Small enough to hide from an overzealous prison guard.
Written: Aug 29 '01
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Pros: Super small, super light, amazing sound, great battery life, looks great.
Cons: Expensive.
The Bottom Line: Buy this to go with your Rolls-Royce.
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| MagnumForce's Full Review: Sony Walkman D-EJ915 Personal CD Player |
So looking through some of my more early works of literature (ha!) here at Epinions, I've realized that in the past (heck, even the present), some of my writing has really bitten the big one.
My previous review of this CD player was to put it nicely, horrific. So I've decided to rewrite. Don't y'all just feel lucky now?
The topic of course being our little Sony CD player here. About 8 or 9 months ago, after arguing with Panasonic about my last CD player, and their inability to provide customer service of any kind, I went shopping for a new player.
Not just any shopping mind you. I was hunting big game, unlike my usual thrifty policy when I'm using my own money. I decided to ditch Panasonic outright due to their idiocy, and concentrated on spending a lot of money in order to get myself a high quality CD player.
Well, one day, I'm walking around an electronics store (name ommitted to protect the innocent) when I saw this bad boy.
I was floored. The thing was BEAUTIFUL. I know it's just a CD player, but I wanted to make love to it.
Well, maybe not, but you get my point don't you?
There it was, gleaming in the artificial light of the store. All I needed to see was the price tag.
D'OH!
Two hundred and freakin eighty nine dollars Canadian (about 210 American), PLUS tax!
So I bought it anyways.
Of course coming home with a CD player costing that much, and trying to explain it to my parents didn't go over too well, but I blame it on the fact that they don't see the value in a 300 dollar CD player. Oh you don't either? Fine.
Price notwithstanding, the unit is spectacular. This is simply put, the best Sony model out on the market (unless they're released something new lately), apart from that special edition one that costs 600 bucks. It has gorgeous aluminum lid, and is basically the size of a CD. From what I understand, it's the smallest player in the world. Or at least that's what the ads said. Not only is it as small as a CD, but it's superthin too, something made possible by the flat rechargeable batteries included.
Apart from it's size, the player itself is very basic. You won't find any display on it, and the buttons are found on the side, and are a little small.
This is all put aside however, due to the use of a remote control. It plugs into the unit, and you plug your headphones into it. Thing is, it controls anything and everything to do with the player. You can switch tracks, adjust volume, bass boost, play options, and even display from the remote unit. It also has a nifty backlight similar to Indiglo. One con with the remote I guess, is that if you lose it, you're screwed in terms of programming and bass boost, since those features are ONLY found on it, and not the actual unit. The player will still work, but you lose those functions.
The first major thing I noticed when I used the player was the sparkling sound, especially when compared to my old Panasonic. I'll attribute this completely to the use of G-Protection, Sony's new anti-skip feature. Unlike other types of anti-skip which use a buffer to record ahead(thus diminishing sound quality), G-Protection has no buffer, and makes corrections ON THE FLY. That's right. I don't know how, but it somehow changes spin speeds, laser movement, and a ton of other stuff to try and predict and prevent skips before they happen. Amazing technology, and I have NEVER heard this player skip, no matter how badly scratched a CD has been. I've gone mountain biking with this, and not a peep. Just amazing, and kudos to Sony.
You will need new headphones to fully appreciate the quality though. You'd think that for the amount of money spent, Sony could afford to throw in better than the usual ear bud crap they did, but nope. Just spend a little more money to get a nice headset (Try the Sony MDR-300's, I've reviewed them too! Hint hint), and you'll be in heaven.
The last feature I haven't talked about is the fact that this has a built in recharger. I don't know how common this is, but I do know some of the other players I looked at didn't have it, and it's a must have for me, since I use the player so much. Simply plug the unit in, hit charge, and 4 hours later, fresh batteries, which by the way, last for well over 35 hours. If that's not enough, Sony includes a cute little wand you can attach to the player, which takes AA batteries, and adds about 20 hours extra to the playing time. Niceness.
When you see this, you may be worried that it won't stand up to abuse due to it looking so delicate. Don't worry. It obviously won't take repeated droppings (not that I've tried), but the remote feature lets you put the unit out of harms way, and it even comes with a nice little baggie to protect it from scratches. As with anything, just treat it well, and it'll last forever.
So final verdict? Expensive? Yes. Most definitely yes. Worth it? Yes. Most definitely yes. Although if you're not as nutso about music as me, you might not wanna shell for this. I however, like the best, and this Sony has proven itself to be so. It's small, light, and has great sound...what else do you want?
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 215
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Epinions.com ID:
MagnumForce
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: M F
Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 191
Trusted by: 62 members
About Me:
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