Opinions needed on minidisc recorders

I want to get a portable minidisc recorder to record live piano performances, both of myself practicing and my students performing.

All the reviews I've read so far are focused mainly on the recorder's ability to record MP3s and the like off the computer. Very few talk about microphone recording.

Will you please share your experiences with me? Thanks.

I believe the new models (Sony?) have digital outputs

It's more of a rarity for minidiscs to not have digital ouputs. I started using them in 1998 and it was a while before I encountered one that didn't have optical out.

Sony ahs just announced a new MD type that allows 40hours recording on a single disc.

Betsy,

I want to second Safir's opinion. I wouldn't recommend buying a MD-recorder these days anymore since there are better options. For instance the Archos jukebox recorder which I have been using for I while now. Although this recorder has digital in and out you won't need it because you can copy directly into the pc (via usb) which is much faster than transfering the music via soundcard. That will require much more time (precisely the time of the recorded file). For instance, you can copy about 60 minutes of music (like a cd has) within a few seconds. If you wanted to blayback this via soundcard it would take 60 minutes. Besides, the 'Jukebox' has other adantages: running time will be much longer than any md, you won't need to buy any media like mini discs and you can keep a huge archive on the disc. Another plus is that you can use the jukebox as an external hard-disk drive for other files, too, if you should ever need this.

I use it for carrying around my complete cd collection. If I want to demonstrate to my students how pianist XY played a certain piece of music I can't forget the cd at home, I always have them with me, completely, and still there is plenty of room left on the hard disk drive to make demo recordings.

I consider this little machine the best investment I have made in years! I sold my car's cd changer. What do I need 10 cd's in a changer when I can have 500 cd's in a box as little as a walkman?

Best regards,