Sony NW-A808 review

Average user rating

8.5

excellent

Average user rating from 10 users

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Sony NW-A808 user reviews

April 28, 2007

Posted by: Pamela Beeching

"Pricey but worth every penny"

What I like:

Long battery life, superb sound and colour repro - a player for grown-ups

What I don't like:

Headphone socket on the base - makes rubbish of the silly plastic cradle!

Review:

I've just bought a 8GB black one of these neat little players. I have 3 other Sony MP3 players because I think Sony make MP3 toys for grown-ups who aren't into massive accessory purchasing and are after quality with good, enduring funtionality.

The sound from this slim little gadget is smooth and rich both vocally and instrumentally with full bass and amazing top notes - try Nigel Kennedy's Classical violin tracks and you will see just what I mean. In places you can even hear the guy breathing and I don't think you will better that for superb audio reproduction!

The video side? Well it has great video colour reproduction but not for those whose eyesight isn't brilliant because I think you would have serious problems - as with all hand held tinies - in seeing details for any great length of time.

ATRAC? I don't see what all the fuss is about. Maybe it's because it's the only compression program I have used but it works for me with no loss of quality at all. Previous versions did have trouble with handling duet tracks with a tendency to splatter them all over the player rather than putting them neatly into one folder but this version seems to have got that cracked to a great degree - at least on the CDs that I uploaded onto it.

Earphones? Well I have long thought that my ears are definitely not the same shape as other people's, however these "in-ear" 'phones work for me after sort of screwing them into my ears - they cut out most of the outside world and are brilliant compared to other MP player supplied efforts. Terrifically comfortable too.

Downside? The accompanying cradle is next to useless - why not have the earphone socket on top of the player so that you can actually use the cradle with earphones plugged in? Any why oh why do Sony refuse to pack this lovely gadget without a lanyard or at least a little slip case to protect it? Minor points but it would ease the pain of parting with the cash!

Precis? This is a seriously superb, sleek and sexy player with great battery life, great sound and video quality and great good looks for grown-ups who have got over the Ipod stage.

Pam Beeching