Used to, Sony equipment was to Tops in electronics at a decent price. Then someone at Sony decided to add the AVLS (Auto Volume Limiter System), this was as I see it, the beginning of Sony's downfall from their high ranks. the AVLS, even when de-activated caused the loudest volume allowable to be far to low, rendering the units useless for in-car use or standard outdoors use. That was about 7 years ago, I just recently decided to give Sony another spin in the "walkman" category to see if they'd corrected the problem and am glad to report, they have! Even though this unit has the AVLS on it, when it's de-activated, the volume is plenty loud enough and is definitely loud enough for use in most, if not, all environments. My favorite things about this unit are that it's a SONY, to begin with, Sony has been a mainstay in my home electronics category for many years and now they've finally seemed to get the AVLS issues fixed, they're back in the running in the "walkman" category again! The weight of this unit is on the hefty side, a plus in my book though if you're looking to carry it around as you walk or run long distance, it might become more of a hiderance than an asset due to it's weight. I for one, liked the added hefty though, it helps provide a secure feeling in your hand and adds to it's anti-shock stability. I did find it kind of odd that the battery compartment is located inside of the CD chamber, under the CD deck. Though this didn't cause reason for any concern, it was odd. The "hook" for this product was the fact that all of the general controls (play, stop, forward, fast forward, back, fast backwards, and even a charge) are all located under the control of a general 3-way joystick configuration which takes a few seconds to get used to how to access everything easily. Overall, this is one really nice unit.