SonyD-NF340 CD Walkman & MP3 Player w/FM Tuner

After searching the net for a day, this was the best CD player I could find. I bought the unit as a backup for my (still functioning well) Sony DNF-430, a unit I'm in love with but I am concerned that when it eventually dies (as we all must), there will no longer be a decent standard CD player at all.This unit seems to be the successor to the 430. Several improvements have been made over the 430:It uses 2 batteries instead of 1 for longer play between battery swapsThe controls are much better -- transport function controls that were twitchy on the 430 are larger and better laid outThe remote is easier to use, and the controls are laid out identically to those on the top of the playerIt "remembers" where you left off playing a CD and starts from there after being stopped OR (new) even after the door has been openedThe display is much easier to read, especially from an angleThe case seems more solidThe price has been substantially reducedOn the downside vs 430:Maximum volume not quite as loud as the 430, and very high or very low frequencies are not rendered quite as wellThe weather, AM radio, and analog TV receivers have been dropped (doubt many used these functions)The LCD readout of song titles and artists on regular CDs is goneNo ATRACS (Sony's old compression scheme that had no real advantage over MP3s)The parametric equalizer is gone (really only useful with low quality headphones)The body is noticably heavier and larger both in thickness and diameterThe transport buttons are much easier to accidentally press when carrying it about as a portable (use the "hold" button underneath to prevent this).The remote connector has changed, so only the remote that comes with the unit may be usedCheezy earbuds and a car cassette adaptor are no longer includedLike the DNF430, the transport mechanism is a bit noisy, although no louder than the sound leakage you would get with good open-air headphones (recommended). No AC power adaptor is included, but there is provision for plugging in separately purchased 4.5 volt AC or car DC adaptor. And opening the lid to change CDs is still a bit awkward. The anti-skip mechanism still works flawlessly.The important thing, the reason for the five stars, is the sound quality. While sonically not quite up to the DNF430, you still can plug in a pair of good headphones like the Grado SR80 and you've got yourself a personal sound system that rivals a good home theater setup. Other reviewers have spoken of "muddy sound" and "hiss"; I can detect none such. The low distortion and high frequency range does reveal flaws in source material that are not evident when that material is played on a lesser unit. On the other hand, I have heard distinct background playing (eg., a trumpet way down in the mix of a Grateful Dead song, the sound of a pick against guitar strings) I'd never heard on lesser players. When playing big band or orchestra CDs, it individuates instruments so you hear each distinctly instead of a single smear of orchesteral sound. This all refers to standard CD's. I do not use the FM or MP3 features. If you care about good sound, you realize that MP3 compression degrades sound.Bottom line: for car or personal listening of standard or burned CDs while not too active, this is a wonderful device. While the size, weight, and easily triggered controls make it less than ideal for physically active listening (I still listen to my hearty old Panasonic while working in the garden), it is still quite serviceable in that mode.I think Sony made a lot of sensible design decisions here, and I hope they sell enough of these to make it worthwhile to keep manufacturing them.Update after 30 months of (frequent) use:Just to let you know: it's still going strong. Since my initial review, I've gone through 3 CD players I bought as kinda disposable units for "in the trenches"; gardening and other activities where I did not want to subject my "good" player to all the banging about that heavy physical activity may cause. My rugged old Panasonic the cat killed by knocking it off of a table (not as rugged as I thought). A new RCA unit had poor skip protection. An older Sony model my wife had never used died after less than 100 hrs of use. And the 340 remains the only unit I've ever owned (8 in 12 years) whose controls are laid out so I can operate the unit in total darkness. Enough! For the $15 difference between the DNF340 and the aforementioned cheapos, why mess around? I'm getting another 340. Maybe I should get 2?BTW, for you who complain about the battery being hard to get at: That's Not A Bug, It's A Feature (as we old computer programmers used to say). The tiny door that accesses the batteries tends to be frail, and with it on the outside, much more prone to breaking during a mishap. If you change batteries in mid-CD, it STILL remembers where you were and resumes play from there. Cool, huh?For you who find the unit "noisy", I've figured out that it is probably because the unit keeps starting and stopping the CD. Apparently it fills the read-ahead buffer (used for skip protection) and stops until the music in the buffer is played, then restarts. A little annoying under some circumstances, but it does prolong battery life by not spinning the CD until it needs to.

The device works well but is is not made to last. If you use the device on a regular basis you might expect it to last 6 to 12 months before something in the electrical system fails. I'm on my 3rd unit in 2 years and that is with gentle but regular use. The sound is good. Sound stabilization prevents skipping. The ear buds are uncomfortable with extended use but that is common with most ear buds. Sony has discontinued this product and was unable to provide repairs or replacement the second time it broke down.

For classical music, which is what I listen to, MP3s and WMAs even ripped at 256 bps or higher simply do not retain the same kind of high fidelity as the original CD, so I've always kept a portable CD player to listen to the music I love the most. My old Sony discman recently dropped out of a car (don't ask why... I got a traffic ticket along with that loss...). I went to my local Sony Style retail store but they no longer carry any discman's in store, so I ordered the D-NF340 -- the "top of the line" model -- here on Amazon, even though Amazon's price was a few bucks above the MSRP.Even on the included cheapo earphones, the NF340 demonstrates great sound quality. On a better pair of Panasonic's, the sound was rich, vibrant, flavorful, and... just right, unlike the dull and mechanical sound quality of MP3, even at high bit rates or at optimized VBRs. There is no comparison. (Granted, I have classically trained ears, so I may be somewhat more sensitive to the audio quality of music than most people, and my ears are not deaf from years of listening to rock 'n roll like some of my friends.) From Beethoven's serene violin concerto to Mozart's flirtatious serenades to the few jazz and rock CDs in my collection, everything just sounds so much better. It's simply painful to go back to MP3.As with all Sony discman's, the D-NF340 remembers where you stopped the music, at the exact point in the track. This is true even if you remove the CD and re-insert it. (Of course, if you play another CD and then go back to the first CD, the playback will start from the beginning.) To force playback from the beginning after stopping, simply press and hold the play/pause button for a couple of seconds.The D-NF340 plays MP3 discs as well, and also features FM reception. The lack of AM is fine by me since, first, I never listen to AM radio, and second, almost all the AM stations in my area are in languages other than English, so even if an earthquake or other signs of 2012 hit my area, I wouldn't be able to understand a thing they say on the AM. The earphone cord acts as the FM antenna, as is common on portable players like this. A simple non-display remote control is included in the package.The CD player itself seems well made and, although not ultra-thin like my last Sony (which used special NiCd rechargeable batteries), attractive in styling. It uses 2 AA batteries. (Unfortunately, the battery compartment is inside the CD, so be sure to close the door securely lest your discs get scratched.) I use Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable NiMH's, which do not lose charge even when not used like regular NiMH's.I'm very happy with my D-NF340.