Sony MZ-N10 Silver Net MiniDisc Walkman
See it at Amazon.co.uk for £99.99Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(5 out of 5)Sony have done it again!
Well ... where do i start!
I was going to buy an MP3 player thinking that it was the best solution for music on the move. Then i discovered net md, i have always been a fan of mini disks and have used them for a number of years.
I bought the sony mzn-10 earlier this week and i am bowled over by it!
I thought long and hard about which player to get, do i get an mp3Player? do i get a regular mini disc? or do i go the cd/mp3 route, well frankly after thinking about it long and hard for several weeks i can honestly hand on heart say that i have made the right choice.
Advantage of net md over everything else... far more for your money, one minidisk will cost in the region of £1 and on that £1 disk you can have over 5 hours of music... try comparing that to an mp3 players highly expensive memory sticks.
so you can have all the music you want at your fingertips and not have to worry about splashing out huge sums of money to buy more memory or delete a song you like to replace with another.
the speed the player records from my computer is amazing, the first time i did it i thought i had done something wrong, it was so quick. the player is not much bigger than a floppy disc, yes it really is that small and the remote control has everything you need. Sound Quality is what you would expect of sony and the difference between the different speeds is barely audible.
The earphones that come with the unit are ok, good enough for the average muso...however... if you want to enhance your musical experience by about 1000% then i would reccomend you buy the Sony MDR-EX70LP Fontopia Headphones. they ... are worth every penny. it is almost like listening to a totally different track when you use those.
ok i suppose i have to find a downside, However it is a very fickle downside. i find the buttons on the player a bit small (i have been blessed with quite large hands) however this is counteracted by the buttons on the remote unit which are of adequate size. so not really a downside, more just a pointer.
Do yourself a favour, dont think about it anymore... just go and buy this.
(5 out of 5)Buy Now!!!
The only word to describe this item is SWEET. When I first took it out of the box I immediately set up the product with my computer and installed the software within 10 minutes. After the first charge which seemed like ages, but in reality was a short 2 hours, I transferred my first song. The 64 speed recording in lp4 was absolutely breathtaking and soon i found myself grooving down to the rockin beats.
It is easy to see the quality of the product, as you regard the superior build quality and breath taking silver finish, which makes every penny worth it.
i was astounded at the battery life which lasted for me about 17 hours of playback before i had to charge it again.
When I compare this amazing product of Sony's to the Sony mz-n10 I found it was amazing 30 grams lighter and with some careful measurement I say around 3mm thinner. The best addition though is the 64 speed recording via met md rather than 32 speed.
The features i love are the ability to change the playback speed from -50% to +100% and the 7 different profiles which can be chosen to play different genres like jazz or dance, and the machine can store your personal settings like bass and treble.
Overall I would highly recommend this revolutionary minidisc player to anyone, whether you are trying to get into minidiscs or upgrading to a net md recorder.
(5 out of 5)The best portable music device available?
Well, I have owned various portable music devices over the last fifteen years and this has got to be the most desirable ever. I previously owned an MZN1 but sold that to get an apple iPod. The original Sony was great, sound quality was crisp and deep and the whole package was good. I guess I sold it for an iPod to have the latest gadget but I was sorely disappointed with the software and sound quality of the iPod! So again I sold the iPod and bought the MZN10.
The first thing you notice about the unit is its size, it is so thin and light, the lithium battery that is built in really condenses the weight. The remote is basically the same as the MZN1 but it also has buttons on it to access different group settings, ideal if you record on LP4 for accessing different albums quickly.
I recommend using LP2 mode though for better stereo imaging, this allows approx two albums to be fit onto one 80min minidisc. I like the charging cradle and USB socket allowing quick connection to your PC. The digital pitch is still there so you can speed up or slow down your tunes, I use that a lot! Using the Sonicstage is a doddle once you get used to it, its much easier than the original Sonicstage that came with MZN1.
One thing to note, the 64x recording is great but it only records at that speed once your collection has been converted by Sonicstage to the Sony ATRAC file format, ie if you record your music as mp3 or WMA files, Sonicstage converts them into Sony friendly ATRAC3 formats. This can take a while and is a little tedious at times but once it is done, trasnfer really is rapid. Remember though, Sony use a Check-In/Check-Out system meaning that you can only record music from your hard drive three times then you have to re-record from the original source. This is stupid but I suppose its necessary to keep copyright going. Another major inconvenience to anyone new to minidisc is that some CD's are copyright protected meaning that you cant copy it at all.
Another criticism is that the 100Hz bass enhancement isn't as crisp as I would have liked, saying that though, there is a VSP device that is like a digital signal processor for studio, live, arena and club settings, as well as heavy, pop, unique and jazz settings. The other really good thing is that you can store TWO of your own equalizer settings, doing away with the old two switch mega bass settings. I would also have liked a louder amplfier, my old Intel Pocket Concert mp3 player was so loud it was deafening but still I suppose its saving my hearing! Battery life is really good, the meter is realiable too! When charging, a countdown timer shows how many mins remain till charged.
The lithium battery allows 80% rapid charge in an hour, great if you forgot to charge it the previous evening. The display is nice, but I wish there was an option of a backlight on the machine.
To summarise, I have owned quite a few walkmans over the years and this has to be my favourite. I am usually one to swap for the latest gadget but I think I will keep this for a while. Very well made and highly cool!
(5 out of 5)Miniidisc Fan @ Newcaslte
This minidisc is fab. When you get it out the box it is so light but it feels solid and very well manufactured. Transfering songs with NetMD is a breeze, at 64x in LP4 and 32x in LP2 waiting times are no time at all.
However the 3mm built in battery does not give as good battery as other minidiscs on the market but this minidisc is the lighest and smallest sony and other manufacurers have produced. And am willing to sacrifice the battery life to have these features, and suspect that every one else will.
The sound quality in both LP2 and LP4 is cd quality and i cant tell the difference.
All of the features the product has are also very good, such thing as the Virtual Surround Headphone Technology (with 5 presets) or the 6 band Equilizer makes adding an affect to your songs quick and easy.
The ONE BAD thing about the minidisc is the crummy headphones you get supplied, i bought some Sony earphones and now its brill.
GET THIS MINIDISC. i know its expensive but ill have mine for years and you get a better recorder with more feature than you do with the cheaper sony recorders. ITS WORTH THE MONEY. BUY THIS OR YOU WILL REGRET IT.
(5 out of 5)Sony MZ-N10 10th Anniversary Net Minidisc Walkman
This really is one amazing product by Sony. I bought it to replace a two year old MZ-R700 that was beginning to die.
Compared to the old player this is incredibly light. The full unit with battery and minidisc weighs less than the old one without battery or disc even. It is also very small, barely the thickness of two minidiscs and not much larger than a single in the other dimensions. Sony really have worked hard to keep this player tiny.
The USB/Charging cradle is great. As far as i could find, it is the only such sony player with a usb cradle available in the UK at the moment. It means you can just drop the minidisc player in and instanly have it connected to your computer. No more fumbling around with cables and fidly little socket covers :)
The player has an extensive list of features and menu items, including several unusual ones - a timer, apparently there to help japanese commuters not miss their train stops apparently for one :|. The menus are comprehensive to the extent that i havent managed to test them all out yet.
In reference to another review about the lack of USB cable in the box, i can say that is *not* the case. The cable is however very well hidden in the bottom corner of the box under the player. I didnt find it straight away, and had to pull the cardboard dividers to pieces to get at it, but it is there.
It would also appear that the internal battery is removable if you have one of the impossibly small screw-drivers to hand, so that if and when it finally dies, yo can at least replace it.
One oddity is that there is a switch on the back to switch off the internal battery completely. This would be useful if for example you wont be using the player for a while, thie way it wont drain down over time. It will not, however, let you use a standard AA battery whilest the internal battery is off.
If you are considering buying this Minidisc player, there is an excellent in-depth review here: http://www.minidisc.org/brian_youn/mzn10/
It runs into 8 or 9 pages if my memory serves me well, covering pretty much every aspect of the player.