doomlordis Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 (edited) I bought this a few days ago , this is a quick review.BUILD QUALITY/LOOKSThis photo shows surface texture wellVery nice for the price (i payed £80) , i think it looks better than any other low range minidisc sony have released. The front is shiny , it feels a bit like the surface of my DNE10. The back is black also and is matt finish. The silver disc on the front may or may not be metal , you cant really tell but it does feel colder than the rest of the unit. The buttons and jog dial are also high quality and the joystick is the same as my NH900.It feels solid and there is NO movement when the door is shut (my nh900 moves a bit)The screen is very clear even in sunlight , much better than my nh900 which is unreadable in most conditions.SOFTWARESonicstage 3.2 is what i use, this ships with 3.0. I am sure you are all familiar with it.Line-In Visible SOUND QUALITYThis unit does not appear to have a digital amp (no icon on back of player or mention in manual). I have read a lot about MP3 playback being crippled on these players. I have found no issue with MP3 playback, 256 MP3 compared with Hi-SP sounded very similar, hard to tell apart. I tested 132 atrac3 vs 128 MP3 and did notice that Atrac had slightly more treble but nothing to worry about.I would say that if you want MP3 playback this unit is very good, i compared MP3 playback with my DNE10 and the difference is not in detail , there is nothing missing with MP3 on the RH710 it just sounds like it has more bass.Now i hacked the unit and got the full equalizer (no real volume increase however) i then put 4khz up 1 notch and 10khz up 2 and could not tell the difference between this and my DNE10!.I use PX200 and HJE50s.BATTERY LIFEI left it running overnight on repeat with a AA in it playing MP3s at 128-192and got to 17hrs and still had a bar left with no flashing , so ii guess 19 hours is about right.RECORDINGUsual features , recorded White Stripes DVD optically with no issues at all.OVERALLI recommend highly, i got it at a good price but anything under £100 is a fair price imho.A+ Edited December 27, 2006 by richyhu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Thanks for being the first one to review this unit on the board, and I assume, the 'net! Excellent write-up and pictures. Did you have a selection of other colors before purchasing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomlordis Posted August 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Thanks for being the first one to review this unit on the board, and I assume, the 'net! Excellent write-up and pictures. Did you have a selection of other colors before purchasing?←Just black in UK , but i think i would have chosen it over silver anyway.Black looks very cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 I've also put this in our Product Reviews/Pictorials section. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breepee2 Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 (edited) Does it works with rechargable super AA's (with capacities in the 2000 mAh range)?Oh, and what are it's dimensions? Edited August 12, 2005 by Breepee2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomlordis Posted August 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 (edited) Does it works with rechargable super AA's (with capacities in the 2000 mAh range)?←Thats what i am using 2300 to be exact - 17hrs fine by me!dimensions are 83.6*29.5*77 107gramsOH and you get a full paper manual!!!!!! Edited August 12, 2005 by doomlordis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsoul Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Very nice pictures and review. I had my eye set on this model here in North America from minidisc-canada until I learned it did NOT have the line in/optical port here in NA. What a pity cause I was going for it. Got a RH910 instead. Would have been nice to have my backup unit (to the RH10) take AA without having to take that external AA case all the time. Anyways the price of shipping from Europe put the price more than the RH910 I got. Just can't figure out Sony's reason for crippling the DH710 with download only and no Line In. Same dumb logic went into the 600D 1st Gen unit as well. I would take one of those 600's with line input any day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomlordis Posted August 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Very nice pictures and review. I had my eye set on this model here in North America from minidisc-canada until I learned it did NOT have the line in/optical port here in NA. What a pity cause I was going for it. Got a RH910 instead. Would have been nice to have my backup unit (to the RH10) take AA without having to take that external AA case all the time. Anyways the price of shipping from Europe put the price more than the RH910 I got. Just can't figure out Sony's reason for crippling the DH710 with download only and no Line In. Same dumb logic went into the 600D 1st Gen unit as well. I would take one of those 600's with line input any day...←It does seems strange? Maybe based on spending habits or something anal like that. I got this over the RH910 because of the AA, just bought a black MC33EL to go with it (£9 on ebay!).The MC33EL on my DNE10 works fine with this unit, you can even search by artist etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdiotSavant Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Great review! And that unit look excellent!Where on earth did you manage to get it for only £80 though?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomlordis Posted August 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Great review! And that unit look excellent!Where on earth did you manage to get it for only £80 though??←A friend works in Sony Centre , it was a open box return. Best price i have seen online is Unbeatable , £97.99 delivered (when stock is in , you get free postage). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomlordis Posted August 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2005 Added a new photo to review Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny mac Posted August 13, 2005 Report Share Posted August 13, 2005 So there is a line-in on the UK version, that's good news. Still don't understand why US gets a version without. The presence of the remote jack makes this possibly a better buy than the NH600 which is without (in Europe) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breepee2 Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 Could you post a picture with a viewpoint from the side, so that I can observe the AA-bump (if there is any)? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomlordis Posted August 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 picture added as requested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breepee2 Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 Thanks! It's seems to be a slope, 83.6*29.5*77 sounded too clunky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bogon07 Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 doomlordis,I just rec'd an MZ-DH710 from Minidisc Canada after ordering on 9Aug - pretty good service only 6 days to arrive in Australia.The black shiny surface makes it look very sophisticated not like my MZ-NH600 even though they are almost identical in size. Does your RH710 have on 3V DC in connector on the bottom ? The DH710 has the notch but no actual socket hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomlordis Posted August 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 doomlordis,I just rec'd an MZ-DH710 from Minidisc Canada after ordering on 9Aug - pretty good service only 6 days to arrive in Australia.The black shiny surface makes it look very sophisticated not like my MZ-NH600 even though they are almost identical in size. Does your RH710 have on 3V DC in connector on the bottom ? The DH710 has the notch but no actual socket hole.←Yes it does , and a line in (optical) below the usb port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdiotSavant Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Yes it does , and a line in (optical) below the usb port.←So it has a DC-in... but does it have a charge facility of any kind? Does the unit come with a supplied battery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bogon07 Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 (edited) Yes it does , and a line in (optical) below the usb port.←Thanks I could see the line from your photos but not the DC in connection.Seems Sony loves to complicate their production lines with slight physical variations on its models. I suppose it saves them trying to put an AC adaptor into the packaging for this model. They did not even include a battery with the DH710 however there was an old style 1GB minidisc but in a normal size case not that silly long HiMD one.The compliance plate on the back is a little different to your one; saying made in Mayalsia to Canandian electrical standards. There is also a little blue sticker on the front " MP3 Digital music player"The other difference is your Record/track mark button has been replaced with a download button. I'm sure of the usefulness of this yet. Edited August 15, 2005 by bogon07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 The other difference is your Record/track mark button has been replaced with a download button. I'm sure of the usefulness of this yet.←'Download' is used primarily with Simple Burner for more efficient rips, from what I've read.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomlordis Posted August 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 So it has a DC-in... but does it have a charge facility of any kind? Does the unit come with a supplied battery?←No, hitting stop (usually doubles as charge button) has no effect so i think no charging mechanism present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bogon07 Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 'Download' is used primarily with Simple Burner for more efficient rips, from what I've read..←Yes the manual mentions that. None of my other MDs need a download button for Simple Burner to work. I think it was a redundant button with no lin-in on this model so Sony decided to give it some sort of function rather than make it blank. I might experiment with it over the weekend to see what it does. It could be used as a hardware initiated startup for SB ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 So the only think missing from this is the mic in port and it won't recharge batteries. Can you use the line in for a mic? Just curious. Wouldn't use it that much myself. Be nice to know. Just got a RH700 myself. Lack of MP3 playback is a nuisance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bogon07 Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 The Download button on the MZ-DH710 activates SimpleBurner without its normal panels showing after a CD has been ID'd by the music database. A small notification pops up over the system tray if you need to change any settings.So hitting the download button causes SimpleBurner to run in the background and copy the CD to a minidisc. This means that you don't see any track listing or indication that the database has correctly identified the CD. There is no indication of how far the transfer is progressing only a noise when completed. If there is not enough room on the MD for the whole CD then it did not transfer any songs across ! You then have to open up the SB control panels and select the individual songs to transfer across which sort of defeats the purpose of having the button.I hope Sony did not spent a lot of time on this feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblueraja Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Does this model have any SHUFFLE or RANDOM play mode?? I must know as soon as possible, because I may have to ship it back if it doesn't, and it should be arriving in the mail today!!Thank you so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 I hope Sony did not spent a lot of time on this feature.←Thank you for the explanation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomlordis Posted August 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 (edited) It can shuffle all tracks on a disk, all tracks by an artist, all tracks in an album - its shuffletastic!It is shuffle however not random, it will shuffle the tracks and then play them one after another not repeating a track untill all tracks have been played. Random is crap as you oftren get the same tracks repeated regularly. Edited August 26, 2005 by doomlordis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblueraja Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 It can shuffle all tracks on a disk, all tracks by an artist, all tracks in an album - its shuffletastic!It is shuffle however not random, it will shuffle the tracks and then play them one after another not repeating a track untill all tracks have been played. Random is crap as you oftren get the same tracks repeated regularly.←Thank you SO much for this valuable information! ( I sure hope it's not just a UK-model feature, as I'm getting a US one )... what's the shortcut to shuffle play? (menu-play mode, etc...?) I see no on line manuals for this model, and... I have no patience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynos Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Thank you SO much for this valuable information! ( I sure hope it's not just a UK-model feature, as I'm getting a US one )... what's the shortcut to shuffle play? (menu-play mode, etc...?) I see no on line manuals for this model, and... I have no patience.←Try this link for RH-710 user manual:http://www.sonydigital-link.com/Shared/ASP.../2593568112.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 So there is a line-in on the UK version, that's good news. Still don't understand why US gets a version without. The presence of the remote jack makes this possibly a better buy than the NH600 which is without (in Europe)Can you use a Mic on the line in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totox7 Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 I also wonder if i can put the mic on the line in to my RH710,who ever tried that before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pata2001 Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 (edited) Can you use a Mic on the line in?You "can" use a mic on a line-in, but it has to be a self-powered/amped mic to be usable. Unlike a special mic-in jack, a line-in jack is not powered, so using a regular mic will yield very very low volume. Edited June 8, 2006 by pata2001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Low Volta Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 IIRC a non-powered mic will yield nothing at all... as it simply needs current to operatea powered mic (or a battery box) into line in will work, but it will only yield very low volumesto get the same use as a mic-in you'll need to get a preamp, which can easily surpass the cost of a low-end HiMD with mic-in and adds another 'box' to your setupbottom line: if you want to record: get a HiMD intended for recording i.e. with a mic-in... there are cheap models like this as well (NH700/800, RH910) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invidia Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 hi! nice review...i have got a simple question: does it convert to atrac from mp3 or not?thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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