Sony D-NS505 S2 Sports ATRAC Walkman Portable CD Player

For ATRAC-3 Fans Only
This Sony MP3 and ATRAC-3 player is a BUY if you have many ATRAC-3 burned music discs and want to preserve your collection, rather than changing it over to MP3. That is basicaly the review in a nutshell.

You can continue to read - if you are a SONY product improvement manager, and think "how can I improve this walkman?"

First, the SPORTS theme is excellent. Nice rugged look and feel, and buttons don't jump on/off at a delicate touch. So, you can put this baby in your gym pants, gym bag, etc. and it will not trigger anything on/off. That was a problem with the Sony DNF430. Everytime I reached for it, the music changed. So, the buttons can make or break its practical use in the sports activity area. Good job with this model.

Here, it should get 5 stars.

Second, the arm band should be optional. The size of the CD player makes it awkward to hold in the palm of the hand, or strapped onto the arm. It really belongs on the waist area or in a belt assisted carry bag. I am comfortable with my pocket camera in a belt bag, I am also comfortable with my cell phone in a belt pouch. There are many products on the market here for me to buy - which support my needs. Yet, this Sports CD player, because of its protruding handle, cannot fit into any bag. Frustrating? Yeah. Very. The practical usage of this Sports CD player becomes very limited.

Perfect for listening to audio books.
I bought this for listening to audio books. It will pick up where you left off when you stop. Allows you to set bookmarks (which you probably won't need since it will pick up where you left off by default). You can fast forward and reverse without having to go all the way back or forward a chapter, for those times you missed something and want to hear it again. Basically it has every feature I wanted in a device to listen to books.

Last of the litter--best not delay.
[Follow up: the Sony site is currently listing only 3 models, with the DN340 most likely the pick of the litter because of its top mounted controls and easy read-outs. Don't be surprised if you end up paying a premium to the current retail Sony price, since these are getting harder and harder to come by. If you find a good deal on a phased-out DN330 or 430, go for it. Sony managed to come up with a sophisticated (overly so), efficient player that will run on a single AA battery--easily outlasting the 2 batteries consumed by a ten-twenty dollar Colby or J-Win.]

If you have a good portable CD player, hang on to it. Of the models currently advertised on Amazon as best-sellers--Colby, J-Win, GPX, Emerson--they're at best very temporary solutions, sure to fail in short order, to consume batteries voraciously, to skip and play erratically, to be deficient in volume. Only the Sony DN series is worth considering, even at twice the price of the others (including the more basic, cheaply-made Sony models in the DE, DF, DJ series) and even if you have no interest in ATRAC capabilities or tuner bands. Unfortunately, these features slow down and complicate operation (I still find it quickest to turn off the machine by simply opening and closing the lid). But most importantly, the Sony continues to work when the others fail. You may wish to look on Amazon for the model in the SONY DN series that operates efficiently on a single AA battery (the 505 requires two batteries).

It's clear that manufacturers are no longer attending to CD player technology, but if you're still a fan of the format, this line of Sony players is probably your best (maybe your last) hope. I'm not sure I understand why the ATRAC compression features of the machine would appeal to some users (why not simply pick up an MP3 player?), but if that's the trade-off for a decent CD player, I'll put up with the gratuitous technology.

Unreliable
The unit arrived "dead." Sony is replacing it, but I should have read the Amazon reviews more carefully. Buyer beware.

The drop proof CD player
I love listening to books on CD. Our library has a very good selection you may borrow. I wore out my old player and found the newer version of Sony player to be an excellant replacement. I purchased the Sony D-NS505 S2 Sports ATRAC Walkman Portable CD Player. The sound is great and I have dropped it several times and it is still playing when I pick it up. My only complaint is opening and closing the cover. In order to keep it drop proof you seal the lid to the bottom. This is very tight and hard to do. People with small hands, arthritis or lack of hand strength will have problems. I have to use one of the rubber jar openers.