Price Paid:  $40.00 from digital world

Summary:
Great little device by sony.Have found that if the battery's are half and not full the thing won't record.have the mz n 420d that i got at the same place for 20 can with no net cord and software,but was lucky enough to find on sony site soundstage 3.301.10180 and worksgreat but if the battery gets low it will only download and then blank out.

Strengths:
I thought it would have bass and tre the 420 does and its sounds great.

Weaknesses:
The things only goes to 30 it should go to 130.

Similar Products Used:
mz 420 and now the 505 .BATTERY LIFE CRITICAL THE MZ 505 READ FULL ON THE DISPLAY AND THE 420 SAID HALF ON THE SAME BATTERY AND WHEN I TRIED TO DOWNLOAD FLOYD ON BOTH IT DIDNT WORK ,AND AFTER I CHANGED THE BATTERY TO A NEW ONE BOTH WORKED .

Price Paid:  $129.00 from Good Guys

Summary:
I was overall suprised with what the MD player/recorder could do. All those songs onto a single disc astounds me. I like it a lot because it's portable and all my favorite tracks can be put all into one single disc.

Strengths:
The capablity of using the USB option or the Optical option.

Weaknesses:
Poor durability. The buttons are not functioning correctly. I press << and it goes forward instead.

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $120.00 from bestbuy

Summary:
A great little machine. Never skips, great sound quality. Very durable, I must have accidently droped it a good couple of times and still work as good as the day I bought it.

Strengths:
The whole thing is great. Wish i could say the same for the software.

Weaknesses:
The software is horrible. It took me atleast an hour and a half to learn the basics of it. Only good thing about it when it is copying a song to the minidisc player, the software converts the rest of the songs at the same time.

Price Paid:  $460.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
Player is great, cool machine to listen with but software totally SUCKS!!! On a scale of 1-10,where "1" sucks and "10" is Great, I'd give the machine a 1. Why, because the machine is only as good as the software.

Strengths:
Player itself is a good concept. I like the idea of downloading lots of files in a compact disc and the flexibilty of adding to my disc, unlike other MP3 players on the market.

Weaknesses:
Stalls at 9% when transferring music to player from PC. Software downloads and patches are a major joke. Wanted to throw the player in the ocean and kill my PC. Makes a good but expensive paperweight.

Similar Products Used:
MD-NZ and MZ-N505

Price Paid:  $119.00 from J & R - NYC

Summary:
Great recorder/player, lousy software support. The device is compact, offers incredible audio reproduction, is easy to use, never skips, and is loaded with features--mega bass settings, file compression settings, search feature, edit features and more. Sounds even better with a headphone upgrade. While the player is terrific, the software Net MD stinks. Sony support trys hard, but they too are "stumped." (Direct quote after talking to Sony for hours.) I managed to record 4-5 discs before the software went haywire. Tried everything--reloading, deleting, patches, alternatives (RealOne), different Sony software but nothing worked. Seems I'm not alone-- many others are experiencing the same headaches. Sony has failed miserably here with the software that is designed to support the prduct but doesn't work. Finally, I connected the recorder to my pre-amp and recorded mds from CDs and old albums the old fashioned way (like we all did with our cassette decks from years ago). This works fine, but is slow and draining. However, those old vinyl albums record very well! The computer software, when working, was a dream. If Sony could get the software to work, they have a real winner. If I were to grade this product accurately, the recorder would get a 5 as a stand alone device. With the software bundled as part of the total package, I give it a 3.

Strengths:
Great sound, versatile, compact, extremely long battery life, doesn't skip and has lots of features. No other portable audion device comes close.

Weaknesses:
Software is a nightmare. Will drive you crazy, or close to it.

Similar Products Used:
Sony walkman and discman.