Sony MZ-NH900 Personal MiniDisc Player
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Similar in Personal Audio Mini Disc Player
- Backlit Display: Yes
- Recordable: Recordable
- Built-in Equalizer: Yes
- Headphones: Yes
- Remote Control: Yes with LCD
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Great sound quality and lots of functionality in a small package
Pros
*Very good sound quality *Good battery options *Small package
Cons
*Sonicstage software (MP3 conversion) *Price *Maximum disc size is 1GB
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
I'd buy it again. MD Excellent sound quality do it for me.
Introduction
I have a Sony MZ-R30 since 1997, together with a lot of discs. I was looking for an upgrade because I wanted a smaller player and the USB connection on the NetMD recorders seemed like a good idea too. When I found out about Hi-MD, I immediately ordered one, the MZ-NH900.
Size and batteries
The MZ-NH900 is the second most expensive model in the Hi-MD series. Its main selling points to me were the size and the batteries. The recorder fits nicely in the front pocket of my jeans, even when I sit down. It can use 2 kinds of batteries: the gumstick type and the AA type. The gumstick is internal and the AA can be inserted in a separate battery holder that makes the device somewhat larger but still very small. You can use alkalines or rechargeables in the AA adapter. The unit comes with a 900mAh rechargeable NiMH gumstick battery and a power adapter (wallwart). The gumstick battery can be recharged in the player and lasts about 8 hours (my own experience). I've never even used an AA battery but it might prove handy when I'm away from a wall socket for a longer period.
Sound quality
Another big plus for this unit is the sound quality. It is equipped with a Digital High definition amplifier that uses very little power and provides super clear sound. I'm a professional listener (I earn money by listening to music) and I can say this device is even better than the MZ-R30 I have. As usual, the headphones that come with the unit are "disposable". Invest in a good pair to get the most out of it!
Price
I got it in september and it cost me 386 euros. Quite a lot if I compare it to certain harddisk players but it was worth it to me because of the backwards compatibility.
1GB Hi-MD discs
These were a hard find! Only 4 months after I got my recorder, I was able to find blank discs "sold separately". The unit comes with a blank disc here in Europe so I could at least start recording :) The first discs cost me 9.75 euros a piece.
Why MD and not HD?
I choose MD because the media is separate from the device. Also, the player is more robust and I can easily exchange music with my girlfriend who also has a MZ-NH900.
Sonicstage
The player cannot play MP3 files directly. All audio must be converted to Atrac. There are 4 possibilities:
*Use Sonicstage software on a Windows PC
*Record from the analog line-in
*Record from the optical digital input (mini-plug, cable comes with the unit)
*Record from the microphone input
The Sonicstage software can convert MP3, WMA and WAV files to the native Atrac format. After this, the Atrac files can be transferred to the disc in the unit through USB. When using an Hi-MD disc, it's also usable as mass storage (transfer files in explorer like a floppy) although the speed of this feature is quite low (600KB/s). The Sonicstage software has all of this music conversion and transfer integrated together with a library of all music on your PC. It's easy to use and produces High quality Atrac audio IF the quality of the input files is good. I always rip from CDDA and in this case the quality is indistinguishable from the original.
I have a Sony MZ-R30 since 1997, together with a lot of discs. I was looking for an upgrade because I wanted a smaller player and the USB connection on the NetMD recorders seemed like a good idea too. When I found out about Hi-MD, I immediately ordered one, the MZ-NH900.
Size and batteries
The MZ-NH900 is the second most expensive model in the Hi-MD series. Its main selling points to me were the size and the batteries. The recorder fits nicely in the front pocket of my jeans, even when I sit down. It can use 2 kinds of batteries: the gumstick type and the AA type. The gumstick is internal and the AA can be inserted in a separate battery holder that makes the device somewhat larger but still very small. You can use alkalines or rechargeables in the AA adapter. The unit comes with a 900mAh rechargeable NiMH gumstick battery and a power adapter (wallwart). The gumstick battery can be recharged in the player and lasts about 8 hours (my own experience). I've never even used an AA battery but it might prove handy when I'm away from a wall socket for a longer period.
Sound quality
Another big plus for this unit is the sound quality. It is equipped with a Digital High definition amplifier that uses very little power and provides super clear sound. I'm a professional listener (I earn money by listening to music) and I can say this device is even better than the MZ-R30 I have. As usual, the headphones that come with the unit are "disposable". Invest in a good pair to get the most out of it!
Price
I got it in september and it cost me 386 euros. Quite a lot if I compare it to certain harddisk players but it was worth it to me because of the backwards compatibility.
1GB Hi-MD discs
These were a hard find! Only 4 months after I got my recorder, I was able to find blank discs "sold separately". The unit comes with a blank disc here in Europe so I could at least start recording :) The first discs cost me 9.75 euros a piece.
Why MD and not HD?
I choose MD because the media is separate from the device. Also, the player is more robust and I can easily exchange music with my girlfriend who also has a MZ-NH900.
Sonicstage
The player cannot play MP3 files directly. All audio must be converted to Atrac. There are 4 possibilities:
*Use Sonicstage software on a Windows PC
*Record from the analog line-in
*Record from the optical digital input (mini-plug, cable comes with the unit)
*Record from the microphone input
The Sonicstage software can convert MP3, WMA and WAV files to the native Atrac format. After this, the Atrac files can be transferred to the disc in the unit through USB. When using an Hi-MD disc, it's also usable as mass storage (transfer files in explorer like a floppy) although the speed of this feature is quite low (600KB/s). The Sonicstage software has all of this music conversion and transfer integrated together with a library of all music on your PC. It's easy to use and produces High quality Atrac audio IF the quality of the input files is good. I always rip from CDDA and in this case the quality is indistinguishable from the original.
