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

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'll start with the good points:
1. Lightweight and totally portable
2. I personally think the LP4 mode sounds fine.I constantly use it while on the subway going places.5 hours per disc kicks any portable mp3 player in the pants.
3. Battery life is great!Even the rechargable is impressive.
4. BEST PART.I use the mic in with the sony MS-907 microphone and the results are superb.I have simple recordings of myself playing guitar and the recordings sound like I am in the room.I haven't tried dumping any recordings back onto the computer yet, but supposedly I have to do that through the analog jack.
Bad points
1.The headphones that come with it [are bad], but this is no news to anyone.
2.The remote takes some getting used to and it could be a little better designed.
3.32X is a crock.I'd say realistically I transfer tunes about 10x speed and I have a 800mh PIII.Still not bad.You can go from there.
4.The Software.Let me repeat. The software is hands down the worst part of this package.As you have probably read, tracks must be 'checked in' or 'out' using the Open MG Jukebox software.You can only check out 3 at a time.Honestly, this is NO BIG DEAL because you can always re-import the file to the playlist and you get 3 fresh 'credits'.So don't let that bother you.I do have errors frequently not letting me check in a file that I checked out.I just delete it off the player and re-import the file if I need more credits.That's the way around Sony's attempt to police what I do with MY music.
The problem for me is that when you import a file the ID2 & ID3 tags must be in place.It doesn't just list each mp3 as whatever it is named.Let me explain.Open any song on your Winamp.Right click on the song and check out File Info.If these aren't filled in (which most of the time they aren't) then the artist is recognized as UNKNOWN on the MD Jukebox.I have about 5,000 mp3s on my computer, so I literally spent hours upon hours editing these tags JUST so I could find mp3s in the Jukebox that I was looking for.Once I did that, everything was smooth and was alphabetical.If you only have a couple of hundreds mp3s, then it probably won't bother you until you have thousands.
All in all, the player is excellent quality, so far.Recording with a mic is most impressive and I look forward to using it at my gigs, rehearsals, etc.The only hinderance is the software, but there are ways around some of the 'rules'.

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Product Description:
Sony's portable Net MDM-^Y player/recorder features an L4 mode that allows you to record MP3s or CDs up to 32x faster than can be done with standard recording. The unit includes a remote control equipped with editing functions, which provides direct access to the player's functions. The MDLPM-^Y feature allows you to record 4 times as much music on one disc than on the standard MD. You can record from multiple sources, and with the supplied car kit you can take it wherever the road takes you.