Sony MZ-NH600

Reviews

Posted on 02 / 08 / 2006

Can handle the latest 1 GB discs, but can also handle the old ones. Price has plummeted.
Mp3 players are slimmer and lighter. Does not come with an external power input. European models have a volume cap.

As with all Sony products it's well made and has all the latest hardware available like a jog wheel, and Sony's essential 6-band EQ to boost the bass. Power consumption is good, with a a single good quality AA battery lasting for many hours. The LCD display is clear, maybe a little on the small side width wise. Useless in the dark however because it does not feature a backlight. You will need to buy a RMMC40ELK remote which comes with a backlight.

One of my pet hates is the volume cap for all euro models. The nanny state called the EU will not trust it's citizens with selecting the appropriate volume level for the safety of their ear drums. Lucky for us there are plenty of hacks available on the web. Just put 'md volume hack' 'europe' into Google and your sorted.

The latest sonicstage software can be downloaded for free from the official site. It has been much improved since version 2.3 which came bundled with the player on a CD. Make sure you get the latest version because they have improved things like transfer restrictions between the MD and PC/Max. The download is only around 30Mb so should take under ten minutes with broadband. Sony haven't however improved the time it takes to compress to ATRAC3plus, or to transfer files onto the device.

I've owned my MD player for two years now, and if it wasn't for all the ipod's available now I would not hesitate to recommend it. However if you want a truly portable entertainment system I would look into an mp3 player. Not only are they less chunky and lighter, but do not require discs and can hold 30-60GB whereas one MD disc can only hold 1GB. On the other hand I have seen this player retailing for 60-70 quid and at that price it's worth a punt.

User Rating -
User Name - Ben Boobie