Sony NetMD MZ-N510
The MZ-N510 is an entry level Minidisc player that should suit those with a recording bent who just happen to need MP3 playback as well.The MZ-N510 is Sony's entry-level Minidisc MP3 player, and as such it's not exactly rich in features, especially compared to higher level models such as the MZ-N10. Quite why the flagship of the line should be the N10 and the budget model the N510 escapes us, but presumably Sony has its reasons.
Physically the MZ-N510 looks like many early Minidisc recorders, complete with rather plain styling. It's larger and bulkier than the MZ-N10, but at 81x74.4x27.7mm it'll still fit into most pockets. Face controls allow for simple playback and track selection, while a simple 2-line LCD on the face shows current track details and settings. The MZ-510 does come with a cabled remote, but this lacks any type of LCD, and can only be used for the simplest playback control functions. Bud headphones are supplied; we'd recommend getting a set of decent headphones pronto if you opt for the MZ-N510.
Nomad Jukebox 3 and iPod, as well as CD-based alternatives, and a fair sight cheaper than the solid storage of players such as the Panasonic e.wear SD-SV50. Compared against CD-R, though, you'd have to kill around ten CD-R discs for every minidisc you purchased, meaning that if you're careful with your CD-R blanks they can be much cheaper. Minidisc is, however, an eminently more suitable recording medium which has seen it gain a lot of popularity amongst students and journalists, so if you were looking for a recording solution that also plays MP3s, the MZ-N510 is a solid choice.The transfer speed of the MZ-N510 is helped along by USB2.0 support -- previous NetMD players were USB1.1, but hindered to a great extent by the actual playback format that all the NetMD devices use. You can't simply transfer over raw WMA, MP3 or WAV files over to a Minidisc; they must be converted to Sony's ATRAC format. ATRAC has several flavours that correspond to compression rates, so at LP-4, you'll get 320 minutes of playback on an 80 minute Minidisc, while standard play will, to no surprise, give you 80 minutes of mostly uncompressed music. Our gripe with ATRAC is twofold; firstly, it generally takes longer to convert a file to ATRAC than it does to shuffle it onto the player; if you're moving up to 80 files in LP4 format you'll have to wait a while. The MZ-N510 boasts a transfer speed that Sony refers to as 32x (compared to the N10's 64x), although this has to be checked against the need to do ATRAC conversions for each and every file.
The other gripe that ATRAC introduces is some rudimentary DRM; files must be checked in and out of Sony's SonicStage application, but it's nowhere near foolproof. We were able to shuffle some files between some machines, while others resolutely refused to budge. We deliberately deleted some files without checking them out, and were able to re-transfer them at will. The only thing more irritating than DRM, in our opinion, is DRM that doesn't work very well.
If the DRM inclusions weren't quite so buggy, the MZ-N510 would be a bargain, and if you're prepared to overlook this, or need a solid and eminently droppable recording solution that just happens to play MP3 files, then the MZ-N510 is a solid but unspectacular buy.
Sony NetMD MZ-N510
Company: Sony Australia
Price: AU$499
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 1300 137 669
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Hi! I recently put a Sony MZ-N510 on layby of $350. It's my first update sine a discman. Should I keep it or find another one? Any comments are more than welcome! Thanks!