・DMC-E7R

028   |   Kenwood   |   '95

My Style ~ Kenwood

The prototype of the player likely originated from the Sharp MD-MS20. Even though they came from the same family, Kenwood seems to have embraced the philosophy that "same model, different craftsmen" and maintained its distinctive, highly recognizable European-style design.

The elongated LCD screen displays track titles, REC Level, battery status, and more at a glance, supporting a maximum of 10 characters in English, numerals, or Kana (Japanese script). Unfortunately, it did not come with a screen-equipped remote control and was only equipped with a screenless remote control, which is a missed opportunity.

It featured a "Sampling Rate Converter" to accommodate lossless digital audio recording at different frequencies, such as satellite BS broadcasts and DAT.

It supported Mono REC, allowing for mono recording and effectively doubling the capacity of 74min discs to 148min. During the early days when blank MDs were quite expensive, this feature addressed a significant pain point for non-musical use cases like meetings and speeches.

It boasted powerful editing capabilities exclusive to MDs, including track movement, merging, and splitting. It also supported the somewhat impractical input of Kana characters.

In contrast to Sony, which limited digital optical input/output to only the first-generation MDs, Kenwood retained the luxurious feature of digital optical input/output. It also employed a thoughtful design with a detachable remote control for headphones, allowing users to freely choose their headphones.

The built-in lithium rechargeable battery offered REC 2.5/ play 3.5 hrs, while the external battery pack (AAx 6) significantly extended recording time to REC 7 / play 12hr in one go.

However, it was priced nearly 20% higher than Sony's offerings at the same time, so expectations for sales might have been tempered...

MD-100EX