Sony MZ-N707 Net MD Walkman Player/Recorder (Blue)

I bought this product (Walkman net md mz-n707 type R) in a shop in Mexico City and it has never worked. At the beginning of every disk the sound is distorted and horrible. After approximately three minutes it sounds O.K.
I have tried to find a place to have the walkman fixed but I have not been successful. Could you help me, please?

I bought my MZ-N707 for one purpose: to record live music. My friend is in a band and he wanted me to record his gigs, so I looked into ways to record live music. What I found was that if you don't have thousands of dollars, endless hours of time, and a fully-equipped sound studio, you're hosed. So I called my local GuitarCenter store and was told the Sony MZ-N707 was just the thing I needed. It just so happened they had a bundled package there that included the works: microphone, car adapter kit, rechargable batteries, etc. And the price was right: about $350. So I bought it, took it to my friend's show, recorded the show with no problems, listened to the show on the way home (FABULOUS, CD-QUALITY SOUND!), and then, when I got home, tried to load the tracks onto my computer in order to burn them onto CD's. NOT!!! After literally weeks of trying different things, re-reading the manual, reading the dozens of web forums that are devoted solely to this subject, and, finally, emailing Sony, I found out that YOU CANNOT TRANSFER ANYTHING FROM THE MINIDISC TO YOUR COMPUTER that you didn't take off of your computer. I don't know what rocket scientist thought of packaging the minidisc recorder with a microphone if you can't use anything you record with that microphone, but I hope that person is one of the millions of Americans on the unemployment line right now (God Bless the rest of you!). Sony said it was because they were concerned about copyright infringement, but what if you, like, OWN THE COPYRIGHT? Sorry, no provisions are made for such a common occurrence.

Ultimately, I found a couple ways of transferring the music recorded onto the minidisc to your computer, but unless you have a separate digital CD burner, as far as I know, you're limited to creating analog files. The easiest way (I think) is through RealPlayer's "record from outside line" option. If you use this option, be sure to create separate tracks on the minidisc recording first; if you don't, you'll be stuck recording the entire disc onto your CD, and if the session is too long, it won't record at all (I can attest to how frustrating this is -- the last time I recorded my friend's gig, I downloaded it and then gave him the minidisc so he could use his studio equipment to download it digitally. Unfortunately, the session I downloaded is about 2 minutes longer than what will fit on a CD, so I can't transfer any of it until he gives me back my minidisc!).

I want to be clear that the QUALITY of the minidisc's recording is phenomenal--10 stars--but that the product's potential is severely hampered by the lawyers at Sony. However, there really isn't anything else on the market for recording live music that is as inexpensive, portable (the minidisc is tiny), and reliable as the MZ-N707. For anyone who is as inexperienced at recording live music as I am, I highly recommend this device. I promise you two things: (1) you will get CD-quality sound recordings, and (2) if I can figure out how to get the music onto my computer and then onto a CD, you can! Also, as another reviewer mentioned, the battery life is unbelievable. It uses two AA batteries (don't bother with the rechargable ones), and they probably last for at least 320 minutes of recording time, plus the related download time. I've run out of batteries a few times while recording, though (my own fault), so don't believe the little meter in the window--just replace them every time you need to record and you'll be set until the next gig.

I bought one mzn707 and used it successfully for about 3 months. Then I had to return it because the spring that closes the door to the media window broke! That's right, broke. I was able to get a new one, free of charge, but now the unit does not register with the software. It will not read the disks either. I removed the software and reinstalled, but still it won't read. I have wasted some much time and have been so frustrated with this piece of junk. Never again will I buy a Sony. They constantly put out inferior hardware and buggy software. Don't buy this thing...get one with a hard drive and that has been favorably reviewed.

Minidisc players thus far are not for audiphiles. Using Real 1 player to transfer to your MD player is the best and most stable option because the supplied software is absolute garbage even when it does work properly. It removes all tags from from your songs to "prevent piracy" but really just, as early mentioned, makes the software totally useless.

Quality, the player records in 3 modes. Stereo(70 min) which is basically near cd quality, Lp2(160 min) "normal" sounding music. It sounds fine but not quite as good as a 192 mp3, Lp4(320 min) sounds fine for normal music listeners but not for some(me). The music is slighly slurred together more, but still fine. "Normal" music and hard rock sound fine.

My plight is that not only am I an audiophile but I listen to very, very extreme music: Death and black metal. Often the wild guitards and crushing drum battery acquire static that wasn't on the original recording. Dimmu Borgir, especially PEM (for you fans) sounds like garbage even in LP2 which drove me insane when I found this out. Even the lighter Cradle of Filth picks up static when put into lp4.

Most pop rock and especially 80's rock sounds fine due to it's not-so-extreme tones. However, count on buying better headphones because the bass of the supplied earbuds is junk and the over the head ones aren't fun to wear. You'll have to spend about 30$ on new headphones to get a frequency range that'll make all the sounds LP4 creates ( I found that not so great or average headphones cause more static on their own in LP4). I recommend sony's for this. Portable audio isn't advanced enough yet for one such as myself but for normal listeners the MD Player is Definitely better than an MP3 player. Not only due to the simplicity of use but the battery life, Way over 18 hours, I can't remember exactly, depending on the power requirements of your 'phones.

Minidiscs are not very popular outside of Japan however, they are much more versatile than CD's or MP3's. The N707 is a prime example.

It has the ability to record from various sources. Most notably the internet.

I specifically bought this model because I'm still in college and I use the Microphone recording feature for note taking, as well as "freestyling" with my friends. I also love to make my own mixtapes of my favorite artists or songs all on one disc. I won't bother with the product specs but in short its a great product worth the money and effort to find one on the market.

The only drawback is trying to set-up your computer to use the MD for recording from your PC. PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!!