Full Review

Portable CD Players get a bad wrap these days. Why carry around one along with a selection of CDs when you can carry a nice iPod and fit your whole music collection in your pocket? Simple answer: the price. Realistically, there are many of us consumers still left far behind in the technology race. We still use dialup modems, we don't allow the floor to vacuum itself (as in Sharper Image's Roomba; rather interesting device really), and our sinks don't quite turn themselves on. Therefore, maybe some of us don't believe in carrying a 400-dollar metal-and-plastic contraption smaller than a deck of cards. How easy could it be to lose? For that reason, there are still people who carry around a portable CD player. I, myself, actually own a HDD-based MP3 player and yet, I still can't seem to shake my fascination with a portable CD player. Considering the fact I am slowly shifting into a gymrat's shell, I need something that I'm not going to completely lament if it becomes absolutely brutalized. And in that pursuit, I am half-successful with this particular Sony CD Player.

Half-successful for the reason I've actually found a CD player that out-pretties my MP3 player and (are you ready for this?) is actually SMALLER. I had noticed in a local advertisement this player being put on sale for about 50 dollars. 50 dollars?!?! The last time I bought a portable CD player for my own use, it was running me around 90! What was even more impressive was that this lesser-expensive player also includes a wired clip remote and band-less (clip around the ears) headphones. Normally, headphones that come packaged with a CD player are truly unworthy of an educated listening. I must have a set that can handle a broad range of music from film soundtracks (Count of Monte Cristo) to hardcore metal (Norma Jean) and possess the ability of pulling every nuance to the forefront. Sony, in their grand Sony tradition, decided not to become like the rest of the flock and bundled a pair of their h.ear style phones which retail for about 10 dollars. When figuring with the overall price, this CD player now only costs around 40 dollars. If I knew how much it cost to make the remote, I'm sure that'd knock the price even lower. Point is that for once, you're getting a real solid deal if you can find this player for less than 50 dollars.

*SIDE NOTE* If you don't like lots of descriptive mumbo jumbo, this paragraph can easily be skipped. Its sole purpose is to describe the player's features.

The aesthetics of this player are just not to be believed. It almost appears the D-EJ100 taunts carriers of the iPod by including circular buttons (Play/Pause, Stop, and Track Forward/Backward) around the player's face that are set into the player to give it a continuous look. If you have the blue version of this player, it will be really obvious as to where these control buttons. If you have the white/red, the buttons are actually black. From a quick glance, these buttons are INVISIBLE. I didn't even realize these were pressable buttons until I accidentally pressed one. For the first five minutes of having this player in my hands, I was worried about not being able to use the player if I'd lost the remote. Now I can have a little peace of mind. Also on the player are three additional buttons: Sound, P Mode, and Display/Menu. So far, I've only played around with the Sound button which is pretty much a classy way of saying "Do you want more bass?" Unlike other players I've messed with in the past, there's actually THREE settings for bass level: Off, 1, and 2. Currently, I'm listening to the Zoolander soundtrack with the setting at 1 on Bose TriPort headphones without a single need for more low-end sound. Also, the SOUND button can be used to activate/deactivate the AVLS feature by a 2-second button-press which limits the maximum listenable volume; a perfect feature for parents who worry about their kids suddenly going deaf from listening to that rock album for too long. The P Mode button should be pretty much self-explanatory. This is the button you press to change your play mode from standard to (according to the manual) single play, shuffle, bookmark track play, program play, and repeat modes. Bookmark track play is supposed ot be a new feature available on this player that lets you flag certain tracks to play back, much like a computer MP3 player's playlist function. I figure if I really want to mess around with playlists, I'll do it on the computer, not on a CD player, so I left this feature alone. Shuffle, however, is a play mode I wouldn't trade in for the world and it still surprises me that there's players that don't have it. The last button, Display/Menu, separated by the duration you press the button. A short press changes the player's display from track duration, track remaining, and CD time remaining. Considering I'm never staring intently at my CD player, this feature seldom gets used. As for the menu selection, accessed by a long button-press, upon first glance I was so incredibly confused I immediately stopped and started the player over again. Which pointed out to me the fact that this player has a rock-solid RESUME feature that's set to default. If you have to stop your CD player for any reason, the second you start it up it goes right back to where you left off. Sometimes, especially after long pauses, people don't want to resume from where they left off and Sony kept them in mind. If you want to start back at the beginning of the CD while the player's stopped, just press the play button down for two seconds. It's as easy as that.

FINALLY, there's the wired remote. I do love wired remotes. Without one, I'd always have to dig into my pockets, take a glance-over to find the correct button, press that button, and return the player to my pocket. For someone who's constantly lifting weights like myself, this is just too much of a hassle. I'd rather use telekenetic powers and just WILL the track to change. That's why this remote is an absolute godsend. It's incredibly basic which is a great thing when all you want to do is change the track or volume, play the CD, or even stop it. More or less, the thing is tiny (just a quarter-inch longer than my housekey), but the buttons are set so operation will become second-nature in no time. The volume buttons are on the bottom while the play/pause, stop, and track advance buttons are on a circular dial and operate by pushing in one of the four respective directions, much like a joystick. Unlike a Sony Minidisc player I used to own, I have no fear that these buttons will become inoperable with time. Every button works perfectly with a simple depression, no mashing required.

So how does it sound? That really depends. If you're used to listening to music from a recording studio, this is seriously going to depress you. If you're like the rest of us and have every predecessing player for comparison, it's not going to sound much different. Maybe I'm spoiled from the MP3 player, but I almost feel like the sound quality's a step down. Luckily, you should never have to whine about the bass lacking with three available settings. The sound is especially clear with BASS off and mildly enhanced at the 1 setting, but I fear that the 2 setting is only going to be suiting for listeners of heavy electronic or hard rock music. If you're classically-minded, one is your ideal, and if jazz is your fascination, either Off or 1 will be perfect.

Overall, I'm ecstatic over this purchase. I can tell this player's going to last for years (question is will it stand the test of time as well as an old Audiovox I own that's STILL going? It has ESP 10 seconds, if I remember correctly), both aesthetically and functionally. This won't be a player I'm ashamed of people seeing at the gym and for that I'm happy. Did I mention it perfectly color-coordinates with half the stuff I wear there? Carson Kressley would be proud...