Sony D-EJ915 CD Walkman

The D-EJ915 meets its mark in every respect as far as features are concerned. Standard play, pause, and track navigation are easy to manage both on the main unit and the wired remote. The backlit remote handles both the MegaBass adjustments and track programming and also enables you to toggle the display between track time elapsed, track time remaining, and total disc time remaining.

Thankfully, the D-EJ915 can play CD-Rs, a feature that is often overlooked in home and portable CD players. Another key feature is the optical line-out, which produces excellent sound when it's directed through a receiver. The optical line-out also allows MiniDisc users to make digital MD copies of CDs (with an optional cable that can be purchased for an additional AU$65). If you're concerned about damaging your hearing, you can enable the automatic volume limiter system (AVLS), a feature included on many Sony models that prevents the volume from exceeding a safe listening level. Although some people rarely take the time to program a specific order for the tracks on a CD, Sony does include this feature with the D-EJ915 by allowing you to program up to 64 tracks. And last, although it is a small detail, we were pleased to see the "resume play" feature included with the D-EJ915. (When you press stop on the player, it stops wherever the laser is on the disc and resumes play from that point, rather than starting over at the beginning of the disc.)

Usability
Connecting the D-EJ915 was simple and easy, thanks in part to an efficient design. The analog line-out doubles as the optical line-out, and the headphone-out also serves as the jack for the wired remote. For additional playing time while you're on the road, Sony has included an external battery case that plugs into the same input as the regular power supply.

Look and Feel
Unfortunately, because of the unshrinkable five-inch diameter of the CD format, no portable CD player will ever attain a diameter smaller than, well, about five inches. So, portable CD players are doomed to never attain the portability of the latest MiniDisc and MP3 portables. That said, the D-EJ915, given this limitation, is just about as small as a CD player can get. Just a little bit wider than an individual CD and two centimetres thick, the player is pretty easy to cram into your pocket. And at 16.7 grams, it won't weigh you down much more than a large keyring. The lid of the player is made of aluminum, and it feels sturdy without being too heavy.

To keep the unit as small and light as possible, Sony cut one corner that most of us would consider standard on a CD player - the digital display. In order to see what track number is playing or how much time has elapsed, you must use the backlit wired remote. While at first we were a little apprehensive about this, we quickly adjusted to relying on the remote. After shoving the main body of the D-EJ915 into a bag or pocket, we almost forgot about the CD player altogether, which made for a nice user experience. Fortunately, if you don't have the remote handy, you're not totally lost. The main unit does have play/pause, stop, volume, and next/previous track buttons.

The thumb-sized wired remote is well designed and is backlit with a cool indigo blue. The buttons are spaced efficiently, and the volume is easy to control. A rotating clip on the back of the remote allows you to clip the remote to the nearest available piece of clothing. Just a little larger than two AA batteries, the extra battery pack is fairly small, but it is still a little cumbersome, considering that you will be carrying the battery pack, the CD player, the wired remote, and a set of headphones.

Performance
The battery life of the D-EJ915 is longer than that of most portable CD players currently on the market. The supplied rechargeable batteries are good for 23 hours on their own, and if you add the additional twin AA battery pack, you're good to go for an additional 37 hours, which makes for a grand total of 58 hours on the road.

In terms of sound, the D-EJ915 holds its ground well, although we have to admit that it's hard for us to tell much difference between a AU$200 and AU$400 portable CD player, especially with the supplied headphones. If you are planning to invest as much as AU$400 on a portable CD player, it's a good idea to make sure you're using decent headphones. The supplied headphones are adequate, but not ideal. We used a pair of wraparound Sony MDR-7506 studio monitors for most of our testing, and with them, the player easily met our expectations for sound quality. The D-EJ915 also fared well when it was connected to a home stereo receiver. For our tests, we plugged the CD player into a Sony STR-DE935 surround-sound receiver. The optical line-out sounded much cleaner than the ordinary analog signal.

Sony's patented G-Protection system does an excellent job of preventing skips. We were able to get the unit to skip only after 30 to 40 seconds of violent shaking. You should have no problems walking or jogging with the D-EJ915.

Value
The RRP for the D-EJ915 is a whopping AU$419, but we were able to track it down cheaper online. Though it's easy to find a portable CD player for much less, what truly sets this player apart (and what consequently jacks up the price) is its minute size and light weight. If your main concerns are light weight and portability, and if price is no object, this is the CD player for you. If you're willing to carry around a less streamlined CD player, you stand to save a significant chunk of cash - without sacrificing any key features - by opting instead for the somewhat more bulky Sony D-EJ815, which has an almost identical list of features, a longer battery life, and a lower RRP of $379. In the end, we had a hard time justifying the expense of the D-EJ915, and we would probably end up with the D-EJ815 when it came time to make the purchase.

Sony G-Protection D-EJ915 CD Walkman
Company: Sony
Ph: 02 9878 9712; Fax: 02 9888 6264
Price: AU$419.
Rating: 4 Star