Sony MZ-NF610 MiniDisc Player

Great Product!!!

By Bob  Jun 30, 2003 | 8 out of 9 found this Sony MZ-NF610 review helpful

I got this a few months ago and I love it!! Before I bought this, I had been looking for any portable device that could play MP3s and had an AM/FM tuner, and found the selection to be VERY limited. Then the MZ-NF610 came out and I'm very happy w...ith my purchase. The remote is very handy, but does sometimes get in the way and I had some trouble finding a good carrying case that accomodates it. The headphones that come with this aren't bad, but the cord is kind of short. I had been comparing the MD players to the large capacity HD based MP3 players so here's my take on the pros and cons (if you know something that I have wrong here, please let me know): 1) Each 80 minute disk contains roughly 160-170 MB, but Sony's proprietary software (SonicStage) compresses the files so that I can usually fit about 4-5 CDs onto 1 disk in LP4 format (about 3 CDs in LP2). 2) Sound quality in LP2 is a little better than LP4, but I've found that unless I'm listening to jazz, classical, or anything else where crystal clear sound is a must, then it doesn't really matter. Still, even in LP2 mode, the sound isn't as good as CD or even higher quality MP3s. 3) 1 limitation I've found to the software is that you can only copy a CD (or any number of tracks) to a disk a limited number of times (twice as far as I can tell), but MP3s appear to be unlimited. I think you might be able to get around this by recording from multiple computers. 4) Copying CDs is pretty intuitive, but MP3s were a bit of a chore. 5) I don't know if it's this model or if it's all MD players, but when I connect it to my stereo or plug it into a car adapter, the sound quality is horrible. I need to turn the volume on the MD player all the way up and then turn the volume up on my stereo/car radio in order to hear the music. Even using good quality studio headphones, I've noticed a drop in sound quality compared to small, light-weight headphones.Despite the drawbacks I've listed, this is a great product... it's compact, light-weight, sounds great (with the right headphones), comes with the AM/FM/TV/Weatherband tuner, is loaded with features, and costs a lot less than the HD based MP3 players. This model also comes with a rechargeable (and replaceable) NiMH battery, but will only last about half as long as a regular non-rechargeable alkaline battery... which is still over 20 hours on a full charge. Read more Less