Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony MZ-N707 Blue Net MiniDisc Walkman with 5 Free Blank MiniDiscs

The MZ-N707 is a compact, lightweight and multi-functional bit of kit and by all means, you do get what you pay for - in a good way! Little things such as the Rechargeable battery carrying case make this product look like one that Sony has really concentrated on. The charging cradle is an excellent edition to the MD world and the software is - on the whole, easy to handle. However, there is one complaint I have. The Long Play mode does not work as well as it probably should through the Net MD invention. On LP2 or LP4, there is quite a noticeable difference in sound where it becomes more grainy and less constant, especially in the voice area and guitar area of the sound output. The Longplay modes are good though for tracks that are very long and aren't of good quality in the first place. The Normal Stereo mode does take a while to transfer - just short of the time it would take to record straight off a cd, but the sound quality is perfect! The earphones give out a good allround sound, however I prefer to use my Groove earphones from my old Sony discman as these position further in your ear and give a deeper sound. The Software - OpenMG Jukebox - is practical for the job at hand, however, it is not one to annoy or be impatient with or it may stop working! It has never frozen on my PC, but then again, I have Windows XP which does a good job to stop that from happening. The carry case and remote are very helpful and stylish, and the battery life is phenomenal - I still haven't used the rechargeable one yet as after all of the music transferring and listening to music, the battery indicator is still on full for the single AA battery that should last for 56 hours! This is a great MD, packed with features - but be warned, the MD's recorded through this device cannot be played on any non-Net MD devices!

A good buy, and very Groovy!!

I chose the Sony MZN - 707 because of the net md feature and the price. I had been thinking of buying a md player for a long time and when I finally could afford one, I chose the 707. With This player you get very sophisticated technology for [the price]. The sound quality is extremely high when in short play and also in lp2 mode but deteriorates a little bit in lp4 mode as some of the high frequency sound is taken away but it still sounds very good.
I found the player easy to use when using both the supplied optical cable to record from a cd player and when using the usb port to record from pc. The mg media jukebox software took a while to install but has worked without error on my windows 98 pentium II 350 mhz machine for nearly 2 months now. The player itself is very lightweight (even with the battery and a mini disc inserted) and smaller than I expected. The battery charging stand is a great bonus as you can just leave it plugged into the wall and when the battery is flat, just stand the player on it and it will charge in around 3 - 4 hours. The new USB 2.0 technology means that the player can transfer data to and from a pc at 32x the normal speed. The player has lots of input ports such as digital optical in - analog line in and microphone in and is very good when used as a dictophone. The only reason I gave this product 4 stars is because it doesn't include a digital OUT port so I cannot listen to the player digitally when connected to my hi-fi and must use an analog connection which brings the sound quality down but the player sounds excellent when listened to through the headphones and has no distortion even at high volume levels.

After reading through countless reviews about the pros and cons of the various models of minidisc, I came (after much deliberation) to the MZN707. I have only had the MD now for a few days, but, from what I have seen, I am very satisfied.
When you compare this to other models, you'd have to say that it comes pretty close feature wise, although does miss out on a few useful functions of the higher models.
I had absolutley no problems installing the software (Win Me) and the process took no longer than any normal software of this size would take. The actual interface becomes quite straight forward once you read the book a bit, and I was able to transfer 64 songs to my MD in LP4 mode with relative ease. The sound in LP4 mode is really good, and there is only little difference between the qualities.
My gripes? Well, a backlight in the remote would have been handy, and the checkin/checkout feature in the software could certainly have been simpler to manage, but all in all, this is a very sound MD for the money and well worth the purchase.

I bought the N707 thinking it had the most features for a sub-£200 price. It certainly does have a multitude of features - you'd be hard-pressed to find more features on other models.

Features: MP3-USB connectivity (which also allows you to record MD to CD, and allows you to rename and move tracks to your heart's content); jog-resistance; long play (2X or 4X); optical cable; remote control.

Pros: Features. Price. Reliable, well-built and supported brand. Extremely good sound quality.

Cons: It lacks the Sony Slimline battery which would not only make the unit a little smaller (although it's very light anyway), but also has a very long battery life. I also agree that the software is a bit buggy on a Windows 2000 system (tends to crash if you don't treat it with kid gloves). But it does record MP3s at 32X which is a major plus of the USB/PC connectivity. I also agree with other reviews saying that a backlight on the displays on both the remote and the unit itself would have been nice. Also lacks a radio, but for the price, you probably can't expect it.

Overall, a very future-proof unit with enough features to make your mates jealous. With sound-quality like it has, I can't see you'll ever need to upgrade.

Interested in Sony Net MD Products?
There are a few things that you should be aware of, and they'll help you in your decision. Sony has imposed restrictions in the use of their software that make it impossible to digitally upload recorded information to your computer (via USB). There are a number of references to this elsewhere on the Net, so I will not go into this at length, save to say that if you wish to record lectures, then transfer them to PC, you will have to do so in realtime via analog connections, diminishing the quality immensely or, if you are a member of a band who wishes to record practices for the purposes of review, YOU WILL BE RESTRICTED TO DOING SO ONLY WITHIN THE MD, AND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO EASILY TRANSFER THEM TO YOUR PC WHILST MAINTAINING THE HIGH QUALITY OF THE RECORDING THAT RESIDES WITHIN THE MD.
The second (and probably worst) complication, is that Sony will not allow some CD's that you may own to be transfered into the MD unit, claiming that it may be a copywrite violation of some sort. Hope you don't like Led Zeppelin. I have contacted Sony regarding these complications, and have as of now, still received no replies. I promise to return with a considerably more positive review, should Sony choose to make the appropriate changes to their software. I've no problems with the hardware other than the lack of a backlit display, which one would expect, given the cost of the unit. Sony's copywrite policies theoretically make it easier to transfer ILLEGALY OBTAINED MUSIC (MP3's namely) than music that you have purchased legally. It just seems odd, seeing as they own such a large label.