Nice Quality Unit - and some thoughts on CD player versus other formats
Written: Feb 22 '03
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Pros: sleek attractive design, light, doesn't skip, radio tuner included,
Cons: no remote
The Bottom Line: THis is everything I hoped it would be. Highly Recommended. Well-built, durable, sounds great. Skip the junk and come out ahead in the long run!
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| wit-for-brains's Full Review: Sony Walkman D-FJ401 Personal CD Player |
I essentially agree with all the previous reviews, so I will spare you re-stating what they said. (Hat's off to Michael Hatton's review. Wow!)
First, let me briefly say this SOny D-FJ401 is very impressive- all its features work great. It has not malfunctioned for me even once in the month I've used it. Amazing battery life! It is a pleasure to use also because it is so well designed- light, sleek, compact. You pay a bit more but you will enjoy this CD player every time. For me, that is worth it. Trust me on this one - this player is well built, durable, and worth the extra few dollars. And I would not have bought it had I not first read all the good reviews it got on this ePinions website!
As for the review that compared this CD player with other portables like MiniDisc (MD) Players or MP3 players, I would only add that I feel it necessary to first own a very compact portable before buying a CD Player. I use mine mostly to workout with including rollerbalding and running. I do this every day, and consequently it gets a lot of use. I have run with this Sony CD player and it did wonderfully - for two reasons - it is light/compact and it doesn't skip. I tried an Audiophase brand CD player before buying this becasue it had similar features at about half the price (on sale). You get what you pay for - the Audiophase lasted exactly one day, and even thought it was advertised as a 'Jogging' CD player, it literally ceased up for good on the first outing.... It was actually kind of funny as long as its still under warranty. Also the audiophase was so dammed HEAVY that it bounced a lot no matter how or where i positioned it in my 'Tune Belt'.
THis SOny D-FJ401 with G Protection is light enough that it doesn't physically bounce when I run, and doesn't skip.
BUt I contend that the MP3 player and Minidisc (MD) players are better for working out, and I do not work out with a CD player (though apparently I could with this one.) This is becasue they are just too big. THe first time I run into someone or something with this thing strapped on me while rollerblading, I'm sure it will break. Since my MD player is so much smaller (about one third the size), I have a much better chance of missing the MD player as the point of impact. If your into performance (read: size, weight) in your work-out, you will appreciate the compactness of a player other than a CD player.
Granted, the CD player has a slightly better sound quality. I ran a test and recorded the same song from a pre-recorded CD onto a CD-R and onto a Minidisc. I played each on its respective device (both made by SOny). THe CD player is clearly of better sound quality, but only slightly. For most any purposes and most listeners, MP3s and Minidiscs are all you would ever hope for. Especially if you are using them on portable devices, through moderately priced headphones. I think you would only notice a difference over a home stereo system and were listening extremely intently. I use my MD player over the home stereo on occasion.
Also, CD players are more often bestowed with additional features than are MP3 and MD players. In fact, I bought this Sony CD player becasue it also had the radio tuner which works great! (If my MD player had a radio tuner, I would not have gotten this CD player)
CD players are also easier to burn (record) your own CDs than are MD players. Recording Minidiscs digitally is quite prone to errors, and has wrought with malfunctions. It takes a lot of savvy, perseverance, and luck frankly (unless you record in ANALOG only- which has slight sound degradation over recording in DIGITAL). The proprietary software that comes with my Sony Net Minidisc player is the most frustrating and poorly produced software I have ever used. My older Sharp brand MD player was much better.
In conclusion, for the very active like me, I would get a MD player before a CD player. CD players - even a streamlined durable unit like this - add a bit too much bulk for my liking.
Around the house or a neighborhood walk, though, I prefer this CD player because it also has a radio tuner. I don't use TV tuner or weather channel. Of course, you may note that only a real "Wit For Brains" would go to all the bother of burdening themselves with BOTH media formats!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 89
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Epinions.com ID:
wit-for-brains
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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