Maybe it's just me but over the past few years it seems like Sony has been slipping. The past few portable CD players I've purchased have been inexpensive but at the same time, didn't last nearly as long as the 'old school' Sony Sport models that were around fifteen years [or more] ago. I decided to give Sony another shot with their S2 series of products; the portable cassette player is over a year old and still working great but I've had more than a few problems with the CD playing member of this product family. My overall "Sony angst" was increased when I dropped the Sony D-EJ001 CD player and it started acting very weird; not just refusing to play certain tracks but not being able to recognize a disc, automatically pausing music and changing the programming sequence of the tracks etc. The unit wasn't dropped more than three feet and all of a sudden it starts acting like it's possessed. To make things even stranger, this [the D-EJ001] had been banged around in the past [and with more severe drops] and it never gave me a lick of trouble. When I bought the S2 [CD version] from someone on eBay they assured me that it was new, in the box and never played. For $45.00 I decided to give Sony products another try and see if maybe the S2 line of CD players was better than some of their others.

Sony S2 DSJ303 Personal CD Player

Before I get into the review of this I want to give you some specifics about the conditions under which this is used. I run both outside on a trail as well as indoors on a treadmill, do cardio work outs four to five times a week and occasionally hit a Spin class when certain less-than-masochistic class leaders are working. Running outside often means dealing with weather changes such as humidity, rain and sweat so having something that is waterproof is a real plus but this S2 isn't completely waterproof. It will retard light rain and sweat but it isn't designed to be submerged in water so take the word 'waterproof' with a grain of salt. You do get the G-Shock anti skip buffer with this but in my opinion it isn't something that Sony has really perfected because I still get skips and times when it will freeze up and I'll have to restart the track. This can be a real pain if I have the unit in a waist pack or tucked inside the tray on the treadmill. I was tempted to get a pair of headphones that have a remote control on the wire but most of the people I talked to about this said that there were some Sony pieces that they just wouldn't work with.

Most people want to know what kind of sound you get from a portable CD player; you can have a top of the line one that cost a couple hundred dollars and if you are using cheap or crappy headphones, it doesn't matter. Even though most of this review might sound like I am trashing Sony and some of their products, I do have to admit that the sound you get from this is well above average. The headphones that come with it are the industry norm 'over the ear' style that are comfortable to wear for a couple of hours. Anything more than that and your ears get sore. There is a minimal amount of slippage with these headphones, not out of the ear, just that they tend to swing forward a little and you have to press them back into your ear. These are not noise canceling headphones so you will still be able to hear what is going on around you but if you crank it up loud enough, it will drown out even the most annoying of people.

I've never had any trouble with this playing any type of CD, even my older ripped ones play fine but if there are scratches on them, there is a chance that they will skip here and there. Getting the discs in and out is a little easier with this one than with other Sony players, the D-EJ001 was a complete pain to open and close because the release button for the door was flush with the unit and there was almost no way to hold it without it moving around. Another nice thing about this in comparison to others that I've owned is that you don't have to worry about the amount of pressure you put on the body of the player. This means you can have it in your backpack or pocket without worrying about things pressing against it. The anti shock is supposed to help stabilize the play of the CD no matter what position it is in and for the most part it does work in that respect with this unit. You may have some instances of freezing if you are flipping it around or jumping up and down but if you are just out walking or light jogging then you shouldn't have any major trouble.

Battery life is always a joke with it comes to portable CD players. Manufacturers love to make outrageous claims that you can get 50 + hours from two AA sized batteries. When I saw that this was supposed to get 50 hours of playback I kept track to see if it would even come close. Sadly, even with my beloved Duracell ProCell batteries I didn't manage to break 20 hours of use. Mind you, this is just a CD player so there isn’t a digital clock or radio to drain the batteries. There is a jack for AC power but you don't get a power pack with it. I have been meaning to get a new rechargeable battery set up so I can save some money on batteries but I don't think that even those will help to bolster playback time. I tried a few rechargeables that I borrowed from other people and they gave me about 10 hours of playback before the unit would start to give me the 'low batt' signal and then power off when there wasn't enough juice left. There is a battery power life display on the screen but you have to take that with a grain of salt. When you are just powering up it will show less than the actual amount of power you have available, likewise when you are skipping through tracks or cranking up the volume, it drops then rises back up.

As I said, I paid $45.00 for this and so far it seems to be a wise investment; I won't be able to tell how well this holds up until it's been through the ringer a few times and put up with a few hard months of winter weather. If you are in the market for one of these you can find them in the $60.00 price range and to me that seems more than fair. It is waterproof, easy to navigate buttons and light weight. The downside to this is that there is no bass enhancement or 'bass boost'; this seems like it is an industry standard these days so I am so totally confused as to why this unit lacks the feature. You get a one year warranty with this but it doesn't do you any good if you don't fill out the card and mail it in. I had the option to register mine online and it took about 45 seconds to complete the form. I was a little worried that Sony wouldn't honor the warranty because it wasn't purchased from an authorized dealer but the package was brand new and never opened.

The Bottom Line

So far this has performed a little better than I expected and it might just renew my faith in Sony. It took me a little while to get used to the amber glow on the top of the player; I'm used to a blue or plain white light but it is nice if I am listening to something at night; it's not so bright that it lights up the area but it provides more than enough to see the track number, volume and battery level clearly. Since this is water resistant and has G-Shock it would be a great pick for the gym, running or for teens who are a little rough on electronics. If you are holiday shopping for a portable CD player but don't want something that is going to end up breaking or giving you error messages then check out the S2. It may cost more than the regular Sony portable CD players but chances are you won't have to go and buy a new one in three months either.

As always, thanks for the visit…

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2006 Freak369


Related reviews

Sony Personal CD Player [D-EJ001]
Sony Personal CD Player DNE005
Sony Psyc Gleam Black CD Player
Philips Personal CD Player [ACT758317]
Sony Single Tape Boombox [CFM-30TW]
Fisher SLIM-2000 CD Shelf System
Aiwa Personal CD Player [XP-V511]
Emerson Hello Kitty Personal CD Player

Sony MDR J10 Blue Over The Ear Headphones
Sony MDR Vertical Headphones
Sony MDR Ear Bud Headphones
Sony MDR W20G Headphones
Sony MDR A30G Vertical Headphones



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 45.00