Features: Sharp ATRAC 5.0, 3 CD changer. One touch digital recording. Clock/Timer to control playback and recording and provide date and time stamp recording and display. One touch CD to MD digital copying.

User comments: Some function buttons are only on the remote, some only on the unit.The disk changer is quite noisy and slow. Ejecting CD2 while copying CD1 stops the copy. Track change glitch: We tried copying the Janet Jackson album 'The Velvet Rope' and found that the copy had glitches at some of the track changes, because there aren't breaks in the sound where the track changes are. (Janet's albums tend to be continuous...) The same problem occurs on the Enigma album 'The Cross of Changes'. The glitch can be heard during copying, but doesn't appear if you just play the CD. -Jon Herbert [It has been further reported that later units do not seem to have this track spanning problem. -eaw]

Tips: To fix the R3's track gap problem on continuous discs: If you take an optical cable and connect the optical in to the optical out, put the unit in Synch record with the MD input as the optical in, and play the CD, you can record a contiuous CD without getting gaps at the track marks. It's somewhat clunky, but it works fine. -Paul Zimmer
Another workaround for the track gap problem: I have found this only happens when you use the CD to MD one touch record button. If you put the MD in Record/Pause mode then hit Play on the CD. You will get a perfect recording everytime. -Glen Beestone

Links:

• Sharp English page for the unit.
• Sharp's Winter C.E.S. page which includes mention of the MD-R3 (MD/3CD deck).
• Sharp's AudioFair page has a picture of the unit.
• A user confirms the MD-R3 track switch problems.

Reviews:

User Manual: MD-R3