Sony Net MD Walkman MZ-N707 Personal MiniDisc Player

Pros: Small, Durable, Great sound quality
Cons: Traditional MiniDisc cons - realtime uploads. Could use more recording features.

Could this be the beginning of a MiniDisc revolution? Could we be on the verge of a near perfect portable media and an efficient way to use it? Maybe, but not just yet...

The Sony MZ-N707 makes a great improvement on previous MD (MiniDisc)...

Pros: Sound quality; compact; variety of sound inputs and outputs; durable batteries; robust unit
Cons: Ergonomically AWFUL, non-intuitive recording methods; restricted to 3 copies of downloaded music

The long and the short of my experience with this unit is that (a) overall, it was great for its time (a time which has now gone); (b) it sounds very good; and (c) it has been AWFUL to use. Read on for a fuller explanation of these points. I first ...

Pros: Convenient size, excellent sound, fast NetMD transfer, looks cool. :-)
Cons: Sony's software is an interesting challenge to figure out.

I was looking, as many of you may be, for a portable music solution. I wanted an MP3 player, but couldn't afford the Apple iPod I really wanted, and didn't want to buy a cheaper MP3 player with limited storage.

Then I came across MD players....

Pros: Excellent little unit, great battery life, easy to use
Cons: The software leaves a lot to be desired

I've always been one to spend less money whenever possible. Because of that, I've had an RCA player and a Memorex CD/MP3 combo player die on me. My most reliable piece of audio equipment was a Sony Walkman (radio+tape) which only gave out on me last...

Pros: excellent sound, versatile, tiny, intuitive controls, lots of useful extras
Cons: downloading software is clunky and restrictive

Portable minidisc (MD) player/recorders offered the same sound as MP3 players, the same portability, offered more capacity, but lost on convenience for recording sound. MP3 players, connected to computers by USB or even FireWire with matching quick, ...

Pros: Great LITTLE unit, excellent sound and easy to use.
Cons: The software flat out SUCKS.

I'll begin by telling the readers that I am a Senior Test Engineer on contract at Hewlett Packard. In particular I am a software test engineer. I've been doing that work for over 4 years. So when I say this software sucks, I mean that I can catagorize...

Pros: Size,number of songs that can fit on one minidisc..amazing,Sony brand of course,shockproof..really
Cons: SOFTWARE is terrible,takes a long time to convert songs to Sony format

When first looking at a portable music device (lets say a Walkman for short) to listen to my many Mp3s I was torn between 3 different types: a portable CD player that can play Mp3s on a CD-R/RW, an Mp3 player that can accept memory cards ...

Pros: long battery life up to 5 hours on each disc high speed uploading
Cons: none

This machine really rocks! With 5 hours capacity on each disc, 50 plus battery life, high speed uploading, remote control, what more could you ask for. As an avid on the go type of person I love being able to have lots of music with me everywhere. T ...

Pros: Long battery life, very good sound, excellent portability, comes with useful accessories
Cons: Terribly buggy software, remote could be better

I was looking for a portable player of some kind with a few things in mind. It had to be small and portable, have excellent battery life and fit a large amount of music. The N707 turned out to be a hit on all fronts and it was less pricey than the...

Pros: Small, ability to edit, car kit, battery life, lot's of accessories.
Cons: Not quite loud enough, remote could be designed better, absolutely terrible software.

I've been looking at purchasing a portable audio player for some time. I bought the mz-n707 because of it's ability to record at faster speeds than previous MD (minidisc) recorders, good battery life, and the fact that it comes with a car kit and a...

Pros: Excellent Battery Life Great Sound CHEAP media
Cons: PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE- NO uploading your recordings to PC

I am writing this review because this is all the information I would have liked to have had PRIOR to purchasing the Sony NetMD N707.

Pros:

BATTERY LIFE- The battery is lasting me well over 40 hours. One (1) AA cell battery last...

Pros: Cheap media, USB connection, Ability to record.
Cons: Software is a horrible. Very slow transfers on slow PCs.

I was in the market for a new mp3 player and I had also considered a minidisc player as an option even before NetMD players were released.

Well, as soon as I heard about NetMD I just had to have one of these players. All the claims were so...

Pros: Excellent sound on recordings and playback, ligthweight, skip-free, good battery life.
Cons: Sony´s OpenMg software is horribly tiresome, restrictive and invades your computer.

I bought this MD because I was in need of a high-quality stereo live-recorder, mp3 burner and good quality portable sound. I did a lot of research, listening and ended up buying this little thing.

My review is very simple. The hardware itself...

Pros: The MZ-N707 is very portable and has very good sound quality.
Cons: Poor software. Bad installation routine. Bug makes SCMS prevent transfer of your own recordings.

I purchased the Sony MZ-N707 for my wife to use to record her fiddle club meetings. It works well for this--as far as recording and playing back on the headphones--but a horrendous bug makes the unit mark audio recorded with the microphone as having origi ...

Pros: Cheap media, large storage space, small size
Cons: Slower than advertised downloads, clunky software.

I'm no expert on the new-fangled music formats, so when I went out to the store to get an alternative to my aging CD walkman, I initially looked for mp3 players. My eye was caught, however, by the Sony NetMD player, primarily on the strength of its...

Pros: Small and good looking
Cons: What can we use this for?

I purchase this NetMD (N707 and N505) a week ago and I haven’t find a way to give a good review about this unit. I own several mp3 players and as well as MZ-R70 (blue) unit. I must say that this NetMD technology is rather disappointing.

The...

Pros: Size, Sound, MDLP, Mic support, Fast Music Upload, Battery Life, Anti-shock, accessory bundle, Value
Cons: Remote, Software

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...

Pros: Excellent price, includes tons of accessories. 32x High Speed Recording. Small and light weight.
Cons: OpenMG software is hard to use and restrictive.

Want the convenience of a CD player, the re-recording ability of a cassette tape, but not the hiss? Hate to pay high prices for those digital media? Then the minidisc format or MD for short is your answer. This review will be in two parts, the...

Pros: Great sound, Large potential storage capacity, Quick PC-to-MD song transfer
Cons: price, somewhat-buggy software, intermittent mechanical "whirring" noise

The Experience The portable, light Player delivers high-quality sound with little hassl ...

Pros: Excellent Sound, Low cost Media, Amazing Battery Life
Cons: Software is usable, but pretty bad.

I purchased the N707 for myself after purchasing the N505 for my wife, if that tells you anything. I was somewhat fed up with limited expansion options and poor battery life of MP3 players. The Net MD series of Walkmans from Sony are amazing. I am...

Pros: Small, light-weight, loaded with features, great sound.
Cons: OpenMG/Simple Burner software is very bulky, and takes along time to convert mp3's into ATRAC's

First of all, it most definately needs to be a Sony! My friends recommended that I get a Sony MD player because at that time I always had my CD player. So, in January of this year, I began my research and decided I'll get a job. I finaly had a big enough...

Pros: Long play recording, light weight, great battery life.
Cons: Cheap remote, unusable software, powered by AA battery.

This is a pretty nice unit. Fairly attractive, great battery life, nice record quality, and a good replacement for my old R37. The controls are functional and easy to figure out, the display is good, and the LP2/LP4 and grouping functions are really...

Pros: Great Sound! Small size, good control layout, song capacity.
Cons: Slow difficult to use software.

It's the end product, great sound, that will please you the most, getting there is not the easiest but you will be rewarded with magnificent stereo sound. Nothing else compares with the MD as a means to create good sounding music on the run. Battery life...

Pros: Digital audio Small
Cons: Minidisc sound quality at lower bitrate Open MG software

OK...I have lots of equipment and really thought about what I could use for both portable and car...my car has optional minidisc deck that can be added (go MAZDA!)

anyhoo..I love Sony and used to sell A/V..I know this stuff. So went and...

Pros: Small, 320 minutes on one mini-disk. Unbelievable battery life.
Cons: Could use a better remote.

I've owned 1 mp3 player and a CD Walkman and this Minidisc blows it away.

Before buying this player/recorder I did A LOT of research on the Internet. This player is 1 of 4 NetMD players offered by Sony and is right in the middle of the...

Pros: Sound, Battery Life, Media Cost
Cons: Button Layout

I did a lot of research when I wanted to buy a portable music device. I ended up buying this little Sony MD player in August '02.

Pros.

The primary purpose of this little device is to make my commute bearable. I have a pack of 6...

Pros: the actual player works well, nice design, compact, doesn't skip while running
Cons: Software is CRIMINALLY BAD. Worst I have ever used. Tech support: a complete joke.

I have used MD players for about 4 years, and this is my second player. I have used this player for about 6 months.

The actual MD player is quite nice. It is a good piece of hardware. If you have a recorded minidisc, it will do what you need,...

Pros: Easy to use, nicely designed, fast downloading time to MD
Cons: Difficult to use Open MG software, manual is not easily read

This was my first MD player and I was having difficulty deciding between an MP3 player and MD. I wanted something that was going to be cheap to run, easily transported and inconspicuous. Although not inconspicuous, in comparison to other models on the...

Pros: Small, Great battery life and sound!
Cons: Remote is lame, openMG is more lame. :P

I came back from a trip to Japan, and I was amazed at all the MiniDisc players everywhere there. It seemed like everyone had one. A few people on my trip got one, and I was on the edge of it, but I ran out of money while I was there. Plus, I didn't want...

Pros: Nice and small, MD-LP, NetMD, long battery life (even with rechargable), 5hrs on one disc!
Cons: Plastic back, bass weak at high volume levels, NetMD Software.

I upgraded from a MZ-R70, so the main reason for buying it was the mass amounts of audio that I can throw on a single disc. It was a big improvement from the R70, all except for the plastic back and battery casing.

I love the fact that you...

Pros: Good sound, good battery life.
Cons: Software that make you want to pull your teeth out.

This thing is better than an MP3 player. Little discs that you can burn over and over again quickly, battery life lasts forever. Light, good sound- just an all around great product. Sony should be making a zillion dollars off it. But it isn't. Why? ...

Pros: Small, sleek and a lot of storage space.
Cons: OpenMG software and slow atrac converting.

The Sony mz-n707 is a good value for the money. It comes with everything you need and isn't to hard ...

Pros: Everything
Cons: Included Headphones

You can't go wrong with the MZ-N707. Everything except for the headphones that were included (earbuds). Everyone says the software thats included sucks. They're really wrong, I love it! This is the best MD Recorder out there, it has great battery...

Pros: small, light, easy to use, excellent sound quality, millions of functions
Cons: sometimes fiddly when trying to use advanced functions.

I bought this minidisc player acting on the advice of a close friend who had encouraged me to buy it by telling me about its many good points such as the long battery life; extremely good sound quality; many recording functions and options; very clear...

Pros: "Best Sound, Best MP3 Player"
Cons: "As a digital recorder it's a white elephant"

OK, it ISN'T an MP3 player. BUT, it gives you the ability to put up to FIVE HOURS of music on one 2 dollar disc. It records LIVE audio with exceptional quality. You can work around the MP3 "check in, check out" annoyance with Nero, for example. (You can...

Pros: Great sound, extended battery life, great connectivity.
Cons: Not so easy to use, specially when editing song's names. Software included is a joke.

I was not sure about buying an MD player at a first glance, specially when I heard the prize; but when I received my MZ-N707 player, the first look was surprising, I saw it rough, very well finished and so tiny and little weight.

Then, I...

Pros: This is much easier than trying to put CD's onto MP3's
Cons: A little pricey

I was really scared when I read the reviews re the terrible software - BUT alas - It is working wonderful for me. And I am not a computer buff. I just installed it and it is much easier than Windowsmediaplayer even. AND the walkman self is wonderful,...

Pros: Fantastic player (small, battery lasts forever)Really great when it works.
Cons: Software is awful. Fails to record about 50% of the time.

The software is Horrible. When it does work, it takes forever to convert MP3s to ATRAC format(only option). Sure, writing is fast, but conversion takes a few minutes per track, and fails a LOT! When converting about 12 Mp3's downloaded from Emusic (an...

Pros: Size, weight, convenience, storage capacity, sound quality, recording quality
Cons: Software sucks.

My main purpose in making this purchase was to replace a Sony Profession Walkman for recording live rehearsals for future listening and for this it is spectacular! The recording quality using a Sony external mic is remarkable and comparable to the Pro...

Pros: A lot of music on one disc
Cons: Remote not so convenient

I got this player after playing with my best friends model just like it. I love it. I bring it with me to the gym all the time and prefer it way over a regular discman or walkman. I plug it into my computer play a dvd and hit record, then when Im at...

Pros: Has it all
Cons: The Software supplied is not hard to use, but is so restrictive and clunky.

Very good MP3 MD player, worth the money. I've seen reviews mention bad control etc, I found it very good, and intuitive. I cant say a bad thing about the hardware. But the software is a different story. I've not had problems installing or using, if...

Pros: If you can get a disc made, congratulations!
Cons: Software

The software is out of order more than in order. It requires constant fixing, re-installation and patching to prevent it from freezing and crashing. Check out the forums on http://www.musiclub.sonystyle.com/community/ Notice that there are 1000's of...

Pros: Small, inexpensive media, great sound
Cons: Copy protection scheme doesn't allow you to transfer original material recorded with a microphone.

I bought the Sony MZ-N707 because it includes a microphone jack. I wanted a portable recorder able to capture high quality audio (interviews and sound effects) through a mic and then to transfer the recordings via the USB cable as digital files to my...

Pros: Compact, sleek, good battery life
Cons: Remote could be better designed

This MD player and recorder isn't a bad deal. It is my second MD player and compared to this one, the first was a giant. This small little player has great sound quality and battery life. I was away in Europe for two full weeks on buses, trains, and...

Pros: Can record with MIC in
Cons: Unit failed shortly and expensively out of (labor) warranty

I got this for my son in Christmas of 2002. The main feature that prompted purchase of this over the 505 was the ability to have a line in for recording his concerts. He also used it for recording several CD's to a single minidisc. Recording quality was quite good.

However, this summer suddenly he could get no sound out of the MIC output. When brought in for service, we were told there was not a loose connection but a "logic" problem, that would take several hours to fix. As labor was no longer under warranty (90 d), the cost to repair was estimated at $120-150. Since this was essentially whatI paid for the unit ($169), this did not seem to be a good investment. Whether this was an issue of shoddy workmanship on this particular unit, or a fundamental flaw in design, I can't say. This unit does seem to be on the wane in the US market, making me wonder if problems have been recognized by Sony.

Pros: Cheap storage,attractive styling,rugged dependability and wonderful sound quality all add up to an excellent player.
Cons: The OpenMG software terrible but Sound Stage is great. No uploading but Xitel can fix!

I received this little gadget as a birthday present 2 years ago and it's my favorite present to date! The battery life is fantastic, it plays and plays. I could stick a regular alkaline in it if I forget to charge it so there's never any down time. The cheap and endless capacity storage is what really got me. I looked at other players with removable memory and the overall cost was staggering.

Pros: none
Cons: Difficult to work with. Menu total jibberish.

After struggling with mp3 players for a few years I was ill adviced to try the MD.
Well I`m not impressed, I find the controls hard work to understand and the unit heavy and combersome.
No, I`ll go back to my mp3.
Better the devil you know and at least understand.

Pros: It holds a lot of Music on just a little cd...thats so cool!!!
Cons: Software Sucks Balls because it can only record directly from a cd....I dont know why

I love it it kicks butt...it is way better than MP3 players because if you want to change your music, you just pop in another MD but with an MP3 player you have to wait to get home or another computer. With this, I can carry about 10 CD's right in my pocket!!

it is a great investment. the sound quality is great, it looks great, you can do many things with it, simply great. It took me some time and comparison before I purchased it, but now I am very happy. I heard complains about the software that comes with it, but if you have some slight computer knowledge, it will do fine. I actually like the software a lot, and enjoy using it. Would highly recommend!!!

At first I was gonna purshase a Mp3 player, but since mp3's have chips inside that sometimes mess up the sound quality,and have limited amounts of space, I brought the Sony Net MD Walkman. I plugged it up the same day and in 10 minutes I had songs on my minidisc, thats how fast it is! Because it is a Net MD, putting songs on the Minidisc WAS 32X, HIGHSPEED!It was great and easy for a first timer like me!You can add and delete song you dont want, and because you can add and delete, your dont ever have to buy another Minidisc again!It has Great battery life (56 hours on one AA battery). The sound quality is WONDERFUL, though it could have came with some better headphones (i like earbuds) but thats no problem. The Minidisc come with a rechargable battery and a cool remote. And is a bargain for your money.

Fine music quality. Dissapointed because although is touts MP3, it only has one Bit rate it will record. It will not record any other MP3 format. Unable to use windows file format for transfering filed to Min Disk.

Works really well, the quailty of the music is very good even in the Lp4 mode, when I finally realized that Sony wasn't kidding when they said to exit "all" running programs before using the MG jukebox I had no problems downloading music to the minidisc.I'm also impressed with the battery life in the playback mode, I work a 12 hour shift and I can use it for two days before having to charge the battery.

To all the guys who tried to use this to record live shows and couldn't transfer it to a PC, ever think of using the headphone out (from the MD) into the line in (or mic input) of the system and record it as *.wav files then burn it to CD.

This is a great minidisc, I highly recomend buying it!!!! Its has a good download speed and it is sleek and small so you can take it wherever you want!!

At first I was gonna purshase a Mp3 player, but since mp3's have chips inside that sometimes mess up the sound quality,and have limited amounts of space, I brought the Sony Net MD Walkman. I plugged it up the same day and in 10 minutes I had songs on my minidisc, thats how fast it is! Because it is a Net MD, putting songs on the Minidisc WAS 32X, HIGHSPEED!It was great and easy for a first timer like me!You can add and delete song you dont want, and because you can add and delete, your dont ever have to buy another Minidisc again!It has Great battery life (56 hours on one AA battery). The sound quality is WONDERFUL, though it could have came with some better headphones (i like earbuds) but thats no problem. The Minidisc come with a rechargable battery and a cool remote. And is a bargain for your money.

it is a great investment. the sound quality is great, it looks great, you can do many things with it, simply great. It took me some time and comparison before I purchased it, but now I am very happy. I heard complains about the software that comes with it, but if you have some slight computer knowledge, it will do fine. I actually like the software a lot, and enjoy using it. Would highly recommend!!!

This Minidisc player is great i mean itm has a charger for the rechargable battery instead of buying them AA batteries i mean them add up on how many you buy a year. But like i said this product is grrreat(TONY THE TIGER)-KELLOGS. And plus it is made by americas favorite people Sony.

MD is great - except for the CRAPPY Sony OpenMG copy protection software. Has failed miserably [read CRASHED] numerous times on my XP box - even after upgrading it from Sony's site. Software limits number of copies you can make to MD of a specific song. You check-out/in the songs on MD. To be expected from a manufacturer that is also a major record label. The OpenMG software (I HATE IT) is a complete package that meets your needs - when it works. It's the ONLY thing I don't like about this MD, and the only way to get songs on/off the MD. Would highly recommend player, but Sony REALLY needs to fix this software !!!

This Minidisc player is great i mean itm has a charger for the rechargable battery instead of buying them AA batteries i mean them add up on how many you buy a year. But like i said this product is grrreat(TONY THE TIGER)-KELLOGS. And plus it is made by americas favorite people Sony.

MD is great - except for the CRAPPY Sony OpenMG copy protection software. Has failed miserably [read CRASHED] numerous times on my XP box - even after upgrading it from Sony's site. Software limits number of copies you can make to MD of a specific song. You check-out/in the songs on MD. To be expected from a manufacturer that is also a major record label. The OpenMG software (I HATE IT) is a complete package that meets your needs - when it works. It's the ONLY thing I don't like about this MD, and the only way to get songs on/off the MD. Would highly recommend player, but Sony REALLY needs to fix this software !!!

sony has taken copywriting issues to a whole new level!! i was in shock after reading the manual, and discovering the limitations. since you can only send files to the player after they have been converted into the ATRAC format, it takes hours on a fast computer to burn one MD. I took mine back to the store.

There is no way to remove recorded live music from the minidisk--even when it is your own musical performance and thus there is no copyright protection issues. And there is no disclosure of this restriction prior to purchase.

Throw away the home deck, throw away the car player. MD has come of age. This unit is great! It's small enough to take anywhere. Is packed with features and accessories. And, it runs forever on a single AA alkaline. Sony has finally hit a home run with MD. Took them 10 years but they finally did it! Now if they could only get someone to write decent software for transfering music:)

This is a great minidisc, I highly recomend buying it!!!! Its has a good download speed and it is sleek and small so you can take it wherever you want!!

Throw away the home deck, throw away the car player. MD has come of age. This unit is great! It's small enough to take anywhere. Is packed with features and accessories. And, it runs forever on a single AA alkaline. Sony has finally hit a home run with MD. Took them 10 years but they finally did it! Now if they could only get someone to write decent software for transfering music:)

Fine music quality. Dissapointed because although is touts MP3, it only has one Bit rate it will record. It will not record any other MP3 format. Unable to use windows file format for transfering filed to Min Disk.

There is no way to remove recorded live music from the minidisk--even when it is your own musical performance and thus there is no copyright protection issues. And there is no disclosure of this restriction prior to purchase.

I bought the unit to use for live recordings. When I purchased it, I was told I could record from a mic and transfer info to a cd! Sounded great until I found out you cannot transfer from md to Pc!! I can't do anything with my live recordings. And my computer continuously crashes due to the software. My laptop never crashed until I installed this garbage software. I am Surprised at Sony.

sony has taken copywriting issues to a whole new level!! i was in shock after reading the manual, and discovering the limitations. since you can only send files to the player after they have been converted into the ATRAC format, it takes hours on a fast computer to burn one MD. I took mine back to the store.

To all the guys who tried to use this to record live shows and couldn't transfer it to a PC, ever think of using the headphone out (from the MD) into the line in (or mic input) of the system and record it as *.wav files then burn it to CD.

I bought the unit to use for live recordings. When I purchased it, I was told I could record from a mic and transfer info to a cd! Sounded great until I found out you cannot transfer from md to Pc!! I can't do anything with my live recordings. And my computer continuously crashes due to the software. My laptop never crashed until I installed this garbage software. I am Surprised at Sony.

Works really well, the quailty of the music is very good even in the Lp4 mode, when I finally realized that Sony wasn't kidding when they said to exit "all" running programs before using the MG jukebox I had no problems downloading music to the minidisc.I'm also impressed with the battery life in the playback mode, I work a 12 hour shift and I can use it for two days before having to charge the battery.