Customer Reviews

Sony Walkman NWZS545BLK 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)

5 star:		(94)
4 star:		(61)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

When searching for a new mp3 player the trail always leads me back to Sony. Its more about overall quality then brand loyalty. Over the years Sony's Walkman line has gone the distance and more. The all new Sony S Series Walkman adds to the legacy.

The S-545 16gb Walkman brings it on with a crisp, color enhanced 2.4" LCD screen that is easy on the eyes. At 2" x 4" x .4", it comes in a bit larger then its older cousin. A larger body undoubtedly is required to provide support for the external speaker system. The speakers won't get confused with my home system anytime soon but they do provide an excellent source. With headphones on, this mp3 player delivers a cornucopia of sound. Missing but not that noticeable is the noise reduction feature. The on board equalizer can be tweaked to one's own preferences or users can choose one of the six presets.

The Navigation pad located directly under the screen is a breeze to operate. Three controls are located on the right side of the unit. One locks in the controls. The second one allows for easy switching from speaker to headset. Volume is the third control. The standard headphone jack and a USB port can be found on the bottom of the unit. The detachable flip out stand is an okay feature that allows for easy standing on my desk or shelf top. I would have preferred that it was permanently mounted.

The S-545 supports mp3, mp4, AAC, AVC, WMV, WMA, and PCM. PCM is Sony's version of WAV. It pairs well with Napster To Go. Its hit and miss with Rhapsody To Go. Sometimes its a smooth transfer, other times its not. Downloading my playlists from Windows Media Player was a breeze without the usual hiccups associated with older mp3 players.

Amazon video is a new option that is also supported. Video can be synced from my computer as well. I've never been big on downloading video to my player. I did download a couple of photographs on this model. The display was outstanding. Unlike my older Walkman, this model doesn't offer the wallpaper photo display option.

The built in FM tuner picked up all ten of my stations. With auto scanner functionality, thirty preset slots are available. The FM radio is crystal clear when using the headset as an antenna. The alarm and timer features are a nice add on. This model also has an impressive on board microphone located on the bottom of the unit. There are three voice settings. Voice playback quality was excellent. Battery life has always been biggie with Sony. On a full charge, I got almost a full thirty five hours of music.

The Sony Walkman S-545 16gb Mp3 player comes packed with a USB cable, flip stand, ear buds, installed operating manual and the standard one year warranty. Body finishes include; black and red in the 16GB model. Pink and violet are additional choices in the 8GB model.

Economically priced, this latest edition to the Walkman line is a durable and reliable product that delivers. Easy to use and loaded with features, the Sony S-545 is a prime time performer.

Great sounding and easy to use MP3 I have owned. I have had a Philips GoGear (froze and had to format all the time) a creative Zen (stopped working after 6 months) and a Zune 120 GB (great storage but not the best sounding MP3, plus a little to bulky when jogging). This is the easiest MP3 to use and the sound is great. For people who exercise, especially joggers, this is the perfect size and at 16GB holds quite alot of music. The screen size is only 2.4 but is very clear and once you use the transfer feature that comes with the player is easy to transfer photos and videos.

The speakers won't blow you away, but I got it for when I work outside in the garden and didn't want to haul out my speakers to plug in. Plus, when I am at work I can use it at the lunch table and not be rude when people sit with me and cannot listen to music. They do sound pretty good for the size, just an extra bonus on the player.

Last, a great price for an 16GB

I'm not exactly an mp3 player expert, so maybe I have unrealistic expectations. I really like (but not love...) this mp3 player, but there are a few things that I would have done differently if I had been the designer.

Video: This is advertised as being video capable (very nice screen), but I was surprised that this didn't play .wmv files. They play on Windows Media Player (and every other player I know of - Nero - Winamp), but not on the Sony. I thought .wmv was very popular, and am surprised that it can't play them.

Fast Forward: when you push and hold the "forward" button, it slowly "fast forwards" through the song 4 seconds at a time. It would be nice if after a few seconds, it kicked in the "turbo" and really zoomed through the file at a quicker rate - maybe 10 or 15 seconds at a time or something. If you want to fast-forward 40 minutes into an hour-long mp3 file (ie: radio program on mp3), you're going to be there for a long time while it slowly pokes through at 4 second intervals.

Playlists: you can't create a playlist on this mp3 player, which seems kinda odd to me. You have to do it via Windows Media Player 11, and then import it. I'm not familiar with how other mp3 players do it, but it would be nice to make playlists independently without having to be hooked up to Windows Media Player 11.

Screen: I was disappointed at how fast the screen scratches. Don't put it in the same pocket as your keys (or even a plastic thumb drive), or you'll be sorry. (I also have an old Creative Muvo that was as durable as a watch crystal. I expected this to be a bit more scratch resistant.) They sell little screen protectors, but I didn't know about this until AFTER my screen got scratched. If you buy this, get screen protectors before you use it!

Clock: I think it's great that this has a clock, alarm, and sleep timer! What neat features! And it's a cool looking clock which includes date as well. I wish the clock would display somewhere on the screen along with the song info - not just when the "clock" menu item is selected. Not a biggie - just a preference.

By the way, being able to wake up via a pre-selected .mp3 file is one of my favorite features. I use it for waking up to Bible reading or Rosary or verses that I'm trying to memorize (that I've "read into" the Sony using the voice recorder). What a great feature, and a great way to start the day!

"Folder": Here's a big issue for me - The "arrange by folder" doesn't work like I expected it to. I have an mp3 Bible on my computer, and using Windows Explorer (not media player), I organized each book of the Bible into it's own folder (ie: Genesis, Exodus...). Yet, when I moved these folders over to the Sony, and browse by "folder" - they do NOT appear under their "folder" name (ie: Genesis), but on the "contributing artist" or something like that. The Sony somehow thinks that it belongs in a folder labeled "Eric Martin" (the name of the narrator.) It looks like I need to go into Windows Media Player and re-arrange "folders" through that application. That's gonna be a big job. It seems to have totally ignored my "organization" via Windows Explorer.

Windows Media Player: I use Windows Media player, but am not a guru, so I was disappointed to see this Sony relying so heavily on it (folder organization, as well as playlists). Now I need to figure out Windows Media Player in order for my Sony to work properly.

One more nitpick - maybe I'm being too critical, but I think the volume control is too small hard to use. I would have made separate "up" and "down" buttons, and made them a bit bigger. My old Creative Muvo has 2 large, easy-to-use buttons, and it is much smaller than the Sony. The Sony has room for bigger buttons - why didn't they make them bigger?

Other than that - I really appreciate the long battery life, the beautiful (albeit scratched) screen, the speakers, the "alarm clock" feature, etc. etc. etc. This has a LOT of really nice features. Overall, I really like it, but thought a critical review might be more helpful for future purchasers. From what I saw, this is one of the best values (with the best features) for the money.

I bought this to upgrade my current Sony MP3 Walkman which was the previous generation (NWZ-E436)and had probably one of the best sound quality of any mp3 player, much better than the ipod and this player continues that quality. I'd say it's slightly better than the previous generation due to the bass boost. The LED screen is about 0.5" bigger than the E series and also has built in speakers which are decent but fairly weak in volume. The S series is also bigger than the E series as well to accommodate the speakers and the larger LCD screen, but still remain about the same size as a credit card. The one caveat is that the resolution of the LCD display remains at 320x240 which is the same as the E series so visual quality is not improved upon. The menu system is very intuitive and easy to navigate through from watching videos, listening to the radio or mp3, and viewing pictures. Not sure why people would use a device this small to view pictures. Picture quality is good I suppose. Unfortunately, you can't zoom in on photos and the player has problems with large jpg files over 1MB so you'll need to resize photos in order to make it less than 1MB. The software included is the same as the previous generation which I didn't really bother with and most people won't either since it's much easier to use windows explorer and just use cut/copy & paste. In order to delete music you'll still need to hook up to a pc and delete it through windows explorer.

What separates this generation from the previous generation is the bass boost feature which does exactly what it says. Also, you now have the ability to record sound through the built in microphone which has adequate quality if you want to record a lecture. Another great feature added is the ability to record FM radio which only a few mp3 players allow due to copyright issues. The sound/music that you record can be deleted directly from the player without connecting to a computer which is convenient. Another thing I've noticed is that the sound level is a lot louder. On the NWZ-E436 I usually listened at level 21-24, but on this one I usually listen at level 14-19, where the maximum is 30.

Only certain types of videos are supported including mp4 and wmv with support for resolution up to 320x240. There's several free software available over the internet which can convert certain videos or dvd to mp4 or wmv. Not all of them will work. It's too bad Sony didn't include a video converter. Quality of video is adequate but nothing like the Zune HD which can play 1080p video and can connect to your tv. Video playback is smooth without stuttering and sound is excellent as well. When viewing videos in order to fast forward you'll need to press the right wheel or down wheel depending on how your video is oriented. For instance, if you view it vertically then you press the right wheel and conversely if you view it horizontally or panoramic then you'd press the down wheel. The included headphones is fair but I recommend buying a separate one. Make sure to buy an in-ear headphone to isolate sound. An affordable and high quality one is Creative EP-630 or EP-830 which also sounds better than the Klipsch S4 headphones that some review sites are touting over.

Other features include adjustable equalizers, clock, alarm, stand, and timer. The battery life is fairly long depending on how loud you listen and amount of video playback viewed. What's "missing" is wi-fi and internet connection, camera, touchscreen, games, and telephone that some people may be looking for in a one package device. If you want a complete package then get a blackberry, handheld pc, or next generation iphone. If you're looking for a great mp3 player with lots of features then this is probably the best mp3 player under $120. If you just want a great mp3 player for music, radio, and podcasts then get the E series which is cheaper with the same great sound quality.

Update: I've had this player for about a year now and it still works great considering the amount of abuse that it has received from being dropped onto concrete while jogging, placing them in my tight jeans with my keys and sitting on it, and placing them in the bathroom while taking a steamy shower. So far it has stalled only twice when the battery was running really low. I also decided to buy a Zune HD to consider replacing it but I surprisingly found that the sound quality on the Sony was much better even though the Zune costs upwards of $290. I'm thinking of returning the Zune HD but the video for that player is incomparable to any mobile device. I'm debating whether to try the Sony X series which also has the same video quality as the Zune and has even better sound quality but costs $400. Anyways, for anyone still debating whether to get this, if you only want a dedicated mp3 player for radio, music, and podcasts accept no substitute. This is the best period.

I had an iPod for the last 5 years, and was fairly happy with it because I was stupid. The build quality of my iPod was good, and their scroll wheel is probably still the best. Every other category gets crushed by Sony's walkman. A major reason that I wanted to switch mp3 players was my hatred for iTunes. I wanted a player where I could just drag albums similar to a USB drive, and it would work. No 3rd party software required. The Sony does this. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to just move over entire directories of music with one drag. Not only that, but I can copy the music off the player in the same way, unlike all Apple products.

The screen is nice and bright and crisp. No problems there. FM tuner works great. What's really remarkable about this player is 2 very very very key things about mp3 players: battery life and sound quality. Sony really crushes Apple here. My player really does get 42 hours of playback. This is really unbelievable. Sometimes it's just nice to know that you can leave for a weekend trip with your mp3 player charged, and not worry about running out of juice no matter how much you use it. Anyone who enjoys music enjoys hi fidelity in the sound quality. I use earbuds so that I can hear everything at low volume while also blocking out all of the outside world. With these types of headphones, you really hear how much better and fuller the music is on a Sony than an iPod.

So, on top of the fact that this player is about 30% cheaper as well, I will probably only buy Sony's from here on out. Really a great product. A couple of things I don't particularly like though: speakers suck and I'm not too sure why they are even on this unit. Very strange, but this doesn't detract at all from what the device is actually used for. The other downer is the scroll wheel/play button combo. Significantly too small and just not a totally smooth interface. I find it hard to believe that anyone would prefer this over Apple's interface--which is what all of their products are known for: nice interfaces, ok hardware, wrapped in 73 layers of proprietary crap.

I've stayed away from Sony products for a very long time. After hearing the reviews for this Walkman on the Cnet MP3 Insider podcast, I picked one up the same day. It's hard to beat the price for what you get. Large capacity and a small footprint. The sound quality is great, I love the preset and the custom EQ. If you like deep bass you can adjust it to your liking. One great feature is that you can sort the songs based on the ID3 tag information, but you can also search the file system in case your tags are not proper. I love how you can either use the included software to sync your songs or you can just drop your files onto the device. If you don't like the Sony software you can use MediaMonkey to manage your music. I'm glad they went with internal batteries because it made it possible to make the device much smaller. There are many features packed into this tiny DAP. The internal speakers are a nice touch. I think Sony did a fantastic job on this one.

I just got my Sony Walkman NWZ-S545 after being a relatively long time iPod user. I made this switch due to better sound quality and clarity than the iPod. I was very glad to have all of the extra features which included the FM reception, (only available on certain iPods), much better equalizer options and range, the 16 GB space, and a better price. I found that it was compatible with reading different MP3 formats but does require the use of Windows Media Player 11. While this is easy to get if you don't already have it, I must admit that it is not as good as the iTunes. I also found that the software supplied within the unit itself was rather difficult to use, and transferring music and other video files made the iPod a clear winner in this area.

One thing that Sony, or other vendors like Amazon don't tell you is that this S Series Walkman is NOT compatible with Windows XP with Service Pack 3! I found this out after an extensive online chat with Sony's technical support to get this resolved in a quick manner. The technical support person was very knowledgeable and patient with my problem, and got to the real issue of the Windows 3 incompatibility, and was empathetic in my situation. Apple's support does not even come close to what Sony's support offers!! However, I am fortunate enough to have another computer with the Vista operating system, which works well with this Walkman.

I must admit that I am not a big fan of pictures and videos on an MP3 (my primary reason for buying this or any other portable device is for the music), I did get a good shot at downloading some pictures that I had saved on my computer (I wasn't intending to do this, which ties in with the problems that I found with the software). I was quite impressed with their looks and how the clarity of the pictures was automatically adjusted to the downscaled size needs of the player. I have not experienced any videos on this device as yet, so I cannot comment on this feature.

Even with some of my previous stated drawbacks of the Sony Walkman S series, the sound quality and clarity definitely met, if not exceeded my expectations of a Sony product. I would recommend this product to anyone who is looking for a good MP3 player with lots of features.

I wish I didn't have to rate this player one star because the sound is great, the FM radio works just fine, and the video is clear. But I got this primarily to listen to audiobooks, and for that purpose it is just dreadful. IT IS THE WORST. The player doesn't offer a separate file for audiobooks like my little Sansa Clip does. Instead, it just puts the book file in with the songs I have stored so if I leave the book to listen to the radio or my music, I can't pick up where I left off the last time I listened to the book. It takes me back to the very beginning, no matter how far I'm into it. Fast forwarding to where I left off is too impractical because THE FAST FORWARD KEY MOVES INCREDIBLY SLOWLY. It's a very attractive player and for tunes and video it's easy to use, but the people who designed this didn't have audiobook listeners in mind. If my cheap little Clip can let me pick up where I left off the last time I listened to a book, why can't this one? It was more than twice the cost of a Clip, yet it's not half as good.

I bought the Sony S545 16GB 6 months ago after my ancient Creative Zen finally died. I chose Sony because a relative had an older Sony Walkman player that has lasted forever, and he highly recommended it.

PROS:

The Sony does have good, actually pretty great sound.

Battery life is pretty good, although I've never gotten anywhere close to the 40 hours as advertised. Maybe 15-20, which still lasts a while for me.

The external speaker is a nice touch - I like using it at work when I don't want to run music through my PC.

The radio tuner works well, even though I hardly use it.

CONS:

At 6 months old, the Sony is exhibiting signs of eminent death. It freezes during file transfers, sometimes the play/pause button stops working, and sometimes after charging to full, the battery immediately goes back down to one bar. I've reset it but the issues continue. Sony's warranty is a joke (send them $29 for a refurbed replacement). This is not the high level of quality that I expected from a Sony product.

The software (Sony MediaGo) is terrible. Using Windows Media Player to manage the player isn't much better. I've tried numerous other media programs with "meh" results. Nothing seems to work perfectly with this player. Organizing music files is impossible. No matter what software you use to organize your music folders, the organizing results disappear when you turn on the player. For example - if you have music from an artist collaborating with another (i.e. "Sting featuring Eric Clapton"), that music will show up in its own folder rather than in the "Sting" folder. Nothing I have tried seems to fix this issue. I love collaborative music and compilation albums, which means my list of artists on the player is now completely out of control. I may hate Apple's stranglehold on media players, but at least their products work seamlessly with their software.

You cannot play music from the player when it's connected to your PC.

Video playback quality isn't great and it doesn't play several different media types.

So, that's my two cents. I expect my little Sony to die any day now, and I'm not sure what I'm going to purchase for a replacement. I don't want to spend the extra money for an iPod, plus I don't like the proprietary issues that come with Apple products. I just wanted a durable, easy to use media player with good sound. Is that too much to ask?

UPDATE 12.27.10: Well, my little Sony just expired. The sound output connection has failed. The unit will still work using its built in speaker, but no longer has sound when attached to my car stereo or any other output. Needless to say this will be my last Sony mp3 purchase. I think I'm just going to use Doubletwist on my smartphone and skip purchasing another mp3 player. Oh well. Don't waste your money.

I currently own a previous gen NWZ-E438BLK 8GB walkman and have thoroughly enjoyed it but wanted something with more storage capacity so I bought this because I liked the idea of having a 16GB walkman with internal speakers so that I could enjoy my music anytime I wanted. I have three main issues with this product: One, the battery doesn't last nearly as long as advertised, especially when using the internal speakers and therefore requires re-charging pretty much daily. The second issue is when I use it with my Sony Walkman docking station (Sony SRSNWGM30 Dock Speaker for Sony NWZS730F (Black)). I basically have full control of my 8GB walkman while using the remote while it's on the docking station, but with this 16GB model I can only control the power and volume. I can't play/pause, rewind, fast forward or skip forwards or backwards. Thirdly, I don't like that as soon as I connect it to my laptop that it automatically begins to sync with whatever's in my library. I had to literally make it stop synchronizing before I was able to select which songs and playlist I actually intended to load onto it. If you're looking for a good walkman and neither of the three issues I mentioned are important to you, then feel free to purchase this player. On the other hand, if they are a deal breaker for you then I suggest the Sony Walkman E-340. It's nice having the internal speakers for only 20 bucks more, but I'd rather be able to control my walkman from across the room when convenient. Also, I personally don't have any use for the video player on the walkman so I don't have an opinion on it one way or the other. I've only used the music player as that was the main reason for the purchase.

Hope this helps.