Sony NW-S703F Noise-Canceling Walkman MP3 Player (Violet)

Average customer rating:

Sony Connect Music Store is Closing

Great player, not reliable.

Great Item

It's a Sony!"

Sony Walkman NW-S7xx Series - Great hardware/sound - NO MAC SUPPORT - No drag & drop - Junk software

Sony NW-S703F Noise-Canceling Walkman MP3 Player (Violet)

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

MP3 Players | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics | Flash Drive-Based | Hard Drive-Based | Portable Digital Media Players
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Product Features:

Compact violet MP3 player with 1 GB of built-in flash memory

Supports MP3, WMA, AAC, and ATRAC formats; built-in FM tuner

3-line, rotating OEL display; Jog Shuttle dial for scrolling through info

5-band equalizer with heavy, pop, jazz, custom, and manual modes

Measures 3.43 x 1.07 x 0.58 inches (W x H x D); 1-year parts warranty

ASIN: B000MVEBOS

Amazon.com Product Description

Enjoy superior sound wherever the day takes you with the violet NW-S703F Walkman MP3 player. The device boasts Sony's active noise-canceling technology, which reduces ambient noise within the 13.5 mm earphone drivers through a special phase-canceling process. As a result, you can listen to the NW-S703F in a host of noisy environments, from airplanes to bustling city buses. The MP3 player further improves the sound through its Clear Stereo and Clear Bass functions, which refine every note you hear by reducing audio leakage from one channel to another. The combined effect produces a crisp overall sound with an impressive dynamic range, deep bass performance, and minimal distortion.

The NW-S703F boasts 1 GB of built-in flash memory, enough for up to 685 of your favorite tracks. Listeners who already have extensive music libraries can use the included software and hardware to play back their collection of MP3s, while newer listeners will find plenty to like in Sony's ATRAC format, which provides higher sound quality while taking up less space on the flash memory. In addition, the NW-S703F supports the playback of WMA and AAC (non-DRM) audio files, a great feature if you have a large catalog of audio on your PC that was ripped from personal CDs. And as with all Sony MP3 players, the device is compatible with Sony's Connect Music store--one of the largest online music sellers.

Navigation is straightforward thanks to the player's Jog Shuttle dial, which lets you easily scroll through tracks or playlists, and the rotating, three-line, color OEL display, which not only accommodates both right- and left-handed users, but also offers information about the music, settings, and even time and date in any lighting condition. The built-in FM tuner, meanwhile, delivers accurate, drift-free tuning of all your favorite FM stations, with 30 station presets making it a breeze to quickly switch from one favorite to another. And when it comes time to transfer data from your PC to the NW-S703F, simply connect the unit via the USB 2.0 interface (cable included).

The NW-S703F comes with a copy of Sony's SonicStage music management software, which lets listeners manage their music, create playlists, burn CDs, import digital files, and easily transfer songs from one location to another. It's also a breeze to customize the sound, with a five-band equalizer that includes heavy, pop, jazz, custom, and manual modes. Additional features include Virtual Phone Technology (VPT), which converts the played music with a 3D sound processor to reproduce the acoustic effect of a studio, live house, club, or arena; direct encoding, which lets you record an analog audio signal directly from an audio player without using a PC; support for CD text and ID3 tagging; an internal lithium-ion battery that provides up to 50 hours of continuous playback; and a quick battery charge function that provides up to three hours of playback with a three-minute charge.

The NW-S703F, which measures 3.43 by 1.07 by 0.58 inches (W x H x D), is backed by a 90-day warranty on labor and a one-year warranty on parts.

What's in the Box
Violet NW-S703F MP3 player, noise-canceling headphones, headphone extension cord, USB cable, Sony SonicStage 4.1 software CD-ROM, quick-start guide, user's manual.

Customer Reviews:

Sony Connect Music Store is Closing.......2007-11-02

This device can only download from Sony Connect Store which is closing March, 2008. After that, the device is useless. You can not use other online download sites but this device used a different format. I found many help sites with long instructions on how to convert a file, burn in on a cd, then...maybe you can download your PAID songs onto the device. I am not a computer buff. You can still play the songs already on the device and use the radio. But I purchased this item to download my personal music library. I have 3 of them. Not this one but the super one that was a 100.00. What a waste. YOu can return it and cant sell it. What a waste of money.

Great player, not reliable........2007-10-27

Imagine you just bought this player. It's sexy, easy to use, and sounds great. The LED is superb and the battery life is amazing. Now imagine 5 months later it started to malfunction; the audio glitches and you can't hear anything. The audio jack is loose so you decide to seal it yourself. Unfortunately there aren't any screws or any other way to open the player. Luckily you have a 1-year warranty. You call tech support and they'll exchange it for the price of $30.

Stay away from this product; Just because Sony isn't doing so well doesn't mean they should screw their customers for their faults.

Pathetic.

Great Item.......2007-08-22

The MP3 Player was an 23rd anniversary gift for my husband. He loves that thing! However, the heat specifications make it difficult to listen to music and work out. Player will shut down the MP3 and radio! He found out the hard way!

It's a Sony!".......2007-07-22

This superlative unit is perhaps the finest portable audio/MP3 player on the market to date. I find it funny to say that, because this device crystallizes not only everything that is right about Sony, but most everything that is wrong about it, as well.

In a maddening repeat of the Sony story, the Sony Corporation was perhaps some ten years ahead of every other company on the world in developing high-compression audio using software algorithms to store sound data in computer-based files. In spite of that achievement, Sony was never able to successfully capitalize on the technology, primarily through a combination of missteps in advertising, pricing, and non-licensing of its proprietary technology. We sometimes watch with bemusement when we see today's MP3 aficionados, knowing that Sony was doing this type of thing - and doing it better - as far back as 1992, when it launched its first commercial MiniDisc player, the MZ1. For what was essentially an entire decade, those who worked with the MinDisc format enjoyed most all the advantages of MP3, and almost found ourselves chuckling to see the world "discover" lossy media recording some decade or so later, around 2001. It was also bemusing to watch the implementation of the technology in such open standards formats, primarily MP3, when an arguably superior encoding algorithm, the Sony ATRAC format, had been perfected for that entire timeframe, first with "S" and "R" variants, and then with even greater strides with the "ATRAC3Plus" algorithm. With such early work in the field of psychoacoustic encoding and the psychology of human sound processing, Sony played a key role in this technology's base, and helped make the entire domain possible.

And so as the story goes, Sony was able to capitalize on a ten-year technology lead, and completely dominate the MP3 world as they had done twenty years earlier with the invention of "Walkman." Everyone in the world used a Sony-developed portable audio player, and once again, Sony showed the world how it could translate their technological innovations into yet another product success story. Right? No, as usual in the recent past for Sony, WRONG. Sony managed to wrestle defeat out of the mouth of victory, and today, one can hardly find a Sony portable music player on the market, while competing companies sell their units at a rate that is seemingly limited only by market saturation. And that, too, is funny, because when one takes the time to check out a unit like the NW-7xx series, it is pretty easy to determine that the combination of an outstanding compression algorithm like ATRAC3Plus along with Sony's indisputable prowess at developing incredible audio hardware can result in a truly impressive product. In many ways, the NW-7xx series can be regarded as the pinnacle of a 15-year process in the development of portable audio equipment, the superb integration of digital computer technology with analog audio technology.

The NW-7xx series is a marvel of miniaturized audio technology. Sound quality is exceptional, the unit is designed with a style that is the hallmark of the Sony Design Center in Tokyo, and the operational control of the unit constantly reminds us that this unit truly is a "Sony," carefully thought out and executed with both technological and artistic flare. Ergonomic issues surrounding the use of small electronic devices have been carefully considered and marvelously addressed, and, in addition, pioneering technologies are implemented in the unit which are only now beginning to show up in other players. This is especially true of the use of OLED technology for the unit's display interface, which uses far less electricity than other display technologies, but is bright and attractive, and also the impressively functional, active noise reduction system which uses microphones at ear-level to create an inverse sound wave to cancel out ambient noise.

Features abound in this visually-striking device. Control is through a select few buttons, but the main interface is through a spring-loaded rotary knob, the design of which was successfully used in the earlier "Core" Sony devices. The OLED display is bright and clear, and even shows a full-color thumbnail of album art (if one has taken the time to capture the album art during ripping). Battery life is simply amazing, easily surpassing 40 hours under some conditions, and yet, is recharged at high speed, with only three minutes of recharge needed for three hours of play. (It may take 60 - 90 minutes to fully top off the battery, but this is still fast, considering the 40 - 50 hour playback time.) And because the battery is a lithium ion design, we have full battery readout on the screen to tell us the current battery charge level. The unit weighs only a few ounces, and is easily pocketed or worn around the neck with a strap.

Entering the menu system reveals a wealth of customizable features pertaining to operation and playback sound settings. There are multiple, customizable equalizer settings, adjustments for sound reduction sensitivity, "clear bass" technology, "clear stereo" technology, and a host of pre-configured, digital sound processing selections to imitate all types of sound fields. Noise reduction is accomplished through the use of the supplied headphones, which possess very small microphones in the earpiece component. (Other headphones using the small ¼-inch standard headphone jack size will also work with the player, but the active noise reduction will be disabled when doing so.) Is this a concern? Most people rate the Sony ear buds as one of the true "sleeper" headphones on the market today, churning out great sound quality in spite of their relatively low price. The headphones which come with this device, however, are even better than most other Sony headphones, utilizing a 13.5mm driver instead of the more typical 9mm driver found on other Sony ear bud headphone models.

The sound quality of the unit is simply superb. Using combinations of the noise reduction, equalization, and other settings, the player can produce playback that rivals much more expensive home systems, and surprisingly, due to the effectiveness of the ATRC3Plus algorithm, even at bit rates as low as 64 kbps. It's difficult to not be impressed, even upon repeated playing. And, yes, the noise reduction actually works. Take the unit into any noisy environment, turn it on, and watch the sound "floor" drop by a significant amount without any deterioration in sound quality. But it is the combination of elements - the high-quality circuitry, the outstanding headphones, and the sound processing options - that make the sound playback on the unit far surpass what we might ever expect from a portable player. So good, in fact, that the effect sometimes surpasses our home listening experiences.

With all these superlatives, why then would I say the unit also crystallizes everything that is WRONG with Sony? With Sony's advent into the world of media ownership (both music and video), the company moved into a semi-schizophrenic world that apparently pits the electronics division (which designs and manufactures hardware devices like the one reviewed here) against the media division (which sells music and movies). One could argue not unconvincingly that the two goals of such a move was not only misaligned, but perhaps opposed, to one another, with one group wishing to sell music DEVICES that play media, and the other wishing to control COPYRIGHT of such media. The result? A program called "SonicStage," the media ripper and control program for Sony portable media devices. And although it's not quite as horrible as some of its detractors make it out to be, the program is indeed slow and hobbled with DRM (digital rights management) that can be supremely frustrating even for the most basic of tasks. There are nightmare stories about the use of SonicStage (and some of them I've experienced, or witnessed, myself), and its presence alone more than anything else is at best the weak link in the use of the Sony portable digital players. This is the side of Sony that is probably most responsible for pushing people in droves into the arms of the now-famous and ubiquitous MP3 and iPod players. And while SonicStage has steadily improved over the years, it is still locked into DRM, and no Macintosh version exists to date. For a company that uses Macintosh in its own Design Center in Tokyo to create its award-winning designs, one can only wonder how such decisions are made.

The NW-7xx units are now showing up in some retail U.S. outlets at greatly reduced prices. The 4Gb units, until now sold exclusively in Europe and in Japan, are also showing up at discounts of up to 70%. As such, they represent one of the greatest bargains available for some of the most technologically advanced players on the market today. Sony may have more tricks up its sleeve, and we may soon see changes in the near future, perhaps another attempt to wrestle back some of the market share from the iPod. Even so, picking up one of these units now at sub-$100 prices is probably the portable electronics bargain of the year. If you can deal with SonicStage and not get too frustrated with its operation, you can enjoy one of the best sound experiences available today in portable electronics. Using one makes us remember with feeling the old marketing slogan: "It's a Sony!"

Sony Walkman NW-S7xx Series - Great hardware/sound - NO MAC SUPPORT - No drag & drop - Junk software.......2007-06-07

The NW-700 series are a great bargain right now for people who want great quality in-ear noise blocking/canceling audio. The requirement that SonicStage software needs to be used to put files on the player is the absolute worst thing about this great hardware device. This is the one and only reason that this series of players is being sold out at 1/4 the retail price.

First, the sound. it's amazing! The buds really work on two levels, by blocking out sound (giving great bass) and electronic noise "reduction" that only works with the provided MDR-NC022 ear buds. Please be aware that these are NOT the Sony MDR-NC22 ear buds that are sold on the Sony site. the buds themselves look exactly the same. Those (NC22) have a device attached that provides the noise "reduction" separate from whatever player they are used on. These ear buds (the MDR-NC022) need this Sony NW-S700 series player to work at all! There is a notch on the 3.5mm mini jack that keeps you from plugging them into any other jack or music player. A few have engineered an adapter that lets you plug it into a device (by cutting a slot into a audio splitter) but there are none available for purchase. Doing this also defeats the noise canceling function - but they are top notch buds even without the N/C

Other ear buds and headphones may be used on the NW-S700 series with no problem - except the noise "reduction" feature will not work without the provided ear buds. If you loose these, or they break, the only provider for replacement is the Sony Service Center. They cannot be purchased anywhere else. The price is likely more than $49 (the lowest price I have seen for the 1 GB NW-S703 model - which aside from the capacity,is otherwise exactly the same player) from Sony Service Center. The Sony Style store will not take these in for repairs. You will need to return it to the seller. BEWARE!

The positives are many. Battery life is outstanding. The 3 min charge - for 3 hours of play is a big winning feature. The sound is the best of any portable music device that I have listened to. I have had HD based and flash based iPods as well as other flash players. It's awesome! The menu is fancy, but not nearly as good for finding what you want - when you want - as an iPod. It looks cool! It's great for walking and not needing to use two hands to change songs & the menu. Getting the hang of the menu will take some reading & trials.

The USB from the computer to the Walkman is another mistake - it's a proprietary Sony end on the cable, and if you loose it, or need another, you will likely be stuck with paying a quarter or half the original cost of the player. Available accessories are nonexistent.

The FM radio has worked well for me. The audio capture from line-in is very cool. It lets you select 128 or 256 kbs - and puts them in Atrac format. Not my first choice. To "capture" audio (real time only) away from a PC, requires a cable that has not been available on-line from any site that I can find. I purchased one at a SonyStyle store for $14.99 and I am wondering if they will ever become available again. Right now, the only way I have (at home) to put music onto the player is with this cable - importing the music from iTunes on my Mac. I HAVE BEEN AGAIN, AMAZED AT THE SOUND QUALITY. I may need to purchase a surplus PC JUST to use SonicStage. I have it on my PC at work, but it is such a poor interface to manage music that I feel like I am being punished by Sony for buying their product!

If you commute and want great sound that blocks out most of the city noise - and can handle dealing with the SonicStage software, this is a great player with very long battery life; solid hardware that will not fall apart; and just feels, looks and sounds like quality.

Average customer rating:

Feature rich and outstanding value

Great radio but...

KAITO 1102

Good quality at low price, size and weight

Great shortwave radio

Kaito KA1102 - Worldband radio.

Manufacturer: Kaito Electronics
ProductGroup: CE

Shortwave | Radios | Portable Audio & Video | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics
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Product Features:

AM/FM/SW/Single Side Band Receiver

Dual conversion technology, wide/narrow AM filter

Four tuning methods: direct, manual, scan and preset

Built-in alarm clock and sleep timer, two colors available, Silver and Black, If you do not specifiy what color, we will ship whatever available, Silver or Black !

1 Year Warranty

ASIN: B00065X51U

Product Description

This high quality world receiver receives all the stations in shortwave spectrums, plus side bands, SSB. The special designed circuit is a high sensitivity one, but no noise. This unique digital radio starts FM from 70.0 MHz, most of Campus radio station can be tuned in within this range. The KA1102 can decode SSB Single Side Band broadcasts. It is much better than other radios costing much more and in a smaller size. 190 memories (10 pages of 19 / page 10 is used to allow SSB use) can store your favorite stations.Thanks to the dual conversion technology, this radio has a super sensitivity in shortwave bands. This radio comes with 3 Ni-MH AA rechargeable batteries, the AC adaptor not only works as DC power source, it charges the batteries automatically, the built-in charging system gives you full protection on the batteries and radio itself.

Customer Reviews:

Feature rich and outstanding value.......2007-11-30

The feature set is unbelievable. I especially like the coverage, sensitivity, PLL tuning, and ability to receive CW and SSB. I use it to check the ham bands before going to my shack, and as a sniffer for RF noise in my house and the neighborhood. As others have said, READ the manual!

Great radio but..........2007-08-07

Ok I agree all the good comments but in the first day of use the volume down button was permanently depressed (even it works well)...

KAITO 1102.......2007-06-09

I'VE HAD MY KAITO 1102 FOR A FEW DAYS. HERE IS SOME FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
THE RADIO IS VERY WELL MADE. THE CHINGLISH INSTRUCTIONS LEAVE ALOT TO BE DESIRED. HIRING A TRANSLATOR OR A TECHNICAL WRITER COULDN'T BE THAT EXPENSIVE. THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE MEMORY FEATURE HAS IT'S OWN SWEET LITTLE LOGIC. BE PREPARED TO READ AND DO READ AND DO...
THE AM SECTION IS NOT AS GOOD AS MY OLD SONY SPORTS BOOM BOX [THE GOLD STANDARD FOR AM RECEPTION] AND NOT AS GOOD AS MY SANGEAN DT200V.
I'LL TELL YOU IN ADVANCE THAT SHORT WAVE ON ANY RECEIVER IS 95 PERCENT STATIC ALL THE WAY ACROSS. THERE ARE FEW "STATIONS" TO BE HAD. THE STATIONS YOU CAN HEAR ARE GOVERNMENT PROPAGANDA OR "JESUS" OVER AND OVER. LOTS OF ROLLING R'S, UMLAUTS, DIPATHONGS AND "THE MESSAGE". FM IS WELL FM.
WHERE I LIVE IT'S CLEAR CHANNEL HOMOGENIZED AMERICAN "CULTURE". UGH!

SUMMED UP: FOR A FIRST AND ONLY MULTIBAND RADIO THIS ONE IS HARD TO BEAT. CHEAP AND WELL MADE. AS FAR AS RECEPTION IT'S ALL SMOKE AND NO FIRE...

Good quality at low price, size and weight.......2007-02-09

I own an old Panasonic RF45 Shortwave radio and a Icom ICR10. The Panasonic reached his lifetime, and the Icom is a very expensive toy to carry it from one to another place. I look for this radio at many Internet reviews and I decided to buy it. In general lines, the're four viewpoint to qualify this radio: 1) Coverage 2) Reception 3) Selectivity and 4) Sound clarity and quality. 1) Coverage: In FM start from 70 Mhz to 108 Mhz. In SW start from 2.996 Mhz to 29.995 Mhz and in MW from 520 to 1710 Khz. The reception is good to very good, In FM and AM mode there's no problem with telescopic and ferrite antenna. In SW the supplied wire antenna helps to tune weak and far stations, but it's better with a dipole cupper wire antenna 'V' inverted type with coaxial RG58 cable. Selectivity: good to very good, but in some frecuencies the filters doesn't works too fine, for ex: you can hear the noise of near FM Station in some SW frecuencies. Sound clarity: at this point I rate this radio with 5 (or excellent) altough his small size speaker, you can hear at high level of volume without distort the sound. And with the supplied earphone you can hear FM Stereo with option of bass function to amplify the low frecuency sound (a matter of taste). Cons: The volume control is via Keypad, personally I prefer the knob style. The battery life: This radio comes with 3 AA NiMh 1300 mAH rechargable battery, it provide aprox 7 to 8 hour of running. My old RFB45 (with a larger speaker) reach aprox 16 to 20 hours of running time with 4 AA NiCd 700 mAH battery. The SSB mode is available only in P9 mode, that's means that you have 9 memory areas (P1 to P9) with 19 channels each and only in P9 memory area is available the SSB mode, if you are in SW band in P1 and press the SSB button for ex, an error msg blinks on the display. In general a good buy for the price, and good size to carry it to any place.

Great shortwave radio.......2006-12-27

Well, I remember listening to shortwave radio while growing up in Eastern Europe in the early 80's and felt a little nostalgic about it, so I asked Santa to bring me one for Christmas...Well, apparently I've been a good boy as I did find Kaito Ka1102 under the Christmas tree. Initially, in my letter to Santa i mentioned that there were several good shortwave portables including Sony 7600GR, Grundig YB 400, and Kaito 1102/1103. I must admit that Santa made an excellent choice as this radio is great. At first I was amazed at the small size (a bit smaller than the post card), and was concerned about the sounds quality, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good the local Fm stations sounded with bass enabled. Other things that I like about this radio:
-backlight, lights the LCD screen including all the buttons and controls. Very handy feature if you like to listen at night (Sony 7600GR has a backlight but only for the LCD screen0.
-good quality radio, at least feels very sturdy and well built. Buttons have a nice click to it, they feel comfortable, and are just the right size.
-great sound, even better with headphones.
-built in charger will re-charge your batteries while the radio is off, but plugged in to AC adapter.
-signal strength indicator
-frequency can be manually entered or scanned using two +/- scan buttons
-comes with 3 rechargable batteries, AC adapter, travel case, external antenna, earphones.
-pretty good shortwave reception (I live in the San Joaquin valley)I am able to pull in Family radio (FL), Radio Taiwan, Voice of Russia, and some other stations from China and Japan. Too bad Radio Free Europe is not broadcasting anymore ;-)

I noticed that one of the previous reviews stated that you had to read the manual...This seemed kinda silly as in order to fully understand how the radio works and to fully appreciate its functionality you should read the manual, at least once. Also, the "page" system that this radio uses works very well. You can scan AM/FM/SW on pages 1-6 and you can save any preset. Scanning works in 10mhz on pages 1-6, and it works in 1 mhz increments on pages 7,8, and 9. SSB can only be used while on page 9....That's pretty much it.

Im very happy with it and if you are looking for a nice portable shortwave radio I would personally recommend this one. A definite winner at less than $70.00!

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