The Best Impulse Purchase I Ever Made
Written: Oct 01 '02
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Pros: long battery life, easy to carry, doesn't skip when jogging
Cons: hand strap should be tighter, skips when biking, curling earphones
The Bottom Line: It won't skip when you jog... To paraphrase a certain state's motto, "Run free or die!"
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| beckytcy's Full Review: Sony Walkman D-SJ15 Personal CD Player |
OK, I admit it, I am a miser. I like to buy new things, but I just don't like to spend money. So, normally it takes me a long time to decide to purchase anything that costs a considerable sum. However, last summer (2001), I decided that I needed a new CD Walkman and actually bought it that same day! The reason was that I was visiting a friend who lives on the border of Massachusetts and Tax-Free New Hampshire. This Discman cost around $99, so I saved $5 by purchasing over the border. I don't regret my purchase, as this Discman is very durable, light-weight, and has excellent sound.
Portable CD technology has improved a lot in the past 10 years or so. My previous Discman would skip if I walked so I certainly could not take it out jogging. It also did not have a wrist strap and ate up batteries like John Madden at a buffet. This Discman has extremely long battery life and also indicates how much power the batteries have remaining in the window. I can't say for sure how long the batteries last, but if I listen to this Walkman for two hours a day, I would probably have to change the batteries only every four weeks or so.
The Walkman is attractive (as you can see from the photo) with its black, yellow, and grey color scheme. It has seven normal buttons and a yellow "hold" button that has to slid to the left to lock the key-pad. From top to bottom, the buttons are "Sound," "Play Mode," "Repeat/Enter," and the "play/pause," "stop," "forward/skip," "and reverse/skip." The sound button allows you to adjust the amount of bass. I usually keep it on the middle level of bass. The "Play Mode" button allows you to set the player to shuffle or program . I never do this since it uses up more batteries. Also, since I am holding the Discman, I can very easily just skip songs that I don't like.
An unusual thing about this Walkman is that it remembers which part of a track you were on if you press stop. If you pressed stop on my previous Discman, it would revert back to the beginning of Track 1 when you pressed play again. This is a huge advantage in terms of musical continuity! I find it annoying to have to skip through several tracks to get back to the one you left off. And this machine starts up at the exact spot on the track where you had stopped it! If you want to reset the CD, you can either open the lid or press the stop button twice in a row.
G-Protection
The main feature of this Discman is called "G-Protection," which means that it's not supposed to skip if it shakes a bit. When you first press play, the CD takes a while to start playing because it is building up a buffer of 30 seconds. So, if you shake the machine for 25 seconds, it will still play smoothly. There is a setting on the inside of the player (under the disc) where you can turn the G-Protection on or off. Even if it is turned off, it still doesn't skip when you are jogging. However, I turn the G-Protection on when I strap the Discman to my bike handlebars. Even with the G-Protection, it still skips sometimes if I am going over a particularly bumpy road. However, it works perfectly on a smooth bike path.
Holding the Discman
This Discman is fairly light, so it doesn't interfere with your running stride. It is comfortable to hold and has a nice little notch for your thumb. Your hand goes behind the controls so you don't accidentally press skip. When I'm running, if I want to skip a song, I have to reach over with my left hand. The volume control is in kind of an inconvenient place somewhat underneath the machine. The hand strap is comfortable and adjustable, but I wish it got a bit smaller so that it could be strapped tighter to bike handlebars (and machines in the gym.) The hand strap was the reason that I chose this model over cheaper ones that had just a string-type of holder, which didn't look very comfortable. Also, other Discmen I looked at were perfectly round, and, thus, didn't have a convenient spot to place one's thumb.
Ear Phones
This Discman comes with yellow, sports earphones that go over the crown of your head and inside the ears. These are my favorite type of earphones, but the only annoying thing about them is that the chord starts to curl almost immediately. Does anyone know a cure for this phenomenon? They have good enough sound for my purposes (listening to music whilst exercising), and make up for their lack of quality by being extremely light and comfortable.
Durability
I have dropped this machine on the floor a couple of times, and it has survived with nary a scratch each time. To open the lid, you must push back a metal clasp, which makes the Discman seem solid.
In the car
I bought a car kit (around $20) to go with this Discman, and the sound in the car is excellent. However, I don't use it very often since it's a little bit awkward to set up and I don't want to leave the machine in the car. (Not that I own a car, but if I did... Right.) Other Sony Discmen come with car kits, but this one seemed to be of higher quality and was a less awkward shape.
Overall
Over a year later, I am totally satisfied with my spur-of-the-moment purchase from the Best Buy in my neighbor to the north. Politics aside, I really dig this tax-free purchase!
N.B. New Hampshire's state motto is "Live Free Or DIE!!"
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 99
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Epinions.com ID:
beckytcy
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Member: Becky
Location: Boston
Reviews written: 277
Trusted by: 236 members
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