Network Walkman vs NetMD - Audio T-Board - Internet's Friendliest Board on Audio and Electronics

Maxim · August 13th, 2003, 09:32 PM

OK. There's probably not too much informative here, but just thought I'd give initial impressions of the N910 that finally arrived, as compared to a Sony NW-MS9 that I got about a month ago...

INITIAL REACTIONS
* I always expected the Network Walkman to be small, but the N910, although larger, surprised me more with its tinyness.

CHARGING
* The MS9 also uses the same gumstick, but has to use an external charger. I must admit I like this more. I am not as confident with Sony's chargers as I am with others...
* One major drawback of the MS9 is supposed to be battery life, but both N910 and MS9 seemed to have equally poor battery life (about 6 hours or so - with 5-10 minutes of that being recording). I guess this is mainly beacuse I have just been recording quite a lot on the new N910.

SOUND QUALITY
* LP2. The MS9 encodes in Atrac3 and Atrac3+. I've always kept it on its maximum setting - Atrac3 132. On this setting, the sound always sounds crystal clear to me on EX71s. Recording onto my N910, I noticed for the first time audible static in LP2. So, now I am going to stick to recording through a CD player in true SP.

NET CAPABILITIES
* Recording time. I know there are ways to get around TOC edits and to make uploading/downloading quicker. But just uploading in a standard way -
* The Network Walkman is about twice as fast (both recording in LP2)
* The editing of Track information, Groups etc. is instantaneous, whereas you hear a whir and it takes about a second to do things on the NetMD.
* Similarly, with the playing of tracks.

MEDIA
* OK, so I think MDs are cute and all, but I also like memory sticks -- even though the latter are prohibitively expensive.
* If you're the type of person that is content with one hour (64MB memory stick) or two hours (128MB) of LP2 at a time, and can update their music by referring back to a hard drive full of omg files easily, then I'd recommend the NW-MS9. If you're travelling away from a computer, then of course the NetMD comes into its own.
* You have to use MagicGate (white) memory sticks with the Network Walkman, and at this stage they are only available in 64MB and 128MB capacities. Sony don't seem interested in making bigger capacity ones either -- the Memory Stick Pro sticks are not backwards compatible with 90% of Sony products.

RECORDING
* Yes, in terms of true microphone recording, the NetMD is the only one that will do it. I tried recording myself playing the piano with a Sony EM-MS957 microphone. I sound wonderful, surprisingly. Well, there's a first time for everything.

HEADPHONES / REMOTE
* So, I ditched the stock earbuds from both units - they were both the same 8*8 quality basically. As I said before - LP2 sounds crisp and clear on the NW-MS9, but not on the NetMD. But, although it's hard to tell, I think SP on the NetMD would definitely have to sound better than LP2 on the Network Walkman.
* One big difference in comfort I noted was using the remote on the N910. In some ways, the remote on the NetMD is actually bulkier than the NW-MS9 itself, but it makes up for this by the clip. Quite simply - using the MS9, it was always a hassle putting the player in a position where gravity wasn't noticeably trying to pull the earbuds out of my ears and towards the player. It is much more comfortable to have the clipped remote make the earbuds feel a bit more weightless.

BUILD QUALITY
* I haven't dropped or injured either player, but somehow I feel you have more security with a solid state player - you don't feel like it has to be as mollycoddled as an NetMD.

COST
* Sony's latest Net Walkman (MS-70D) is much smaller and holds about 3 hours of music. It costs just slightly less ($260-$300) than the N10, and about the same as the N910. I picked my NW-MS9 up second hand on the T-board for US$100, whereas the N910 was US$300+ minidiscs. So, from that point of view I think the NW-MS9 was great value.

FINAL COMMENTS
* I know they are for different markets. I think I am the sort of person who fits the MS9's market better than the NetMD's. First, I have the hard disk space to store and change over my music as I get sick of what's on my solid state player. Second, I don't change my tastes too often, so really don't have to worry about having 10 hours of different types of music available instantly depending on my mood.
* If you have a huge music library or want to record then you will definitely pick the NetMD option (or maybe a recording hard drive based player) over a Network Walkman.
* The MS9 and MS11 are being phased out. The MS9 is no longer sold by Sony, and same with the MS11 in some countries. So, on the one hand they are starting to be "old" technology, and on the other you might be able to pick one up cheap like I did.

tbdoah · August 13th, 2003, 10:39 PM

Very, very, nice comparison between the two Maxim. It's nice to hear the opinion from a user who's sort of traveled from mp3 to MD.

Also, glad to see you got that lovely N910? Exactly how long did it take to get it?

Your review makes me see even more of the light coming from an mp3 player....oh how that iHP-100 is now fully screaming buy me!

Maxim · August 13th, 2003, 10:48 PM

Heehee. I just checked my email records. My N910 was originally ordered on 16th May (2003

). The first was lost in the mail, and I finally received the replacement yesterday - 13th August.

So that is actually less than 3 months!! Plus, it only cost me the cost of the original package - US$320, plus the negotiated cost of the second package, US$125... To be fair, I did get an optical cable and an extra NH-14WM as well

.

So, I have one of the most expensive N910s out there

zombietycho · August 14th, 2003, 02:48 AM

Wow, whomever found the other N910 is either the luckiest or most confused postal worker out there!

Nice review Maxim.

iceeedtea · August 14th, 2003, 02:55 AM

Very well done, Maxim. One question, though - you say that artifacts are able to be heard via LP2 >> MZ-N910 [ATRAC3]; are you able to hear said artifacts in ATRAC3+ on the MS9; if so, which of the two has lesser quality?

Maxim · August 14th, 2003, 03:06 AM

Hey - I agree my jargon is not up to most - but artifacting is more distortion of the original music, rather than slight *background* type static isn't it? Anyway, doesn't matter.

Now, I could be wrong but:

Atrac3 comes in 132kbps (LP2) and 66kbps (LP4)
Atrac3+ comes in 64kbps and 48kbps modes ...

I should have said - the MS9 can also transfer in what, I guess, would be LP3

-- 105 kbps. I didn't much like the 105 option either, and *could* hear artifacting with it. Now, I haven't even tried with 3+, because I thought no matter how *good* it claimed to be, if I was far from satisfied with LP4, and not satisfied with LP3 either...

Damage · August 31st, 2003, 06:06 AM

Atrac3plus certainly ain't that bad. At least, with my experience (the new CD Walkmans), I wasn't able to notice much in the way of distortions. Of course, I'm coming from deaftone ears so you may hear more distortions and noises than I. I think the Atrac3plus is mostly for capacity for "decent quality" and massive storage for small memory units, such as a memory stick or MagicGate MS.

Speaking of MagicGate MS, I don't think the network walkmans support the newer generation of Memory Stick Pros, which are all branded with MagicGate (thus, I assume it has MG copyright management scheme with it to boot). They range anywhere from 256 MB to 1 GB, and at upper ends of the spectrum, needs a second or a possible third mortgage to purchase one. A 1GB Network Walkman player is very tempting, but at the price, one could purchase 2 iPods, which kind of kills the argument there and there.

culp4684 · September 4th, 2003, 02:04 PM

Sorry if I missed something here, but I thought Atrac 3 plus only had to do with CD players????

Tiger005 · September 4th, 2003, 05:50 PM

the New Network Walkmans play it also, the new MS and Flash players (flash is jpn only)

Sony NW-E7 MP3 Network Walkman
Sony NW-MS70D MP3 Network Walkman

Maxim · September 4th, 2003, 06:15 PM

Does Atrac3+ only come in 64 and 48 kb modes? These are the only two that are offered for transfer onto my MS9, so I don't bother.

Damage, you are quite correct - Memory Stick Pro sticks are not only prohibitively expensive, but they don't work on any Sony portable audio. They will work really only on the newer digital cameras and some Clies.

I'm finding myself using my network walkman more than my NetMD at the moment ... It *is* smaller, and also the bass is much better - I have a Japanese N910 but the output of the MS9 still seems much better ...

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August 13th, 2003, 09:32 PM	#1
Maxim Sig. by IheartJamBands Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 358	Network Walkman vs NetMD OK. There's probably not too much informative here, but just thought I'd give initial impressions of the N910 that finally arrived, as compared to a Sony NW-MS9 that I got about a month ago... INITIAL REACTIONS * I always expected the Network Walkman to be small, but the N910, although larger, surprised me more with its tinyness. CHARGING * The MS9 also uses the same gumstick, but has to use an external charger. I must admit I like this more. I am not as confident with Sony's chargers as I am with others... * One major drawback of the MS9 is supposed to be battery life, but both N910 and MS9 seemed to have equally poor battery life (about 6 hours or so - with 5-10 minutes of that being recording). I guess this is mainly beacuse I have just been recording quite a lot on the new N910. SOUND QUALITY * LP2. The MS9 encodes in Atrac3 and Atrac3+. I've always kept it on its maximum setting - Atrac3 132. On this setting, the sound always sounds crystal clear to me on EX71s. Recording onto my N910, I noticed for the first time audible static in LP2. So, now I am going to stick to recording through a CD player in true SP. NET CAPABILITIES * Recording time. I know there are ways to get around TOC edits and to make uploading/downloading quicker. But just uploading in a standard way - * The Network Walkman is about twice as fast (both recording in LP2) * The editing of Track information, Groups etc. is instantaneous, whereas you hear a whir and it takes about a second to do things on the NetMD. * Similarly, with the playing of tracks. MEDIA * OK, so I think MDs are cute and all, but I also like memory sticks -- even though the latter are prohibitively expensive. * If you're the type of person that is content with one hour (64MB memory stick) or two hours (128MB) of LP2 at a time, and can update their music by referring back to a hard drive full of omg files easily, then I'd recommend the NW-MS9. If you're travelling away from a computer, then of course the NetMD comes into its own. * You have to use MagicGate (white) memory sticks with the Network Walkman, and at this stage they are only available in 64MB and 128MB capacities. Sony don't seem interested in making bigger capacity ones either -- the Memory Stick Pro sticks are not backwards compatible with 90% of Sony products. RECORDING * Yes, in terms of true microphone recording, the NetMD is the only one that will do it. I tried recording myself playing the piano with a Sony EM-MS957 microphone. I sound wonderful, surprisingly. Well, there's a first time for everything. HEADPHONES / REMOTE * So, I ditched the stock earbuds from both units - they were both the same 88 quality basically. As I said before - LP2 sounds crisp and clear on the NW-MS9, but not on the NetMD. But, although it's hard to tell, I think SP on the NetMD would definitely have to sound better than LP2 on the Network Walkman. One big difference in comfort I noted was using the remote on the N910. In some ways, the remote on the NetMD is actually bulkier than the NW-MS9 itself, but it makes up for this by the clip. Quite simply - using the MS9, it was always a hassle putting the player in a position where gravity wasn't noticeably trying to pull the earbuds out of my ears and towards the player. It is much more comfortable to have the clipped remote make the earbuds feel a bit more weightless. BUILD QUALITY * I haven't dropped or injured either player, but somehow I feel you have more security with a solid state player - you don't feel like it has to be as mollycoddled as an NetMD. COST * Sony's latest Net Walkman (MS-70D) is much smaller and holds about 3 hours of music. It costs just slightly less ($260-$300) than the N10, and about the same as the N910. I picked my NW-MS9 up second hand on the T-board for US$100, whereas the N910 was US$300+ minidiscs. So, from that point of view I think the NW-MS9 was great value. FINAL COMMENTS * I know they are for different markets. I think I am the sort of person who fits the MS9's market better than the NetMD's. First, I have the hard disk space to store and change over my music as I get sick of what's on my solid state player. Second, I don't change my tastes too often, so really don't have to worry about having 10 hours of different types of music available instantly depending on my mood. * If you have a huge music library or want to record then you will definitely pick the NetMD option (or maybe a recording hard drive based player) over a Network Walkman. * The MS9 and MS11 are being phased out. The MS9 is no longer sold by Sony, and same with the MS11 in some countries. So, on the one hand they are starting to be "old" technology, and on the other you might be able to pick one up cheap like I did.

August 13th, 2003, 10:39 PM	#2
tbdoah ze end of ze world Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 4,807	Very, very, nice comparison between the two Maxim. It's nice to hear the opinion from a user who's sort of traveled from mp3 to MD. Also, glad to see you got that lovely N910? Exactly how long did it take to get it? Your review makes me see even more of the light coming from an mp3 player....oh how that iHP-100 is now fully screaming buy me! __________________ \| myspace \| ISS Forums \| Last.fm \| Current: N1, NX10, CX8, JA20ES \| 20 GB 3G iPod, 60 GB 5G iPod, NJ3B 10 GB Past: R50, R5ST, R70, R700, R900, S1, E10, E75, MS722, MT15, SS323, MT831, DR7 MacBook Pro! Team APPLE!!

August 13th, 2003, 10:48 PM	#3
Maxim Sig. by IheartJamBands Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 358	Heehee. I just checked my email records. My N910 was originally ordered on 16th May (2003 ). The first was lost in the mail, and I finally received the replacement yesterday - 13th August. So that is actually less than 3 months!! Plus, it only cost me the cost of the original package - US$320, plus the negotiated cost of the second package, US$125... To be fair, I did get an optical cable and an extra NH-14WM as well . So, I have one of the most expensive N910s out there __________________

August 14th, 2003, 02:48 AM	#4
zombietycho Super Guru Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: L.A, Canada Posts: 3,406	Wow, whomever found the other N910 is either the luckiest or most confused postal worker out there! Nice review Maxim. __________________ .'.dlb:.

August 14th, 2003, 02:55 AM	#5
iceeedtea Guru Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: sendai. Posts: 1,119	Very well done, Maxim. One question, though - you say that artifacts are able to be heard via LP2 >> MZ-N910 [ATRAC3]; are you able to hear said artifacts in ATRAC3+ on the MS9; if so, which of the two has lesser quality?

August 14th, 2003, 03:06 AM	#6
Maxim Sig. by IheartJamBands Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 358	Hey - I agree my jargon is not up to most - but artifacting is more distortion of the original music, rather than slight background type static isn't it? Anyway, doesn't matter. Now, I could be wrong but: Atrac3 comes in 132kbps (LP2) and 66kbps (LP4) Atrac3+ comes in 64kbps and 48kbps modes ... I should have said - the MS9 can also transfer in what, I guess, would be LP3 -- 105 kbps. I didn't much like the 105 option either, and could hear artifacting with it. Now, I haven't even tried with 3+, because I thought no matter how good it claimed to be, if I was far from satisfied with LP4, and not satisfied with LP3 either... __________________

August 31st, 2003, 06:06 AM	#7
Damage -Tattoo Kiss- Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: in an undisclosed HiMD Blank Posts: 1,152	Atrac3plus certainly ain't that bad. At least, with my experience (the new CD Walkmans), I wasn't able to notice much in the way of distortions. Of course, I'm coming from deaftone ears so you may hear more distortions and noises than I. I think the Atrac3plus is mostly for capacity for "decent quality" and massive storage for small memory units, such as a memory stick or MagicGate MS. Speaking of MagicGate MS, I don't think the network walkmans support the newer generation of Memory Stick Pros, which are all branded with MagicGate (thus, I assume it has MG copyright management scheme with it to boot). They range anywhere from 256 MB to 1 GB, and at upper ends of the spectrum, needs a second or a possible third mortgage to purchase one. A 1GB Network Walkman player is very tempting, but at the price, one could purchase 2 iPods, which kind of kills the argument there and there. __________________

September 4th, 2003, 02:04 PM	#8
culp4684 Guru Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 2,302	Sorry if I missed something here, but I thought Atrac 3 plus only had to do with CD players???? __________________ DAP: Zune 80 (red), Sony NWZ-728B, Creative Zen Vision:M, Sony HD5 (red) MD Gear: MZ-RH1 Hi-MD recorder, MZ-NH1 Hi-MD recorder, MZ-N10 recorder/player; MZ-EH930 Hi-MD player, IM-DR80 recorder; MZ-E10 player; MZ-EP11 player; MDS-JA20ES deck; Kenwood KMD-44 auto deck; Sharp DR7 recorder/player; MD-DS77 player, Aiwa AM-NX9 recorder, Victor XM-C37-T player Phones: Grado SR-125, Koss PortaPros, Denon AH-C351, Sharp HP-MD33S, Shure E2C, Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro's Home Setup: Denon DVD-2910 SACD/DVD-A player; Marantz SR7400 receiver, Boston Acoustics speaker system.

September 4th, 2003, 05:50 PM	#9
Tiger005 Princess Aurora Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Cooler 5 Is THE Man!! Posts: 310	the New Network Walkmans play it also, the new MS and Flash players (flash is jpn only) Sony NW-E7 MP3 Network Walkman Sony NW-MS70D MP3 Network Walkman

September 4th, 2003, 06:15 PM	#10
Maxim Sig. by IheartJamBands Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 358	Does Atrac3+ only come in 64 and 48 kb modes? These are the only two that are offered for transfer onto my MS9, so I don't bother. Damage, you are quite correct - Memory Stick Pro sticks are not only prohibitively expensive, but they don't work on any Sony portable audio. They will work really only on the newer digital cameras and some Clies. I'm finding myself using my network walkman more than my NetMD at the moment ... It is smaller, and also the bass is much better - I have a Japanese N910 but the output of the MS9 still seems much better ... __________________

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