cd players and recorders

Sometimes one can only wonder what the engineers at these consumer products companies are thinking when they design and test these things. Finding a quality portable CD player with tuner these days is like trying to find a quality digital alarm clock radio. Neither exists because they are frequently made by the same company. Another mystery solved...

Pros:

- Yes, it has a radio tuner!!!

- Lightweight because it can only take one battery, but battery life is therefore half of last year's Sony models.

- Plays MP3 files more reliably, even @ 320kbps

- Atrac3plus specs have been improved to 256kbps to improve audio quality

- The included OpenMG SonicStage software is a huge improvement over last year's buggy and very limited SonicStage Simple Burner software that was included with the D-NE710. Now you can record your CD collection to your hard drive for later listening and transfer to Atrac3/MP3 CD's as needed. It appears that Sony made some nice changes to the burning software based on customer feedback. Thank goodness!

- The Seamless playback feature eliminates the annoying one second gap between tracks on an Atrac CD. Yay!

- Parametric equalizer is nice for a portable

- Can charge rechargeable battery in unit

Cons:

- Radio reception is terrible compared to just about any other portable radio. I have no such problem in the same location when using a cheap five year old Sony cassette walkman with tuner. Perhaps this is due to the D-NF600 having only one AA battery instead of two to have enough power to pull in a signal. FM/TV signal reception is poor for all but the closest local stations no matter how you contort the headphone cord, and no, this is not with the Local setting turned on. AM reception is satisfactory only when the unit is horizontal; when held vertical, such as is the obvious case when the unit is on one's hip at the gym, the orientation of the internal ferrite bar antenna is totally inadequate to pull in a signal for all but the strongest local stations, and susceptibility to nearby interference is extreme. WB reception is not even worth trying. Reception quality defeats the purpose for having a CD player with built in tuner. Why would a new model tuner be designed and built to be worse than previously proven technology?

- During audio CD playback, *SNAP*, *CRACKLE*, AND *POP* make their introduction at about 30 seconds into the first track and about every 15 seconds thereafter. It's subtle but annoying, particularly if you're listening to quiet classical or new age music in a quiet environment. If you're listening to loud heavy metal or thumpy poppy songs and/or you're in a noisy environment, it won't be much of an issue since the volume of the music will drown out the audio artifact that happens every 15 seconds. Playing a test CD track with 0 DB output displays no audio artifacts, so there is a presumption that the silly cackle during regular music playback is due to a flawed design with the anti-skip protection circuitry, which unlike CD player models from years ago, cannot be turned off for your inconvenience. I would have gladly given up other nice bells and whistles on this unit in exchange for consistent quality sound, but that still seems to be asking for far too much in this "modern" era of consumer product hell. At least the D-NF600 doesn't chirp with this audio glitch bug like last year's dreadfully birdy D-NS921F did, but the problem still hasn't been successfully addressed by the Sony engineers. If it was just the drive motor spinning up and down, that would be more obvious with the 0 DB test playback, and trying different CD's with the same results rules out any disc surface defects such as scratches, dust, or fingerprints. If only one could turn OFF that awful anti-skip junk feature!!!
(It really begs the question why last year's excellent D-NE710 with no tuner does not have any obvious regular audio artifacting like the tuner models. If only one could have the CD audio quality of the D-NE710, but with a built-in AM/FM/TV/WB tuner!!! Sony, are you LISTENING??? Please???)

- The AC adaptor is not included in the package. The printed paper manual supplied accessories list states in regard to this fact: "Not supplied with the USA model". Who did we tick off at Sony this time to deserve this? Furthermore, AC adaptor model # AC-E30HG is not listed at the Sony Style website, so you have to call the Sony parts 800 number to order it.

- Using a rechargeable battery with the AC Adaptor (not included in the package - was this already mentioned?) is practically a requirement, since removing the AA battery from the battery compartment results in an immediate loss of all stored memory (e.g. all radio station presets, default annoying button beep deactivator setting, silly red/green/orange light deactivator setting, equalizer sound configuration, etc.).

- The included remote is a downright weird departure from last year's remote model, which could only be ordered separately from the Sony parts 800 number for $42, but at least it had an alligator clip that could easily attach to clothing, case, etc., and stay relatively put. The keyring-type remote included is dubiously useful for working out at the gym, unless you've been looking for a material justification to yourself or your significant other for finally getting some trendy body jewelry to hold on to this silly remote. Still, thinking of the Sony engineering interns who must have installed nipple rings to test the usefulness of this aspect of the product is potentially disturbing, if only on the basis that they could have better put their time into ensuring that the CD player had consistently clean sound output and not a hidden gnome inside crumpling up the latest audio quality test reports.

- The included carry "case" is nothing more than a plastic spider web snap-on that allows you to thread your own belt or luggage strap through it to wear around your hips. At only 6.7 ounces, a sturdy belt clip would have been a whole lot more useful. By the way, if you lose or break that plastic snappy thingy, it's $15 to replace direct from Sony.

- Parametric equalizer only works on CD playback, not on the tuner. Ummm, why???

- The flimsy plastic lid does not inspire confidence for longterm durability, especially using the odd snug fitting plastic web snappy.

So, Sony still has to work on resolving some hassles on this unit. After three weeks of striving to put up with the significant downsides, it got returned. Let's hope next year's model is hugely improved!

A great sounding unit, I was surprised. The volume is louder than I expected. There are 5 selections for equalizer: normal, soft (has less highs and lows), active (more lows and highs), heavy (even more lows and highs). I have not turned on the anti-skip feature, since it hasn't ever skipped and that feature uses more battery life. Turned off the LED. The front panel controls are great. The remote can be added between the headphones and the unit, or left off, your choice (just what I wanted). The FM receives fine. AM didn't try much. TV has channels 2-13 (VHF, UHF). Weather, I don't think the local weather here uses that band, none showed up. There is a shell clip that covers the unit for attaching it to your belt. I instead have the Sony belt and CD holder which is well padded in case it falls or I bump into something. I've used $160 headphones, this unit is not that level of sound quality, but it is equivalent to $200 PC speakers with subwoofers in the typical room, good bass, good treble. I was suprised to find that it uses only 1 AA battery and gets 30 to 40 hours of play time with MP3's, amazing. As for the anti-skip, it never skipped while riding 10 miles a day and lifting weights without the antiskip on. The CD played has MP3's, 320Kb/sec recorded without any track ID tag stuff, and it read them in fine. There are a LOT of options in the main menu for how you want the songs played. I set it for repeating, and shuffle. The headphones are light, fit well and are comfortable. The jack for them is a standard 1/8" stereo plug. There is also a 3v power input if you want to run the unit on a desktop long term, or in a car with an adapter. The long play time on one AA battery and great sound with relatively low price, no fuss with standard MP3 recorded CD's, and both remote and controls on the unit, makes this one nice. Enjoy.