Customer Reviews:
 I got what I expected, and I'm happy with it. February 23, 2004
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
After three minidisc units, two of which have been handheld portable devices, this one still gets a full five stars. My previous portable MD was a Sharp model from about 5 years ago. I never had a single problem with that one, and my favorable experience has continued with this Sony model. Really, this Sony MD player/recorder delivers everything I had been looking for in this type of product with the VERY appealing added benefit of being designed for rough use. In shopping for my second MD player, one of my biggest criteria was product endurance and rigidity (I was looking for something to accompany me on my long distance runs). I've been a very satisfied owner of this Sony model for about 7 months so far, and it has scored perfectly in the toughness department in addition to all other aspects. The MZ-S1 excels for several reasons:
-Battery life is incredible.
-Design and ease of use, especially during long runs, is perfectly suited for the right hand (lefthanded people might find this an awkward fit at first).
-The bass is surprisingly full, without compromising much of the treble. The sound in general is great, even with the factory headphones that come with the player.
-The editing and recording options, particularly the computer downloading feature, are more than adequate for my uses. I was able to download several minidisc's worth of music from my computer without much effort.
-The wrist strap and contours of the MZ-S1 keep its presence in the back of my mind when I'm working out.
-The placement of the controls (i.e. the joystick) is ideal for physical activities such as running.
-The finish of the product's housing is very durable and obviously designed to outlast the technology.
-And lastly, while this shouldn't determine whether or not you buy this product, it is an attractive design, specifically the pearlescent, reflective coating.
If I had to be really picky and choose one thing to complain about, it would be the fact that the player can't readily be worn on the waist (such as with a belt clip). However, after the first couple uses, I've decided I'd rather hold it in my hand anyway. Overall, I've given this player a fair set of tests and trials and I can't find anything wrong with it. In fact, I was so happy with the Sony S2 line of sports-oriented audio products that I've since bought the S2 CD player and S2 Radio Headphones. Both of those products have been equally good to me.
In regards to the other reviews telling of horror stories and technical problems, I can't really speak to those issues, except to say that with any electronic product these days, there will be some degree of risk involved. Nothing's a sure bet (as I've learned too many times the hard way). All you can do is treat the device well, and hope it treats you well in return. As for this one, I bought it off the shelf of my local electronics superstore and it's delivered on every promise the package made. I hope this helps you make an informed decision.
 A good idea if the software worked February 14, 2004
7 out of 12 found this review helpful
I initially bought this product on an impulse because what I wanted was not in stock and I wanted to get some tunes for my motorcycle. Well, the product is Great except for one BIG problem_____the software does not work after about 2-3 applications. I took it back and got a replacement to no avail. It still does not work. I'm taking it back to the retailer and am going to try Sony's S-2 CD Player/Reciever/MP3 unit. Do I sound bitter????You bet I am, after all the time and lost money(accessories) I've spent trying to make something work that doesn't___________work.
 Great Item, but it has drawbacks January 14, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The minidisc player offers many great features. I love the size of both the player and the discs. The battery life is good and the sound quality is good as well. But don't get me wrong, to really listen to what you want, you have to do some work.I have a fairly large collection of music on my computer and the songs and albums are all in fairly different formats. Contrary to what many users have said about this product, using the SonicStage software I haven't had any problems yet with the song format. But it is still a huge pain sometimes. I use Windows Media Player. That is where all of my playlists and other songs are. But I cannot transfer from there to the minidisc. I have to take all the songs from Windows Media Player and load them onto the software that came with the player. If that weren't enough trouble, the playlists won't transfer. And I have yet to figure out how to store groups of songs on the new software. I like the minidisc player. But Sony certainly done a better job of making it compatible with current PC softwares.
 Great product, but NOT for every one January 14, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is one great product. It delivers a single most important thing that I was looking for: Integration of all my music needs. I can use it at the gym (Mz s1 is quite rugged), on the go, in my car with the tape, feed into the aux of the home theater system.It can record from any source: from the pc (mp3), from virtually any other source with a line out (fm, cd, etc). I do not think that this is expensive. If it breaks, I will go and get another one, at least I do not need to create all the music data again. Other good things are the looks, feel, sony name, storage media, battery life and type. It has some solid drawbacks too: 1. The main attraction of this unit comes from the huge storage that it offers, I must say that the lowest bit rate is virtually offensive to my ears at least, so the best it can really do is 2 hours in mid level recording. I will NOT blame sony for it. 2. The software has been widely blamed all over, I just used the real player and got the plug in for this device, and get set going. People spend too much time blaming and not giving the solutions, which is as simple as installing the real player, which most have, and get the plug in. Yes, I will blame sony for it. 3. It only supports 2nd edition of win 98, this is misleading. I will not blame sony for it. 4. It requires a lot of reading and understanding, you just cannot use all the features without doing the essential reading. I will not blame sony for it. 5. Once you record a checkedout file from the computer, that number can not be erased and that disc is gone too, I will blame Sony for it big time. 6. Great joystick, but no remote, bad very very bad. I will blame sony for it. Unless one is committed to put in all the effort, stay away from this one, this is not the usual plug and play equipment.
just some facts... January 2, 2004
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
a lot is already written about net md players. so this should not be just the next review but only some facts about net md players and their software:1. it's true: if you use sonic stage software (v 1.5) you can only transfer (check out) each file 3 times to three different media. but that is true only for the (imported) open mg files. if you imported a cd, wav or mp3 file, just import it again and you will be able to tranfer it another 3 times. 2. the sonic stage software is obviously not the best shot. but on a windows 2000 computer it works stable and i didn't face any conversion problems so far. i wouldn't recommed it as my favored jukebox but it does the job it should do. 3. some people recommend real one player instead because they say that you are not limited to the 3 times check out. but what it realy does is: it converts each file (even real/atrac files) into an open mg file and than again you are able to tranfer it three times. after the third check out real one just converts the original file again but you can do so by yourself in sonic stage as well. just delete the old file within the sonic stage software and import it again. don't be afraid: sonic stage will not delete the original mp3 file because it only deletes files it created. 4. sonic stage is not able to create files in sp (short play) size (original atrac format). it always imports files in the new atrac3 format which is less than half size. if you want to create a md in short play, you can do so, but sonic stage will convert the atrac3 file. quality will therefore never be better than 132kbit atrac3, which is quite good though and hard to tell from original atrac.
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