Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony NWS703 - 1GB Walkman MP3 Player with Noise Canceling Headphones - Black

I have just bought the SONY NW-S705 2 Gb player. It was a difficult choice, since the more widely bought i pod nano was almost the same cost & probably more appealing.

Reading the various reviews online did allow me to give the SONY a chance, especially since it's superior sound quality got it extra points. I also had the opportunity to hear my friend's Latest i pod (& there were no reviews for the new October 2007 3rd Generation version.

As expected, the sound of the SONY is far better, especially in relation to the Bass. The treble qualities are much the same in both. The noise cancellation properties are more pronounced in noisier surrounding, than in routine use (eg the gym). Also, the SONY offers features like virtual surround sound like Live, arena, etc which is a plus point.

As mentioned by various reviewers previously is the Sonic stage software - which is the one biggest drawback of this superb music system. I am not sure why such an advanced sound giant like SONY sticks to such an inconvenient software, instead of copy & paste or drag & drop functionality. Hence, information on album cover, etc all have to be entered manually.

Overall, I think that the product is good value for money, in spite of a few glitches.

I simply love this MP3 player. I went for a small one as i have so much music that it forces me to get to know my real faves!
I had real big issues (still do) with my headphones. bought the set cheap (£60) off a seller on amazon. Should of been fine as it said it was new! Sadly, its been horrid. They worked for about 2 months, n then left one broke, and then the replacement worked for about a month, and the left one broke again. I say broke, i mean became effected by a manufacturing defect.

The design and noise reducing features are the best thing! THE NOISE REDUCING WORKS SOOOOOOOOOOO WELLLLL! I use it when walking, and I can hardly hear the cars go past. Its only when you take the headphones off that you realise how much they do! Also the quality is stupidly better! Now I have to rip cds at 256 kbs rather than 96, or i just start to cry!

If you are subjected to noise alot, get these now!

FIRST OF ALL I'M A HUGE FAN OF SONY STUFF, I'VE OWNED A TON OF CRAP FROM THEM AND NEVER HAD ANY PROBS

WHEN THE PLAYER FIRST ARRIVED IT WORK PERFECTLY, NOT A PROBLEM, FILE SKIP WORKED WELL, HUGE PLUS, COMPACT, LONG BATTERY LIFE AND THE SOFTWARE IS REALLY EASY TO USE.

BUT THEN AS IF ALL WAS WELL

SOME THING WENT WRONG

FIRST THE FILE SKIP THING HAS STOPED WORKING, THE NAME IS SCRATCHED OFF AND NOW THE VOLUME IS SCREWED !!!!!!!!!!

THE VOLUME DOESN'T WORK , IT'S FADED AND NOW ONE OF THE HEADPHONES DOESN'T WORK

AND THE NOISE CANCELING THING DOESN'T WORK EITHER, AND THE HEAD PHONES ARE REALLY ANNOYING WHEN THEIR IN IT FEELS LIKE SOMEONE HAS JAMMED THEIR FINGER IN UR EAR !!!!

IN TOTAL NOT BAD, COULD BE BETTER VALUE, GOING IN FOR IT TO BE REPAIRED OF FOR IT TO BE REPLACED OR REFUNDED

I bought this player about a fortnight ago having never owned an mp3 player before and am very satisfied with it. The build quality is excellent and although I had heard awful things about it the sonicstage 4.1 software is easy to use. I don't know how it compares with rivals in this respect as this is my first player but I have found it easy to store/categorise albums and download them to the player itself.

The sound quality is great (better than a friends ipod) and I am impressed by the noise cancelling feature. I am on the search for some sports ear phones for the gym which also cancel noise as the head phone socket is so designed that if you use a different make of headphones they fit but this negates the noise cancelling feature built in. A minor gripe.

I was considering a shuffle but bought this instead as it has the following advantages for the same price: much better battery life, a display, an fm radio and good quality earphones (but see comments above re gym).

Stuff Magazine reviewed this player and said it was a challenger to the nano, at the price I bought it (£58)its more than a match for the shuffle. Since then the price has fluctuated but don't forget if you buy a shuffle you will probably want to upgrade the inferior headphones.

This mp3 is fantastic. 50 hrs playback, stores up to 1400 songs with only 2GB of memory, built in radio and external noise cancellation, and about the length and breadth of ones index finger.
It feels reassuringly expensive, doesnt even scratch easily, and the screen can easily be be read in direct sunlight.
The sound quality is superior to that of an ipod. The player plays songs on the Atrac format, which is Sony's own compressed format, without losing sound quality.
Navigation is very easy, which is suprising considering the lack of buttons; this is because they all have multiple functions; it can get a bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of it it becomes a breeze. The noise cancelling headphones are fantastic. They work by detecting outside noise, and the speakers play notes directly opposite to the ones they detect, thus cancelling the noise out. They are even better than the sony fontopia 'in ear' earphones i bought for £25, and so they they are now collecting dust; its usually vice versa when i but these things!
The latest version of sonicstage is now also much improved. It hasnt crashed, is now actually user friendly, and you can upload songs from the player up to any PC now.
I love the extra functions, which some people think are a gimmick but i think are actually worthwhile. These include Sports shuffle, intelligent shuffle and it actually tries to figure out your 'favourite' artists.
All in all i think its the best mp3 player on the market. Technically and aesthetically it is very pleasing, and it is a joy to use. Also, since getting it for xmas i have only charged it a handfull of times, even though i used it every day!!