Sony MZ-B100 MiniDisc Business Recorder

[fourbanks]

I have just seen one of these come up on ebay any good does anyone know ?

thanks

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006I5TL/?tag=dotinfoproject07-20

[Azureal]

This is one of several "Business" units that Sony made (http://minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-B100.html). I have a B10 new in a box unused, I'll break it out one of these days. I have read that the B100 was one of the best B units made, mostly metal case, very sturdy. They command a high price when in great condition. I don't think it has NetMD, but it is MDLP capable. Optical input for recording from CD or MD, stereo mics and built in speaker. Pretty nice unit if you ask me.

[KJ_Palmer]

There's a useful comparison of the 'rival' Sony "Business" recorders, the MZ-B10 and B100 here:

I have both units, and the newer B10 just about pips the B100 for me. The B10 has a proper speed control (called digital pitch control where the pitch doesn't rise or lower with speed - so no chipmunk effects), and the volume seems just a tad higher (from the speaker), useful for music practice. Also the ATRAC Type-S and longer battery life of the B10 are winners.

On the other hand, the B100 does have a sturdier (mostly metal) casing, only uses 1 AA battery, wired remote, built in stereo mic and generally a higher quality 'feel' about it. You can also title your tracks on the B100, which you can't do on the B10 (though the B10 will display title information done elsewhere).

[Russell Letson]

The B-100 was my workhorse field recorder from the time it was introduced until I finally switched to an RH-1 (after I found suitable small mikes for it).* The B-100 is reliable and remarkably rugged (considering the complexity of its mechanics) and worked well for interviews as well as music--one-button recording, no need to set levels, a really handy track-mark button to make it easy to find particular passages, and a little speaker to check that you got what you needed. Ran forever on a single AA. I have some very good-sounding concert recordings made by a B-100 sitting in my lap. In fact, I still have two of them, to play back the dozens of standard MDs in my files. (I never discard an original interview or session recording, because you never can tell when you'll need it.)

* The real field-grade replacement for the B-100 proved to be an Olympus LS-10--compact and tough, with respectable built-in mikes and a bigger feature set.