Sony MZ-NF610 High Speed Net MD Walkman Recorder – Customer Reviews

I heard about Minidiscs a few years ago, but was put off by the real time recording and expensive prices. This player/recorder however, is part of a new generation of Minidisc players called "NetMD". NetMD allows you to download music files from your computer to the MD Player with a USB cable. To transfer one song, it takes literally seconds, while a whole album can be transferred in a minute or two.

When I purchased this player in July/August, I had also considered purchasing the Creative MUVO or an Appple Ipod. I chose MD for a few reasons. The MUVO wasn't upgradeable in terms of storage capacity. Other MP3 players are, but simply upgrading 64 or 128 MB is very costly. You'll get more music for your money with MD. You can get a blank MD for about $2 and then put either 80, 160, or 320 (I think) minutes of music depending on the compression you use. I have been told that the LP2 compression is similar to a 128 kps mp3; with LP2 compression, you get about 160 minutes of music, which is enough to store 2 albums easily. As far as the Ipod is concerned, the NF610 is much cheaper. Also, the 300 dollar Ipod lacks many accessories that the 400 dollar one includes, so if you look at it that way, the NF610 is half the price.

I originally thought I would buy this player and only use one Minidisc. Since then, I have about 10. I use the NF610 to record my cds onto MDS. I like having several albums of one artist on one MD. It's also nice to carry an additional MD when traveling/walking/etc.

Some people have also complained about the OpenMG/Sonic Stage software. It is true that it is somewhat confusing (and annoying, given the weird check-in/check-out system). I have recently started using RealOne Player, which supports Sony Music Devices (including NetMD!). RealOne is free for download. I use RealOne to copy all my CDS to high-quality MP3 on my computer. Then RealOne allows me to select tracks and write them onto Minidisc. It's a breeze, fun, and very simple.

As far as the unit itself, I really like the blue color that the NF610 has. The remote is not as big as other reviews make it. It's small enough to where I can put it on my belt loop and thumb through my music; it's not easily noticeable with a shirt over it. I would say it may be big compared to other LCD remotes, but not by much. The radio is nice and can get good reception. I would say the unit is solidly built and after a few months use, still looks brand new.

10/4/2003 12:00 AM | Rating:

Mp3 players will be a thing of the past if MD players take note from this little creation. It has everything desirable for a music machine; small, long battery life (mine averages 26 hours w/ volume max), remote, sound controls, great holding capacity (5.3 hours per disc), radio AM/FM tuner, and good looks. My only real complaint is that sound control is only accessible through the remote, which I hardly use since I got new headphones, which have a long cord, thus together making a cord longer than me. Other than that this is a well worth contraption. Better than Cd's, better than Mp3's.

6/18/2004 12:00 AM | Rating: