This is for everyone looking for MP3 players

Author's Rating:

Pros: affordable, doesn´t skip, NetMD capabilities, digital in, excellent sound, small and portable

Cons: stone age remote, small LCD screen, challenging software with stupid copyright features

The Bottom Line: 
ideal unit for active people, more flexible than both MP3 players and regular MD walkmans

Author's Review
I bought this unit after my old r700 finally kicked the bucket (a used/new ebay deal I somewhat regret)... and I´ve never been happier.

This unit is, in my oppinion, the perfect mid-point between regular MD player/recorders and MP3 players, and that at an affordable price.

I initially shopped around for NetMD walkmans and was thinking about the N707 for a while, but the non-backlit LCD display on the remote and the mic-in didn´t justify the extra $100 of the pricetag since I never used the mic input on my old r700 and don´t even have a mic for it in the first place. I decided finally on this particular unit because of the convenient price and the good reviews I read here... what a buy!

The looks are good, not as sleek as the N707 but enough to make me happy, it hasn´t ever skipped on me so far and it reads the tracks much faster than my old unit ever did. I don´t know who said this thing is too quiet but whoever it is has hearing impairments because this thing is LOUD with the earbud phones mine included (it´s the european version), that means loud enough that I can´t listen to it at max volume without pain. construction is good quality as well. Mine came with a very decent belt clip-on carrying case, very good touch on sony´s behalf for once.

The NetMD functions are very good, the transfer speeds even on an old computer are good and I just love the fact that I can copy whole CDs to it in just a matter of minutes compared to the time I used to have to waste before, plus... you can now control the MD completely from the computer and even edit track names and the like with your keyboard, so no more tedious naming from the unit itself. The OpenMG software itself isn´t as bad as it was made out to be, I have the 2.2 version and it´s quite functional as long as you read the operating manual once, it´s got a steep learning curve and you can´t expect to do much right away unless you read the manual. The version of the software I have at least asked me if I wanted to make it the default CD player unlike other reviews I´ve seen here. The copyright issues involved with the software are stupid and should be removed, they make the product less than perfect. there is a way around everything sony, don´t be fools and get with the program.

I do have a few gripes about the unit itself, one is the stone age remote that is the same one carried over from my old R700, and that one died on me well before the unit itself did so I don´t know about it´s quality. for the price I can´t ask for something with an LCD but they could have at least thrown in a button for the group mode. The LCD display on the unit is also somewhat small resulting in a cluttered display and with little space for the more important track info stuff, another carryover from the R500 that this thing is based on. Finally, the battery compartment door is too easy to open and looks quite fragile, a feature it now has in common with the N707, step back in that direction.

All in all this unit has me very pleased and I would recommend it to anyone looking either for an MP3 player or an MD or NetMD unit (and who doesn´t want to go for the NZ-1 with all it´s cool but expensive goodies).