Sony D-E356CK Walkman CD Player with Car Kit

Skip-Free ESPMAX technology offers a high level of advanced skip protection (using part of the Fast Recovery technology from Sony's G-Protection) to provide six times faster recovery than the conventional ESP2 system and longer uninterrupted playback during active uses. The Walkman achieves up to 33 hours of continuous playback on two "AA" type batteries (not included).

Sony's two-position automatic volume limiter system (AVLS) conserves batteries and guards your hearing by capping your listening level. The unit's Walkman-logo headphones are Sony MDR (Micro Dynamic Receiver) type for wide dynamic range and excellent sound.

What's in the Box
D-E356CK Walkman CD player, car kit (audio and power connectors), compact wired car remote, AC power cord, stereo headphones, user's manual, warranty information.

Product Description
Make your drive come alive with Sony's D-E356CK CD Walkman. It comes with all the accessories you need to listen in your car or on a walk in the park. ESP MAX recovers from skips 6 times faster than before so you almost never miss a beat. Plus, you can play your personal mixes that you've recorded onto CD-R or CD-RW. The headphones let you use this versatile CD Walkman when you're looking for even more mobility. It's a great value at an affordable price.

PRO:
(1) skip protection is decent
(2) Battery life is good
(3) Unit itself is well designed, durable.

CON:
(1) No search - it only allows skip ahead or back. You may not search around a lot on a track, but I do. And I get pretty frustrated.
(2) For all the bragging they do about its skip protection, I still skip a lot. Given, it's better than previous portables I've owned, but the advertising had me thinking I'd picked up the best CD player ever. It still skips.
(3) By far my biggest complaint is that my unit does terribly with CD-R's. This is highly problematic because I make my own mix CDs. I can't listen to any of them on this unit. I thought it might be CD-R brand specific, but 3 different brands of CD-R's all did terribly (including Sony brand). It just skips through the whole song on every track. Utterly frustrating.
(4) The remote control is terrible. It's awkward to use, and what's worse, generates even more wires to clutter you up while you're driving.
(5) As previously mentioned, beeping is very annoying and loud and lack of backlighting problematic at times.

My impression:
I think that this unit is decent if you can find it for pretty cheap, but it certainly is not a good CD player. I've had good luck with Sony in the past, so I'm having a hard time understanding why I've had it so bad with this one. When I get the funds, I will be buying a higher quality discman to replace this one. If you're going to pay full price for this unit, you've been misled about this product, and if you've already bought it at full price, see if you can return it.


Not bad Not bad.   November 22, 2002
 17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I actually picked this player up on a whim as I needed something to keep me entertained for a 48 hour bus trip.

Some of the good features I found in this machine were.

1) I've found the player to be quite good with anti-skip no matter where I go. I don't even have the ESPMax on most of the time and I still get very few pops and skips while going down bumpy roads or just walking briskly.

2) The sound quality on it isn't all that bad, the headphones that the kit supplies are workable and fairly comfortable.

3) The battery life on it is quite lengthy if you're just using the bare minimum settings. (No ESP on or bass on) I only had to change the batteries during my bus trip once.

4) Love that hold feature, I can stuff the deck in my pocket and not worry about the volume cranking itself up on me.

5) Resume feature is a plus, saves having to find another button on the deck.

6) Decently Built. I've stupidly managed to drop the player on solid floors two or three times and the machine hasn't [burned] out on me yet. Although I find there's an increased lag when the machine is checking for a disc.

Some Not So Good Features

1) Lack of a real "search" function. I like to skip through parts of the songs so I can get to one particular point. A little frustrating.

2) No backlit LCD, makes it hard to tell if you're on the right song.

3) The sound quality I found when plugged up to the car adapter degraded a little but that could be because of the stereo system in the car itself.

4) Resume feature can be frustrating in that if you want to start the song from the beginning you gotta go on the hunt for another button or if you accidentally open the player it resets itself so to speak.

All in all, the player has been treating me fairly good, I was most impressed with the quality and the price that I paid for it.


not that good..   November 20, 2002
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I was looking for a cd player I could also use in my car and it was either this or the Panasonic SX series. Ultimately chose this because of the Sony name. Not a good choice tho' imho.

First of all, the pros:
1.Reasonably skip resistant
2.Looks good
3.Battery life is good.
4.Good value for the price.
Now the cons:
1.I have noticed some skipping every now and then. Its good for small road bumps and little falls but heres the funny part, while the designers have made a good anti-skip, they have failed to make the battery flap strong. So if it falls down, you're good as long as the battery flap stays intact. Otherwise, it simply knocks the batteries out of place and the unit stops alltogether !!!
2. While trying to install it in my car, I found the clutter of wires extremely annoying.
3. The lack of a backlit display reduces usefulness in a car.
4. The remote is really basic, no volume control or anything. Just forward, back and stop.
5. The annoying beep which others have mentioned. can be quite jarring in a car.
6. Replacing cds isnt very easy.
7. No pause function. You have to stop it but I must admit, it does get back to the earlier point. + the annoying beeps of course !!


Disappointing   November 3, 2002
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I like Sony products, but was disappointed with this one. I've had it for about 5 months and the skipping keeps getting worse and worse. It also has recently started to stop playing for a few seconds then kicking back in - very annoying. No dropping or damage of any kind has occurred to the unit, so I can only assume it's poor maunfacture quality, and, of course, all this started to happen after the warranty was up. I do like the remote, but it has an annoying loud beep when used. I'm shopping for another car ready CD player to replace it - it won't be a Sony.


Not at all pleased with my purchase   October 30, 2002
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Although I didn't spend a whole lot of time researching different portable CD players, I did look around at different features and, of course, prices. Sony had a reputation that I liked, as well as a car kit package with a nifty little remote so I didn't have to search for buttons while driving. The price was reasonable so I bought it. I have been extremely dissapointed in my decision. The CD player skips. Often. I called Sony because it was still under warrenty and they advised me to ship it to them since no one in my area (or state) can service it. So I pay to have it shipped and 3-and-a-half weeks later it is returned to me with a note that they replaced the motor drive. It still skips. Unfortunately, it is no longer under warrenty. If I want it fixed, I can pay to have it shipped back to them and pay to service what is obviously a defective player. Overall, I am even more frustrated with the service than I am with the CD player. I will think twice before buying any Sony product let alone another CD player from them.