Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony MZ-N510 Blue Net MiniDisc Walkman

I am very happy with this MD player. It does everything I wanted to very well. The sound quality is good, even in LP4 mode, and it refuses to skip. The transfer between PC and MD is really quick down the USB cable, and you can get about 5 hours on a disc in LP4 mode. The only problem is that the headphones are rubbish, but who cares about the headphones really. V. happy, and it came a day earlier than expected, too.

I bought this minidisc purely because it was one of the cheapest, Net MD's from sony that I could find. I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly supprised by the quality and functionalbility of it. The battery life was exelent lasting 56 hours! It was very easy to use and the quality was great even for the MP3's, its only let down is the buttons on the front are plastic and need to be pressed quite hard. Otherewise thsi is one of the best for the price. Good buy.

This Sony Mz-N510 recordable minidisc player is fantastic value for money..... This product comes with great working features, such as the ability to download music to your minidisc player, through a USB port. The music quality is great, and being jog-proof comes in very handy, when on the go....... I would reccommend this to anyone, what a fantastic product! Chris Shadbolt.

Bought this for traveling when I get sent about the globe to inhospitable places
Great sound on LP2 mode, better than you'd think, and with an upgraded set of headphones (recommended for best performance) the sound really is VERY good.. Ditch the Sony software front end and use Real Player to upload MP3 or other format tracks - there are no ridiculous check in/out of tracks, and I reckon it's quicker too.
Battery life is amazing on both rechargable or Alkaline.
The single battery (AA) slots easily within the unit - and if you are often miles away from any power source - as I am, then this is the best unit to get, since the majority of other MD players or MP3 units need to recharge...
I've had 70hours+ of playing from one standard Alkaline AA cell..
You also have unlimited storage on cheap and easily carried media, that you can swap out to suit your mood. The whole thing is very light and with 10 disks (40 albums) and 5 AA's can sit in a bergen without being a waste of space.
It's virtually skip free under all circumstances, and after 6 months of abuse in tough, dusty and muddy conditions across the globe, I can honestly say it was well worth the 125 quid I paid back then. At under a 100 quid it's a steal...
My only negative comment - it doesn't work with a Mac. If this were to work with iTunes - then the iPod would have a serious rival... Come on Sony, get your head out of the mud, and become compatible with the rest of the world...

The mz-510 is a great piece of kit! Everything you want from a modern minidisk player!; PC -> MD recording, LCD screen, great range of Play modes etc.

To get songs you can plug direct to your PC, via the usb cable and using the software you can get mp3 files (or files direct from CD), and put them onto the minidisk, full with custom titles that you can make and put them in your favourite order etc.
However, to copy mp3's across, a copy of the song must be made (a cut down, compressed copy) that then gets transferred to the minidisk. I found that quite annoying, as my harddrive is very nearly full, and to have to make copies of every song I transfer is not good. But to get round this, I have burned all my optimised files, and mp3's to CD (rewritable), and this solves alot of problems with space.

Also, the given software (sonicstage) only allows you to transfer songs to minidisk four times (about) which is a real downside. But you can download realOne Player (free version works fine), and copy your optimised song files across using that software instead. This then allows you to transfer as many times as you want.

I prefer to transfer the songs with RealOne player, then use sonicstage to organise and name my songs (as it is very good for that aspect).

There is support for 3 different optimisation settings (I think?). LP4 (longplay 4), is 4 times smaller than what would normally be recorded (as far as my knowledge tells me). I record all my songs in this format, as you can fit loads of songs on (I have 73 songs on my current minidisk favourite, of which some songs are quite large). The quality arguably gets slightly less in quality, but I cannot tell, and others can't tell either (read other reviews).

One of my only downsides is that the remote s a bit basic. It has next track, next group/folder and all other standard functions, but I would have liked a small LCD screen that shows song name etc, but it is just a barebones remote. To get the better remote you need to get the next version up (of minidisk player), that has other extra features too.

The feel is very nice, and the look is cool and sophisticated. A slight disappointment is the back of the minidisk player. While still very good quality, and perfectly fine, it is a plastic cover, that just doesn't feel as 'good' as a metallic one. It has no fundamental difference to a metallic back, but as a matter of preference, metallic would have been nice (and more expensive too).

The buttons are good, and easy to use, even if at first they seem a bit 'clicky', but you soon realise that they are not actually clicky, but 'new', and they soon get better, and you never notice it (I never actually really noticed it at first, but it was a slight feeling I had, that they were a bit 'clicky', but I never realise it now!)

Overall, I would highly recommend this product if you want a PC -> MD recordable minidisk player, that does everything well. If you want to be placed higher up the socially well off ladder, then you may want to buy one of the higher versions, that have the same functionality, with extra niggles added on to suit. This MD player is everything I need though!