Incredible Bang for the buck for audiophiles

Author's Rating:

Pros: battery life
sound quality
customizable EQ's
video formats
exernal speakers
FM Radio w/Record
FAST charging
One-touch "play all"

Cons: headphones
Buttons
proprietary interface cable
Video's size encoding limitation
plastic screen
no video encoding software

The Bottom Line: 
Excellent player for audiophiles who are fairly tech savvy and need to ipgrade from an ipod. The custom EQ and long battery life make this an excellent pick.

Author's Review
I am notoriously picky when it comes to both electronic gadgets and music. being an IT person, I am always playing with new "must have" toys and was an early adopter of the MP3 format for music (back when dial-up was still the main way to get to the internet!)

Out of ALL of the MP3 player I've used, from creative to Apple, the Sony NWZ-S545 is by far the most user friendly and best sounding MP3 player I've every used! It has even replaced my Ipod 3rd Gen as my main player and this review is going to mainly be a comparison between those two players.

My first impression as I removed it from it's plastic clamshell case was that it was SUPER thin! "How in the world could the so-called speakers they've stuffed into here sound even partly-decent?" I asked myself. In the case you get the player, a set of the typical (and terrible) earbud style headphones and the proprietary USB cable needed to put files on the player and to charge it. The cable was quite a dissapointment. I was hoping for a standard USB cable. I also noticed that there was no WALL PLUG that came with the player. This means you will have to use your computer to charge your new toy. Just enough paper instructions are included to tell you that all the REAL instructions for your player on ON THE PLAYER itself. Just plug it in, the computer recognizes it as a flash drive (Windows 7 recognizes it as a WALKMAN) - and run the setup.

Included on the walkmen is very simple file transfer software as well as the main manual in every language you can think of. all of the manuals are in PDF format, meaning you will need the free Adobe Acrobat reader to get them open.

If you're replacing an ipod, or just supplimenting it, you will happy to know that you can plug the USB cable that came with your new player right into the little white cube charger that came with your Ipod in order to charge it.

Power-up is simple, using any button. The library is compiled at each startup and you're quickly brought to the main menu to where you can play music, watch video, view photos, and listen to FM Radio as well as customize all the settings for the player.

The main menu has the following features:

SHUFFLE ALL: This feature allows a one-touch, play-all-music feature for the player. one click and you're listening to everything you've put on it!

FM: Allows you to LISTEN TO THE RADIO on this little powerhouse, including more presets that my local area has stations... Presets are labeled "Preset ##" - with no ability to change the default name, a feature I wish sony had hadded. Another neat feature is the ability to record directly from the FM radio in 96, 128 and 160 bit rates.

VOICE RECORDING: allows you to make recording using the built in Microphone in 96, 128 and 160 bit rates.

PHOTOS: starts a slideshow of any photos in the "photos" directory on the player

MUSIC: allows you to listen to music, selecting groups by either  ALL SONGS, ALBUM, ARTIST, GENRE, RELEASE YEAR, FOLDER, VOICE RECORDING, FM RECORDING - fo most of these features to work, your ID3 Tags on your MP3's MUST be correctly set up!
 
VIDEOS: allows you to watch any movies you have stored on the device. The movie settings aren't as flexible as those you find on an ipod. frame size MUST be 320 x 240 in order to view the video. Video modes accepted are H264, MP4 and AVI in various bit rates. the 16Gig internal storage will allow you to store several movies at once. (Most movies end up being 700 Megs or so) - however the player DOES NOT come with ANY software for converting movies to the proper format for the player. It is up to the user to find the software, install it, set it up and start converting their videos. For the average user, this may prove to be too difficult of a process to tackle, but for those that are tech savvy should have no problems find and using a free piece of software. Video can be viewed in portrait and landscape mode, though it has to be selected manually. you can't just tilt the player and have the video change, like an Ipod Touch.

SETTINGS: this allows you to access literally hundreds of customizable features for the player, broken down by type of media (music, video etc..) as well as the basic features such as screen brightness - and the EQ (located under Music Settings)

PLAYLISTS: this is a great feature if you have paylist that you like to listen to. I use this feature in the gym. You can have almost unlimited playlists in standard .m3u format.

The final icon takes you back the "currently playing screen" and is a geat feature since you can make all sorts of changes while listening to your music.

The side of the player has a hold button that disabled the wheel-looking navigator on the from, the back button and the option button as well as the volume on the side. There is also a switch that allows you to go from headphones to the built in speakers.

At the bottom of the player in the headphone Jack and the proprietary interface for the USB cable.

The most surprising feature on this player is on the back, the two micro-speakers! while these were NOT a deciding factor for my purchase, I was SHOCKED at how good they sounded! Now, you won't get ANY base out of them (obviously) but the audio is clear and easy to listen to. Great for watching movies without headphones or letting a friend sample a song without putting your earbuds in their ears (yuk!)

battery life is truly excceptional, I have been able to run this player, non-stop for 16 hours and still have life left. However when you switch to movie mode, the batter will last for ONE 2 hour feature film before needing to be recharged. To me, this is more than acceptable and I plan accordingly when going on long trips with it. Long flights watching multiple movies just isn't an option with this little player, which is a shame and the fact that, like the Ipod, you can't just switch the battery out means you have to think about how and where to charge it when you're away from home. This is quickly becoming the norm for MP3 players though.

The screen is crystal clear, easy to look at and the brightness is fully adjustable. Movies are, while small, easy to watch and the font they've chose (arial) for the player is simple to read at a glance. The player features a "screensaver" using an clock, or you can choose to just blank the screen. While the interface isn't as "catchy" or gimmicky as the Ipod interface, it's still very usable and I find it actually easier to use. During music play, cover art (assuming it's included with the MP3) is displayed, but there is no 'scrolling artwork menu' like the ipod. do I miss that? nope.

A few other features that are neat to have are a sleep time (which turns the player off after 30, 60 or 120 minutes) and an alarm. The player comes with a "stand" which is really just a piece of plastic that will quickly get lost, to prop the player up for view and using as a clock.

The controlls on the front initially appeared to be a scroll wheel, much like the ipod, but it turns out that it is NOT. it's just an "up down left right" keypad with the play/pause button in the middle. I have found that using these buttons in the dark can be a bit tricky since they sit flush with the case and I often catch myself hitting the middle pause button instead of the navigation buttons. To each upper corner there is an additional button. a "back" button on the left and an "option" button on the right - which will also power the unit on.

Overall navigation is untuitive, but the button layout, especially for people with larger hands may be an issue.

Sound quality is absolutley amazing with this little player, as would be excpected from sony. audio is clear and can be VERY loud if need-be. the 5 slider EQ comes with several pre-sets plus the ability to (are you lsitening apple?) set TWO custom EQ settings. In addition, there is a "3D bass boost" feature that - get this - actually works! it's no longer just a gimmick! I can tell you that this little player can over-drive a $200 set of professinal headphones, should I choose to allow it to! something the Ipod just can't do. Highs are crisp and clear as well and mids are well rounded. Overall, this little player sounds better, is louder and plays longer than any ipod I've ever used. Audiophiles will be very pleased with this little purchase, assuming you ditch the headphones that came with it and upgrade to a decent pair. the included headphones are as terrible as the ones that come with the Ipod.

I have the 16GB version and have found that, while they CLAIM you can put 2200 songs on it, if you have songs at higher bit rates (it supports some insanley high bit rates - 320kbs as well as variable) - you will get substantially fewer songs on it, but thats okay with me! Minimum bit rate supported is 96kbps, but songs encoded at this rate is just horrible to listen to anyway. I always recomment 160kbps minimum anyway.

Being a new player at the time of this review, there aren't many accessories available yet and sony wants a mint for what they DO offer. ($69 for a dock? $16 for a silicone case? C'mon sony!!!), but they will come out as this player gains in popularity.

Overall, I would purcahse this little player again and again and again - and I have plans on getting each of my children one for Christmas. While I don't consider it an "ipod killer" because of the software interface, those that are serious about listening to musc and want a player with a built in FM radio (which I find I use TONS more than I thought I would) would be smart to spend thier money on this player of all others, Ipod included. Sony got this one right!