Great for running (so far)
Written: May 21 '02
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Pros: tough, loud, doesn't skip on run, long battery life
Cons: Cheap earphones, sound too bassy, controls and phone plug in weird places
The Bottom Line: If you don't care about the non-skip factor and can spend the cash, try something else with better sound and earphones, but otherwise this is a good product.
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| morgoth7's Full Review: Sony Walkman D-SJ15 Personal CD Player |
Since I used Epinions to assist in deciding among the deluge of personal CD players, I felt it was only fair that I write a review of the one I decided, finally, to purchase. Although it was slightly more than I wanted to spend, I shelled out $100 and bought the Sony Sports D-SJ15. I was expecting disappointment, but overall I believe I actually made a good choice here, at least so far, five months later (after the price has, of course, dropped to around $80). My criteria consisted of, in order of importance: (1) I had to be able to use it while running, (2) I should be able to hook it up at work to my stereo (3) It should be fairly loud with decent sound quality...
As to the first item, due to several injuries, I've only run with it three times, and each time it didn't skip throughout the entire five-mile run until the end, where it seemed to protest the cessation of steady motion. The second is no problem since it comes with an A/C adapter (as many of the higher-end models do). I recommend, however, if this is a priority, buy a CD player with an output specifically designed for stereo hookup. You seem to sacrifice a bit in sound quality by using the earphone plug. But maybe that's just my sad jury-rigged adapter cord. Concerning the third criterion, despite what other reviews have purported, the earphones are more than loud enough for me, and I've always been a metalhead with an unhealthy disdain for my eardrums. The sound quality, however, though adequate, is unspectacular. Let me clarify that - I think the sound quality is good enough, however, the only sound control, the "Sound" button, doesn't allow for much, just two incremental increases in bass. The problem with this is that default sound of the device (to my ears, anyway) contains too much bass in the first place. Having a setting that only increases it strikes me as inefficient.
In summary, the earphones are shoddy, sound is too bassy, and the controls and earphone plug are in odd places. On the other hand, the good far outweighs the bad about this product - it's rugged, hard to damage, doesn't skip often even on a rough run, the sound is loud and decent, the battery life is VERY long on two AAs - I've only had to change them once in five months. The clip to open and close the player can be inconvenient, but it's better than it popping open at inconvenient times. If you're going to run with it, I would recommend buying one of those non-bounce waist holders; I've never tried it just running with the hand-strap. Now all it needs to do is be able to play MP3s.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 100.00
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Epinions.com ID:
morgoth7
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Reviews written: 1
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