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Short Review: Sharp MD-DS70-S

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First of all some background: a month ago, as I stated in my E10 review, I was looking for a slim player, my options were the Sony MZ-E10 and the Sharp MD-DS70, so I decided to purchase the E10 which is outstanding pice of hardware, nevertheless I was captived for all the hype around Sharp's Auvi hi-fi system. At the beginning I was willing to order the Sharp from Audiocubes (~US$230) instead of the E10 with help of my cousin's boyfriend who is in Miami; fortunately I didnt it. I never thought that I would be going to find an auction of a two months old DS70 here in my Country, simply I cannot pass up that opportunity!... it seemed odd, the price didnt match the player (~US$110), very low to be true. I took my chances and now I have a second hand Sharp MD-DS70S which looks like NEW!! :lol::lol: ... zero scratches, no bumps, all functions ok, all accessories ok, plus four new disc Maxell Couler [ku:le] 80mins, here where I live there are two options for disc: Sony Color Collection 80min (no black color) and Princo 74min... So was it a good deal? YES, IT WAS!!! B)

The Player

The player has a nice finished sort of similar to the E10 but it feels like a very resistant device, nice face with a big alpha-sigma logo. The player buttons have square shape nothing to do with the Sony style, play and fast-forward are the same button, the stop button turns off the device as well as puts the hold on if it pressed for 2 sec, it has single blue flashing led beside buttons which blinks according to the Atrac mode. The remote port has the audio output in the middle and the control lines to the sides unlike the Sony's which are in an extreme.

The Sharp DS70 is a slim player but not that much as the E10, with no battery and no disc the Sharp feels very light maybe as light as the E10, but with battery+disc the weight difference between these units is notorious.

The Sound

So far I can say that bass settings is the best because the others I havent tested very well, it is sort of complicated to set the sound with the Sharp remote interface, I think it's matter of getting used. The four poles earphones sounds quite well way too better than the E10 earphones, but not that good as the Philips headphones (three poles). At Bass 3 setting, the Philips cans and LP2 mode the Sharp sound is better than the E10, I dont know how much. I cant say that Sharp might match the LP2 sound of the NH900 I need to hear more to say something.

The Battery

The battery included is a Sharp 1400mAh and according to this site equipment list the play times for the prismatic battery are 35/52/69 for SP/LP2/LP4. I listened it just for a couple of hours with the prismatic only, better performance test to come.

The Remote

Well, here is where I've been complicated. It looks like every single options in the remote needs to be pushed for two seconds. The remote is very light and flat but, in certain sense, it reminds me the mc37lt tuner remote: rectangular shape and a bulk in the back, it is not a complaint though. The light is green just like the Sony's remotes and the alpha-sigma on the remote is also illuminated. The desing is simple with flat buttons for the play functions and volumen in the bottom and for the menu, sound & display on the top, Sony beats Sharp easily in this field.

Summary

Splendid device, I look forward to enjoy as much as I can to update this review asap ^_^

Sound UPDATE

To get into the sound settings it must be pressed the sound button to switch between Dolby system and digital Bass, or between Equalizer and Surround. The first configurations can be combined as well as the second but not each other. The group button switches between the first and second configurations, well that's for the DS70.

With regard to the sound comparison, I got the following results:

-Test items: 3 pole Philips SBCHP800 headphones, 3 poles stock Sony earphones, 4 poles stock Sharp earphones, MZNH900, MZE10, MDDS70.

-Test music: Rock, new age, electronica, heavy metal.

-Tester: just me.

*These are non-scientific results they are based merely in my perception*

Earphones

Well, at this stage the test results were overwhelming, the four poles earphones give a clear sound with an unexpected good bass that left no chances to the Sony units at all.

10/10. ds70, 8.0 nh900, 7.0 e10

Heaphones

Rock (lp2)-> In this genre the best settings for the Sharp were Bass-2 and Equ-Rock giving a good sound in spite of the 3 poles h/p, however the nh900 with the Equ-User1 setting (similitar to the Sharp) gives a better sound but with a little difference.

10/10. nh900, 9.5 ds70, 8.5 e10

New age (lp2)-> Same as the rock test, it's kinda hard to describe in words what it feels to hear such a great devices. Let's just say that Sharp does quite well.

10/10. nh900, 9.5 ds70, 9.0 e10

Electronica (lp2)-> I was stunned by the quality 'displayed' here, the Bass of the Sharp machine is simply the best giving a rich and powerful sound, all the necessary for this genre. I've ever hear before that good and I want to clarify that Im not a bass-fanboy, it's just what it is. Surprisingly, the nh900 couldnt match the Sharp no matter which setting I used, that was dissappointing.

10/10. ds70, 8.5 nh900, 8.0 e10

Heavy metal (sp)-> If the nh900 performance was dissappointing in the previous test, the ds70 is double dissapointing here. Yes, in spite of being an album in SP mode the performance was not the best, in fact, I could compare it only with the nf610. The Bass feature which excelled in the previous test, it doesnt help that much here. I read somewhere that the brands are better to certain kind of music than others, perhaps that explains these performances.

10/10. nh900, 9.5 e10, 7.5 ds70

Battery UPDATE

I've used for about 5 days with a fair usage mostly in lp2 mode, with the led op/indicator flashing, LCD display on, backlight operation only. I dont know how many hours but I guess it must be around the 30 hours

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Edited by Tiesto
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Great mini-review and pictorial, and I appreciate you putting time into this to share with the rest of the world. I would like to hear some sound quality comparisons with your other units if possible..

Nothing beats a recent generation Sharp player only unit in terms of overall presentation. Stunning.

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