Sony D-NE326CK MP3/ATRAC CD Walkman Car Kit

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.8 x 5.4 x 5.4 inches ; 6.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007Q2GR2
• Item model number: DNE326CK
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Take your music on the road with the D-NE326CK MP3/ATRAC3 CD Walkman. It comes with a complete set of car kit accessories so you can get plugged in fast. The advanced audio compression of ATRAC3plus lets you put up to 490 songs2 on one CD-R/RW disc. Combine that with the long battery life (up to 41 hours playback1), and you're set to roll cross country.

Features

• Car Kit Accessories Supplied Permits use of this CD Walkman player in vehicle with no need to obtain additional components/accessories.
• Plays Back CD-R/RW Discs with MP3/ATRAC3/ATRAC3plus Audio For customers who already have extensive music libraries, use the included software and hardware to manage, burn and playback their collection of MP3s. ATRAC3plus is an advanced audio compression technology offering multiple bit rates, allowing you to create music compilations tailored to your listening preference with the ability to get up to 490 songs on 1 CD-R/RW disc at 48kbps.
• 3-Line LCD Provides track, title, album and artist information of ATRAC or MP3 CDs. Allows for fast and easy identification and location of specific songs and information.
• One "AA" Battery Operation (Not Supplied) Advanced Sony DSP technology provides dramatically extended battery life from predecessor models.
• Multi-Language Support for LCD Text Displays information on compact discs that contain encoded text data that can include the artist name, disc name, and/or track name.
• 5 Direction Control Key Single button control with 5 individual functions providing an easy and convenient way to control music and navigation.
• Parametric Equalizer II Allows the user to set not only the amount in dB by which a certain frequency band is boost or cut, but also the width and/or center frequency of this band. Providing extremely precise control of the tonal balance.
• Music Management Software (Supplied) Easy-to-use and allows you to create your own ATRAC3plus music file compilations on CD-R/RW media using your PC's CD-Rom drive. The ability to add your own titles and edit your music groups allows for an element of customization in your portable music.
• Skip-Free G-Protection Technology continues to provide quick recovery from both horizontal and vertical shock.
• Off Timer Auto Shut-Off Feature to Conserve Battery Life Maximizes battery life by powering down the player when not in use.
• 18 Playback Modes/Bookmark Playback Function Offer many predetermined choices in the playback of CDs, including hearing one track over and over, hearing a selection of tracks in a desired order, or listening to tracks randomly.
• Digital Mega Bass Sound Uses digital processing technology to produce rich, deep, bass tones with extremely low harmonic distortion.
• 2 Position Automatic Volume Limiter System (AVLS) Maintains volume output at levels below distortion threshold for cleaner sound reproduction.

Product Description

The D-NE326CK CD Walkman(R) lets you enjoy your own mix CDs whether you're on foot or in the car. Skip-Free G-Protection(TM) Technology adds shock protection for skip-free listening. ATRAC CD-R/RW Playback and bookmark playback lets you enjoy your own mixes and programs your favorite songs with the touch of a button. Digital Mega Bass(R) Sound uses digital processing technology to produce rich, deep, bass tones. 18 playback modes give you multiple choices, from hearing one track over and over, to random and shuffle play. The Automatic Volume Limiter System (AVLS) maintains volume below distortion thresholds, for cleaner sound. Skip-Free G-Protection(TM) Technology Digital Mega Bass(R) Sound System ATRAC3plus, ATRAC3, ATRAC support MP3 and CD-R/RW format playbook Comes with Walkman(R) Earbud headphones Includes full car kit Operates on 1 AA battery (not incl.)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this thing!, November 28, 2005

By 

Jonathan M. Mason "jm_1951" (Punta Gorda, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony D-NE326CK MP3/ATRAC CD Walkman Car Kit (Electronics)

This is brilliant. When CDs were a pretty new thing twenty years ago I remember buying a Sony Walkman that cost me well over $200 and played two CDs on 4 AA batteries. Now look what you are getting--a machine that costs a fraction of the price, plays for something like 40 hours on one battery (and rechargeables are now cheap too) and, here is the killer, using the software that comes with this kit, you can save as much as thirty hours of sound on a single CD with Sony's proprietary ATRAC3 Plus compression technology. Alternatively you can convert sound files to MP3, which this player will also play and get about 12 hours of reasonably quality sound.

If this sound useful to you, then I don't think you can go wrong with this kit at this price.

What I have been using it for is recording talking books and 10-part dramatizations of lengthy novels from BBC webcasts using a software recording program.

So I now have the whole of Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd, Dickens's Our Mutual Friend, and Agatha Christie's Nemesis all on one CD which I listen to on long journeys in my car. This saves messing around with several CDs sliding all over the care and falling behind the seats.

Seems to me that there is loads of potential for all kinds of other things. For example you could save 100 music CDs to 4 CDs to use in your car. Very neat and convenient.

Of course the question will arise as to whether the quality of the sound is good enough in this compressed format. For me it is, and the jazz tracks I have also recorded sound fine for use in the car. Obviously if you are a professional sound engineer, or perhaps a professional musician, you may have gripes about it, but for the rest of us, it is probably fine.

The remote control is not much good and the control buttons are a bit small for full size fingers, but you can get used to it. Getting the battery out to replace and/or recharge it is a bit fiddly, especially if you have big fingers.

With the connection to the car's tape player, the corded remote, and the corded power supply, you will have a bit of a tangle of wires in the car, but with this kind of battery life, you can dispense with the power supply easily enough, and the remote too, so then you only have one cable and the player can sit on the passenger seat. With a bit of practice you can turn it on and off and skip tracks without looking.

So if you have an older car with a CD player that doesn't play MP3 CDs, and you want to get rid of a clutter of CDs in your car, or if you want to put a bunch of audio books, or maybe a language learning course, on a single CD, this could be an excellent purchase. I don't regret it.

The question will obviously arise: Why not use an iPod type device instead? You can certainly do that, but not for anything like the same price. And for me, loading up a CD and then setting it aside when I have finished using it, is very simple and requires little time or effort.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars When it plays, it's fine, but poorly designed and counterintuitive, July 15, 2005

By 

Joel Saxton (Venice, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony D-NE326CK MP3/ATRAC CD Walkman Car Kit (Electronics)

I have several issues with this player:

1) The case-open slider is along the side of the player is situated where the cords come out and it is difficult to open the player as a result.

2) The buttons are too small. They seem designed for infants or people with abnormally small fingers.

3) It will sometimes shut itself off for no apparent reason. I will turn it on, then wait for the first track, and instead of playing it, it will sometimes shut down.

4) If I hit PLAY twice in a row it makes a continuous high-pitched beeping sound that is at the actual volume level. It is unnecessarily loud and obnoxious.

5) The velcro is not very sticky and so far has failed to adhere to the dash. I plan on using 30-minute epoxy to affix the velcro patches.

6) The fast forward will only go at what seems like 2x meaning it takes longer than necessary to speed through a track.

Overall, this design gets an F. Its quality is well below what I would expect from Sony. It actually plays the discs fine, but it usability is severely limited by poor design choices.

Addendum: Now it won't play at all. The tape adapter apparently is broken, although I cannot see where. My car tape player now rejects it. At least I can still listen to regular tapes.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good One!!, April 13, 2005

By 

V. kollipara (Rockville, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony D-NE326CK MP3/ATRAC CD Walkman Car Kit (Electronics)

I purchased this player recently from amazon.com.
This is working good until now no probs.Wish sony had made
a cordless remote instead of corded one...which makes u feel
too many wires!!
The velcro that is given to stick the unit is not great..
The cd player keeps falling!! This is a minor issue about the
the product, we can use another thing to stick it..
On the whole good one!!!