Sony MZNH600D Hi-MD MiniDisc Walkman by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony MZNH600D Hi-MD MiniDisc Walkman
Digital camera Review: Great Hi-MD Player!
Summary: 5 Stars
I thought it was finally time to replace my Irock 520 32MB mp3 player. I looked around, but I couldn't find anything that really suited it, especially in my price range of under 90 bucks. So I talked to one of my friends and he recommended a MiniDisc Player. So I looked them up and I was impressed. I ordered the MZNH600D after getting some advice from these forums and I am blown away by it. Long battery life, GREAT sound quality (at 48kbps!), unlimited storage, sleek and small design, and very easy to use controls. I love the jog dial wheel, makes it very easy to flip through large numbers of songs. Anyone who has a large library of songs to flip through will quickly grow to love this jog wheel. I currently have 230 songs on the 1GB disc it came with, I still have 663MB left. And you can hold a total of 675 songs per 1GB disc, and for 6 bucks a pop, thats an awesome deal, unlimited storage! I bought a five pack of regular discs instead though for only $6.25 ($1.05 a disc). Each disc holds 300MB, about 200 songs. Dispite what I have heard about ATRAC, I love it. ATRAC3plus sounds fantastic, even at 48kbps, which is the minumum rate and I use it. The software (sonicstage 2.0) is very easy and simple to use. The LCD is great, you see everything you need and the song/artist name scroll across the screen so you can see all of it, its only missing a backlight but I can live without that. I couldn't be happier. And best of all this thing was only 80 bucks, and with ipods as much as 300 bucks, this is a steal. I am now a diehard Sony Minidisc fan and I will always recommend them to others.Digital camera Review: Great Sound, Perfect Alternative to iPod
Summary: 5 Stars
OK, right off the bat I have to wonder how the earlier reviewer took 12 hours to download 1GB of music to the MZNH600. It took me about 1 hour! While that may still seem like a long time, considering how much music you're transfering, I don't think it's a problem.
I was seriously considering the Apple iPod. The Sony Hi-MD won me over as a great alternative - it uses a standard single AA battery which last an incredable 25 hours. There's no hard drive to worry about - excellent shock resistance. It doesn't hold as much on a single disk but it's not that big a deal to change disks. Besides, 1GB on the Sony is about equivalent to 35 CDs... it works for me. Took it on a 800 mile car trip to Oregon and back and it was flawless.
Some have complained about the SonicStage software but I've found it to be just fine. I've used iTunes and I'm annoyed at how iTunes takes over the CD-ROM functions to the point that it disables other CD software! At least the Sony SonicStage doesn't do that!
Sound quality is excellent at the Atrac3 64kbps rate. This is the next to highest compression which allows about 35 hours of music to fit on 1GB. At the highest compression, I noticed that voices started to sound a bit odd. Still, at 64kbps, I can fit more music on 1GB than a typical mp3 player - I estimate about 50% more. So compared to other mp3 players, the Hi-MD is really equivalent to 1.5GB to 2GB.
If I have a gripe, its the tiny display. It actually works fine but it's not backlit and navagating the menus takes a little practice. The controls, while small, actually work quite well, though.
I also considered some of the solid state mp3 players but to get the same amount of music on a Rio Chiba for example, would raise the price way beyond that of the Sony. This little Hi-MD player is an excellent value - Oh yeah, and did I mention that it doubles as a 1GB plug and play portable USB data drive... I highly recommend it.
Digital camera Review: Great sound quality, portable/expandable media, great battery life
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this little Sony Minidisc player as an alternative to the iPod. I bought an iPod ($400) that lasted less than a year. Nice. First the scroll wheel broke, then the hard drive crashed. Done with iPods!
This device is now retro - it's at least 5 years behind the times. But look at what it does:
-Portable 1 GB discs that are encased in a durable plastic shell. Did I mention that you can put 45 hours on one disc?
-Very small: you can definitely put this in your shirt pocket. About the size of a Gameboy SP.
-Great sound quality: what is it about Sony music players that make them sound SO GREAT?
-Great battery life: 25 hours on one AA battery
-Store your music on little discs instead of your hard drive
-Minidisc Media is small and durable. I have an old Minidisc player from 1992 (talk about retro!). It and my original discs are still around and sounding great.
On the bad side, you must own a PC to use the Sonic software. I have a Mac, so I have to use my old laptop. A minor inconvenience because once you put your music to the discs, you are done. Some complain about the software, but look at the alternative. You have to use iTunes to add music on an iPod right?
Digital camera Review: Great sound!
Summary: 5 Stars
The sound quality of this Hi-MD player is fantastic. My Rio player just did not deliver this kind of quality. I was skeptical for a long time about the whole MD concept, but MD actually costs the least per byte, and its optical playback method makes it drop-resistant. MD seems to be quite suitable for carrying around downloaded music. The only thing is that Sony's music store does not match this great medium or the player in quality. I hope they are working on this problem.Digital camera Review: Hardware-4 Software-0
Summary: 3 Stars
PROS- Sony makes good hardware- no doubt. Great sound. Great battery life. Good storage capacity. I like the mini disc concept.
CONS- Sucky software. The mini disc format would have so much more potential if the software were better. I can't imagine anyone describing the software as good.
The control dial & buttons are tiny and not very intuitive. For instance, they're difficult to use with gloves or without both hands.
However, if you could use other software, like Music Match or i-Tunes on these mini disc products, Sony would have a winner-