It''s OK.

Cheap, light, compact, works well with existing sony gear

Small one-line display

This is a great deck for the price. Picked it up on sale at Best Buy for $189. Comes with all the cables you need to get started right away. I've got mine hooked up to my DVD player (S-530), and can dub cds digitally through the included TOS optical cable. Analog recordings are surprisingly impressive, and setting up tracks and naming them is a snap. One problem is the display, which is rather difficult to see from far away and only has one line for information. If this bothers you, or if you need more digital inputs (or a digital output) definitely step up to the je-530. Otherwise, if you want a deck just to play MDs at home (without having to plug in your portable...) or to do quick recordings, this is it.

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Various minidisc gear, dubbing gear

Inexpensive, Very simple to use.

I was looking for the yamaha mdx-793 but i heard they stoped making them so i went with the Sony. I have it hooked up to my Yamaha RX-V995 receiver and the CDC-775 Cd Player. The recordings are almost perfect, there is just the slightest bit of echo in the vocals but besides that there almost identical. Its a good deck for the price, but i soon plan on upgrading.

Initial impression: Very good performance

None yet

I began home recording when cassette tape first became a viable medium for producing good copies of analog sources, beginning with a Sony top loader many years. My last analog deck was a 3 head Denon purchased in 1992, which I still have.

Yesterday I brought home the Sony MDS-JE330. The 330 is apparently being replaced by the 440 and after reviewing the specs on both, the changes don’t appear to offset the difference in price.

I delayed going digital to avoid ending up with an obsolete technology. Remember, when MiniDisc was introduced, so was DCC and they were going head to head for market share. I also was leery of the ATRAC system reducing the amount of recorded information to 1/5 of the original. First generation systems seemed to confirm my suspicions based on review even though I admit to never hearing the system in person.

My first impressions of Sony’s MiniDisc system are very positive. The sound quality is clearly a notch above any analog recording system I have heard including cassette equipment ranging from Pioneer (they used to make expensive high-end 3 head decks) to Nakamichi. Are there subtle differences? Yes, but I would compare it listening to high-end, well-regarded speakers from different manufacturers. The overall sound will be very similar with very minor trade-offs and nuances that really don’t effect the overall presentation. In other words, the copies I have made so far of CD tracks sound superb.

Given the editing features and cost of MiniDisc, it is clearly a winner.

I just got the JE330 and I love it. So far no problems. I bought a JE 320 and it did not work so I took it back. The JE 330 adds ditital record levels over the JE 320 which is anoluge. That was important to me because I will be recording a lot of tapes and sound tracks from viedos I have. The optical recording is flawless. I have a Sony cd player with optical out and I love recoring with it because the copy is so perfect. Any way the JE 330 is good for somebody that does not want to spend a lot of money but still wants a good machine. IMO stay away from the JE 320, it is to close to the JE 510 model with all the problems. The JE 330 is a perfect alternative. I will give it four stars because it does not include the track grid on the front panel showing all of the tracks on the disc. I got very used to that option on my Sony cd player.

The sound quality and editability of tracks on the minidisk system is awesome. Can re-use, rearrange, add titles, etc. with a simple interface. Gives CD quality sound. Good remote.

No digital output, only one digital input. Blank minidisks are still expensive! Over $2 each.

The invention of the minidisk has been under appreciated in the USA. Sales don't seem to be high, and most people I talk to don't know anything about them. Strange, because this technology more than replaces the much inferior cassette system. Two years ago I bought the Sony MDS-JE-530 at the princely sum of $280 at Best Buy. I was amazed at it's versatility. Highly reliable with no detectable sound quality loss. I bought it so that I could transfer my LPs onto CD. The MD intermediate stage allowed me to edit out the noisy vinyl intros (when you first put the needle on) and I could easily edit tracks. And, very importantly, break the single long track into individual song tracks. In short, I used the mini disk recorder to make a neat package so that I could transfer to CD in a single step, the CD recorder being highly uneditable and unforgiving. I also use the recorder for piano, and other instrument recordings.

Which gets me back to the MDS-JE330. I got tired of carrying my JE530 back-and-forth to record LPs via the analog input and then somewhere else to digitally transfer onto CD Recorder (Pioneer PDR-555RW). Thus, when I saw it at Montgomery Ward for $119, I got it. If you don't already have the JE530, however, I would not recommend you to get this one. The big difference here is that the JE330 has only one digital (optical) input, and much more importantly, does not have a digital output! Therefore, you cannot transfer to a CD recorder in a single automatic step. It will be an analog transfer, and you will have to stay on top of the CD burner when you transfer so that you can divide the tracks (and don't fall asleep). I use my JE330 for analog inputs, but use the JE530 for CD burning. The quality and most of the front-end features are equivalent, but if you want to go from MD to CD via optical cable, you will need the JE530, or similar. It is this limitation that makes me rate the unit average, though I got a reasonably good deal on it.

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I also currently use the MDS JE 530.

Excellent record quality
Optical input
Ease of use

No optical output

I once owned a Sony MDS-JE520. What a nightmare. The JE520 was prone to bad micro switches and had bugs in the BIOS. Although the record quality was excellent I never knew what BS was going to surface next. I returned it!

Since I could not find the JE-530 locally I went with the JE-330. A beautiful unit. Solid build. I do not know why other reviewers say it is of cheap quality. I mean are you going to be drop kicking it. The record quality is excellent. Even though this is a basic unit all the editing functions you need are available. I have my Sony CD player optically connect to the JE-330. Unit auto sets the record level and I get a PERFECT copy of the disc/song I am recording. I am very pleased with the JE-330 and highly recommend it if all you want is a basic unit with excellent sound and a small price tag. The JE-530 while it may have lots of other features, if I do not use them why pay for them. I got my JE-330 on an open box deal for $99.
The going local price is $189.

Similar Products Used:

MDS-JE520