13 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
ONE MONTH After the Warranty...Sony...How DARE You
Date of Review: Jan 29, 2006
The Bottom Line: The DEJ-001 Walkman should put a smile on a music lovers face even though the design could be a whole lot better.
UPDATE: 6/3/06 12:28 A.M. (yes...midnight...)-- I'm completely fed up with this CD player and am planning to get some money off of it at a yard sale (don't get me wrong...I hate those too). It seemed both mine and Freak369's (other review) were accurate, this won't last much after the warranty. I wouldn't be so mad if it weren't ONE DAMN MONTH after the warranty. The CD player seemed to go emo and dislike every single CD I threw at it (wheter CD or CD-R/RW). Oh well...I guess the headphones still work...but still--even with only a 90-day warranty I still expect it to
at least last half a year. I did buy another CD player, the Lenoxx/Durabrand CD85 to replace this one--I might write a review on it today or not, after all, it is midnight and humans need sleep. It has a one year warranty, seems to have stronger construction (even though it was only $20 at Family Dollar...don't ask...), and plays anything I throw at it just like the Sony (well not anymore). It also has a much simpler design. The only thing I dislike is that the sound isn't awesome. So...go ahead and read the review, but keep in mind, it
WILL NOT last much longer after the warranty.
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After my Panasonic was displaying "F14" when playing CDs and recently becoming a "No Disc", I checked out the DEJ-001 Sony Walkman. Even though it has some design problems it is still very much worth the money.
Looks and Design The appearances look great. So far it comes in four colors, white, baby blue, light green, and a pink-orange. The top is frosted so you can see the disc spinning but you can't see what is playing. It also as a circle in the middle with the "w." Walkman logo. The bottom of all the players are white. Well the design is where things start getting shaky. The battery compartment is under the CD door. Now some people may find this okay, but no one will because it is
right under the CD door. This means you have little room to get new batteries in and if you try too hard you might break the door off. The LCD is right on the side where the buttons are. It's good when it's on a desk but really screwed up when your sitting down or traveling with it. Since the open button is also on the side so it's nearly impossible to open with one hand. The buttons are all on the side, luckily most of them are shaped differently so you should figure it out within time. However, once again, it's nearly impossible to press the buttons at all using one hand. The hold button is located on the bottom, a handy thing to have if your traveling with it. There is no line out jack so if you want that you'll have to look elsewhere. There is also an adapter but it is a seperate purchase. As far as skipping, none because it has a 45-second skip protection or G-Protection. It playeda lot of my scratched CDs that my Panasonic couldn't.
Sound and Headphones The sound of the player is above average and sounds pretty identical to my Panasonic. There are three options, flat, sound one, and sound two. I would recommend just leaving it on sound two, it has more clarity and depth, however if you listen to your music loudly you may hear distortion unless you flip it to flat or sound one. The headphones are the over the ear style, similar to the MDRJ10 but with a bendable hook and better sound. As far as sound on the headphhones, it's okay depending on what you're looking for in free headphones. I would say the sound is pretty flat and basic, but chances are you already have a favorite pair. They are pretty comfortable and fit fine, and they are light. There is also an AVLS function that limits high sounds.
Functions and Features Even though I have mentioned a few already I will try to list all of them, even though there aren't tons of features on a $30 player. There is a hold function on the player which makes buttons disable. The AVLS function limits high volumes. There are, of course, the basic shuffle, repeat one, repeat all, and shuffle. There is also bookmark tagging which can leave bookmark on your CD, perfect for audiobooks. It has a 45-second skip protection for running and jogging.
Warranty The player comes with a 90-day warranty which covers defects in workmanship. If you can still take it back to where you got it, definitely do that because Sony's support is awful. If something is wrong with portable CD players it will happen in the first week of use--interestingly not for me. Like I said in my update, after the warranty, cross your fingers for its reability because mine lasted only four months.
Overall, the Sony Walkman DEJ-001 should make any music lover happy but for only a few months. It looks nice and has decent sound, but the design is lacking in some areas and it doesn't last long enough for me to give it a good rating or recommend it.
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