Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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95 of 101 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A superb alternative to the iPod and other MP3 players, June 23, 2004
When the mini-disc format (MD) was invented in 1995, it was viewed as the unwanted stepchild of the CD. However with the explosion of the MP3 digital format in recent years, the MD has now found a permanent niche in portable electronics.
Thanks to the iPod, MP3 players have dominated the industry, but I still had to make an informed decision before dropping the coin for a next-generation portable player. I spent about a month doing research on what worked best for my needs. My girlfriend bought a 20GB iPod a few months ago and I loved it after trying it out. However, I was not comfortable spending $300-400 on one myself, especially after finding out some of the iPod's dark secrets: 1) The internal battery only lasts 10-18 months and is NON-REPLACABLE /NON-SERVICEABLE. 2) You have to send the unit back to Apple to replace the battery, which cost $100 plus shipping. 3) If don't have an iBook or an Apple computer at home, don't bother buying an iPod...Windows and iPods are not very fond of each other, try one on your PC and you may get tempted to put the sledge hammer to it. 4) If you drop an iPod on a hard surface, you just burned a few hundred dollars on the spot. Once dropped, it never works quite the same again. The iPod's sleek but delicate chassis and non-shock absorbent HD casing are a recipe for disaster. 5) The iPod has become a yuppie status symbol in San Francisco, so by principle alone, I will not buy one.
Since buying an iPod was no longer an option, I looked high and low for an alternative. I wanted three features above all else: affordable price point, compact size, and satisfactory music capacity. I discovered that all the 20-40GB iPod clones (iRiver, Lyra, Nomad, etc.) are too expensive and too much of a liability if damaged. In addition, I only wanted a device for working out or when I am using public transit for work. 20-40GB will fit my entire music library but I will never need to use all of that capacity all the time-so I went to the other end of the rainbow: smaller flash-memory players
I loved the portability of flash media players but the capacity is the direct opposite of the giga-players. Smaller players usually hold 128 or 256MB of memory (a couple of newer models are in the 0.5-1GB range). This is not enough memory to hold enough music without worrying about when to switch flash cards. Also, flash memory is very pricey, so what you save on the player, you will spend on the memory. You're better off spending the money on a high-capacity unit.
I finally looked into Sony's MD player line as a alternative to HD-based players and am very pleased with the information that I found, so I bought the MZNF520D at a local shop. It was a great decision. I have summarized the pros and cons below:
PROS:
1. MD optical media is cheaper compared to USB flash media. Even though one MD only holds about 160MB of data, you can still fit about 3 hours of music of converted ATRAC3 music on one disc at standard LB2 speed (CD quality). If you compress the data to LB4 speed, you can cram more than double that capacity with some loss of quality (tracks sound like a low-spectrum FM station). Even on LB2 mode, there is plenty of music to keep me busy during my workouts and commute.
2. The player has G-Protection shock absorption, so there are no skips and the player does not fall apart if dropped. I shook the player "like a salt shaka" and not one skip!
3. It has a remote, unlike most other MD models (not even the new Hi-MD MZNH600 has a remote). The remote is a bit clumsy for larger hands but I'd rather have a remote instead of digging around my pockets to change tracks.
4. Sleek styling like all things Sony.
5. Light and portable, comparable to a deck of cards.
6. Cost, cost, cost!! You can get the player, a USB cable, headphones plus an 8-pack of blank discs for under $200.
7. Ease of use: PC based software is relatively easy to use. Converting MP3 to ATRAC3 is a snap. I didn't even bother to read the manual, but then again, I am a bit of a tech-geek. Novice users may want to read the manual first before transferring files.
8. MD media is rewriteable (up to a million+ times according to Sony) with virtually no loss in quality.
CONS:
1. No USB 2.0 support, so files take a bit longer to load onto the MD. A 6 minute song takes about 45-60 seconds to transfer at LB2 speed.
2. No belt clip (something I sorely miss).
3. Volume and bass management are a bit on the tinny side. I did solve the problem by using my pro DJ headphones. Using good ear buds will suffice during workouts.
4. Speaking of headphones, the player includes those cheap, stock, foam-ear headphones. The good news that a good pair of Sony ear buds cost about $10.
5. You may want to spend an extra $50 or so and get the new Hi-MD units, like the aforementioned MZNF unit. Hi-MD players have the new 1GB capacity discs. I may want to upgrade to a Hi-MD unit later on but I am not an early adopter. Top-of-the-line Hi-MD players cost over $400. I'll wait a couple of years when prices go down.
6. No microphone, which means no live recording capabilities, a feature only found in older generation high-end MD players. Not a big deal.
7. No AM radio. Again, no big deal.
I am very pleased with this unit and highly recommend it for anyone who does not want to be an iPod clone and want a reliable, easy-to-use, ready-to-go player for working out or relaxing. 5 stars, baby!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Cool, July 8, 2004
MiniDisc is probably the coolest format I have ever used; and this player is the perfect newbie model. Its Ipodesque theme, in-line remote, and FM/TV/WEATHER tuner makes this the MD player with the perfect feature set for newcomers to the MD format. My first suggestion: If you like storing ridiculously huge amounts of music, or have a knack for hearing al your songs in WAVE without carrying around the CD's then the MiniDisc is not for you. I will not recommend the Ipod, but anyother HDD player will serve this purpose. PROS: Small, In-line Remote, 45 hour playback on standard AA batteries, FM/TV/WEATHER tuner, uses cheap large capacity MiniDisc format. CONS: small screen on player itself, extremely cheap stock headphones included, no line in or optical line input for live recording (won't matter to most). The first thing you'll want to do when you get this player is throw the included stock headphones in the trash. The included headphones are no better than the complimentary headphones given by American Airlines on flights (I tested them). I got the Philips HE592 in-ear earbuds. These are usually sold as "for the Ipod" at Target, however their white and silver color scheme will match perfectly with The MZ-NF520D and they offer superb sound quality. Also, you may want to get rechargeable NiMh's, I bought Rayovac's 15-minute 2000Mah batteries, and they propel the MiniDisc for at least 60 hours. Appart from the headphone gripe, the MD format is a spectacular format that represents the pinnacle in Magneto-Optical technology. Your new MD should provide many years of reliable and problem-free service. The same cannot be said for other players(Ipod battery problem,HDD issues in the future, etc.)
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice, but Limited, November 25, 2005
Bottom Line:
This is a great unit for the price, but for people with an expansive library of music or for those who use multiple computers, I would not recommend it.
I've had this player for almost two years and would describe it as durable with great music playback, but that darn ATRAC format puts a real damper on things. It always converts my mp3s to this format which is a waste time (Granted it's only a few minutes, but I like to get things done as quick as possible). And though I haven't checked for recent updates of the software(SonicStage), the version I have is not very user-friendly and took me a while to get used to.
But my biggest gripe is that in Sony's attempt to reduce music piracy, they've put protection on this thing that prevents you from uploading music on computers other than the one your unit is registered on. Granted, this is not a big deal for most consumers, but I travel a lot and find it very frustrating when I can't remix my music while at a different computer.
Lastly, the capacity is limited (Room for about 35 songs in standard quality) and no one likes carrying around extra minidiscs, regardless of how small they are.
Bottom, bottom line:
This is a great little machine...Though I wouldn't recommend it for those of us in 2005. Go for the ipod, I know everyone has it and you'll be part of the "trendy" crowd, but it's popular for a reason- it's superior to everything else out there (I have a nano and feel just like those dancing silhouette people in the commercials).
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