Sony D-NE511 Red ATRAC/MP3 CD Walkman

2. Sound quality.
I said the ACTAC3+ quality was the same as the CD this is true.
The quality (for both normal CD's and CD-R/RW's) is wonderful with the right earphones. (didtch the ones that come with the player)
The delicate sounds of classical music AND the pumpin' base of DEEP HOUSE are both reproduced with WONDERFUL clarity.
Only if the original recording was suspect have I found a problem. (I have recoded at 64bps rather than 48bps)

3. Size/Looks : It is small and quite flat and looks GREAT. (I have the RED one - it does turn heads!!)

4. The jog dial and Menu's - From heaven.
It makes searching for a track amongst the 200 or so on a disc so easy.

5. It can import play-lists from Musicmatch. A boon if you use MP3 and have playlists you like.

6. The Simple Burner software is very simple -
a. Put the CD in
b. Make the image by selecting the track you want.
c. Burn the CD.

7. Can fwd and rev through ATRAC and MP3 tracks - most other players cannot do this.

8. Battery life : 50 hrs.
I have had it for nearly a week now and been playing it on ALL trips and at home and it still says battery's are FULL.

Cons :
1. The Simple Bruner software doesn't add the artist for the individual tracks if you are making an image of a compilation. So you have to either manually add it. Sometimes the nice people at the CCD dbase have added the artist to the name of the track and that is OK.

2. Start up time with lots on Cd is about 20-30 secs.
(understandable if it has to build a list of 23 CD's to be searched.)

Can't really think of any other cons.

Verdict : For a music lover - a near-Perfect machine.
100 CD's with you at all times. No discernable reduction in sound quality.
Program what you like or import your mp3 playlists.
ATRAC3+ is superb
I just put in a CD, hit random and let it choose - every track a winner.
I have had a look at the other MP3 CD players and MP3 players and no other model offers the value AND quality.

A QUALITY PRODUCT for those who need MUCH more than 1 hour's quality music.

I created a MP3 cd with 186 songs all at roughly 196kbs and the loading was of no problem, no more than 10-20 seconds.

the lcd display is also of good use though you would have to press the display button sometimes to get the full ID of the song.

The jog dial system is ingenious and makes life so much easier when browsing through a huge selection of mp3s, by turning the dial to the right you go down the list and to the left, up the list, pressing in the dial (not the clear plastic bit) you can load a song instantly.

Overall this player was definitly worth the price tag especially considering its price. This is one player that will bring hours of quality music all in just one cd!