After owning a sharp 702 recorder for two years, I decided it was time to upgrade to a
new player mostly because the 702 skips horribly when poked at all. After checking
out various web pages and resources, I settled on the sharp st55, the latest and
smallest MD player on the market currently. I won't bore you with measurements and
such, they're all available on minidisc.org. I will just give you a basic feature
rundown.
I got the unit from sawada denki mail order, and it arrived extremely well packed a
week after they got my payment. This unit really is small. Inside the box is a
little pouch, and in the pouch is the player. I almost set the pouch aside thinking
that it was empty! Other things in the box: a handy battery holder, if you get an
extra; a 100V (not US-compatible) wall wart; charger; hand strap; AA case; and crappy
earbuds. I don't have my 120-100V converter yet, so I can't attest to the battery
life as advertised. The NiMH battery ships empty (as usual) so I am (right now) using
the AA attachment. The manual is 50 pages, 45 of which are Japanese. Oh well. The
limited english pages are enough to get started.
The ST55 is the most elegant piece of electronics I own now. Like the photos show, it
is plain brushed metal with a minimum of text. It is certainly a very different style
from my old 702 :). The raised part in the center has a sweet blue light in it that
goes on when you charge the unit, and when you push buttons. It basically lights up
whenever you would expect the LCD backlight to come on. The unit opens sideways, and
the opening is on the left. While this is where the remote connects to the unit,
nothing gets in the way, and inserting and removing discs is quick and easy.
The unit's buttons are on the top, and include Vol +/-, Stop, and |<< >>|. The track
forward button doubles as play. There is NO PAUSE BUTTON on the main unit, which
pisses me off. To set the unit on "Hold," you just have to hold down on the stop
button until the little light on the front blinks once. The buttons are plastic, but
they seem solid. The unit is _completely_ silent when playing, and makes only quiet
little laser noises if you switch tracks far away.
The remote is ok, but I don't really like it a lot. It has two pseudo-jog dials on
either side. Basically they are little flimsy plastic wheels that you rotate in a
direction to push that button. The stop button is right where your thumb goes when to
clip the aligator clip on your pocket. The clip seems to fall off my jeans easily.
The LCD display shows all you really need to know, like track number (always on, which
is good), text display, battery life, and that little spinning disc. On the 702 you
couldn't see what setting the bass level was on; if you pushed the button it would
increase the level. This has been changed so that the first time you press it is
shows you what it's already on. A big improvement.
The sharp st55 is a great piece of electronics. Even with the AA attachment I barely
notice it in my pocket. I don't know why anyone would pay for a RIO when you can get
electronics that are this cool, and the discs cost 2$ a piece. If you want to get in
on sawada denki's prices, you better hurry because at the end of may they are ending
their mail order side of business. Web site:
<http://member.nifty.ne.jp/Ishii/sawada_denki/order_form.htm>. Don't let the quality
of english ("Cut the price!!") fool you, these guys are slick and professional.
If anyone has any questions, or there's something I missed, just email the list.
Owen Williams
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