Best non-MP3 discman on the market
Written: Jan 27 '04
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Pros: durable, long battery life, good sound quality
Cons: tad expensive, doesn't play MP3's
The Bottom Line: If you don't need an MP3-capable discman get this one.
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| Chad9976's Full Review: Sony Walkman D-E350 Personal CD Player |
I had planned on giving this discman only four stars but then I really thought it through and I couldn't come up with a really good reason NOT to give it the full five stars.
When you're shopping for a discman what are you looking for? Lots of features, good battery life, sleek design, portability and durability and of course great sound. The Sony D-E350 has all those features and costs about HALF the price of the exuberent discmen.
There's so many good things to say about this CD player I don't know where to start.
Well my favorite feature on this bad boy is that it has TWO bass boost options! Most discmen only have one bass boost which is good but if you're playing a song with a lot of bass too loud it'll get distorted. That's what's so good about this player - if you play music loud only put one amount of bass boost on that way the volume will naturally act as a bass enhancer and distortion will be minimal or totally eliminated.
My second favorite thing is the battery life indicator on the LED display. How sweet is that? A lot of electronic products have indicators when the batteries are dead or about to die, but why not have on-going indicators? This is really convienent because you know when your batteries are on their way out (like in a few days as opposed to a few minutes).
Speaking of batteries I should mention that the Sony D-E350 is amazingly efficient with its power use. I highly recommend using the E2 Energizer batteries - they last at least 33 hours. I play my discman about 3 hours a day and I only have to change the batteries once a week or once every 10 days.
Of course it does have an AC Adapter option but the adapter is not included in the package.
However you do get a really nice pair of Sony headphones which aren't too bulky and have pretty good sound. I usually use a pair of Sony in-ear headphones that I bought separately for only ten bucks. The discman has such a great bass output that the generic headphones can't handle the bass the way it's meant to be.
What else is great about this player? Well the sleek design is pretty sweet. You know that shiny W on the cover is there just to be aestically pleasing and it works for me. The fact this thing is feather light is a big plus in my book. The last two CD players I had seemed to weigh like 2 pounds each, this one is nice and compact. I carry it around in my pants pocket and I barely notice it's there. Compare that to any other discman you've ever had where you've put in your pocket and your pants really started to sag!
The button design is a little convience for me. All the buttons have texture and shape so you can tell which one is which from the feeling on your fingertips.
My only problem with this thing is that there's no pause button. To compensate for this Sony has turned the stop button into a part time pause button. If you're in the middle of a song and hit stop the player will stop but if you pick it up without touching the CD player in any way it will pick up at the spot you left off on. If you do hit something other than opening the top it'll start from the beginning of the track you were on.
I should also mention that this thing makes a lot of noise when you first put a disc in and hit play. It's just a whirring sound of the laser sliding to find the track. It doesn't sound like it's broken, it's just a little annoying. I've owned many discmen in my life and this is the only one I've ever encountered this problem with.
But when you break it down the Sony D-E350 is probably the best player on the market for the money. Sure there might be "better" players out there that cost over $100 but why spend that much money when you can get comparable quality for half the price?
My player only cost $59.99, which is a great value because Sony could easily get away with charging closer to $99.99 for this and it would STILL be worth it.
Special mention should be made to the fact this player also has a nice 40-second backup feature which means it's JOGGABLE! I have gone running with this player and the skipping and pausing from the jostling was VERY minimal. This player isn't marketed as a discman for joggers and runners but the fact it holds up so well under those conditions is a super fantastic bonus. Even if you don't jog with your discman consider how well that will translate to everyday jostling. If you use this player in your car and you hit a bump or rough terrain it probably won't skip. I carry it around in my pants and walk around and it never skips even in the baggiest of pants ;-)
If you can find a better player for only $60 I'd like to know about it.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 59.99
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Epinions.com ID:
Chad9976
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Member: Chad Polenz
Location: Albany, New York
Reviews written: 663
Trusted by: 147 members
About Me:Check out Chad'z Beer Reviews on YouTube
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