Most MiniDisc aficionados are aware of unit hacking to gain access to new features. The unit that perhaps benefits the most from this is the Sony MZ-N510, which also comes in the N520 and NF610 variants. The 2001 model R700 can be hacked to add many features of its upscale brother, the R900, as well as the Type-R codec, which renders the R700 capable of performing real-time SP recordings with Sony’s last evolution of ATRAC1.

The hacking instructions on this page are colour coded. Commands using buttons on the MD units are displayed in: BLUE and when referring to values on the LCD display of the MD units the colour will be: GREEN. When new values are written to the MD unit’s firmware, this will be shown in: RED

(If you are viewing this page without styles, none of that applies since the colours won’t be displayed.)

The N510/20 hack

Introduction to the units

This hack works for the MZ-N510, MZ-N520 and MZ-NF610 units, which are basically the same unit. The N510 is the first model to use this mold, the F610 adds a radio remote and the N520 is a 2004 European version with new software bundled and a rechargeable (700mAh Ni-MH) AA battery. The N510 was introduced in 2003 as a budget (but not quite entry-level) Net-MD recorder. It boasts an excellent design, quiet unit noise (I’ve owned an R90 and R900 and in comparison it is very quiet), great build quality and a line/optical input. Even some HiMD recorders now lack this very important feature. It means true, high quality, real-time SP recordings can be made from an optical digital source. The unit lacks a microphone input, but does come with a remote port and a non-LCD remote. I use my R900 backlit LCD remote (RM-MC11EL), or my MC38EL, both of which function perfectly. These units were probably the last decent budget Sony models. The North American market got some pretty spartan units in 2003/4 that were just plain inflexible downloaders. My version is a UK N520, 2004 model. The unit feels solid, and like the R700, boasts a wonderfully ergonomic design. Unless I’m mistaken it’s the last non-HiMD portable recorder Sony sold, at least in the UK anyway. It was sold until the termination of the 2004 product line, alongside the first generation of HiMD portables.

Features and specifications

These models all have the Type-S codec (I have seen early publicity shots of the N10 having Type-R, but my N520 definitely has Type-S and most, if not all, N510 and NF610s do too), which means SP recordings are made with the final version of Sony’s original ATRAC1 codec, Type-R, and MDLP playback modes are improved with the Type-S version. Type-S improves playback of MDLP tracks and is not a recording enhancement. The only major drawback seems to be the lack of a mic. input, but I’ve rarely used this feature on any of my other portables anyway. There’s also no date/time stamp, but that feature seems to have died a long time ago and Sony dropped it completely for their 2005 models. The N510 and its ‘sister’ units feature, out of the box:

• System Controller/ATRAC DSP IC: CXD2680GA (CXD2676).
• ATRAC Type-S, which is comprised of:
  1. ATRAC1 Type-R.
  2. ATRAC3 (MDLP) version 2.0.
• Stereo, Mono and MDLP (LP2 and LP4) modes.
• USB and line/optical inputs.
• 3V DC input.
• 5mW+5mW headphone amp with remote out, and a non-LCD remote (command codes to power backlit remotes exist).
• Digital and analog recording level control.
• Manual End Search/Auto End Search.
• Recording level change and character input editing while recording.
• Auto time mark (inserts a track mark at regular intervals during recording).
• Group and Bookmark track function (this is actually a pretty handy feature, especially on long 30~ track LP2 compilations).
• Quick mode (again, useful. Keeps the unit operative for up to 17 hours so response times are instant, at the expense of battery life).
• G-Protection (as well as the standard skip protection of: 40 seconds for SP, 80 seconds for LP2 and mono and 160 seconds for LP4).
• Digital sound presets for bass and treble.
• Automatic Volume Limiter System – use this if, like me, you are paranoid about damaging your precious hearing.

The battery life with a standard AA is very impressive. Roughly 50 hours playback and 15 recording. Battery life varies greatly between recording modes and brand, so suffice to say it’s excellent. By 2003, Sony had refined the optical pickups and other mechanisms to the point where battery life is supreme, access times fast and reliability excellent. Also, a feature such as the ability to change recording levels whilst recording is something that Sony took many years to finally implement.

So what about this hack then?

Sony seem to use the same firmware in at least one generation of their models, and for budget models they just disable certain features, or set simpler ones. This may just be marketing (in the case of program play mode for example) or it may be because of a genuine hardware restriction in the budget model. For example, Personal Disc Memory can be enabled but low end units lack the necessary EEPROM to save the settings, so they’re lost when the unit powers down. Luckily, the N510/610 and 520 can be hacked to enable a handful of very useful features. These are:

• PGM in the P-MODE menu: Program Play Mode.
• TITLE added to the DISPLAY menu: Scrolls the Disc Title and then the Song Title on an LCD remote.
• SOUND added to the DISPLAY menu: displays the current sound preset.
• A USEFUL menu added, whi