarter of just one of these books. I really hate this appalling waste of paper.
 1 x infra-red remote control. This is a large affair, measuring 210 x 70 x 25 mm and comes with two AA batteries. There are 25 numerical buttons for track selection which double as text entry buttons, plus 41 other function buttons from which you may correctly surmise there is not much you can't do from the remote.
First Impressions
As you might expect from an item in the SONY QS range, the finish and fit on this unit (all black in this case) is superb. It feels solidly constructed and conveys an immediate sense that this is a quality product which has been built to last. All of the front panel controls operate smoothly and effortlessly, and once loaded with an MD, recording and playback is very quiet with no distracting mechanical noises which are the curse of some portable units. One of the Sony catalogue errors is immediately revealed. The catalogue says it has ATRAC version 4.5, but smart gold lettering on the front panel reveals the truth that the 930 has the very latest ATRAC DSP Type-R, as well as Current Pulse D/A Converter. There is also a natty little red plaque on the front that reads ``UK Special Edition''. All that's missing are the ``Go-Faster'' stripes. The overall dimensions are in keeping with Sony's traditional sizing of large hi-fi separates vis. W 430 x H 110 x D 287 mm. Appearance is a very subjective thing, but I think this unit looks simply gorgeous and is a perfect visual match with my Sony ST-SE700 tuner and CDP-337ES-D CD. The IR remote control unit is a bit on the big side, but since it does so much I can forgive it for having been fed on steroids. There are no discernible ventilation holes, but with a rated power consumption of just 18 watts, I presume Sony felt it was unnecessary. We all know, however, that with continuous recording use, the laser can generate a significant heat build up, and my discs felt pretty warm straight out of the deck after recording. I think it would be sensible to position the unit so that the outer casing benefits from a reasonable airflow.
What's On the 930
FRONT PANEL (from top left to bottom right):
 Power standby switch. A red LED within the switch glows when switched off to indicate mains power is still on line.
 Timer switch (Off / Rec/ Play). Note - this unit still requires you to buy a separate timer for unattended use.
 Large headphone socket with a headphone volume control alongside.
 PS/2 computer keyboard socket. A keyboard can be directly connected to both control the unit and enter titling (no software required). I have not had time to use this yet so cannot comment on its effectiveness.
 pitch control button - to alter the playback pitch.
 Filter button - providing four different digital sound envelopes to the analogue output stages.
 Time button - to display number of tracks and time either recorded or still left.
 Play Mode button - to select shuffle or programmable playback.
 Scroll Button - to scroll track titles across the display once per push. It's a shame Sony still haven't adopted Sharp's much better idea of allowing scrolling to be continuous whilst a track is playing, so that long titles can be read at a glance.
 Display/Char button - provides access to various information display modes and character input options.
 Display Window - located in the top centre of the facia, this is a two line display which is very clear to read and provides various information depending on the operating status.
 MD Insert Slot - also centred on the front panel but underneath the display. Transport in and ejection of the discs is very smooth indeed.
 AMS rotary knob - grouped together with three buttons, Menu/No, Yes, and Clear, this allows selection of tracks, setting the clock, selecting titling characters and selecting menu items and set-up values. It can also be pushed once to start Time Recording (see Features).
 Eject - this largish button triggers TOC Writing before ejecting the disc.
 Record Mode switch - a two position switch to select Mono or Stereo recording.
 Input switch - a four position switch to select from one of the input source sockets on the back panel ( Opt 1, Opt 2, Coax, or Analogue )
 Record Level - This rotary knob allows you to adjust recording levels either before or during recording in both Analogue and Digital recording modes.
 Operation Controls - The usual group of six buttons provide for Fast Fwd, Fast Rev, Record, Play, Pause and Stop.
BACK PANEL (from top left to bottom right):
 Line - 4 phone sockets for left & right line-in and line-out to your amplifier.
 Control A1 II - there are two mini-jack sockets for A1 Mk II control connections to compatible components. I don't have any other items with this feature so they won't get used here.
 Digital - there are Two (yes 2!) Optical Toslink In, one Coaxial In, one Coaxial Out, and one Optical Toslink Out sockets. If this isn't enough for all your needs you must be living in a space station. (:o) All the sockets are gold plated.
 Mains lead - is of the captive type with a 3 pin plug fitted.
Installing
This will obviously vary according to individuals' circumstances and requirements. For me it was a simple matter of connecting the Toslink optical fibre cable between the OPT 1 input of the 930 and the OPT Out on my CD deck to enable digital recording from CDs. Then the two phono leads were used to connect the Line In / Line Out sockets to the equivalent sockets on my Sony Amplifier (TA-AX360 Receiver), to allow me to make MD recordings from my other analogue components i.e. turntable, cassette tape recorder (yuk! washes mouth out with soap and water), and radio tuner, as well as facilitate playback of the 930 through my hi-fi. All that remained was to program the 930's internal clock with date and time which is so simple even a hamster could do it in 30 seconds. Unfortunately, I don't own a hamster, so it took me 3 minutes.
Features
 All the usual editing features like Track Erase, Combine, Divide, etc.etc. are available either from the front panel, attached keyboard or the remote, and are very easy and intuitive to use. One feature which I have not come across before from my previous experience of portable MDs is an Edit Undo which allows you to undo the last edit action so long as the TOC has not yet been written. I can see this could be very useful, particularly when I've had a few beers too many.
 Adjustable Recording Level - this works both when recording from analogue and digital inputs, and can be adjusted during and without interrupting recording, which is handy if you get caught out by an unexpected high level passage in the source material.
 Sync Recording - there are two functions on the remote which deal with synchronised recording vis. CD-SYNC and MUSIC SYNC. Neither of these work in quite the same way as I am used to with my Sharp 821 or my Sony MZ-R35, both of which start and stop exactly when the CD content starts and stops when using the optical cable. CD-SYNC is nothing more than a process of using one button on the remote to simultaneously command the 930 to go into Rec/Pause and your CD deck (if it is compatible with the remote) to go to Playback/Pause. A second Start button is then used to simultaneously command the 930 to start recording and the CD player to start playing. Sony do warn that some CD players, even those made by them, might not react to the final play command ... and Sod's Law dictated that mine would not ... so I shan't be using that rather pointless facility. MUSIC SYNC on the other hand, is more like my portables in that it just puts the 930 in REC/PAUSE mode, and as soon as you start the Source material to play, recording automatically commences. Obviously, when recording digitally from CD, all track marks are automatically logged. The one thing that really puzzled me at first is that, in neither CD-SYNC nor MUSIC SYNC, and unlike my portable MDs, recording does not stop immediately the source material stops. What actually happens is that if the source material recommences within 30 seconds, the 930 automatically truncates the quiet gap to 3 seconds; so you have the convenience of changing your source material within 30 seconds without having to set up recording mode again, but only end up with a gap of 3 seconds between the items on the finished disc... very clever and useful if recording selected tracks from various LPs or CDs for example. If you leave it for *more* than 30 seconds after the source material ends, the 930 automatically puts itself into REC/PAUSE mode to await your return, and again it truncates the blank space to just 3 seconds on the disc.
 Track Marking & Naming- can be carried out whilst recording as well as after the event.
 Time Machine Recording - I love this facility. So long as source material is playing and the 930 is in REC/PAUSE mode, a 6 second buffer stores the material and if you initiate recording with the T.REC button, those previous 6 seconds worth are first delivered from the buffer to the disc. This is so useful when recording off the radio ... you need never miss the start of a piece of music again as you effectively have 6 seconds to hit record after you hear the start.
 Fader - Another facility which I really love, and the 930 executes it so well. Both in Record and Playback modes, a single button press on the remote invokes a 5 second fade in or fade out. The pre-set 5 second duration can be altered in the menu settings, but I have found 5 seconds to be just perfect in making really professional sounding segues.
 Sleep Timer - you can set the 930 to automatically switch off after 30, 60, 90, or 120 minutes.
 Filter button - this deck has four settings of Digital Variable Coefficient filters ( described as Standard, Spline, Plain, and Analogue) to tailor the output analogue signals from the Line-out and headphone jack. This is a really useful feature and I've had great fun experimenting with these settings and trying to decide which one best suits my speaker set-up and headphones for various styles of music. Sony describe these as: Standard - an expansive sound of wide range; Spline - a sound that is clearly positioned and smooth; Plain - a fresh and powerful sound; Analogue - a resonant and mellow sound. Mmmm ... nice (:o).
 pitch control button - using the AMS jog dial you can alter playback pitch by 2 steps up or 48 steps down (each 12 steps = 1 octave) and a further fine pitch control allows 0.1% incremental adjustments between -98.5% and +12.5%. Don't let the kids loose on this or, once they find they can make Kate Bush sound like Paul Robson, you'll never get them off.
How Does It Sound
As I've always maintained, no matter how many bells and whistles an MD's got, if it doesn't deliver on sound, you've wasted your money. Well the good news is that the 930 delivers Big-Time. The DACs in this unit are simply superb, and have been giving my old Sony amp a real work-out. All the discs previously recorded in either my MZ-R35 or 821 portables play perfectly (possibly of interest to those in this NG who were recently asking about player compatibility) and they sound so much better, not just through my KEF speakers (designed and made them myself) but also through the headphone jack. Yesterday I did some test recordings off air from the tuner. A stereo play on Radio 4 recorded on location played back with breath-taking clarity and a perfectly placed and spacious ``stereo stage''. Tracks recorded from my old LP collection also recorded faithfully but, and others have commented on this, somehow those old LP tracks sound so much more vivid and fulsome on MD, why I don't know. The very first minidisc I ever bought was pre-recorded ... Jean Michel Jarre 's ``Images'', a compilation of his best works ... and this electronic music has a very wide dynamic range with outrageous transient peaks. All I can say is that playing it on the 930 has to rate as one of my all-time mind blowing experiences.
Conclusion
Is the Sony JB930 good ? NO ... good does not even begin to describe it. In my humble opinion, there just aren't enough superlatives in the world to describe this gem. Sony may not always get it right, but this time they get Ten Gold Stars.

Built Like an Expencive product, Sounds clean and powerful with extended smooth highs. Can sound a bit Anologic or if required Digital.

Foward Mode in playback like all other MD decks are slow and Jumpy.Remote

This is an ES product without the "ES". Heavy, Great looks, excelent mechanism, Lots of gold inputs and outputs including Coaxial,Digital. Lots of great features like various Filters that are used in Analog mode which can create a sound envirement close to the sound of a Turntable or good recorded tape.Dont get me wrong the Sony by no way colors the sound of the music, what you give it is what you hear. More features like changing the Pitch speed during playback which is very usuful and FUN !! I have been a big Sony fan and I experienced the best and worst from Sony. This product is the best MD recorder/player in the market period. The sound is clean, dynamic, lots of Air and clean bass. I dare to say that music sounds as good or even better than many CD players Ive heard. I owned a Sony XA7ES in the past and this MD is bringing back the XA7ES sound I once had with a more upfront sound. The Mid highs and high frequencies is Excelent on this player. Mid is warm and clean with no distortion whatsoever. The highs never sound bright or edgy and the Bass is just as good with tightness and extended low frequencies that sound powerful and clean. The remote is very big and like most remotes that come from Sony, sucks. Sony needs to do some serious homework on there remotes. This MD can outperform many CD players. Recordings came out perfect. When recording in Digital mode the results are awesome. You cannot tell the difference between the CD and MD in any way whatsoever. Whoever says that CDS sound better is full of crap. Ive been in the Audio world for over 8 years and Ive heard systems that cost more than homes. If your in for a MD then it would be a big mistake to pass this model on. Check out http://www.pricescan.com/
for the best prices. Its worth Every cent.

Aragon 8008BB
Acurus A250
Acurus A150
Paradigm Studio 80'
Paradigm Studio 20'
Paradigm cc450
DH LABS Cable
HSU Research TN 1220
Sony DVP 7700

Similar Products Used:

Other MDs by Sony.

great recorded sound

none that aren't MD based

Please ignore the ignorant and sexist comments made below. I borrowed this deck from a friend for a week and did extensive AxB comparisons from digital and analog sources. The recording quality was terrific and, in some cases, sounded better than the original. That's scary. I do wish that there were an automatic TOC write feature so you wouldn't accidentally pop out a MD w/o first finishing the TOC. That, to me, is a major oversight of the MD format in general. Keyboard interface is a major plus. Also annoying: No feature to delete tracks from a certain point forward; That's another major omission. But the recording quality is great -- Better than my high-end Nak tape deck. 5 stars given it's price, but 4 overall since the interface, to me, is a bit clunky.

Similar Products Used:

Sharp MD-702

Build quality excellent
Incredible D/A converter
PC keyboard connection
Best MD deck short without selling the farm.

In short, this unit has Digital to Analog converters that blow away most if not all low to mid-fi decks. The difference between my Yamaha, Denon and Sony CD decks and the 930 is INCREDIBLE.
The unit lists for $480, but I purchased mine from onecall.com for $299. The digital filters are useful for mellowing the sound out and customizing it to your system. The ATRAC Type R is as far as I can tell, indistinguishable from CD. ATRAC type R is backwards compatible with older ATRAC types, so you can play older MD's on it (they sound great with the ATRAC R and D/A converters)and your type R MD's will play on older units as well. I recommend this unit if you are looking for an upgrade from an older MD deck, or wanting to get into MD.

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDS-JE500
Kenwood 1050MD
Sharp MDS-S301
Sony MZ-E40

TOC write feature works fine

Wanted to update a review below: The TOC write will occur if you hit the eject button. However, if any power outtage occurs before you force the write or eject, you lose! Perhaps a UPS would be warranted?

build quality, coax SPDIF in, takes mono from L channel only

others have mentioned.

The sound of this unit is extrordinary. The A/D converter in this unit is 24-bit and it is a big plus as with ATRAC Type R is used, some of that ends up on the MD. The MDS-JB930 uses a Current Pulse D/A converter, which Sony uses in their flagship ($5000) SACD/CD player SCD1 and 777ES SACD/CD player. This sounds much better than my CD player, so I am able to route the digital out of my CD player to the digital in of the MDS-JB930 and it acts as an outboard D/A converter.

what does it do different?
The actual suppression of amplitude errors is handled by the Current Pulse D/A converter.

from sony's whitepaper on SCD1 and 777ES SACD players:

"A familiar feature of high-end Sony CD players, the Current Pulse D/A changes the incoming train of voltage pulses to a train of current pulses. Because the circuit incorporates an extremely clean "constant current" source, the pulses emerge with the desired flat tops, flat bottoms and identical height. The high-speed switching distortions of earlier stages are finally cleaned out of the signal. The pulse heights are remarkably
even, thanks to the Current Pulse D/A. Thanks to a constant current source, Sony's Current Pulse D/A Converter ensures high precision on the amplitude axis."

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer CD-R