How does a Battery Box without a preamp give you gain?
Sorry... I mean power.
It gave plenty of power to use the line in. Then, you hit record and pause at the same time. Hit enter. Hit left until you come to manual record. Hit enter. Then, the track left and track right buttons will increase/decrease the record level. See page 33-34 on the MZ-N707 Manual.
Exactly how I did it every time on my Net NZ707. I have used the same thing on the NJB3, setting the input to line in, and adjusting the record level. On the NJB3, I usually never had to add anything, except the once, when I had it to about +6 on the record level for Leo Kottke.
All I am suggesting here is that if he is going to become a taping addict, like us, then he is going to want to upgrade. Most logical upgrade is going to be a preamp, one that is better than a SP or CS preamp, such as teh AD-20, or something else with an A/D Converter. So why buy 2 preamps? I have done a bunch of recordings w/ mics -> battery box -> Sony MD. Worked fine. Sounds better w/ a pre, but works fine w/o it.
Why does this not seem like reasonable advice?