Sony - MZ-NH700 Mini-Disc Player Review

Overall 5.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

metalhawk
Kissimmee, FL

Mini-Disc players never got the recognition they deserve

laid-back, Avid music lover, computer literate

JAN

2009

Too bad that Sony didn't try harder to market Mini-Disc (MD) players. While other companies put out a model or two, Sony lead the way on this front. Always one to do the opposite of the masses, I didn't want to join the masses in the early days of the iPod and decided to go in another direction. Flash memory MP3 players were still very small 5 years ago, and so a MD was a great alternative. Sony had just come out with the hi-MD discs and players, which allowed for 1GB of specially compressed music (using the ATRAC proprietary technology) rather than the previous 74 minutes original format. The best model offered at my local electronics store was the MZ-NH700, and so that's what I settled on for about $300.

In the package came the players itself, a velvet pouch, a wired remote, the player's rechargeable battery, the power cable, cheap headphones, a USB cable and the manual. No disc though, which was disappointing.

Pros
- Very good audio quality (224 kbps) despite the proprietary compression used.
- The hi-MD 1GB discs allow for more than 350 average length songs. Not as much as the iPod, but still enough to last 15 days before starting over for someone who listens 2 hours per day.
- High quality recording is possible, but you must provide your own microphone, since none come in the package. You can record either compressed or uncompressed. Uncompressed will yield about 100 minutes on a hi-MD disc.
- The small LCD screen shows the band and the name of the song currently playing, providing that the tags are properly set.
- Songs can be stored by albums/"folders", so navigating through the disc can be fast if it's properly organized.
- No skipping. No matter what I do, it has never skipped on me yet.

Cons
- No disc included in the package. I had to purchase one for an extra $10.
- The remote does not have a LCD screen. With the player kept in the pouch, you need to take it out if you want to see the name of the song playing.
- The rechargeable battery quickly became unusable. After a couple years of charges (probably about 100 charges), it could no longer hold much of a charge. I had to buy hi quality Panasonic rechargeable batteries instead.

Bottom line
I love my MZ-NH700 and will ride it until the end. I listen to it for at least 20 hours per week for the last 5 years and it's still working as well as it did the day I bought it. And should the day ever come that it dies on me, I am looking for another Sony MD player before I even consider an iPod.