chiminou's Full Review: Sony Walkman D-NE500 Personal CD Player
On my quest to find the perfect CD/MP3 player I had the chance to try out a SONY D-NE500. Since I haven't found a review on that product here in Epinions, I thought I'd write one, even if I do not own that particular product but a very similar one; the Sony D-NE900.
I bought a Sony D-NE711 before the D-NE900. The D-NE711 did not meet my sound-quality requirements... I had to return it eventually (within the 30 day money back guaranty).
The D-NE500 is the more affordable version of the D-NE900. They mostly have the same features, and looks. But some specific differences made me buy the DNE-900 instead.
D-NE500 is a Compact Disc Digital Audio player. It features:
. High tech slim body design (all plastic)
. OPR light (operation light) lights up in 3 different colors depending on the file format (very cute).
. Clip on style remote (no display)
. ATRAC3plus, ATRAC3, CD audio and MP3 Format Playback
. SonicStage Simple Burner
. Jog Dial Control
. 18 playback modes (auto ranking playback function)
. 4 Line Dot Matrix display
. Supports CD Text and ID3 Tagging
. Skip-Free G-Protection 1 and 2
. CD-R/RW Playback
. Parametric Equalizer with 3 presests plus one adjustable preset
. Digital Volume Control
. Heat Resistant Lid
. 2 Position Automatic Volume Limiter System (AVLS) (possibility to turn it off)
. off timer and auto shut off (to conserve battery life)
. carry case
. AC power adaptor
. requires only ONE AA battery (great!)
. Headphones (cheap)
and the usual resume/play and scrolling through MP3s and atrac3 files and regular CDs while they play.
D-NE500
Color: silver or black
Dimensions: 5.2" W x 1.2" H x 5.6" D
Weight : 6.7 oz .. (made of plastic) very light, too light, it feels cheap in your hands especially compared to the DNE711 I owned at the time.
SOUND
I compared the D-NE500 to my DNE711.
I put both players on and played the same song in each one at the same volume.
I used my own headphones; Koss portapro (they sound amazing) toggling them between both players back and forth.
Those two players sound very different from one another! Incredibly different, I wonder why they gave them similar names?
The DNE711 sounds bassy, no definition in those deep low frequencies, lack in mid-frequencies. As for the DNE500; sounds very flat, mid frequencies are very well balanced and with the EQ presets, it can sound pretty good and punchy in the bass frequencies.
Even though the sound was better, I was not satisfied to the point of making the switch. I did not think the DNE500 was worth 159$.. for other reasons.
G-Protection
It's recommended to change the setting to 1 for better sound quality. The second setting emphasizes the skip protection, but it affects the sound quality.
---- presets ----
Normal: sounds good, flat. Every instrument is present. That preset is the lowest one in terms of volume.
Soft: sounds bizarre. The manual says its for vocals, stressing middle range audio. Good for listening to vocal stuff I guess. This is the only setting I really disliked.
Active: Lively sound, emphasizing the low and high frequencies. That preset sounds pretty good. Clarity in all frequency ranges. Good for pop, rock and more.
Heavy: Further emphasizing the lows and highs freq. Powerful sound. I feel it also emphasizes the mid-freq a bit. This preset is very very good. It replaces the mega-boost of other sony players. I would use that preset if there were no customizable one..
Custom: Allows you to adjust the low - mid - high frequencies to different levels. Tricky to do at first, but quite efficient and fun. You get to set the sound as you like it. You can always modify it whenever you want, depending on the source of music you listen to. I personnally set mine to boost the very low freq, I reduce the mid-freq and emphasize the very high-freq.
This function is pretty precise, you can chose the range of lows, mids, high and 6 different volume levels for each. This has the be the major good aspect of this player.
----volume----
The volume is digital. Loud enough I would say, but not as loud as the DNE900.
The volume button is large, positioned in an easy to reach place (on top of the player, right below the multi-function button) and well designed. No risk of hitting other buttons in the process.
REMOTE
I did not get to try it out.
Plastic, black, no display, clip-on.
5 buttons: 2 to skip through folders
1 multi function button for play/pause/stop/FF/rew and stop
2 for the volume
The cord is not very long, would be too short for my usage.
CONTROL BUTTONS
It takes a bit of practice to get used to those buttons. New design, they do not take lots of room on the player. Not a winner for the "button-lovers"... this player does not have many of those.
One large button for the volume (the biggest of them)
Two for the folders
And one multi-task jog dial. Same principle as a joy-stick. Push it up for play/pause. Down for stop. Right for fast/skip forward, left for rewind/skip to the previous track. And press it once, twice or more for the different menus.
The buttons are made out of plastic. They feel so cheap when you use them. Not sturdy. A major CON from my point of view.
The multi-function stick in the middle is small and not precise at all.
But the volume button is just cool, well located and big enough.
This player would not suit fat-fingered users nor elders at all!
AESTHETIC
Looks slim and feminine.
A saucer like shape, reminds me of the saucer section of the "Enterprise" in the TNG (the next generation) series.
Same shape as the DNE900, but a bit bigger (depth).
DISPLAY
Almost squared window of an inch large and a bit smaller than an inch for height.
4 line display. Shows group name, file name, elapsed time. Type of file. Program mode.Battery power. Sound setting, volume.
By pressing down on the jog dial once; you get the name of the file, the kpbs/Khz rate and time remaining. Pressing a second time: total number of tracks and folders, number of the actual track and elapse time. Press a third time: toggles into the folder of the song playing. From there u can access all of the folders using the folder-buttons, and, select any song by pressing one last time on the jog dial.
The screen is large enough to show 12 letters at once. It scrolls automatically for wider titles or text.
Display is not backlit (that is a con if used in poorly lit areas, or at night)
PROS
Requires only ONE AA battery.
Large 4 line LCD display.
Customizable EQ, good sound quality.
Open lid button is nice and reliable, no danger of getting opened by mistake.
3-color playback mode led
AVLS removable
G-protection
Carry case
Atrac3 compatible
CON
Plastic feel, too light.
Plastic buttons, not precise, hard to surf through the files and folders and menus.
Remote without a display
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Although the sound was better than my DNE711 and it had many features I like. I found that the general feel of the unit was not to my liking. Not enough to make me buy it.
It felt cheap when I held it in my hands. It is very light and small. A cheap-plastic feel. The Buttons are cheap plastic and not precise at all, not to mention their small size. It made it hard to search through the folders and files, and somewhat frustrating.
I was disapointed as I was walking out of that store (Future shop). I knew there was something better out there, there had to be.. when suddenly one item caught my eye!...
....to be continued.... (review shortcut below)
UPDATE Nov 7th
I revised this review, gave it a lower SOUND rating... after I finally found the ULTIMATE player!... THE SlimX iMP-550 from Iriver!!!
Portable CD player compatible with MP3 files and Sony's ATRAC3plus compression technology; 4-line display with advanced text navigation Includes Sonic...More at Amazon Marketplace
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