MP3 Insider Lounge: A820/725 Sony walkman review, no more nano

A820/725 Sony walkman review, no more nano

The new Sony a820 series walkman is pretty solid in all areas with only minor drawbacks

If you’re like me then you’re getting pretty tired of using the nano and you hate all the big gimmicky players and touch screens with pointless sub-par features: Then you will be moderately pleased with this new walkman which adds some flavor to the boring, played out, distorted sound quality I pod.

The body is a little thicker than the nano, not a noticeable in the pocket department. Of course you can look at the specs and see its .31 and nano is like .26/7 sure, but in reality the difference in depth is minimal at most. It’s fairly scratch resistant EXCEPT the screen, it is a finger print and dust magnet can be most compared to sunglasses, still scratch resistant to a degree but avoid touching it with dirty hands “n” such.

Button configuration is decent, I’ve never liked the volume rocker I think it’s tacky, but that’s only my opinion other than that my only grip is the placement of the direction pad, which can be awkward for the first hour or so of use. The buttons look small but the directional button is lifted above the play/pause so u can click using just your thumb.

Menu navigation is pretty cool, pretty solid. Nice lay out, u can easily search for songs, it displays all the information, and u can search by Letters through artists and songs. It’s a nice touch compared to the I pod nano.

The sound quality is extremely good, especially if you like metal. Bands like nightwish, in flames, In this moment etc… sound fantastic and clear. Normally these bands would get muffled and distorted on I pod but not on the Sony, everything comes through.
Equalizer settings and sound enhancements are equally impressive, There is a clear stereo, a Sound enhancer, fully customizable EQ with two custom slots, the EQ changes the sound right-a-way so u know how to adjust it perfectly. The volume level is labeled in cubes that go up to lvl 30 even at 15 (half volume) the music still sounds like the music, as u know, on I pod once you go below 80 % volume its total garbage. On the Sony u might want to turn the volume down and chill out, if u worry about hearing Personally I’m gonna be at 29 on those long plane flights lol.

Plays AAC, protected and subscription WMA, mp3 etc

The only major drawback is Windows media player and other jukeboxes like real player.