Why not Minidiscs in the US?

The CDR has pretty much made the minidisc obsolete. Although minidisc should be great for car use because one doesn't have to deal with a case and being compressed makes it easier to listen to in noisy environments.

When the Minidisk format was introduced in the US by Sony, it had a luke warm reception. Even though the players were/are good sounding units, consumers didn't want to spend money on pre-recorded Minidisks, which were more expensive than CD's. Most people used them for personal recorders, to take music on the go, they were a good digital recorders, again with the advent of CDR, price became a issue.
In the present competitive consumer environment, the price will determine the success of the format rather than the best sound/quality.

Hi, I own (2) Sony ES Minidisc recorders right now,
and they`re BOTH the SAME model, the
MDS-JA3ES. I found the first 1 locally for $425
back in Feb. 2001, got the second off of ebay
in NOV. 2004 for $285 TOTAL with shipping from Canada.
The Minidisc is ALOT BETTER than a CD-RW,
as far as EDITTING goes, BUT the CD will
ALWAYS sound much better than the minidisc.
That`s why it did not take off here in the states.
I used to own the MDS-JA20ES unit too, but the
JA3ES sounds better, and has 2 mic inputs,
Great for LIVE recording drums and guitar for demo`s.
I`ve got extra blank minidiscs for sale if you
need some.