Sony Discman (Sony D-FJ 61)

Member Name: thespurs

Product:	Sony D-FJ 61
Date:	03/08/04 (1539 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See review

Disadvantages: See review

---Introduction---

As some of you may, or may not know, I am a huge fan of Sony and many of their products. They are the first brand of 'personal' electronics that I would look at, when buying a new product. Their reliability and excellent performance has built up my trust and loyalty to the brand. I bought this mainly because it is a Sony product, I don't really look at the price because you know what you're going to get.

I get through an awful lot of travelling around in my life. I freqeuntly catch the train or jump on the coach to London, to visit my family and friends. I also travel to school by bus, which takes about an hour per day in total. I often get very bored on these journeys and they can also stress you out. My Motorola mobile phone doesn't have a radio or music playing facility, so I take my discman on these journeys with me.

I prefer to have a discman, rather than an expensive mobile phone, mini disc/mp3 player or even an iPod for a number of reasons. The main reason is that the discman is a much cheaper option in terms of the initial purchase price. I already have a large CD collection so it makes sense to have a product that can play these for me. Any new music that I download from the internet is copied onto blank CD's. Using an mp3 player or a mini disc player, just seems like too much hassle. Having to copy your music from a CD onto the mini disc seems like a waste of time when you can just play the CD in a discman.


---Specifications---

-The discman takes 2 x AA batteries
-The radio has 30 channel presets
-Weight - 190g
-Dimensions - 13.1 x 13.6cm
-Colour - silver


---Sound Quality---

The sound is very clear and crisp. The quality can't rival a home hi-fi system, but it is certainly much better than a walkman. As long as you can tune in fully to a radio station fully, the sound is very good. The quality is much better bet
ter for music compared to speech. This isn't much of a problem because I use the discman primarily for music.

---Ease of Use---

Sony, always design their products with the user in mind. As ever, this is a really simple and easy product to use and if you have any problems, a little bit of logical thinking will help you find a fast solution. I find that everything is well laid out, in order that you can make the most out of what the product has to offer.

---Look and Design---

In my opinion, there aren't really many different design features that can be incorporated into a discman. You are always going to get that pretty standard shape and form, of a discus-like shape. If I am honest, this is the most circular or rounded discman that I have seen. Others tend to have a flat end, where the digital display is set or where different buttons are built-in. I like this 'roundness' because it gives the discman a more modern feel to it.

The discman comes in what is now a regular metallic silver colour. It looks very modern and is much in keeping with the modern trends of the electronics world. I think that this is a really nice colour and one that goes with almost any other colour. I don't think there are any other colours available so you have to have silver if you want to buy it.

---Instructions---

If you have any problems using the discman, the instructions will be a tremendous help. I haven't had to make reference to them since I purchased the product because everything has been fine. Looking through them now, the are well laid out which makes it easy to find the particular problem you are trying to resolve. The font is very clear and a reasonable size.

---Range of Features---

The range of features on this discman are very good as discmans go. It has an FM/AM radio, which doesn't normally come as standard on portable CD players. I am a great fan of Radio 1 and most
popular music, so this is a really handy and much used feature. Of course, you get the CD playing function which in itself is a very good quality.

---Durability---

In my experience, Sony products always have a long life span and are very well made. My discman travels along way and I often just throw in my bag. There haven't been any problems with it, technically or any of its physical features. There are a few scratches on the front and a couple on the battery cover, but apart from that the product is fully intact. I expect that I will have at least another five to ten years of good use out of the product.

---Value for Money---

I think this is worth every penny of the £70 that I paid for it. I'm not sure whether the price varies elsewhere, because the one on this site says £89.99. At £90, I would have to consider whether it was worth the investment or not, but at £70 it is a must have. As I have mentioned already, you get a discman, an FM/AM radio and the fantastic Sony brand name. If i get 10 years use out of the discman, then that will work out at around £7 a year. This is a more than acceptable fee to pay for such a good product.


Thank you very much for taking some of your time to read my review, it is much appreciated.

Summary: