• 

  Sony D-NE1 ATRAC3/MP3 CD Walkman

  Gagan Gupta, Jan 19, 2004 0000 hrs IST

  We take a look at one of the not-so popular portable MP3 CD players from Sony - the D-NE1.

  Slim and Very Stylish, Excellent Sound Quality

  Expensive, No Song Browser

  Check specifications

  Write Review

  Expert Rating :

  

  

Page 1 - Introduction/The Player Page 2 - Performance/Conclusion

Functionality
To begin with, the sound quality of the player is excellent with proper reproduction of highs, mids and lows. The bass gets significantly prominent with the "Bass Boost" function, but not to a very high extent. But being a basic CD Player, I wouldn't expect too much of that to begin with. The earphones are surprisingly loud, clear and just about perfect for the player. They didn't have such a great output quality when I tested them on other output sources like my soundcard or a home system, but on the D-NE1, they were perfect.

The remote control features all the functionality necessary to use the D-NE1. It uses a jog-like control knob for volume control, which works quite well, unless you tend to press another button on the remote while using it, which I found, was a very common problem. You can go up or down the folders stored on your MP3 or Atrac3 CD, in case you want to listen to a particular album.





One thing the D-NE1 completely impresses on is the battery life. On a single charge, the batteries provided with the player last for 150 hours of regular usage!

On a negative note, the biggest problem with the D-NE1 is its lack of a convenient file browser. Unlike most MP3 CD Players available in the market, there's no way to browse the files on your CD while listening to a track or even selecting a track stored somewhere in the middle of your folder without going through all the tracks one-by-one. This is a very clumsy oversight on behalf of Sony, considering that most of their older models feature a jog dial that allows you to browse the songs on a CD.

The Bottom Line
With a street price of a little more than Rs. 7,000, the D-NE1 may be a tad too expensive for most casual users. But then there's always a section that may consider it worth its price simply because of its gorgeous looks. I'm not saying that it's a bad player in any way; on the contrary, the D-NE1 does everything it's supposed to do and pretty well too. It's just that, Sony has ignored a few essential factors that would have made this player perfect.

Nonetheless, if you have the budget for it, this player will make you proud every time you flash it in front of your friends. If you're a little short on budget, you may want to look at a few other Sony portable CD players, which may not look this elite, but will match up in functionality.

Page 1 - Introduction/The Player Page 2 - Performance/Conclusion

Do you agree with this Review?

2

• Which desktop web browser do you use?

• Internet Explorer

  Firefox

  Chrome

  Safari

  Opera

  Other (specify in comments)

  Poll Results View Previous Polls