Great NETMD with features of MP3 Players and MiniDisc
Written: Feb 06 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
|
|
| Durability: |
|
|
| Portability: |
 |
|
| Battery Life: |
|
|
|
Pros: Size, Sound, MDLP, Mic support, Fast Music Upload, Battery Life, Anti-shock, accessory bundle, Value
Cons: Remote, Software
The Bottom Line: I believe it is best portable music player out there for its price. Tons of features and tons of accessories. Now only if they did something about that software...
|
|
|
| samimpl's Full Review: Sony Net MD Walkman MZ-N707 Personal MiniDisc Play... |
I have always like MiniDisc Players because of its many features and uses. I have owned several of them including Sharp MS701, Sony MZ-R70, Sony MZ-R500, Sony MZ-R700 and finally Sony MZ-N707. What I like about MDs are that you can change MiniDisc as easily as you would a cassette. You can also record using mic like a cassette recorder. But unlike cassettes, you have tracks like CDs. But unlike CDs, you can delete and edit MiniDisc and they are so much smaller like MP3 players. But unlike MP3 players, the MiniDiscs are cheaper than the flash cards they use and you don't have to depend on PCs to record.
Now, you know why I like MiniDisc Players over other portable audio player. So, why Sony MZ-N707 over others? The reason I chose this model is because it has all the essential features of MiniDisc players plus MDLP and NetMD capabilities at best value. Some of the older models like MZ-R70 of sony does not support MDLP(allows you to record twice or four times the music with some sacrefice to the quality. It's like SP, LP, EP for VCR recording.) MDLP is great for live recording like lectures which does not need to be at top quality. Even for music recording, LP2 quality is sufficient for most music listeners. The next generation which supports MDLP like MZ-R500 or R700 don't let you "download" music onto your MDs from PC like MP3 players. Even with the PCLinks they gave out with, all that did was let you use PCLink to record instead of using the lineout from your soundcard on PC. So, all the recording is 1x recording which means, 64min music will take 64min to record. This was biggest con for MDs compared to MP3 players. The new NetMDs covered this con by allowing you to record music to you MDs from PCs up 32x speed of normal recording.
Now, you know why NETMDs are better than other MDs. So, why this model over others? Biggest Con the cheaper MZ-N505 has is that it does not have Mic plug. Which means you can't plug in Mics to record lectures or an event. If you are just going to listen to music than it's fine, but I think that takes away an important feature that makes MDs better than other Portable devices. It also doesn't have a remote. So, if you keep the MD in a bag or pocket, you'll have to take it out of the bag to change tracks. Although I don't consider it a big set back, I would still like the option to have one. So, the MZ-N707 is the next step up from MZ-N505 and it has all the features that MZ-N505 lacks. It has mic plug to record live events through a mic. It comes with a remote with no LCD, but since it has a remote plug you can upgrade your remote.(I currently use it with the remote for MZ-E33 which has a LCD screen.) It also comes with tons of accessories like short corded headphone, cassette adapter for car, car charger, wire wrapper for the car so the wires don't tangle, AA rechargable battery, AC adapter, cradle, a leather cover for your MD, USB wire, optical wire in case you want to record using your stereo or DVD player even, the software for your PC, and a 80min MiniDisc to start you with. That is alot of accessories!!! Only thing I wish they included was a mic since the stereo mics are expensive. Like the cheap stereo mics that used to come with more expensive cassette walkmans with record feature would have been fine... Oh well. Now, why not go up higher? Maybe MZ-N1? I think that is where the price comes into play. I really don't think higher models have features that greatly improves them. My cousin has MZ-N1 and it is very nice. All metal casing compared to only front metal casing on MZ-N707. Smaller and thinner since it uses gum stick rechargable batter plus optional AA attachment. Definitely cooler looking case and better remote with backlit LCD display. Still, I feature wise... not much... I also don't like that you have to uses cradle to connect to the PC since the N1 itself doesn't have the USB plug unlike N707. So, for me, N707 was better choice for $100-200 less than N1.
Other features of MZ-N707 that I really like that I haven't mentioned since it is common for most NetMDs are long long batter life, MDLP, NetMD features to upload music from PC, MiniDisc player acting as battery charger for the included battery, and excellent sound quality.
The cons are the terrible software that everybody is talking about, no LCD on the remote, and flimsy battery cover unlike R700 or N1 models. Still, I can live with them for the positive far outweighs the negatives!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 170
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
samimpl
|
|
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.