techlinehd

Packaging and Contents

Let me start by the packaging, which is is made out of plastic and cardboard and is packed in quite typical Sony fashion. What I mean is that it does take some time to unpack it and it is quite hard to repack it if you want to resell and look like new. Well, it is possible, but it may take around 5 mins and some tape.

Besides the player and the finger remote controller there is a proprietary charger. Once you want to charge the device, you need to connect the headphones to this charging dock and then use any regular USB charging brick or your laptop. The finger remote controller lets you skip tracks, control the volume, play and pause or answer the calls.  It is quite interesting solution. The player has its own controls, but if you feel that you want to do that from your finger, Sony has thought about it. The remote is made out of comfortable rubberised plastic and has adjustable sizes, so you can put it on any of your fingers. A very important aspect is that there are two sets of earbuds. One set should be used for swimming, while another for other purposes. Just make sure you don’t forget choosing the right ones, which are in black colour, before hitting the pool. One more thing that is included in the packaging is the hanging bracket to store your device. It is not that you really need it, but it comes handy, when you need to dry up the player after swimming and want it to look neat. Another thing in the box is this rubber band, which helps you get the tight fit around your neck, when you are wearing the player. The installation is simple and easy as there is a simple lock mechanism of the strap. The last thing is the pile of instruction manuals and warranty cards. It takes half of the packaging, which is actually stupid, but whatever.

As far as design of the actual player, at the front, there Sony, Walkman and NFC logos. On the top, there are most of the buttons, which include skipping tracks, controlling the volume, pause and play as well as shuffle play keys. On the inner side there is a charging connector as well as controls’ along with the Left and Right earbuds instructions. The right earbud spots the turn on and off switch. To power on the device you have to press and hold the key till you see the LED light on. You also get notified my a pleasant female voice through the earbuds.  In case you want to use the device as a bluetooth headset, there is a bluetooth switch on the left earbud. The Blue LED lets you know if it is turned on. Also, the same female voice tells you that you have entered the Bluetooth mode.

As far as main features go, this Walkman device is a standalone mp3 player. That means that you can listen to your favourite tracks while doing sports without the need of your smartphone. For that you have 4 gigs of storage. Moreover, in case you still want to connect it to your smartphone, the device has you covered as it spots the Bluetooth Aptx along with the NFC connectivity options. Also, the player has the IPX5 and IPX8 certifications meaning that it is fully waterproof and can be submerged up to 2 meters under water for 30 mins. Furthermore, you can make or receive calls as there is an included microphone. Finally, there is a quick charging and other useful features, which make this device sound amazing on paper. Pairing is very easy and takes little to no effort as you need to tap to connect to the device.

As I’ve mentioned before, this device is fully waterproof and can be submerged to water up to 2 meters. It is recommended to use the black earbuds for swimming. They have a special layer, so the water can’t easily get in to the earbuds and distort the sound. Anyway, you can still submerge or wash the player even with the earbuds taken off as the headphones itself are fully waterproof.

In the end, this is actually more like a after the buzz review as I’ve been using this player for a few months already. So far, so good I would say. The standalone player functionality seems to be working great, skipping tracks back and worth, switching between the player and the bluetooth modes works like a charm. Also, the call quality using the player as the bluetooth headset has been good on both ends. What is more, what I really enjoy is that the player is comfortable to use even after extended periods of time. I usually use it for swimming, jogging or just doing some chores around the house.

Let me make a short comparison between this and the previously I owned, WS-273 player. As far as sound quality goes, I can hear a huge improvement over the previous generation player, which I used for about a year before purchasing this unit. The latter player definitely lacked in all categories. It just seemed that it could deliver much more, but it sound like the equaliser setting was always set to flat and you couldn’t do anything. That player didn’t have a bluetooth or NFC connectivity either.

This time around, the headphones of the player produce a much better, more balanced sound, which has more pronounced highs, mids and lows. However, there is a significant volume output difference once you put the swimming earbuds. Naturally, they need to provide a better seal and it leads to reduced amount of volume in comparison to the regular white earbuds. In the end, the sound quality is still really good in both the standalone player and bluetooth modes. Additional functionalities are great additions to the previous generation players, so it is a vast improvement.

If you compare this player to the regular high-end wired earphones, it cannot provide the same quality of sound. However, you have to consider that these products fall into different categories. Still, for a waterproof package, you get a great quality sound with a loud volume output. Also, it is much more comfortable and portable than any wired solutions. Finally, I can definitely recommend this device as it has been my companion while swimming, jogging or doing other stuff. It gets you pumped up during the workout and most importantly, you don’t need to bring your smartphone with you or deal with the annoying cables. The cable part is actually the most important for me.

The most amazing part is indeed swimming. My advice is that you put on the headphones before hitting the pool while your ears and the player are still dry. Also, make sure to select the swimming earbuds and choose the right size to ensure a good seal. Finger remote control is optional as you have exactly the same controls on the player itself. Still, it is a nice addition and gives you a freedom of choice.

As far as battery, it can play for around 6 hours before dying, which is quite impressive. The quick charging technology comes handy in the rush as it gives around 60 mins of use after charging the device only for 3 mins! Surprisingly, I don’t have any shortcomings to mention. Well, I would love to have a GPS and pedometer functions included… Of course, if it’s not too much to ask.

In the end, I think this is probably the most versatile and very high quality waterproof mp3 player with bluetooth at the moment. If you any questions or thoughts, I would be happy to answer!