Is all of this enough?
Written: Oct 11 '02
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Pros: Nice LCD display, high-speed download interface with PCs, etc.
Cons: complex menu settings, lack of dedicated buttons, buttons too close together, etc.
The Bottom Line: The MZ-N1 is about what I expected it to be - a very solid unit overall. But there were many things that could be improved.
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| cbmass520's Full Review: Sony Net MD Walkman MZ-N1 Personal MiniDisc Player |
If you're shopping for an MD unit, and you're not sure what name to go with (particularly, Sharp and Sony, as they seem to be the two most popular), the Sony MZ-N1 and Sharp IM-MT880 are direct "rival" units. The Sharp MT880 has the USB jack on the actual body (the Sony N1 requires you to dock the unit in a USB cradle), and Sharp units tend to have deeper bass to their sound. But the Sharp MT880 does NOT have a text display on the main unit (only on its remote does it have a 2-line display; the MT880's main unit's display only shows track number/time, battery life, and other basic info, but not track/disc title info), while the N1 has a 3-line display on the main unit. Also, the N1 will time-date stamp your realtime recordings, so that you can look back and reference the exact date and time of a recording (useful for interviews and lecture recordings). Sony units also allow you to title/edit tracks during playback, while Sharp units only allow this while the unit is stopped (of course OpenMG Jukebox tilts the titling scene a little bit). On the other hand, Sharp tends to make more of their basic functions available through separate buttons (for things like display, playmode, bass/sound), where as Sony buries even semi-basic functions (like changing SOUND presets) into its complex menu system. Meanwhile, the jog-dial on the R909 and N1 is extremely useful and really makes a huge difference to the usability of the interface... but Sharp units offer synchro-recording for digital and analog/mic sources, while Sony only offers synchro for digital sources, and not analog. Also, when you hit record on a Sharp unit, it starts off in record-pause (convenient for monitoring levels before recording), whereas the Sony requires you to hold down the pause button while you slide the record switch if you want to start in record-pause...
Basic Specs: (Ask me if you want more detailed info)
Recording Levels are adjustable DURING RECORDING once you are in MANUAL recording mode. You must still pause the recording, enter the menu, and change the RECVOLUME option to MANUAL (and this setting always reverts from MANUAL to AUTO after each recording), but just having the ability to do this is a welcome addition. With creative use of this feature, you can even fade-in and fade-out your recordings.
Group Function - With the advent of MDLP, keeping track of up to 320 minutes of music (and navigating through on big pool of 40-50 tracks) became a potential chore. The GROUP function allows users to organize groups of songs into separate partitions, or "groups" (i.e., by artist/album/genre/etc.) The OpenMG Jukebox software now allows you to organize your groups with ease.
ATRAC DSP Type-R - Sony's Type-R ATRAC gives twice the signal processing power as previous versions of ATRAC, and specifically improves encoding performance in the higher frequencies. But unless you've got truly golden ears, don't expect to hear much of a difference from ATRAC 4.0 [FYI, only realtime SP recordings use the Type-R codec, and not MDLP recordings or SP recordings done via OpenMG Jukebox transfers].
3 line text display on the main unit's LCD - by default displays the track/group number, title, and time simultaneously! The 3 line display gives birth to one of the bigger improvements made by Sony in the last few years...
Separate L and R level meters - During recording, the 3rd line of the text display acts as the level meter (a smaller, separate meter at the very bottom of the display is used during playback).
Fully turning jog-dial - A feature absent between the R50 and R909 generations, the same jog dial returns on the N1. The jog dial allows browsing of track titles as well as access to the N1's vast menu system.
G-Protection - Sony's newest form of anti-shock protection. G-Protection eliminates practically all skipping by minimizing the read recovery time, and without relying solely on a buffer. MD users can finally go jogging with their MD for more than 40 seconds!
LP Stamp - The N1 has the option to turn off the LP stamp for MDLP recordings. By default, an "LP:" will automatically be prepended to the title of any track recorded in an LP mode (but this "LP:" will only show up if you try to play the LP track on an older, pre-MDLP unit). This option was available on most Sony MDLP home decks, but it was missing from the R900. If you're heavy with your track titles, turning this option OFF will help you make the most of the 1700~ character-per-disc limit.
Sound Presets - Two sets of bass/treble settings can be changed from the main unit and the remote (the R900 only allowed the actual settings to be changed from the remote).
Line Out Mode is now completely sticky - meaning, once you set the AUDIO OUT setting to LINE OUT, it will stay there until you manually change it back to HEADPHONE. Previous models (the R900 and R90/91) would automatically revert back to HEADPHONE if you let the unit power off, which was an extremely big annoyance to folks that used their portable MD primarily with a bookshelf system, since they would have to go back into the options menu and change the setting back to LINE OUT everytime they turned the unit back on.
END SEARCH is still there, and like the R900 and R909, the N1 will let you automate it by setting the "Rec-Posi" option to "FROM END". If you have GROUP mode turned ON, recording will start from the end of the current group, even if the "Rec-Posi" option is set to "FROM HERE". Pushing END SEARCH in GROUP mode will tell the N1 to start a new group. So if you have GROUP mode ON, you will never have to worry about accidentally overwriting existing material. Perhaps this is the closest we will get to completely eliminating END SEARCH as we know it (?).
Besides all this, import warning is perhaps even more important.
Import taxes are more of a concern in Europe, where no matter who you import from, you're likely to get slapped with a fairly significant duty bill - do some research to find out exactly what percentage (most internet retailers are selling the N1 for somewhere in the $380-$420 range, US Dollars). If you live in the states, imported electronics are subject to customs charges, however, I have not once heard of anyone in the US being charged import taxes on an MD unit. But that doesn't mean that it can't happen, so don't cry foul if you're the first.
?Voltage differences are a source of much confusion for those that have never before imported electronics from another country. The Japanese model of the MZ-N1 comes with a 100V AC adapter, and unless you live in Japan, the AC voltage in your country will be something other than 100 (it is 110-120VAC in North America, and ~220VAC in Europe, OZ, and other parts of Asia). To put it simply, if you use the included 100V adapter in your country, the adapter will supply the wrong voltage to your MD unit. If you live in the US, you might be able to get away with using the Japanese adapter, since the voltage difference is only about 15% (and this is what a lot of users in the US do). However, there is a slight risk of damage (and if you use the 100V adapter in the US to charge the battery, over time your rechargeable battery may wear down prematurely), so if you live in North America, it is strongly recommended that you get a proper 120V AC adapter (output specs are 3V DC, with at least 500mA - Sony adapter model# AC-E30HG meets these specs and are available at most Best Buy locations).
?Warranty is something that some users ignore - and end up paying the price for. Like most portable electronics in Japan, the N1 comes with a 1 year Japanese warranty (assuming your unit was obtained from a proper outlet, and not from the "gray" market). However this warranty really is only for people in Japan, so should you ever have a problem with your unit, you would need a contact with an address in Japan that could send your unit to Sony for you. Some retailers will do this for you (Japan-Direct and a few others), while many just stick you there with the unit, even if it goes defective. Be careful when you are shopping around the internet, and make sure that your back is covered if your unit decides to turn into a $350+ paperweight. Note that even if the retailer that you order from does offer warranty support, you will usually still need to send your unit back to them (in Japan, or wherever they are located), and this process usually has a turnaround time of 3 - 5 weeks.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 390
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Epinions.com ID:
cbmass520
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 1 member
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