Sony Walkman D-EJ616CK Personal CD Player

For Christmas 1999, I bought myself a portable CD player at CVS for $25.00, figuring that it would last a few months. I finally got around to breaking it last week, and figured that since I got my money's worth, it was time to splurge on a new one. I budgeted $150.00 and went for the top of the line.

I've had good experience with Sony products, and I chose this model Discman - without the car kit shown - for $108.00 at The Wiz, a music megastore in Bay Shore. With the money I saved, I bought some music, thereby partially relieving my Napster guilt complex. All in all it was a success. Here's why:

1) Engineering. I don't know how they did it, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to make this thing skip. I used it while running, dropped it, threw it on the bed when I was taking off my jacket - no problems. Mozart continued unabated, and uninterrupted. I suspect the "G" protection on the cover refers to G-force, a kind of centrifugal force that keeps the disc in place while it's playing. The unit hums in your hand like a living thing when you first turn it on, and I think it's building up speed. No matter how it was done, it's flawless. Minor disappointment - I replaced the cheap headphones it comes with with an "over the ear" pair that doesn't mess up what's left of my hair. The cheapies look and sound like the ones from the audio/visual department in high school, circa 1983. I was a bit surprised that Sony didn't make these more upscale, but they are adequate - nothing more. It also came with a pair of fully charged NiCad batteries, which can be recharged and reused many times, cutting down on waste. I like this feature a lot - it appeals to my conservationist side.

2)Design. The controls are intuitive, and marked with raised indicators that would enable a blind person to operate them unassisted - a very thoughtful touch, and one I appreciate. (I take long walks before bedtime, and you can't always rely on a handy streetlight.) No one should have to listen to The Beastie Boys without being able to change tracks at will. It also includes a "remote" - a mini-controller on the wire leading to the headphones. This enables you to keep the unit safe in a pocket and still adjust the volume, change tracks, and turn it on and off. This feature would also come in handy at the beach, where you might want to keep the unit somewhere sand-free, but still operate it. It does not have a radio receiver, which I didn't want anyway. Also, the forward and reverse controls do not allow you to move ahead in second increments. You must go directly to the beginning of the next track on the disc. This is an oversight that I'm sure they corrected on higher end models.

3) Sound. Crystal clear - but... here's where it loses a few points. When I crank up the volume, I want two things. First, I want the music to sound like it's coming from inside my head in perfect stereo. It does this part well - I kept looking over my shoulder for Fred Durst and the rest of the Limp Bizkiteers. But I also want VOLUME - I want to be able to hear NOTHING else. This part disappoints - it's like someone at Sony decided how high it should go and that's it. I know, I know, you don't want to damage your hearing, and it isn't safe to be walking around in the dark unable to hear what's coming. But if I want to take the risk that the last thing I ever hear will be Gwen Stefani singing about how she kinda always knew she'd end up my ex-girlfriend, that's MY business. And it wouldn't be a bad way to go, either.

Shortcomings aside, I'm glad I bought this. I plan to put a lot of miles on it this summer.