This is a product I so much wanted to like. The concept is great. Take 50 MP3 files, copy them to this cleverly designed Mini Disc, and it's off to the gym with an invigorating set of tunes. Unfortunately this product seems to follow the old Jaguar automotive school of creating a sexy machine that is totally unreliable. Let's start from the top.The salesman convinced me that of the various netMD models this would be the best to take to the gym because it is more rugged. It needs to be. It is twice the size and weight of the other netMD recorders, cost an extra [PRICE], and offers no additional features except it's extra outer shell. It needs to be more rugged too because it is too big to fit in your pocket, has no belt clip, and is too big to fit in any of the neoprene minidisc belts. I guess I could use a belt designed for a standard CD player but then what's the point of having a Mini Disc. The unit seem to be designed for joggers who wish to hold the unit in their hand while they run, using the thumb joystick on the top.
This joystick is another point of contention. The S1 is suppose to be water resistant but the joystick sits in a non-sealed well on the top. The stick itself has sharp edges that are uncomfortable to use.
The electronics are good. At my age my ears aren't good enough to tell subtle differences in sound quality, especially when I'm in a noisy gym listening to myself grunt. It is evident the LP2 mode is not as good as the original MP3 file which is not as good as the CD file.However it is still better than anything I can pick up on the radio and better than a tape. And in spite of all my complaints about this particular model I would go out again and buy another (smaller) netMD player (I returned this one)if it weren't for one very important thing...the software.
In order to get the music into the player you download it via USB using software provided by Sony called OpenMG Jukebox. On a 1 - 10 scale this software is a minus 2. Using Windows XP and the NTFS file system the software crashes everytime I try to load more than a few songs at once into the player. Worse yet, after spending over an hour on the phone with a very nice tech it became apparent Sony has not placed a priority it dealing with this very common issue. Jumping on to the Internet I discovered this poorly designed and unreliable software is affectionately called Junkbox and has been a point of contention with Sony customers for a long time.
I guess if I was willing to fiddle with the system everytime I wanted to create a disc, I could ultimately create a set of enjoyable music and once it is on the disc the system works flawlessly. However I don't think this kind of corporate attitude should be rewarded. When Sony decides to put their resources into completing the product or a third party creates a stable and much less cumbersome tool to transfer files, I may look at the netMD world again. Until then I think these products are not ready for prime time.
I'm starting to wonder whether Sony is even on the right track in trying to remain relevant in the mp3-centric digital music world.I think something like NetMD would have been utterly fantastic three years ago, when USB-enabled computers were starting to gain mainstream adoption, and before hard disk and cd-r burner prices hadn't dropped low enough for more people to rip and burn their music collection. Then, I think, the ability to transfer up to five hours of music onto a single, (relatively) inexpensive minidisc would have held greater appeal.
Regardless of timing, the NetMD technology is still pretty neat. You are able to transfer digital content, either imported mp3/wma or audio CD's, directly to minidisc using one of three compression settings.
SP, the full-bore setting, allows up to 80 minutes on one disc, and is the best sounding of the three. It is "lossy" compression, like mp3, but to my damaged ears, they sound at least as good as CD's. LP2 doubles the storage time, but the increased compression makes the resulting recordings sound like... well, ALMOST as good as a 160kbps cbr mp3. Almost.
LP4 quadruples storage time, but as you might guess, the sound quality is pretty dodgy, comparable to a poorly ripped 128kbps (or lower) cbr mp3. LP4 is pretty much a lost cause as far as most rock goes, but it is surprisingly passable for hip-hop and spoken word (and probably for most electronica, but I have yet to test this).
As far as transferring existing mp3/wma content goes, I wouldn't recommend it (I know, it pretty much nulls the hype of NetMD, doesn't it?). I've tried converting a batch of 160kbps cbr mp3's to SP and LP2, using the included OpenMG Jukebox. At SP, the sound quality is comparable to the original, but the transfer to MD takes almost as long as the length of the content. Transfer in LP2 is faster, if you disregard the processor-hog conversion to ATRAC LP2 mode, but the sound quality takes a nosedive.
From what I've read, OMG Jukebox is notoriously unstable. Or so I've read. I've been able to successfully install it on two separate Windows 2000 Pro machines, and I'm feeling so lucky, I'm going to buy a lottery ticket once I'm done with this review.
That said, once you fast forward to 2002, where more people than not have gigabytes of existing mp3's on her or his hard disk, you have to wonder whether it's more convenient to rely on a solid state mp3 player to take small sections of this content without any further format-shifting, or dump them en masse to CD-R/W's for use with 3" or 5" disc-based mp3 players. If NetMD handled mp3's and wma's natively (or even managed Sony's proprietary ATRAC without the inflexible audio management software), I think this product would have much more relevance today. However, due to intellectual property concerns, I think Sony hamstrung itself with its convoluted content management system.
In the meanwhile, I've been using the Net MD Simple Burner program to transfer audio CD content directly to MD (mostly in LP2 mode, with some LP4, but for some weird reason, SP is NOT available as a transfer mode with Simple Burner!). I have started amassing a usable variety of discs packed with songs for the gym or for walks in the park, and from there on, it's straightforward MD goodness. Compact form factor, high skip resistance, durable media, high battery life. Basically all the things that most CD-R/W mp3 players aren't. And in a nice change of pace from the bumblebee black-and-yellow motif, the new S2 Sports design definitely adds some to the "cool factor".
I'm inclined to think that Sony munged the Minidisc yet again, this time with questionable software, but the good news is that I am still able to make use of NetMD. Drop me a line if you have any questions or war stories to share.
