Sony D-NF400 CD Walkman Review

Sony's D-NF400 CD Walkman is a well thought out CD player which supports standard audio, MP3 and Sony's ATRAC3 CDs. It offers long battery life, good button layout, a very useful LCD information display and a variety of control choices to enhance your listening experience. Uninterrupted playback via a memory buffer is offered for those times when the player takes a bump. It also can tune to FM, AM, TV and weather stations, with the ability to program 51 total presets.

Product Review:

It’s small and circular. It plays regular audio CDs as well as ones with music files. It tunes AM, FM, TV and weather band. It even looks good in your hand. Sony’s D-NF400 CD Walkman is one of those portable CD players which stand out above the hordes of cheap imitations in the market. It offers enough features to keep most audiophiles happy and is at a price point almost anyone can love.

The D-NF400 gets high marks from the get go for its sleek, reserved look. The feel of the device in your hand is solid, though the player’s swing up door feels a little cheap. The button layout on the front is well done, with a large, multi-function play button being at the center. A small LCD display, where you can view information on the CDs you are playing as well as the menu navigation for controlling various features, is a nice touch.

As with most portable CD players these days, the D-NF400 supports MP3-encoded CDs in addition to standard, store-bought ones. It also supports Sony’s ATRAC3 and ATRAC3plus formats, of which people can burn CDs with this type of music file if they wish as Sony has conveniently included a copy of their SonicStage CD ripping software.

Sound quality from the D-NF400 was great, though the headphones which were included in the packaging left a lot to be desired. A variety of playback enhancements, including a four-mode, customizable equalizer and automatic volume distortion control, made for an even better listening experience.

Playback time, measured in hours, was good. Battery power, supplied by two AA batteries, stretched between 45 and 80 hours, depending upon what type of CD (audio, MP3, ATRAC3) was being used. ATRAC3 had the longest time, as the software codec for this type of file promotes better battery life. Radio playback time measured out at around 75 hours.

Another nice feature on the CD playback side was the G-Protection shock buffer. Two levels of anti-skipping technology are offered, which translates into varying amounts of time available in a memory buffer for the music to be stored. Level 2 offers more time protected, but also sucks more battery life.

Those desiring more playback modes then you can shake a stick at will be happy, as the D-NF400 offers, among other things, repeat, shuffle, support of play lists (MP3 CDs), and bookmarking (favorite tracks only: 10 CDs memory for standard audio, 5 for MP3 or ATRAC3).

Besides CD playing, the DF-N400 has your standard AM/FM/TV/Weather bands, manual and auto tuning and the ability to set up to 51 presets.

Overall, the DF-N400 is a solid portable CD player priced at just below $80. It will serve well those who are looking for a nice gift, either for themselves or someone they want to impress.