Looks great, pity about the sound quality (Sony D-EJ 1000)

Member Name: krmc01

Product:	Sony D-EJ 1000
Date:	10/06/03 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great slimline look, Charging stand, Bookmark function for up to 99cd's

Disadvantages: Average sound quality, Poor headphones supplied, A bit pricey for a CD player with no Mp3 support

I purchased this product just over 1 week ago and after opening the box my first impression was wow! This is without the doubt one of the best looking portable cd players around but the price at time of purchase was not cheap for a portable at £139. Especially as it did not feature Mp3 playback. CDRW playback is supported which will be bonus if you use CDRW on the PC.

The accessories supplied with this product are good. The carry pouch with the dry battery compartment is functional as is the LCD remote which comes as standard. This though is not just as good as the remote bundled with my MZ-N1 md player. The charging stand is another bonus. Many eletrical manufactures now seem to favour this whether it be digital cameras, md players etc as its so convenient. When the batteries need recharged simply pop it in the stand this also doubles as a handy storage space for the player when not in use. Full charge takes around 3hrs and Sony estimate you will get around 100hrs of playback. I think thats when combined with the dry battery pack.

Lets get down to business though. The sound quality of the product! This is what lets it down slightly. I popped in my Blue Six album cranked the sound setting to 'Sound 1' to enjoy the bass and sadly it was not there. The first thing I done was ditch the headphones which were included and plug in my Sennheiser EH2200 (broadcast quality) cans and while this improved the sound quality it left me slightly empty. The player has three sound settings 'normal', sound1, sound2. On 'Normal' the quality is clear but lacking bass. 'Sound 1' while emphasing the bass does not really project it clear enough and as far as 'sound 2' is concerned well its distortion city. This may not pose such a problem to rock music fans as the rest of the sound seems clear and crisp.

Dont get me wrong the sound is good but not as good as that of my Sony MZ-N1 md player. I spend most of my waking hour
s listening to tunes and have come to expect better from Sony!

Would I recommend the product, well I would say yes because there are many things to admire. The bookmark function for one. Pop in a CD and when your favourite tracks are playing hit the bookmark key on the remote. This can be done for up to 99 cd's. So when you listen to these CD's again you can play bookmark mode and only your top tunes will be played. This is a great feature for lazy people like myself.

I only use the player at bedtime for some night time listening and it serves the purpose well. The player is also pocketable so if you did feel the urge to take it out and about this would pose no problem.

I am quite happy with this puchase and feel it will last a long time as the build quality is very good.

One final point is that you should really invest in a good pair of headphones for the product. The ones supplied are simply naff and a good pair will help compensate for the average sound quality.

Summary: