Sony MZ-N707 Net MD Walkman Player/Recorder (Black)

• MP3, WMA, and WAV audio-format compatibility; selectable data compression (ATRAC/ATRAC3)
• USB port allows 32x music data transfer from PC; Ultimate Skip-Free G-Protection guards against skips during active use
• Optical digital-audio input, stereo analog line input (.125-inch minijack), microphone input
• Aluminum upper lid, 1-line dot-matrix LCD, stick-type LCD remote control with editing functions
• OpenMG Jukebox Version 2.2 offers Windows XP capability, title editing; includes car kit and tons of other accessories

What I like about it : the complete packaging with all necessary cables, the rechargeable battery, the nice design, the remote control, the cheap price of minidiscs compared to MP3 players memory cards, the overall quality.

What I don't like so much : this thing cannot read MP3 files, these have to be translated to ATRAC3 files before being "checked out" to the player. This takes a lot of time and disk space, which is a pain. The result is good if you use 128 kbps MP3 files to start with, but from 96 kbps MP3 files, the resulting sound is dramatically downgraded and really horrible. As a consequence, I have to re-rip all my CDs to 128 kbps. The software is not so bad but very very slow. Many people complain it crashes or hangs too often, but I haven't had any problem under Windows 2000.

What I dislike about it : if you hope to use it as a digital recorder, you'll be very disappointed. I was able to record myself playing clarinet using an external mic, and this was fine, and very easy to do I must say. But then there is no means to export the result in a digital format. To generate an MP3 file from there, you must re-record the track using the headphones plug as line-out to the AUX input of your PC's sound card. With a significant loss of quality (and time). Really frustrating, a stupid software limitation...

Buy Sony MZ-N707 Net MD Walkman Player/Recorder (Black) Now

Well, I read all of the reviews, here and elsewhere, and I still decided to get the 707 despite what everyone said. I am so happy that I did! This device is not only very easy to use, it is also very fast. The conversion from MP3 to ATRAC is fast...Others must just have slow computers as mine transferred a whole playlist in less than 5 min! That's faster than my CD burner runs when it's not converting file types! The software that comes with the 707 is also reliable (version 2.2) and seems to work fine with Windows XP.

One of the reasons that I bought the 707 was so that I could record my drumming lessons for playback later when I practiced. I bought a decent digital mic and a recording I went with much success!

CAUTION: If want a device that allows you to record audio like concerts and than upload the audio onto your computer, don't buy this unless you are satisfied with analog conversion or have a MD deck on hand. If you want to record onto MD via microphone and don't care about uploading to PC or editing, then the 707 is for you!

Read Best Reviews of Sony MZ-N707 Net MD Walkman Player/Recorder (Black) Here

I've enjoyed my player for about two weeks or so. I was actually about to return it due to the lack of Usability of the OPEN MG software that came with the unit but read that the Real One Player supports the recorder. So I downloaded the free Real version, clicked on add a new devicegot the download from Real and off I wentnow file swapping is a snap!

I'v recorded in LP2 and LP4 mode and notice no degredation in the sound quality either.

I would suggest this unit as long as you use the real player software.

Cheers!

Want Sony MZ-N707 Net MD Walkman Player/Recorder (Black) Discount?

I just got this today and I have to start with the negative unfortunately. I record with a stereo mike, live music. The player automatically defaults to auto-level every time you stop recording and you have to change it back to manual every time. I will get over this but it should be known. Also, there is this annoying "group mode" that must be shut off every time I use it. Ok, now the good. Live recordings made from a stereo mic with this sound excellent, the playback sounds somehow better than it did live. The sound quality is perfect. I have yet to use the long playing mode, but I'm thankful for that feature as well. It comes with every conceivable accessory to play everywhere possible. ...

The MD unit is very sturdy and I haven't had any mechanical problems with it at all. It's a very nice unit, but I have to warn you that if you are looking for a portable device to play your MP3s then you should not consider any NetMD player that uses the OpenMG software. This software is the only means to put MP3s on your MD player and it has a check in/check out feature that limits the number of times you are able to transfer one song (in MP3) to your MD player. If you do a search on this subject you will find alot of negative comments on the OpenMG software. For me, I convert my MP3s to wav format and burn them onto CDs and then use a CD player with optical outputs to get them onto my MD player. If I had known how bad the software was I would not have bought a NetMD player at all.