Release: 9/2000Weight: 99 g inc. MD + gumstick (AA cell 36g)Looks
This is one of those players that kind of makes you appreciate engineering. The recorders are impressive, with their myriad of buttons, but this unit is so svelte. There’s nothing superfluous here. The face of the unit could be better looking, but it’s OK. It’s led by marketing, not design. SONY, W. WALKMAN are plastered along the brushed aluminium facia. The rear of the unit is much nice to look at, with a couple of thin switches and all the textual legalese. The rear exposes the battery door, and the front the remote/headphone socket and open mechanism, which is extremely well made. Absolutely bullet proof, and the unit opens like a cocked gun. The right of the unit comprises the contacts for the optional AA expansion caddy, which I’d use in a pinch but considering it almost doubles the size of the unit I would do without if possible.
The left side of the unit is where all of the on-body controls are located, nicely spaced, and nicely tactile. Zero issues here. There’s a little light that tells you the unit is operational. The buttons are beautifully clicky. That’s it. It looks brilliant.
Ergonomics
You’d have this in your pocket and then use the remote, really. But, if it is in your hand, then it’s easy to use and is so strongly made, that I have very little to fault here.
OK, I’ve found a problem. The EQ cannot be changed unless you have the correct remote. Once changed, it stays saved to EEPROM so that’s fine, but it’s just a little bit of an annoyance I suppose. If you didn’t use the remote, or lost it, I’m not sure it’s possible to change this via the unit itself.
Sound
The EQ seems a bit punchier than some previous Sonys, actually. Balanced with good stereo separation, the bass is clear and punchy. I’m very pleased with it, which is good, because it’s so small it would be a crying shame if it sounded terrible.
Battery
電池
MZ-E900 BATTERY
Summary
This is, at the turn of the millennium, quite a remarkable little player. No fuss, well made, great looking, and a great battery life. You could commute all week on one charge (hopefully!!), or go for a weekend away and not worry about charging. The sound is great, but you’re paying for size here. It’s so small. The size of a couple of minidiscs. It spools up occasionally to read data into the buffer… that’s it. The little beast just gets on with things. Love it. It’s my second favourite player, though. I’ll be keeping it, but the Panasonic SJ-MJ50 beats it on looks, sound, and battery life.
