NW-S705F Late Pictorial Review

[Andrew Soebali]

NW-S705F Review

I should have done this review many months ago. I was one of the first time buyer of this S7 (lets call it that way) series first time its launch in nearest Sony Center. But due to my activity and laziness it always rescheduled many times. I will not talk a lot about features and how to use the device, it is already mentioned in another review in this forum and at another site.

PACKAGE :

Nothing special here. It come in dark blue metallic box. Inside you get : the unit, the earphone and extension cable, two additional rubber buds for the earphone, a connector for cradle (the cradle is not supplied), Sonic Stage CD, USB cable, some leaflets and user guide, warranty card. The unit i bought totally made in Malaysia.

UNIT DESIGN AND BUILT :

The unit come in two tone colors, silverish metal and black shiny glass. Built quality is good. No creaking or loose part at all. It have jog dial control, a side button, two buttons at the back : one hold button and the other for sound. I will not go too detail about how to usage, since you will find it anyway in another review.

It have OLED screen with capability to display album art (if Sonic Stage have it). To me the album art is a joke because you hardly see any details from it. But it is still a nice addition to differentiate from song to song not only from the title. The screen is embedded behind the glass surface create an effect as if it is a borderless screen.

I need time to adjust how to use the unit. I already get used to the D-NE20 controller that i have. I press wrong button many times, especially when try to adjust the volume setting. The volume adjustment is placed in the front body, not in the jog dial like the D-NE20 controller. It creates confusion for me, mostly happened in the earlier days of using it.

Edited June 16, 2007 by Andrew Soebali

[Andrew Soebali]

EARPHONE DESIGN AND BUILT

The earphone is one of a kind. I think there is no other noise canceling earphone come at this size. It looks techy (as it is like other Sony's product) with the same two-tone colors with the unit and the built is good. There is no moving part here. The earphone have protruding part that goes into your ear with its rubber bud as a support cushion. The protruding is off-centered and extend with some angled degrees. You cannot adjust it but you can replace the bud to fit your ears. On the outer side it have few small holes, as it is for mic that can monitor ambiance sound.

The earphone also have unique connector to the unit. It have small additional part that protrude at the base of it. It is impossible to test this earphone with other DAP due to its proprietary design. The protrude part is an additional signal connector for noise cancellation from the built-in mic to the S7 unit.

The default bud fit my ear comfortably. The earphone fit in the ear firmly without any loose. It blocks my surrounding sound really good, even though it is still turn-off. I think it happened due to the rubber bud and the phone design that totally block my ear from outside noise. I think it can stand my movement better than the ear drop one.

[Andrew Soebali]

SOUND QUALITY

I am not an audiophile. I just an average customer looking for DAP that can entertain me in my spare time and while i am commuting. This S7 is clearly exceed my expectation about SQ. But it have some caveats.

I tested the unit with some of my favorite songs : delerium, jean michel jarre and vangelis. I am a treble guy. I like sound that is clear, crisp with not too much bass and low freq. I like to hear new age songs, some electronica, and pop beat ones. I hate dominating bass sound. Unfortunately this S7 approach is totally opposite to my taste.

I have to adjust the EQ myself to find better sound that fit my taste. Nevertheless, this unit produce a very good sound with no bass distortion at all. It is like that you get a separate subwoofer. Bass is full, with above average clearness and NO distortion that i can detect. Kudos to Sony engineer that can create powerfull bass without muffled the whole ambiance of the sound.

I found this setting fit my need : Clear stereo : ON, VPT : off, and Clear Bass : ON. I never turn on VPT as i found it distorted and decrease the sound dynamic noticeably.

Noise cancellation works well. You can notice once the noise cancellation start kicks in. Especially at the beginning of a song once you play it from stop position. There is no SQ decrease when the NC mode is ON, at least i cannot detect it. It is fine engineering from Sony. I daily commute to my office. I found the NC is capable enough to block the surrounding noise. Sometimes i found it to be too dangerous to use, especially when you use it while walking.

The unit come with FM radio. It can get many stations, but i suggest that you stand in a still position when recording the frequency. Searching while moving fast (like driving) will make you missed many of them.

[Andrew Soebali]

SONIC STAGE

I use SS ver 4.0 already. I found the transfer rate is fast enough from PC to the unit. But not as fast as A1000 transfer rate. The ver 4.0 is definitely better than the early sonic stage that i tried. It does not become a resource hog, it load faster and create CD faster too. The only lacking of it is the user interface. I think it confirm the famous quote : "Japanese create good hardware but a lousy software".

I ripped most of my song to ATRAC3plus format. I found that i can easily occupied the 2GB capacity of the unit. I am looking for 4GB one, but Sony Center in my country does not sell it. I found 2GB is a bit tight for my song.

The cable supplied with the unit is different than the aura that i have. Its hole is different and it doesnt have any latch that can confirm if the unit is fixed in the connector or not. You just have to press a bit hard. No clicking sound. I found that the connector of A1000 is better.

[Andrew Soebali]

COMPARE TO AURA AND PCDP

Aura sound is clear enough and does not have bass dominance characteristic as the S7 has. A1000 does not have full featured sound adjustment like S7. It only offer preset EQ and 4 channel customized one. 6GB is a huge storage for lossy sound. For lossless i think you can fill it in no time. The sound is more toward to D-NE20 side but a bit worse.

It is hard to ditch D-NE20. I found the SQ is the best of three. It have good ol' Sony sound that i am looking for. The sound is clear, have good dynamic and have perfect bass for my taste. In the PCDP competition, i think D-NE20 beats other brand. It slim and light. Too bad it come in CD player format.

I tried the unit with sennheiser headphone. I found the sound is good, as good as the supplied earphone. The bass is lesser, near perfect to my taste. The dynamic is also good. Mind you that Sennheiser have a full bass characteristic sound. Trying sennheiser make me believe that S7 have a strong bass character due MOSTLY to the design of the earphone. The sound output from S7 unit is actually quite balance, it is the supplied earphone that maximize the bass output.

To me, this is the rank of the SQ from the best to the worst :

a. D-NE20

b. NW-S705F

c. NW-A1000

Edited June 16, 2007 by Andrew Soebali

[Andrew Soebali]

CONCLUSION

For portability nothing beats flash player. It make me able to use it inobtrusively. S7 teach me a new way to enjoy music, it introduce me to noise cancellation music realm. I never tried professional noise cancellation earphone, but i like what Sony have done. Unfortunately, in that set, Sony creates too heavy sound characteristic for me to enjoy. If i want to have a serious private listening, then it is time for the PCDP. For daily travel i use S7.

The good :

a. The design and built quality

b. Noise cancellation works like charm

c. Comfort design of earphone

d. Full featured sound adjustment

e. Very good sound quality

The bad :

a. Mediocre supplied accessories

b. The bass is too heavy for my taste

c. Album art is almost useless

d. Does not have supplied charger

e. The capacity a bit low (2GB).

Edited June 16, 2007 by Andrew Soebali

[dura_]

Thank you for this extended review.

I am a treble guy. I like sound that is clear, crisp with not too much bass and low freq. I like to hear new age songs, some electronica, and pop beat ones. I hate dominating bass sound. Unfortunately this S7 approach is totally opposite to my taste.

You will probably love the A8xx sound.

Stupid coincidence; I have the A808 but seeing how you and others here describe the S7xx sound I'd probably prefer that, not liking the 8xx clean dynamic sound.

But I still find it musical and enjoyable, and a little EQ-ing goes a long way, and for the rest I love the 8xx, form, screem and 8Gb memory. Especially the latter makes it hard for me to go the S7xx route now I already own the A808, but who knows I can convince myself I really really need some of the S7xx special properties, like NC or the radio. Because I think it's a beautiful player too.

[pata2001]

That's a sweet blue D-NE20 you have there! The S705F must be expensive in your country huh. I wonder how much iPods are over there, probably even more expensive.

[Andrew Soebali]

Unfortunately no. Ipod is cheaper than any of the Sony product in my country. For roughly the same price of S7 you can get ipod video with 30GB of capacity.

[ceres]

Thank you for this extended review.

You will probably love the A8xx sound.

Stupid coincidence; I have the A808 but seeing how you and others here describe the S7xx sound I'd probably prefer that, not liking the 8xx clean dynamic sound.

But I still find it musical and enjoyable, and a little EQ-ing goes a long way, and for the rest I love the 8xx, form, screem and 8Gb memory. Especially the latter makes it hard for me to go the S7xx route now I already own the A808, but who knows I can convince myself I really really need some of the S7xx special properties, like NC or the radio. Because I think it's a beautiful player too.

kinda feel the same. when there is no space in my pockets I use the 706 hanging around the neck. the same is the case in the gym.

ya know, I hope there will be a new s series with 8-12 gig around Christmas with a larger, possibly covering the entire front, screen. The design is absolutely fantastic, gemlike and gorgeous. The ultimate blend of technology and design. That´s why I won´t be selling the unit bc otherwise the 808 is fantastic but simply to bland for me.

[AntiPod]

thx for sharing the pics. I like the blue A1000~*heart heart*

and the NE20 looks great too