Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony D-NE710 ATRAC3/MP3 CD Walkman Portable Disc Player

It plays cd's while I'm walking with no skipping, thought it cut out on me when I went to a jog, but it was just the headphone disconnected. Pushed it back in and all went well. Solid build would recommend this for anyone who is looking for a good old fashioned cd player.

I absolutely LOVE this player! I can't say enough good things about it!

My review, though, is primarily about the software. If you are under the impression that you will be able to install the software and easily put "490 songs on 1 CD" without a level of frustration that is off the charts, think again! Sony's SonicStage software is the WORST software program I've EVER dealt with! Knowing that my walkman was arriving in the mail, and wanting to be ready for it with an ATRAC3 disc, I downloaded the latest version (version 4). A really big headache and a lost night of sleep is the best way to describe it nicely. I understand through the internet grapevine that Sony is discontinuing SonicStage in favor of a different program. Soon, Sony! SOON!!!

You'll love the sound, performance, sleek look, and G-protection of this machine. And, when Sony's software department gets its act together, you can look forward to actually making the ATRAC CDs that we're told we can make now.

If anyone has gotten their software to work, please email me! Thanks!

My Sony Walkman was purchased for $99.99 in 7/03 and its disk spin motor has stopped, so CDs will not play. It was also noisy (clicks, ticks) while it played. I have owned other Sony products and have had no problems with them. This is the first time that I am quite disappointed with a Sony product for only 1.5 years of use. I called Sony Service Center and was told it could be replaced with a "refurbished" one at a cost of $78.97, recommending that it might be wiser to just buy a new one. I have no intention of doing either. I will inform my friends, including investors, of this experience, and cease purchasing Sony products and encourage them to do likewise.

When I bought this CD player I didn't know much about it, but it was on sale, so I decided to buy it. The sound quality is SUBERB, and it is very strong and durable. I really enjoy the screen feature that says the album name, the song you are listening to, and other things like that. The G-Protection is amazing, with two levels of strength to choose from. Also, all SONY products are AMAZING!!!!!!

So, why 4 stars? Well, really, it should get a rating of 4 1/2 stars. Why? Well, when I used the software for the MP3, my computer messed up and I had to start my list of songs ALL OVER AGAIN. It takes a long time to make these, and losing it is very dissapointing (FYI: I have a Dell XP). But, my computer is working better with this program, and now it works fine. It is usefull, though. You can fit hundreds of songs on a blank CD-R or CD-RW. But there are 2 other things that get on my nerves.
ONE-You can't save a project on the Atrac software. This makes you have to do it all at once, which can take hours out of your day.
TWO-If you are NOT a system administrator, you can not use this software. It wont let you. Adults won't have this problem, because they probably are already system administrators, but the teens and kids probably are'nt, so they will have to have their parents around in order to burn. This makes sense, so that teens aren't burning nonstop, but it really can make me angry.

BUY THIS IF:You do not plan to use the Atrac feature, but still want the very best CD player that has many great features.

DO NOT BUY THIS IF: You are depending on the Atrac feature for many uses, and will use the feature a lot.

I've had this CD player for a year and it works great. ATRAC3 is great - the sound is great and I can fit around 20 regular CDs onto one Atrac3 disc. The down side is the software. The first time I used it, it crashed, and it can take 2-3 hours to make one CD, be it from CDs or an MP3 collection, and some tracks don't write - and you don't find out until AFTER writing the CD. I didn't like how only MP3s can be converted to ATRAC3, as I have several WMAs. The software is frustrating because of the crashing and not writing tracks. If ATRAC3 doesn't interest you, this CD player can also play MP3 CDs and regular CDs too.

The CD player itself is great. It has a long battery life. One set of batteries lasted through a two-week vacation with constant play and more (and 3 ATRAC3 CDs was much lighter than a giant case with all my music). I've dropped it and it continues playing and doesn't skip. The sound isn't as loud as other players, but I don't like to damage my ears so it's fine for me.

The CD player is great and I reccommend it, but Sony needs to improve their SonicStage software. Otherwise, this is a good purchase.