# Sony MiniDisc player Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/minidisc/ 24 people recommended Sony MiniDisc player in Hacker News comments, 14 had mixed feelings and 12 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 12 months, in 9 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Praised for easy recording, compact re-recordable discs and random access versus cassettes. Most critics say it was too expensive and poorly marketed. Summary written by Claude from 49 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 47 of those comments still count. ## Why people recommend it - Recording was the killer feature (4 comments in the sample): "Recording was the killer feature for me. I recorded thousands of hours of band rehearsals with their stereo omni mics and the media quality." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48599237)) "MD was quite conventient for recording (interviews, ambient… and with random access much better than cassettes." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46204885)) "I could record from the radio, trim out the DJ, re-order the tracks, and give them titles." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48834012)) - Compact, durable discs (3 comments in the sample): "Minidiscs were even smaller than floppies and more robust." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46205197)) "more durability than cassette or CD" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46209783)) "you can easily carry a few around with you" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46201900)) - Instant access to tracks (2 comments in the sample): "I want to listen to music I own, on a device I own, which instantly responds when I press play." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49033998)) "the limited storage of a single disk makes it easy to find the music you want" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49032106)) - Re-recordable physical media (2 comments in the sample): "Physical media that are nearly infinitely re-recordable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46199780)) "magneto-optical media (such as MiniDiscs) take the cake" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47349470)) ## What people warn about - Expensive; price held it back (4 comments in the sample): "MDs were real progress on that front. Shame it was quite expensive and the digital models were hobbled by horrendous software." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46201696)) "Minidiscs were so cool! I was surprised to see they still make them. Unfortunately they’re not all that cheap" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46201435)) "Mine was great too, but it just never took off quite the same, maybe because of price." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46201778)) - Sony proprietary, poorly marketed (3 comments in the sample): "MDs are just another example of Sony screwing it up by making things proprietary and keeping it to themselves" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46202372)) "the format flopped anyway, because they were entirely unwilling to market it for recording in the US" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48934347)) "Sony intentionally prevented you from doing to to "prevent potential copyright infringement" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48837051)) - Fragile, not the lightest players (2 comments in the sample): "the portable players were so fragile, insert the MD the wrong way and you risk ripping the read head out" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49033203)) "It was a quality one, but it wasn’t the lightest or more robust thing to carry around." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46744714)) ## Other portable music players people recommend - [Apple iPod](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ipod/): 72 recommend, 25 mixed, 26 criticize - [Sony Walkman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sony-walkman/): 16 recommend, 3 mixed, 20 criticize - [Apple iPod nano](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ipod-nano/): 14 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize - [Apple iPod Classic](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ipod-classic/): 13 recommend, 5 mixed, 3 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Sony MiniDisc player", https://hackerapproved.com/p/minidisc/ (24 recommend, 14 mixed, 12 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.