Pros: 'Sport' design / water resistant. Sound quality. PC Connectivity.
Cons: No remote.
The Bottom Line: Buy if you want a media format that is cost effective and skip resistant. if you want durability at the expense of remote control, mic input, and size.
mindaddy's Full Review: Sony Net MD Walkman MZ-S1 Personal MiniDisc Player
I had been thinking about getting a new portable audio device for some time now - never went for it until now. The last unit I owned was the Sony Sport Walkman back in the 80's (not the yellow one, the black one). I loved that Sony Walkman damn it (no really - I "loved" it) It went everywhere with me - the thing was a brick, built like a tank and sounded RAD! That thing, and my original Simms Switchblade and 40's of Mickeys..... those were the days... But I digress. Point being, I was gonna be hard pressed to replace it with an unworthy replacement. Well, twenty years later.....
I bought this unit after researching portable players for MiniDisc's, MP3's, CD/MP3's, as well as MP3 Jukeboxes units. I wanted to get back into listening to tunes while snowboarding - I've been snowboarding for a while and the people that I go boarding with now (co-workers etc.) - they all suck right? What do they tell you? - "I've been boarding a few times - I'm an "intermediate". - "Right Bud, I'll see you at the lodge - So I'm usually left to go solo. The S2 or S1 or whatever just seemed like to right choice - picked it up for $150. These things have come down in price. The USB feature really sold me as I have a ton of MP3's on my PC that I would need to have on MD.
I'm happy with my decision. I was able to load and use the included software to rip and convert my CD's and MP3's onto MD's within minutes (Win 2000 PC). I did not have any of the bug issues I've read about - I was a little concerned but I guess I lucked out. I did notice that during the loading processes for Simple Burner and OpenMG that updates / patches were added.
The sound is great - can't say enough about the sound. Example: I converted a CD track to MD using the Simple Burner program (very simple and quick to do with the USB), listened to the original CD track on a Sony CD Walkman then listened to the ripped track on my MD unit with the same headphones - the NetMD blew away the diskman on sound! - bass was way better. overall tone was fatter / more clear, etc. I had read that the sound on MP3 players are hollow and not very loud. I'm convinced that MD's are the way to go if audio quality is important. For me this was very important.
I ruled out CD/MP3 players (portable CD players that read MP3 files) due to my past experience with burning CD's full of MP3's. This allows you to get a lot of MP3's on a single CD, data transfer is much faster from PC to portable media but very unreliable as scratches can render them useless. Very prone to skipping and just kinda junkie, one track is normal the next one could blow your ear drums out. Also - not very flexible - if you have new MP3's - you need to burn another CD. And overall just not as cool - it's basically a workaround for the fact MP3 players can't offer a cost effective way to improve capacity. Have you seen the cost of those memory flash sticks? Flash this!
I looked at that Apple iPod crap. Carry 20 GB's of MP3's with you - what ever. I'd break that thing in one day - 400 bucks gone. Also - I get annoyed by Mac users / geeks getting all juiced up when it comes to anything Apple / Mac. They're like a cult almost. A bitter, tech, geek, cult that can't come to terms with the fact that they're commies. I looked at other GB Jukebox players - too bulky - too expensive, and not portable enough.
So far so good with the NetMD S2 / S1 or S1 / S2. It is a bit more work to get your music organized with MD - but once you do it's flexible, highly portable, and sounds great. Hope my babbling helped your evaluation.
Record MP3s or CDs at up to 32x from multiple sources (PC, CD, radio, and more) Plays back in ATRAC3, supports MP3, WMA, and WAV formats Easy one-hand...More at Amazon Marketplace
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