[net.audio] Discman

ebh@hou4b.UUCP (11/13/84)

I had a chance to see the Discman at a demonstration of some of Sony's
newest products.  Due to the nature of the demo (the Discman was just a
sideshow) I couldn't compare it soundwise to the biggies, but I was able
to examine it closely.  If you haven't seen pictures of it, it has a
footprint almost exactly the size of a CD carrier, and it's about an
inch thick.  Almost the entire top swings up for insertion/removal of the
disc.  All the controls are on one edge, with an LCD display for all the
pertinent information.  The buttons are tiny, but placed so they're easy
to use.

The thing that impressed me most about it was its resistance to shock. 
Yes, it can be used while jogging.  It plays without skipping whether
it's flat, vertical, upside down, or bouncing among those attitudes
(like it would if it were on your belt).

I didn't get a chance to ask about things like weatherproofing or
temperature constraints, but I imagine that as long as you don't drop it
in the ocean you'll be okay.

All in all I was very impressed.  It had all the features of any basic
CD player, and costs less than most.  They said it would be in the
stores in time for Christmas, but I don't think they'll last long in the
stores.

Now if they could just build a set of headphones that would do it justice.

-Ed Horch   {ihnp4,akgua,houxm}!hou4b!ebh

rico@reed.UUCP (Tudor) (11/16/84)

> Now if they could just build a set of headphones that would do it justice.
Check out the Sony MDR-CD5.  They sound about as good as Sennheisers'(sp?),
are MUCH more sensitive, and have significant isolation, though no match
for Pro-4's.  They are quite light, but not inexpensive.  The MCD-CD5's are
the only phones I've seen/heard with the combination of sound, sensitivity, and
isolation to be useful in my "computer room".