Sony NWZ-A816 (4GB, black)
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"The Best Sounding MP3 Player ever" on by bub9000
Pros: Great Sound, drag and drop downloading, 30+ hours of Audio, Headphones rock, and ease of use.
Cons: Need longer cord for Headphones, and you can't charge the unit and listen to it at the same time.
Summary: I waited for the prices to start dropping after Christmas before I purchased my second MP3 Player.
My first being a Creative Labs 256, Great work out player but small capacity. Still use it almost daily.
Did hours and hours of research on all the MP3 Players out there, My first thought is get onboard the ipod train. Well let me break it down to you. I picked the ipod first and the sony second. The reason behind that was i have loads of files that itunes can help me keep track of. But when i listened to ipod owners I was suprised to find alot of them where mad that Apple changed nothing with sound quility or interface usage of Itunes. So i borrowed my buddys ipod Nano and my 4 year old creative labs MP3 player sound about the same. Plus the menus where everywhere. I almost needed a index to find the EQ and it didn't change anything.
And i also liked Sony because i owned a sony mini disc (The grandfather to the MP3 player) seven years ago. And loved it for its open source editing and recording.
Well needless to say the Sony 816 4GB MP3 player is the best in my mind for the money and size. The first day i had it i was blown away by the sound. You can control the sound so much that I am still messing with the four different sound options menues and the EQ is great when listing to it in my Element.It is just hard to explain. Lets just say imagine being able to hear all the instruments in the track. I find my self listening to the bass guitar and the purcussions from songs i never really cared about before i purchased the Sony 816. The Video is a little tricky, but i have video editing software that helped with the converstions. The only thing i would suggest to those that are thinking of buying the Sony 810 is if you want to use this for video viewing then you would be better off buy the 8GB for the space.
If you are looking to cut the Itunes leash and do it right and not be tied to software to load and unload your MP3 player then this it the one.
Oh i almost forgot, the battery life is 30+ for audio and around 8 hours for video. That's almost double the ipods stats, and the Sony can show video in different formats. -
"Great player, but with some unusual drawbacks" on by rick940216
Pros: Awesome screen (same as iPod nano), intuitive interface and controls, great earphones and sound quality, plenty of enhancement options
Cons: No on-device playlists, short earphones (really, seriously, REALLY short), unorthodox menu navigation
Summary: I previously owned a Creative ZEN V Plus 2GB, and while it was cute and rather usable, I was very disappointed with the so-called video playback, photo viewing and stupid little joystick ("Hear, hear." says thumb). I decided to get a new one, and after weeks of research, I narrowed it down to the iRiver Clix, the 4GB Zune, the Cowon D2, and the Sony NWZ-A816. Out of those 4, the iRiver Clix I thought was just plain stupid, and the Cowon was a little impractical. After some hands-on time with the Zune and the Sony, well...the Sony was in my hands the next day.
First let's talk about the good things: an awesome screen capable of playing REAL videos and REAL photos and READABLE text; amazing earphones, both comfortable and great-sounding with just the right amount of bass; very easy-to-use controls and intuitive menu screen; a whole world of sound enhancement options; and just darn good-lookin'.
As with any MP3 player, however, there are drawbacks, and these ones might be really annoying depending on your needs. 1) WHY, oh WHY IS THE EARPHONE CABLE AS SHORT AS IT IS?????? 2) Maybe it's just because I'm used to the ZEN interface, but every time I get into the Now Playing screen, to get to the screen I came FROM, I have to first get out of the place the song is located in the browser (such as in an album or a playlist) and THEN find where-the-heck I was before. I'd like the Back button to take me back to the previous screen, not into some deep abyss of albums and artists and genres and playlists and whatnot...
Overall, this MP3 player is about as basic as it can get: no radio, Bluetooth, WiFi or any of the fancy stuff...and that's good in most ways. If you want more features, you might want to go for the Zune (beware of a skippy interface), or if you want something cool but not too expensive (COUGHipodtouchCOUGH), consider the Cowon D2. -
"Awesome mp3 player, minor setbacks" on by tomgt40
Pros: 1. Hi quality audio drivers make it sound batter than new gen Ipods
2. Very good screen for viewing pics and vids
3. Headphones are really good
4. Battery life is very long for music playback and video viewing
5. Washing Machine-Proof!Cons: 1. Headphones cabel short and broke easily for me
2. Battery life differs on different settings
3. No Radio
4. No Expaandable memorySummary: I love this walkman. It has everything of an Ipod and more. I liked it as it was in a price range taht suited me and had good reviews when i purchased it. The Walkman's headphones were alright in length but the quality was so good, it didn't matter. It had gone to skate parks, bmx tracks, through the wash and has been dropped so many times i stopped counting, it only got a couple of dints and one huge scratch through the bottom of the screen but is the perfect mp3 player for anyone! Although Sony canned the A816, I strongly recommend who want features and value for money!
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"Quit working after three uses" on by jhshibs
Pros: Sound is great, when it works
Cons: Very short earbud wires
Summary: The unit stopped taking a charge while under waranty. "Free parts" but over $77 for labor to fix it, so I tossed the unit. Won't buy Sony again.
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"worth every penny!" on by keder805
Pros: small, light, great battery life, great sound easy to use.
Cons: propriatary docking connector, can only use sony docking staion.
Summary: My wife got me this mp3 player for fathers day last year and so far it is great. I love the sound quality, the size is perfect. even though it is small it feels and is very solid(I already droped it several times) very easy to use un like the ipod wich takes some time getting used to. I would highly recommend this player to any one who is looking for a great player at a killer price. will NOT dissapoint!
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