- 16 GB capacity for about 4,000 songs
- Up to 42 hours of audio or 6.5 hours of video on a single charge
- 2.4-inch, 262,144-color LCD with 240 x 320 QVGA pixel resolution
- Supports MP3, WMA (DRM), AAC, and Linear PCM audio formats; AVC, MPEG-4, and WMV (DRM) video formats; JPEG image files
- One-year limited warranty; 1 year parts, 90 days labor
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.
Buy Sony Walkman NWZS545BLK 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) Now
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
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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.
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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 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.
