Rating: 
Summary: Great!!
Review: This Minidisk Player is by far the best option when it comes to portable music. It has a very cool design, also it is cheap and of great value considering other options availble today. You can record about 40 songs in LP2 mode and double that amount in LP4 mode in a single MD(Thats about 4-5 CDs). The software its very easy to use and it also transfers music really fast via USB. I really recommend this product, far over any mp3 player out there. The vast ammount of space availble per MD its reason enough to buy this.
Rating:
Summary: Minidisc vs. MP3 player
Review: I've had this player/recorder for over a year now and i am completely satisfied with it. I researched models online and sony is the clear winner and has made a durable and worthy product. First of all, I owned a relatively expensive mp3 player ($270) which i used to listen to music, then i decided i wanted to upgrade so i could bring more music with me. I debated between moving up to 128mb card or getting this minidisc player. I decided on this and now don't even understand why i wasted time deciding in the first place...the answer is clear. This product is far superior to any mp3 player for many reasons:
1. While it is not as small as some mp3 players it still fits nicely in your hand and is lightweight.
2. The media is super cheap...$10 for 5 minidiscs, and if you record at LP2 (mid quality which is perfect for headphones even car adapter) you can get close to 150 mins, i have 4 entire cds plus extra songs on 1 disc. This is a lot less expensive for much more space.
3. Battery life...they ain't kiddin, it took forever for my battery to run out, i'm talking constant 4-5 hour play each day for a week or so. Even better...just get a rechargeable battery, energizer will do and put it in, plug into the wall, itll charge itself. I haven't replaced the battery in there for as long as i can remember (at least 9 months).
4. The software isn't even that hard to figure out and the 3 limit check out is not a problem at all. OpenMG while it does have its flaws such as occassionaly freezing up, is pretty self explanatory, just import music from your computer (find whatever folder it's in) then put them into playlist or however you wish to organize and when your ready check them out onto the minidisc and itll convert the file to atrac for you and put it on, then you can organize, label, etc as you want. the 3 limit checkout isnt a problem, you can get credits when you check them back in and why would you need more than 4 copies of the same song out at the same time? well if you find some reason just reimport the file from your music folder and youll have new checkouts.
Well that's my 2 cents. Please if your debating between mp3 players or minidiscs make the smart choice...less money, more space, still small/lightweight, you can drop it and itll still work and wont skip, volume has perfect range...and everything else that makes them awesome. sony is a good brand, trust it...
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but too "legal"...
Review: I think this minidisc player is great. The only problem is it's anti-copy/piratery/whatever security systems.For example, you can't copy songs to your computer if the songs aren't already in your computer.
The worst problem is the "atrac format". And this is bad because when you want to copy a song to a MD, first the "OpenMG Jukebox" software has to convert the mp3/wma/etc. files to atrac format, and this can take long, very long (depending in your computer). Anyway, sony's MD players are in my opinion the best portable music players you can find. MDs are re-writable, and with LP2/LP4 option, you can put 300 minutes of music on each MD. And if you don't have a computer (well, if you're here is that you have one, but...) it includes an optical cable to copy the CDs to MDs with a DVD player, for example. If being portable isn't important for you, maybe you should get a mp3 player instead. But if you like moving constantly while listening to music, like me, you need one of this. Ps: oh, and don't choose the "gold" colour, it's horrible.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite gadget
Review: I bought this as a Christmas present for myself. I needed something small & light to take to the gym with me. It's PERFECT.
It holds lots of music and doesn't weigh me down.
The software that it comes with is too confusing to use; very frustrating.
I use REALPLAYER ONE, to download and transfer clips onto the device. It is so unbelievably easy it's almost a crime.
I have to admit I was apprehensive at first being that I had little or no knowledge of Mini-disks and how they operate but I did my research and it's the best $ I ever spent.
I love the vibrant gold color, its sturdy too (dropped it several times by mistake, of course), the only drawback I can say is that it should have some kind of carrying case or something built into the back to secure it to the clothes you wear. Other than that I LOVE IT!
Rating: 
Summary: Not supported by Windows Xp
Review: 1) it is propriety, only sony mini disks work in it, no generic available. 2) Will only copy back to the original computer from which the mp3 files were copped from. 3) It worked as expected under Win98 SE with RealOne player. I up graded to XP and I haven't got it to work since. I have gone to sony website and down loaded every program and driver. None of them would install under XP. Microsoft has no drivers for it. That means everything I moved to mini disks before the XP upgrade can't be copied to a computer.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: I would recommend this to anyone. Easy to operate and download. It just takes time downloading. I do not use the earphone as provided with the product. I use sports walkman earphones. The upside is that it holds about five hours on one little disk. One battery last forever. Such a small product which makes it convenient to use while working out at the gym. This product is Well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Good player, miserable software
Review: I found this player affordable, which produces good, rich sound and was pretty amazed what this small thing can do. For sure Sony makes great electronics, but probably not software. Those who are going to use it as mp3, wav, wma player, don't buy on this. This is total Lie, because you'll never be able to upload these files to this player. These formats are supported by software only, which converts files to it's own stupid format called atrac, which is not used anywhere else and only then uploads to netmd. It wouldn't be so bad if THAT atrac format could support more that 132kbps bitrate. That's the highest bitrate you can use, no difference if you're copying from cd or higher bitrate mp3. And trust me, this player produces sound good enough for ear to distinguish lack of quality reduced by the compression. LP4/LP2 modes are just out of discussion. Not even Simple Stereo sounds good, because of stupid software, which encodes everything you feed to it to 132kbps at highest.
OpenMG software supplied on cd together with the player is just a mockery with it's copyright protection and the way this application built. It gives a feeling of a very slow, unreliable software.
I gave 4 stars for this product only because of it's software.
For whose who prefer quality to capacity the only way to get sound close to cd's is to use the optical or analog inputs within the player. It doesn't make recordings fast, only 1x, but after all you have a music pleasant to your ear. Also you should get some better headphones...
To sum up, just consider what are your requirements. If don't care about the 132kbps quality, then buy it, if you do, think once more. Though I reccomend to you to listen to player before buying. You can judge by yourself then :)
Rating: 
Summary: No Mike Input????? Whose idea was that!
Review: In their eternal effort, it seems, to control customers, Sony has created the Net MD MA-N505. Looks cool, but if you want to take notes, record live music or interviews, FORGET IT. It will record LINE IN, but not MIC IN. And you can't tell from the packaging. Luckily, the store will take it back. Tomorrow. First thing. You betcha!
Rating:
Summary: ///
Review: I just got this two days ago and love it. I'm not sure why people are complaining about the sound quality. I recorded about 8 cd's onto one MD using the LP4 format, and none of the songs sound any different then if I were listening to them on a portable cd player. The instruction booklet is first rate...All steps are simple and easy to figure out. Another plus is the downloading time. I've recorded 15 hours off cd's onto 3 MD's and the total time was about 45 minutes. A great buy, expecially if you don't feel like hauling around a giant cd collection.
Rating:
Summary: learn it and you'll love it and you'll never give it up !!
Review: in the review submitted, "It's not really a digital music player, August 11, 2002" by reviewer: neweetc from Irvine, CA USA, some key features of this compact portable "digital" music player are omitted. specifically, the versatility of this medium allows mini-discs to be re-recorded over a million times without any degredation in quality of playback. so you don't accumulate cd-r's that have over stayed their welcome. just tranfer your customizable playlist. transfer time from a pc is instantaneous. mic-recording capabilty. additionally, the sound quality is awesome - the audio format for mini-disc, atrac, blows away mp3 & wma formats there is a learning curve if you don't have prior experience in recording mini-discs either from a pc or audio component. overcome the trial-and-error period and you'll realize what a great value this little machine is :)
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