Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
MiniDisc player/recorder is great, radio is really (really!) bad.

I recorded 5 complete CDs on the included blank MD using LP4 compression and still had room for more. Playback has excellent sound, no noticeable loss in quality, even at high compression. I'm very satisfied with the MD player.

On the other hand, the radio can't pick up stations that other Sony Walkman products receive clearly, even while standing in the same spot, radios side-by-side. The radio controls are only on the remote, not on the main unit, and are difficult to use. That means you can't use the radio without the remote, a very negative feature. I haven't come across any other Sony products that do not work without the remote, making the remote a requirement instead of an option. Many controls on the remote look alike, making it difficult to distinguish which control performs which function. Controls are placed so that it's difficult to operate a control without pressing the control on the reverse side of the remote. Some functions require "slide" rather than "press," which is a difficult motion. Sound management features, such as AVLS or equalizer, function only for MD playback, not for the radio.

As a personal preference, I like the "hold" control to hold all settings except for volume. There are many times I want to "turn it up" without accidentally changing other settings. This remote "holds" all-or-nothing. Placement of controls makes it difficult to turn off "hold" without also changing the radio station.

Clearly the radio was not considered to be an important part of this product. Even in the advertising material, Sony lists almost 2 dozen "bullet point" features, only one of which is "AM/FM/TV/Weather Band Tuner Remote Supplied." (For the record, the tuner doesn't receive AM, TV or Weather any better then it does FM... which is pretty bad.)

Because I listen to the radio more than I listen to recordings, I will continue to use my Sony WM-FX671 (radio/cassette player), e-Bay gets the MZ-NF610.

Bottom Line: Save considerable $$$, buy the MD player/recorder without the radio. The radio adds only cost and frustration.

Strengths:
Lightweight, petite, attractive. Includes rechargeable battery, good quality headphones.

Weaknesses:
Recording software is a bit confusing, it also completely locked my computer on several occasions. (Completely locked means that the computer had to be turned off and re-booted.)

Similar Products Used:
... a progressive assortment of Sony Walkman products as improvements have become available. This is the first one that did not perform as well as previous models.