Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DE561 Discman Portable CD Player

The D-E561 was going to be replacing my older D-E307CK which I had, but I had a few gripes about it.

The E561 is by all means an excellent Discman. It is VERY slim, and the main playing controls are easily accessable. However, the volume control is located behind the headphone jack, which makes accessing the volume control a bit awkward from the front.

However, there are a couple of newer Sony Discman technologies out (now called a CD Walkman), that make this model slightly less appealing. First off is the G Protection anti-skip, which replaces the ESP and ESP 2. Those players absolutely DO NOT skip even when shaken violently. Also, battery life on those players is 32 hours with G-Protection on, vs. the 20 in this model. However, form factor is generally a bit thicker.

Your choice, this is by no means a terrible player, but you may want to check to see what other options you may have from Sony and other companies.

I've had this cd player for over a month so I feel that I have had appropriate time to fairly and justly review it. My ending judgement is a enthusiastic thumbs up. It has a great battery life, especially if you use a higher brand battery which will last for 19+ hours. The sound is faithfully reproduced and the megabass and groove setting allow for some diversion in playback. I do feel, however, that the headphones provided are somewhat inadequate for a cd player of this quality. I suggest some digital reference headphones, they allow for a much better listening experience. Don't believe though that the esp will account for jogging, it will skip. The protection is great though, for listening in the car and for a nice brisk walk. The player itself is suprisingly light yet retains a solid feel. The cover will get scratched easily though as it is soft plastic. Another benefit is the thinness of the player, it will fit easily into any fanny pack for travel. All in all, this cd player is worth buying. It has great battery life, great sound reproduction, and is remarkably light and easy to carry.

This is (basically) a run of the mill CD player, although a few years ago this would be considered quite something. The main reason I purchased it is because its the cheapest player I could find with an optical MiniDisc output, and for this purpose it works very, very well.

Beyond this, on the plus side, its got ESP and its very, very slim, probably as small as any portable CD player you'll find, and its also light weight. For the money I paid ($90 I think) I think I could have done a lot worse.

A few ways that this player could have been improved, and why I don't give it five stars - First, it probably would have made the unit more expensive, and it seems like very few other CD players have this feature these days, but a rechargeable battery would have hit the spot, big time. Second - as far as I can tell, there is no way to get the unit to display time remaining, either on the currently playing track, the disc, or the tracks you've programmed - this is minor but it can be an annoyance from time to time. Last, the control design could have been a tad better - specificaly, the play and stop buttons are right next to each other, and in the dark they feel exactly the same - its hard to remember which is which which makes operating the unit a hit and miss experience in the dark.

Other nice to haves (although probably at the expense of price) would be a wire/wireless remote and a backlit display, but you can't have everything I suppose.

Bottom line: For the money, you'll be hard pressed to do better, especially if you want the MD optical output.

I got this discman a few days ago and it is great! It has a battery life of 20 hours with ESP2 off. I usually walk around with ESP off and it only skips if I am going down the stairs or if I am walking up or down a slope. It is very compact and looks nice. Sound quality is very good. It has Mega Bass and Groove modes. Keep in mind that there are two colors for this discman (silver and blue). I was expecting a silver one like the picture but I got the blue instead. To me, both colors look good. The discman is light weight and thin.

I recently got this discman, and once again Sony did not dissopint me. Its is very thin and light, and is a great looking cd player! The ESP2 protection works great (you cant jog with it in a pocket) but it is more protection that you would need for regular use. The grove sound position sounds like you are really there, and the batteries can last 20 hours. It has many playback options and an optical output, resume, and alvs system. Overall this machine sounds GREAT and is WELL WORTH your money!