Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony NWS706 - 4GB Walkman MP3 Player - With Noise Canceling Headphones - Violet

I bought one in May 2007 after careful consideration and because I'd read reviews here suggesting that ipods are failing within 18 months of purchase. The Sony NWS706 was praised in several shops I visited and in 'Which?' magazine. Not being able to find one at the RRP I reasoned it must be good so bought one.

Design-wise I was impressed although a little concerned over the rotating collar and how long it would last. The version of Sonic Stage supplied conflicted with an XP update so I have to download a new version. Having said that, I prefer SonicStage to iTunes...once it works.

The sound was lovely and the supplied headphones are very good and the first 'in ear' ones which have fitted and not left my ears aching.

Then it broke. The buttons and rotating collar stopped working within 3 weeks. I am really unimpressed about this and whilst it is still under warrantly, am not sure how much I trust Sony to be able to make a decent repair.

Technically it is a nice piece of work, but I do not spend over £100 for something to fail in weeks and would be cautious about recommending this item.

I would be very careful with this product, although the player is good Sonic Stage is very buggy

v4.1(supplied)on Windows Vista didn't work at all (either ripping from CD or transferring to device). After download of v4.3, it now works well.
Very neat device. Ups it from 1 star (pretty but not functioning) to 5 stars now it works.

Pros:
- 4GB plenty to store
- quite a nice piece of kit, well designed
- looks cool

Against:
- the noise canceling headphones are not noise canceling unless you push the plugs straight into your inner ear however perforating your eardrum - used it in the gym and even turning up the volume had the gym music and background noises there plus the plugs constantly fell out of my ear canal. The best headphones I have ever owned and still own are from the 80s, massive, covering the whole ear, however: noise canceling for real. I was disappointed after all the positive reviews
- the software I found ok but Sony is notorious for making software that isn't compatible with Mac, which my Lap Top drives on - seems Microsoft and Sony must be big buddies in business: really applies for most of their products
- trying to find a carrier case was also a nightmare - took weeks of surfing - Sony's own products for the NWS706 are rubbish - found one at Comet in the end: the last place I thought searching out

O.k. but not brilliant.

I've had this for about a year now and it's been pretty good. The noise canceling feature is as advertised. With other music devices, I couldn't hear the music over the noise on the underground, but with the Sony NWS706, it is wonderful to be able to listen without needing to turn up the volume. The headphones also don't seem to leak music out as far as I can tell...at least I'm not getting dirty looks from people when I do have it at a high volume. I also like that it's small and can fit in my hand or pocket. Although it has FM, I haven't used it much since reception on the underground is spotty.

My main gripe about it is the need for a cable to connect to the USB port, but there are issues that some of the other reviewers have also noted:

* sonic stage: not too bad, but it could be better
* lack of lanyard
* rubber ear plugs can pull off if you accidentally tug the earphone cable too hard

I'm looking at buying a MP3 player for my wife, and although Sony's newer MP3 players have addressed the sonic stage and USB cable issues, it looks like they've removed the noise-canceling feature. Time to buy this before Amazon runs out of stock!