Full Review

Unfortunately, it was time for me to (pun most certainly intended) face the music: I needed to purchase a replacement for my five-year-old Sony D-E206CK CD player. It wasn't like my trusty old Sony had kicked the bucket, but it just hadn't been performing like its former self over the past few months; the laser was misaligned, causing the machine to simply stop playing; I was met with occasional, ear-splitting bursts of static that wouldn't dissipate unless I turned the player off; and not to mention that it had been dropped, slammed, punched, and generally battle-worn since I bought it in 1999. Faced with a long plane trip this summer, I came to the conclusion that a new one was the only option.

So, naturally, I hopped on Epinions and checked out the reviews. Since I had had such success and longevity with my old player, I decided to stick with Sony and found that the cream of the crop (within my limited price range) was the D-EJ100 (also known as the Psyc). A week later I was the proud new owner of a black-and-green Sony Psyc player for the reasonable price of fifty dollars. Let's get to the specifications, shall we?

SOUND QUALITY

Simply put, the Psyc's sound quality is awesome. As soon as I arrived home, I decided to give my new player the ultimate acoustic test: the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Psyc's prowess instantly shone through as I was treated to the album as I had never heard it before, complete with hidden instruments and new sounds I hadn't noticed with my old player.

The Psyc comes with a sufficient array of sound settings, including two (count them, two!) levels of bass boost that never seem to distort the bass line, even at high volumes; an AVLS system that allows one to limit the volume levels, a perfect solution for those worried about young ones' hearing; and a generally strong and full-bodied sound that is loud enough (for me, at least) at medium levels.

I've had atrocious experiences with free headphones, so I opted to purchase a pair of Koss behind-the-head (also known as "street style") headphones for about fourteen bucks. My advice: trash the included pair and buy headphones that fit you best.

LAYOUT

The Psyc has one of the most innovative space-saving layouts I've seen on any CD player, a design complete with a battery hold inside the lid, the main buttons (play, stop, track forward, track back) arranged in a circle around the central display, side-mounted volume controls, and a hold button on the bottom. These placements come together to form a design that puts vital buttons at your fingertips in a logical, comfortable pattern that requires little acclamation.

An added bonus is the miniature remote control, a slender device that provides access to the main controls (play, stop, track selection, and volume control) when the player itself is difficult to reach (i.e. in a backpack). I often listen to music while riding my bicycle, and the well-laid-out remote relieves me from having to stop, open my backpack, and manually change the track. The only caveat: despite the name, the "remote" is still attached to the player (it fits nicely into the headphone jack and has a jack of its own), so you're still forced to be in the close vicinity of the Psyc to control it.

FEATURES

The Psyc is equipped with a slew of innovative and original features, my personal favorite being the timer function; much like the sleep timer on your television, you can set the Psyc to turn off after a specific amount of time has elapsed, so one can fall asleep while listening to music without wasting battery power.

Don't like some of the songs on a CD? You can program your Psyc to play only the tracks you select (much like the practice of bookmarking Websites) and skip over the ones you can't stand. Plus, you can program the Psyc to play a CD's tracks in the order you like best, putting you in total control of your listening experience.

ANTI-SKIP

The Psyc comes with excellent skip protection in the form of G-Protection (think Sony's ESP and ESP2 with a cooler name). In terms of motion, the Psyc passed its anti-skip test with flying colors, continuously playing despite rapid jostling, shaking, and even a three-foot drop onto carpet.

However, I have encountered a problem (so far, knock on wood, the only problem overall) with the Psyc's skip protection; I treat my CDs fairly badly, and many of them show significant scratches, scrapes, and smudges. My old Sony tenaciously played all of them, five-inch-long scratch or not, but my Psyc seems to be a tad more sensitive, skipping violently whenever it reaches a scratched track. It's to the point where I can't even listen to certain songs on certain albums, but, oddly enough, most of these "skip tracks" are isolated; one or two may skip, but the remainder on the album don't. The moral of the story: treat your CDs right, follow the cleaning instructions, and try to prevent scratches.

BATTERY LIFE

The printed instructions promise fifty hours of life with two AA batteries, and so far, I agree with them; I've listened almost nonstop since I purchased it, and my battery meter is still full. It's a welcome change considering my old player guzzled battery power like a Hummer sucks down gasoline, often flashing "LO BATT" only fifteen or twenty hours after I had inserted fresh AAs, infuriating me to no end.

LOOSE ENDS

Here's a collection of a few little oddities or asides that just didn't fit anywhere else:

The controls are just a tad different from what I'm accustomed to; for example, instead of a button that opens the lid, the Psyc employs a horizontal switch. In my humble opinion, this is a much better solution, as it decreases the likelihood of an accidental opening due to shaking or slippery hands.

Another minor complaint: for some reason, the Psyc makes a substantial amount of noise as the laser aligns itself with the opening track, as you cycle backwards through tracks, and as the laser moves from the end back to the beginning. If your headphones are on, you might not notice, but it's potentially disruptive to those around you, especially in tight spaces such as planes or public transportation vehicles.

WRAPUP

Despite the small problem with the scratched CDs, I have to give the Sony Psyc my seal of approval. It provides the complete musical enjoyment package (excellent sound, loads of features, amazing battery life, an aesthetically pleasing color scheme, practical layout, featherlight weight) for an affordable price. If you're uneasy about buying an expensive MP3 player and want to be true to your CD collection, get psyched about the Psyc (sorry for the bad pun)!