A review from a music luvin' graphic designer.

I purchased the Sony D-EJ01 to replace an old portable which was having some problems. I did a lot of research on this product before finally ordering it at http://www.iDerive.com (great service and prices!). After waiting patiently, I finally received my CD Walkman and am very happy with the decision.

My first observations were of its compact size. This is the smallest player that I have ever seen. It is about a 1/4" larger than a CD and about 0.8" thick. The metal case feels nice and sturdy in my hands (it's also pretty lightweight). The buttons on the player itself are placed thoughtfully on the edge of the case and are easy to use. The way CD's slid in and out in its slide loading mechanism is nicely designed. This is Sony's first Walkman to utilize this design. It is unlike a CD player in the car in that it does not mechanically grab the CD from your hands. Instead you have to nudge the CD in until it snaps into position. The sliding eject lever mechanism is nicely designed, though a bit awkward to use at first.

The D-EJ01 comes with "Juicy-Fruit sized" rechargeable batteries (like sticks of gum). It also includes an external battery case that matches the metal used for the case. When used in conjunction with the included rechargeables, it provides the player with an impressive 62 hours of skip-free music. The G-Protection is great. I have not heard the player skip yet. I even shook it and tossed it in the air. Nice.

One of the things I like most about the player is its remote control. It is backlit by a stylish orange light. It has the ability to display text information if the CD has it encoded (I have yet to find a CD that has this in my collection). It has all the functions of the CD player on it so you don't need to handle the player itself. It's nice that the remote control has a clip on the back and that it has a jack for the headphones. The remote control cord is a good length, but the cord on the 'phones is quite short. It doesn't matter anyway because I plan to replace it with the Sony MDR-EX70LP earbuds. The included 'phones aren't the greatest and caused static when I adjusted the plug in the jack on the remote (my other 'phones don't do this). It would have been nice if Sony included a decent set of 'phones with it's 20th anniversary CD Walkman.

A protective carry case was included with this portable. As a designer I am disappointed with its design. The case is not designed so that you can take advantage of the player's slide loading mechanism. You have to take the player out of the case in order to change CDs. It has space for CDs w/o their jewel cases, but you'll have to buy your own protective sleeves (Sony should have included them). The case also stores the external battery case.

The D-EJ01 sounds great. I used the same exact earbuds on two different players for comparison. I can definitely say that I can hear more detail with the D-EJ01. My older Magnavox Car Acoustics portable with ESA does not sound nearly as good. My older player also didn't pump as much volume into my ears as did the Sony. I always had my Magnavox on the highest volume and it wasn't loud enough still. The Sony player definitely blasts me away with rich, high-quality sound.

My overall opinion of the D-EJ01 is that it is the best portable CD player that I have ever used. It was a good decision to buy this.