Sony Walkman D-FJ61 Personal CD Player
- Bass Boost: With Bass Boost
- Anti Skip Buffer: G-Protection By Sony
Available From
Why are these offers here?
Lowest Price!
- Overview
-
Reviews
- Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
DFJ-65.. more fun than DFJ-61!
Pros
Amazing skip protection, radio and remote, long battery life
Cons
bass could be stronger, better construction
Recommended it?
Yes
This is a review of Sony Discman DFJ-65, not the DFJ-61. But since it's missing from the epinions.com list (tsk tsk) and it's nearly identical to the DFJ-61, i'll shove the review here.
Disclaimer: If you're interested in the DFJ-61, you're going to be surprised to note that the pretty blue one pictured above isn't the DFJ-61.. it's something else. DFJ-61 looks like the base DEF-611 (completely circular in shape and lacks the funky remote) but it's dark gray and has a radio. DFJ-65 is the product of cross breeding DFJ-61 and DEJ-615 - that means it has a radio AND a remote! HA!
Okay, on with the review.
When I decided to retire my old Walkman (Sony WM-FX435-TV), i was looking for something that could not only play CDs, but also had a radio (I wore out the Radio ON/OFF button on the walkman). Since I'm also a university student (read: spend a lot of time walking and waiting for buses), I also required a remote. Nothing is more frustrating then digging around in my backpack to change the volume or song, and I wasn't too keen on walking around campus with the discman in my hand all day.
That led me to a few models out there, most of them out of my price range (remember, i'm a university student - macaroni and cheese is a staple food source). When i surfed around, I found that the Panasonic SL-SX469V fit my requirements to a T, but I was loyal to Sony and I found the panasonic to be.. umm.... kinda ugly. When i found the DFJ-65 on the net, I was surprised that it was not only sharp looking, but also cheap.
That's right, cheap. It retails for around $119 US or $180CAN - the panasonic goes for $200CAN. (Here's an interesting tidbit: The DFJ-61 is sold in Sony Stores in Canada, but according to Sony Canada, the DFJ-65 doesn't exist. I couldn't find it in any Canadian retailers. Do I feel special? Damn right.)
As i said before, the CD player is perfectly circular, almost the exact dimensions of a CD. It's about 2.5 cms high (the radio adds some height) and it's quite lightweight. The buttons are logical to use and the feel of them are precise, if not a little cheap. The remote (RM-CD5F)is a gem to use, and controls the CD, radio and volume - it also features a HOLD switch which locks the remote buttons.
Perhaps the most important feature of purchasing a portable CD player is the skip protection. The industry standard now is 40+ seconds of Skip Protection, but Sony's G-Protection is far superior than any of these traditional anti-skip systems. I'm not sure how it works, but i do know that it DOES work. When people say that they couldn't get the player to skip, they mean it. I couldn't. I even stood on my bed and dropped the player above my head - nothing. I held the player by the hand strap and shock it like a madman. Nadda. Zip. Zero. I went to the gym with the player and it didn't skip there either, although i did find out that it's a little hard to hold on to when you're running with sweaty hands.
The sound is crisp and clear, although you can't tell with the terrible headphones that comes with it. I used earbuds (Sony MDR-E848) that I had purchased earlier to upgrade my walkman and it sounds amazing with my music cds. Another disclaimer: Although the Discman is fully CD-R compatible, i was shocked to discover just how bad some of them sounded. I thought downloading songs and burning them would be a great idea, but the discman picks up on the slightest bad rip and flaunts them. Normal CDs, and high bps MP3s sound great, however. Sony has turned a Napster-addict into an HMV junkie.
The battery life is one of the longest in the industry - i personally don't believe it - 32 hours player, 66 hours radio. That's okay, because the player comes with two NiCad rechargeable batteries AND an AC adapter that charges them by plugging the adapter directly into the discman. Smart.
The radio is crisp and clear and comes with 20 FM and 10 AM presets. The radio can also be used with the remote, so you can surf stations to your heart's desire. The player is full of small features that are surprising. Shut off the song you're playing and when you turn it back on, it will start playing where you left off. You have the option of just listening to one track over and over or you can shuffle the songs. You can even program the player to play the songs in a specific order. There is even an Automatic Volume Limiter System (AVLS) so you don't burst your eardrums when you accidently bump the volume up.
There are some things about the DFJ-65 that I would change - I was disappointed with the Digital Mega Bass, which i thought lacked some gusto. I used my studio monitor (Sony MDR-V150) headphones and even with the bass set on high, the sound was less than impressive. The other problem was the less-than-stellar sound of my CD-Rs, which is obviously outside Sony's control but nevertheless annoying. The bass on the CD-Rs are slightly distorted when the bass is set to high, and bothers the anal-retentive audiophile in me.
I've also been dismayed at the cheapness in material in the mid-range sony products. The DFJ-65 seems to be 100% plastic (wait, it is), and not expensive plastic either. My lid didn't close very tightly and the buttons would wiggle in their spots. Fixing the design wouldn't make the player any more expensive.
Overall, you can't really complain about the DFJ-65. It's got all the functions of players costing twice as much: Great skip protection, decent sound, a radio with 30 presets and a functional headphone remote. If you're in the market for a mid-range discman with great features, the DFJ-65 is it (the DFJ-65 is $20 more than the radio-only DFJ-61 and well worth the extra money). This is definitely a great buy.
Just leave the mp3s on the computer.
Disclaimer: If you're interested in the DFJ-61, you're going to be surprised to note that the pretty blue one pictured above isn't the DFJ-61.. it's something else. DFJ-61 looks like the base DEF-611 (completely circular in shape and lacks the funky remote) but it's dark gray and has a radio. DFJ-65 is the product of cross breeding DFJ-61 and DEJ-615 - that means it has a radio AND a remote! HA!
Okay, on with the review.
When I decided to retire my old Walkman (Sony WM-FX435-TV), i was looking for something that could not only play CDs, but also had a radio (I wore out the Radio ON/OFF button on the walkman). Since I'm also a university student (read: spend a lot of time walking and waiting for buses), I also required a remote. Nothing is more frustrating then digging around in my backpack to change the volume or song, and I wasn't too keen on walking around campus with the discman in my hand all day.
That led me to a few models out there, most of them out of my price range (remember, i'm a university student - macaroni and cheese is a staple food source). When i surfed around, I found that the Panasonic SL-SX469V fit my requirements to a T, but I was loyal to Sony and I found the panasonic to be.. umm.... kinda ugly. When i found the DFJ-65 on the net, I was surprised that it was not only sharp looking, but also cheap.
That's right, cheap. It retails for around $119 US or $180CAN - the panasonic goes for $200CAN. (Here's an interesting tidbit: The DFJ-61 is sold in Sony Stores in Canada, but according to Sony Canada, the DFJ-65 doesn't exist. I couldn't find it in any Canadian retailers. Do I feel special? Damn right.)
As i said before, the CD player is perfectly circular, almost the exact dimensions of a CD. It's about 2.5 cms high (the radio adds some height) and it's quite lightweight. The buttons are logical to use and the feel of them are precise, if not a little cheap. The remote (RM-CD5F)is a gem to use, and controls the CD, radio and volume - it also features a HOLD switch which locks the remote buttons.
Perhaps the most important feature of purchasing a portable CD player is the skip protection. The industry standard now is 40+ seconds of Skip Protection, but Sony's G-Protection is far superior than any of these traditional anti-skip systems. I'm not sure how it works, but i do know that it DOES work. When people say that they couldn't get the player to skip, they mean it. I couldn't. I even stood on my bed and dropped the player above my head - nothing. I held the player by the hand strap and shock it like a madman. Nadda. Zip. Zero. I went to the gym with the player and it didn't skip there either, although i did find out that it's a little hard to hold on to when you're running with sweaty hands.
The sound is crisp and clear, although you can't tell with the terrible headphones that comes with it. I used earbuds (Sony MDR-E848) that I had purchased earlier to upgrade my walkman and it sounds amazing with my music cds. Another disclaimer: Although the Discman is fully CD-R compatible, i was shocked to discover just how bad some of them sounded. I thought downloading songs and burning them would be a great idea, but the discman picks up on the slightest bad rip and flaunts them. Normal CDs, and high bps MP3s sound great, however. Sony has turned a Napster-addict into an HMV junkie.
The battery life is one of the longest in the industry - i personally don't believe it - 32 hours player, 66 hours radio. That's okay, because the player comes with two NiCad rechargeable batteries AND an AC adapter that charges them by plugging the adapter directly into the discman. Smart.
The radio is crisp and clear and comes with 20 FM and 10 AM presets. The radio can also be used with the remote, so you can surf stations to your heart's desire. The player is full of small features that are surprising. Shut off the song you're playing and when you turn it back on, it will start playing where you left off. You have the option of just listening to one track over and over or you can shuffle the songs. You can even program the player to play the songs in a specific order. There is even an Automatic Volume Limiter System (AVLS) so you don't burst your eardrums when you accidently bump the volume up.
There are some things about the DFJ-65 that I would change - I was disappointed with the Digital Mega Bass, which i thought lacked some gusto. I used my studio monitor (Sony MDR-V150) headphones and even with the bass set on high, the sound was less than impressive. The other problem was the less-than-stellar sound of my CD-Rs, which is obviously outside Sony's control but nevertheless annoying. The bass on the CD-Rs are slightly distorted when the bass is set to high, and bothers the anal-retentive audiophile in me.
I've also been dismayed at the cheapness in material in the mid-range sony products. The DFJ-65 seems to be 100% plastic (wait, it is), and not expensive plastic either. My lid didn't close very tightly and the buttons would wiggle in their spots. Fixing the design wouldn't make the player any more expensive.
Overall, you can't really complain about the DFJ-65. It's got all the functions of players costing twice as much: Great skip protection, decent sound, a radio with 30 presets and a functional headphone remote. If you're in the market for a mid-range discman with great features, the DFJ-65 is it (the DFJ-65 is $20 more than the radio-only DFJ-61 and well worth the extra money). This is definitely a great buy.
Just leave the mp3s on the computer.
