Is There Any Flash Left In Audio Players?

9. Sony NW-E75: Patience

"Buy a Sony MP3 Walkman and rediscover the virtue of patience." That could be Sony's new slogan. The least you can say is that you'd better read the user's manual carefully before trying to use this audio player. The first time, I tried just plugging the unit into my PC and dragging and dropping my selection of MP3s. Then I unplugged the player and turned it on. No sound came out, but a message was displayed: "NO DATA." So I read the manual, installed SonicStage, and moved the files on the NW-E75 to the application's library, and then re-transferred them to the player. Miraculously, this time everything worked. The Walkman still doesn't read MP3s natively; you have to convert your songs to the manufacturer's proprietary ATRAC3plus format. By the end of this month, Sony will be making software that will teach this audio player to read MP3s directly available to its clients for download. So if your head was turned by this player, be sure to update it. You'll save a lot of time. With its USB 1.1 port, it takes close to 15 seconds to convert and transfer a 3.1 MB MP3 to the unit.

Once the loading is done, the player itself takes some time to get used to. Instinctively, you reach for the dial in the left-hand corner to turn up the sound... Wrong. It's not the volume control, but the track selector. And if you pressed your finger on it while turning, you're sure to have turned the sound off. With the NW-E75, don't trust your instincts; they'll lead you astray. Another major fault is the near absence of an equalizer. With this unit, you have a choice among just three adjustments: Normal, more bass (S1), and still more bass (S2). Go straight to the third mode, since the unit tends to favor the highs.

Finally, is there anything good about this audio player? Yes, exactly three things: The first is the design. The shape of the device may not be practical. But it is small, light, and the silvery rectangle has style. The second is its autonomy. Sony claims a battery life of 60 to 70 hours on one AAA battery. During our tests, it didn't go beyond 40 hours. But that's still by far the longest of all the units we tested for this article. Finally, the NW-E75 has good audio quality, and above all excellent earphones that don't color or distort the sound and are very comfortable. But $190 is a bit steep for a good pair of earphones...

Yes, you do need to be patient with Sony. Up to a point. Sony was incapable of sending us a test unit within a reasonable time despite repeated requests. We ended up buying one for ourselves.