Sony D-NE240 Portable CD Player

I own an i-Pod Touch / Walkman mp3 / Hi-MD - and let me just say, a basic CD Walkman like this, together with professional headphones just out classes the rest! My WORD, for 40 Euros!!! Ahem, my i-Pod touch cost me 400 Euros when it came out! Quantity against quality! .........

Sony D-NE240 Portable CD Player doesn't have a remote controller; otherwise good.

To be honest I don't usually write reviews but having read the one above I thought I should redress the balance. The lack of these extra gadgets is for some of us a plus not a minus. All we want is excellent sound, ease of use and no unnecessary complications. This Sony D-NE240 CD player is great on everything that matters. I am just ordering a second one for my wife.

My Goodman ' s cd portable sputtered and died a horrible skipping death, so I decided it was time for a new player. Returning to a market (I hadn ' t really noticed in several years), I was surprised to find 'hardly any choice at all. Behold, the might of MP3 technology...

I like my Cds and I like lossless sound quality. The Mp3 compression bug bit me previously ; consequently I had a few burnt compilations of the format. This players ability to handle this format is really the only reason which made me opt for it. In fact I found later there are several manufacturers 'models available which are probably equivalent or better for far less money.

The styling on this sony player is terrible. Several years ago when all the brands were in frantic competition, manufacturers would lavish as much attention to styling as possible. We would see a lot of chrome and metallic designs, along with excessive features like backlit remotes and even cd text displays. Not with this thing, it ' s almost as barebones as they come. Not only is the silver paint cheap looking, the size of it is humongous measuring nearly 3 cms at its thickest point. This is 2008? What ' s going on? It looks like a 90 ' s throwback.

Functionality for this player is top, it ' s got good jog proof protection, good battery time and it does have that unique sony sound quality. My problem is it seems so limited for the money. What am I talking about? Example: It has a DC 4.5 V port for an adapter but no recharge circuit. Cut corners are a plenty.

It plays mp3 & any burnt audio tracks well with little pause and remembers track placement to the millisecond, (should a listener take a break from listening). However, there are only 2 bass settings. With a format as diverse (sometimes rubbish) as mp3, I would have preferred more options. The programmability options have also been scaled down, seeming limited. The headphones supplied are sonys cheapest in-ear design. They do compliment any player but are nothing special without any remote, not even a volume dial. The headphone port is a standard jack so you can ' t even upgrade to anything beyond bog standard headphones.

With a company like sony, I always became accustomed to as few bonus surprise features after removing the thing from the packing. Not with this player unfortunately. It doesn ' t have many bells or whistles. What it does have is excellent sound quality and a battery time which lasts longer than any model within its price range. Having owned a previous sony which developed a fault through it ' s G-proof protection feature, I ' m wondering how long exactly this player will last.

It ' s very mediocre to look at, sounds good but lacks in several things other brands have for the same price.