The place: Los Angeles, California. The event: Winter NAMM ’99. We entered Booth #621 on a sunny January day for a firsthand look at Sony’s new MZ-R55CG Portable MiniDisc Recorder/Player, purported to be the smallest unit of its kind on the market today. Indeed, without too much searching, there it was. And who could argue the point: Here was a tiny (as in nearly palm size) recorder that boasts some pretty impressive specs despite its small size and surprisingly affordable price (just $399.95 list).

According to Sony, applications for the unit include live music recording, digital note taking and sound design archiving. Once again, no argument from us. In a very well-written press release (hey, we have to be honest here), Paul Foschino, marketing manager of professional audio products for Sony Electronics’ Broadcast and Professional division stated: “By introducing the world’s smallest MiniDisc recorder, we feel we’re able to expand the use of MiniDisc in a wide variety of professional applications such as on-the-road musician use and reporter in-the-field recording.” See? Brief and to-the-point. Can’t go wrong with that.

However, just between us — make sure nobody is reading this over your shoulder . . . go ahead and check, you can’t be too careful — we did a little reading between the lines and here’s our take. For a while, the MiniDisc format was (there’s no other way to put it) floundering and there was even speculation that the MiniDisc would go the way of the Beta format VCR. Fortunately, that did not happen, which is great because the MiniDisc has an awful lot going for it.

Sony originally intended the format as a replacement for the lowly (and somewhat lo-fi) cassette — and in our opinion, it’s about time somebody did away with that dinosaur. It is a relatively low cost solution to making DAT recordings, and compared to Recordable CDs, it’s smaller, cheaper, re-writable and allows non-linear editing. Compared to all forms of tape, it provides true random access, meaning that you can quickly select songs with the touch of a button. What’s more, blank MD prices have dropped four or five fold since the format's introduction and 74 minute blanks are available for about $7. Put all of this together and you have a hot recording medium that actually costs about as much as a premium cassette! And there’s no comparing the quality!

But let’s get back to our main topic, the MZ-R55CG. While taking its cue from its predecessors, this unit is slimmer and lighter with improved sonic quality and additional features such as the latest version of ATRAC, v4.5. For those of you new to this technology, ATRAC compression makes it possible to do audio wizardry like recording up to 37 minutes of 4-track audio on a 74 minute MiniDisc. ATRAC essentially works by improving the resolution of midrange sounds — the central components of any musical performance — and improving the S/N ratio to expand the dynamic range of the processed audio. Sony’s not about to hand out too much information about the DSP behind all this, but take it from us, it works.

Other features include: Extended playback time (up to 22 hours with rechargeable LIP-8 batteries); stick-style remote with LCD on the headphone cord for easy access to machine functions; 40 seconds of shock resistant memory (for skip free playback); full editing features; Mega Bass sound for enhaced low-frequency response; and a disc position pointer (which indicates location of the disc and remaining recording time).

We believe you cannot go wrong with a low-priced recorder with high-priced sound quality. So call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for more information and your special pricing on a Sony MZ-R55CG MiniDisc Recorder.