Product Description

The D-NS505 S2 Sports Walkman is ready for your toughest workout. Its water-resistant design includes rubber gaskets, bushings, and seals that help keep out water, moisture and dirt. Its heat-resistant lid protects against high temperature build-up, and the Skip-Free G-Protection Technology provides quick recovery from bumps and shocks.The D-NS505 has some great features too. It includes 18 playback modes, providing tons of options on how you want to listen to your music. It also supports CD Text and ID3 Tagging, so you can easily view song, album and artist information. Plus, it delivers over 50 hours of continuous playback with just 2 "AA" batteries, and the D-NS505 supports ATRAC3plus, ATRAC3, MP3 and CD-R/RW playback formats. Atrac3plus lets you put up to 490 songs on 1 CD-R/RW disc, and the SonicStage Software makes it easy to transfer music from your PC.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13416 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Sony
• Model: DNS505
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.25" h x 5.38" w x 5.38" l, 5.00 pounds

Features

• Portable S2 Sports CD player compatible with MP3 files and Sony's ATRAC3plus compression technology;
• 2-line dot-matrix display built into the handstrap offers full ID3 tag recognition, and bookmark playback
• Includes SonicStage CD Simple Burner software to facilitate ATRAC3plus CD burning from MP3 files and from other CDs.
• Skip-free G-Protection technology eliminates or reduces skipping; active control playback operation simplifies active use
• More than 75 hours extended playback for ATRAC recordings and over 50 hours continuous audio CD playback

Amazon.com Product Description
Spin your commercial CDs, your homemade music CDs of almost any stripe with Sony's versatile, full-circle D-NS505 S2 Sports-styled Walkman portable CD player. Designed for rugged outdoor use, the player features active control playback operation so you can make changes to your program literally while you're on the run. Sony's "h.ear" clip-on headphones are designed for streamlined comfort.

Skip-Free G-Protection technology boosts the laser pickup's shock protection to minimize read errors that would otherwise interrupt your music, providing quick recovery from both horizontal and vertical shocks. The D-NS505's water-resistant body and heat-resistant lid helps protect it against the elements, with rubber gaskets, bushings, and splash-resistant seals that help keep out water, moisture, and dirt.

Playback options include 32-track programming, repeat (track, disc, or program), random play, and--thanks to Sony's great work in DSP efficiency--more than 75 hours of ATRAC3plus CD or more than 50 hours of audio CD playback from 2 AA batteries (not included).

The D-NS505's 2-line dot-matrix display is built right into its handstrap, offering full ID3 tag recognition, and bookmark playback (which lets you program your favorite songs from multiple CDs and play them back at the touch of a button). CD Text support displays artist and title information with compatible commercial audio CDs.

The player comes bundled with Sony's SonicStage CD Simple Burner software. Compatible with ID3 tagging and most CD burners, this application transfers songs from CDs or MP3 music files from your PC's hard drive and burns them to recordable CDs using ATRAC3plus compression.

ATRAC3plus is a high-quality audio-compression technology that reduces the size of digital audio files while preserving much of a track's original sound quality (similar in concept to MP3 or Dolby Digital sound formats). With ATRAC3plus, music can be burned and compressed at 132, 105, 66, 64, or even 48 kbps (kilobits per second), letting you select the right balance between fidelity and storage space (you'll get around 490 songs per disc at 48 kbps).

Digital Mega Bass Sound boosts your music's low end without high clarity and low distortion, and there's also a built-in equalizer with 3 preset curves and 1 customizable setting. Sony's automatic volume limiter system (AVLS) conserves batteries--and guards your hearing--by capping your listening level at either of two settings. You can hook the player up with your home system through an optional analog stereo "Y" interconnect.

The player also works with an optional AC/DC 4.5V power adapter (AC-E45HG or -E45A).

What's in the Box
CD player, ear clip-on stereo headphones, CD-ROM (SonicStage software), a user's manual, and warranty information.

From the Manufacturer
You’ll never be without your favorite music thanks to this Sony S2 Sports ATRAC CD Walkman. It has ATRAC3plus, ATRAC3 and MP3 format playback, and also plays your CD-Rs and CD-RWs. Bookmark playback lets you program your favorite songs from multiple CDs and play them back with the touch of a button. Twelve playback modes give you variety and skip-protection keeps your tunes smooth while you’re on the move.

What's in the box

S2 h.ear Stereo Headphones, CD-ROM (SonicStage Software)

Customer Reviews

Upgrading
I upgraded to this model after my original s2 CD walkman died. I was hoping to find a similar produc in the D-Nss05 and for the most part I have been satisfied.

The new handstrap is a neat piece of engineering, especially the little LCD that can be flipped depending on how you intend to hold the product. However, it isn't as flat as the previous iteration making it hard to put in a pocket when you need both of your hands free.

The ease of use on this model has been dowgraded somewhat in my opinion. Before I was able to control forward, back, and stop from a single joystick, and the volume control was on a mechanical dial that was easily turned with the ball of your thumb. On the D-NS505, it is very hard to reach all of the necessary controls with stratching into uncomfortable positions, especially if you use it in your right hand. Doing that puts the volume on the other side of the band from your thumb, making it difficult to quickly turn down the volume to see what someone is saying.

I have unfortunately been unable to test if I will be able to charge my batteries in this unit, but as the instructions don't mention it specifically I'm afraid it's another reason to reminisce for my old unit.

Those gripes aside, I do have to admit to loving the heft and quality feel of this unit. I have had no problems whatsoever with skipping, even after going so far as to drum on the lid of the unit for a minute.

As the original s2 unit is all but impossible to find I would definitely recommend this unit to anyone looking for a quality CD player, although Ic an't rank it the full five stars as I feel it's a step backwards from th e original unit.

should have bought something in person
Quick summary: if you are looking for something to work out with, this player is great. If you are looking for something for your car or commute, it is terrible.

I'm very unhappy with my purchase for purely practical reasons, but everything works and has nice sound quality, so I can't really complain and return the player. The various reviews praising battery life and sound quality as great are correct. I have not tried the MP3 functions of the player yet.

You can't really tell in the picture up there, but the player has a large handstrap over the top of the player. This handstrap, to the best of my inspection, cannot be removed - it houses the 'screen' and playback (random, repeat, MP3 folders) options. The handstrap essentially doubles the size of the CD player. It *is* very nice if you are walking along with the player, but will not fit comfortable in a purse or backpack pocket.

I also find CD loading awkward. The bottom of the player opens with a twist and the CD is held against the body of the discman. Again, excellent for jogging. Plays as well upside down as it does on its side or right-side up. However, this means that you cannot eject or load CDs with one hand (I like to change CDs without breaking pace when walking home). The twisting mechanism makes me nervous about it's lifetime and I'm not entirely comfortable jamming or unjamming my CDs into the player.

So, I basically should have bought a $30 player that would have fit in my purse, have a spring mechanism to open, and probably equal sound quality. If you want this for sports, go for it. Else, find another player.

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.