MZN710, MZN510 or MZN910

[Guest Anonymous]

Newbie here Need a new Minidisc player and have been doing some research on the three models mentioned above. I am keen to get the MZN710 due to its price (£120) but was told that the output is only 1.2mW + 1.2mW. Is that on 16Ohms or 32Ohms impedence?

I also have read some conflicting reports in these forums that the MZN710 are alright for London Underground despite its low output power. Is this true or do they just have super great hearing? Phil in the forum also mentioned about increasing the volume by using the 6 equaliser. Does anyone notice the increase volume without distortion?

The MZN910 and MZN510 seems to have the standard output (5mw + 5mW (16Ohms)) but as the former is more expensive (£60 extra of which I can't really afford!!), is MZN510 better than the newer MZN710?

Thanks for taking time out answering these questions, I am sure they will put the end to all those seeking to buy a new MZN710.

[KJ_Palmer]

I'd personally avoid the N710, even if you've got super hearing, as it's nice to have that extra boost if needed. The equaliser might help, but inevitably adds distortion as that's in its nature (it's not an amplifier as such). If the N510 is 5mWx2 that's fine, though you won't have a microphone input.

One of the older Sony NetMD's might be a better option, such as the N707, which you can still see around London.

If you don't need NetMD, any Sharp model would be louder - most have 10mW x 2 (into 32 Ohm). I recent picked up a Sharp MDMT170 at Richer Sounds for £70 and it's fantastic .

[mAjEsTiC]

i kinda agree with KJ_Palmer...better to get a cheap Sharp unit over Sony because of their higher powered amp...though if you want to go all the way and get a N910 then i suggest you also take a look at the DR7 from Sharp as well as the upcoming DR420/480 models as well...

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks guys for your help! Not sure whether I will go for the Sharp's models as didn't much of them when I tried them several moons ago I think 5mW + 5mW is plenty for meself

Apart from the lack of microphone input (which I thought all model of MD have!) in MZN510, are there much difference in terms of software and features between MZN710?

Anyone else have a different opinion on MZN710, MZN910 and MZN510 please post them here, would love to see the pros and cons all these three MDs.

Cheers!!

[mAjEsTiC]

there's no software difference between the Sony models as they ship with more or less exactly the same software across the range...

[Guest Anonymous]

Hi, I was recently looking to purchase my first minidisc recorder and was considering getting the MZ-N710 recorder. The recorder is priced competitively against the N510 (only £20 more at amazon.co.uk) but offers extra features, such as sound eq, charging cradle, display remote, part aluminium case, microphone input and a longer play/record time. It's also significantly cheaper than the N910 (about £60 at amazon prices). The N910 offered extra features over the N710 which I decided I could live without. These included backlit display remote, full aluminium case, longer play/record time, line out and digital pitch control. I also decided (from reading the forums) that I'm probably going to have to spend some extra money on buying a decent set of headphones, since the ones supplied are usually pretty lousy. The N710 seemed the best option from a price/features point of view but my only concern was the lower power output (1.2mW per channel). Since I wasn't planning to listen in loud environments (such as the London Underground), I figured that the N710 was the best way to go.

Update: I've now had the recorder for about three weeks and I am generally very pleased with it. The unit is well made, feels solid and is pleasant to use. My verdict is that unless you plan to listen to music on the street or in the Underground, or you just like to listen to your music loud then the volume level of this player is generally OK. Otherwise, I would advise that you get a unit with a more powerful amp. I got myself a pair of Sony MDR-EX71SL earbuds (£30 duty free at Dixons) which I think are superb. They do a great job at cutting out external noise and allow you to listen at reasonable and safe volume levels. I used the recorder on a plane and had no problem listening over the aircraft noise in the cabin. Most of the time I the listen to music with the preset equalizer settings and the volume level set to between three quarters and maximum. The default volume level of recorded music on the MD seems to be set according to the original volume level of the music on the CD. Some albums (eg. Sting - The Dream of The Blue Turtles) were originally mastered quite low on the CD. In this case I ended up using Phil's solution for some of the quieter tracks by increasing the sound level a bit using the CUSTOM setting. The sound doesn't distort, but it doesn't sound quite as punchy compared to listening to the original CD on my old portable CD player which isn't volume limited (incidentally this was made by Sony about 8 years ago and has a whopping 12mW per channel output!). Probably a better solution is to manually increase the recording level slightly when transferring the album to MD, although I haven't yet figured out how to do this when transferring from PC to MD using SonicStage. But that's another subject altogether... Bottom line is that what ever recorder you get, you will gain a worthwhile improvement in sound quality by getting a decent set of headphones. Unless you really need the features of the more expensive units you can spend the difference on the headphones and blank MD's.