When we purchased our new entertainment system from Sony this month (TV, sound system, blu-ray), I asked the SonyStyle employee to throw in the cradle since the provided cradle from the sound system only works with iPods.
Build quality
The entire cradle feels quite sturdy with the bottom being made out of metal and polished to a nice chrome finish. The top is shiny black plastic and is quite a fingerprint magnet. Unfortunately the cradle does not come with any adapters for the various walkmans, so unless one came with your walkman the fit might be a bit loose. On the bottom of the unit, much of it is covered with rubber so the cradle has a good firm grip on the surface, always handy when you do not want it from sliding around on a desk.
Function
On the back of the model there are 4 connections, audio out, audio in, WM-Port, and DC IN 5V. I have yet to test the audio out feature but will this weekend on the 975WF system, which has an audio in port on the front. The audio in will not work on my walkman since it has no recording capabilities. The WM-port is handy when you want to connect it to the computer and not have to fumble around all the time plugging it in. I plan to test the cradle with the USB port on our Bravia set and see what happens.
The AC IN uses a normal USB connector commonly found on USB cameras, so if you ever lose the cable it can be replaced with any other standard USB cable. I have charged the device and it works like a charm, much faster than using USB.
My NWZ-A818 came with the adapter for the cradle but it is matte black rather than shinny black so a slight difference there but not a big issue. With the adapter on, the walkman will not fit on the cradle with the soft gel cover I have. Removing the plastic adapter allows docking of the walkman without the need to remove the gel cover. Unfortunately without the adapter, the walkman tends to move about more but it is still firmly anchored into the cradle slot.
Accessories
The cradle ships with a USB cable, an AC adapter (5V) and power cable. The power cable and AC adapter are the exact same models that came with many of the older walkmans (A1000, A3000), the AC-S508U. The AC adapter is a nice addition since I do not think the normal NWZ-A81x models (or current walkmans) ship with an AC adapter. I was fortunate to have had one since it came shipped with my A3000 model.
Conclusion
Apart from the price (49.99 plus taxes), I do think the cradle is an excellent purchase, it allows for much easier syncing to the pc or for charging, the design looks great and matches the back 818 I have and it feels solidly built. If our sound system (975WF) came with a dock for walkmans, I would have not gotten the cradle, but Sony must have forgotten that Sony users own Sony walkmans, go figure. I do hope Sony does provide an easier method to hook up the Walkman to the sound system in their future products, be it via Bluetooth or some other physical connection.
Question
Ascariss
When we purchased our new entertainment system from Sony this month (TV, sound system, blu-ray), I asked the SonyStyle employee to throw in the cradle since the provided cradle from the sound system only works with iPods.
Build quality
The entire cradle feels quite sturdy with the bottom being made out of metal and polished to a nice chrome finish. The top is shiny black plastic and is quite a fingerprint magnet. Unfortunately the cradle does not come with any adapters for the various walkmans, so unless one came with your walkman the fit might be a bit loose. On the bottom of the unit, much of it is covered with rubber so the cradle has a good firm grip on the surface, always handy when you do not want it from sliding around on a desk.
Function
On the back of the model there are 4 connections, audio out, audio in, WM-Port, and DC IN 5V. I have yet to test the audio out feature but will this weekend on the 975WF system, which has an audio in port on the front. The audio in will not work on my walkman since it has no recording capabilities. The WM-port is handy when you want to connect it to the computer and not have to fumble around all the time plugging it in. I plan to test the cradle with the USB port on our Bravia set and see what happens.
The AC IN uses a normal USB connector commonly found on USB cameras, so if you ever lose the cable it can be replaced with any other standard USB cable. I have charged the device and it works like a charm, much faster than using USB.
My NWZ-A818 came with the adapter for the cradle but it is matte black rather than shinny black so a slight difference there but not a big issue. With the adapter on, the walkman will not fit on the cradle with the soft gel cover I have. Removing the plastic adapter allows docking of the walkman without the need to remove the gel cover. Unfortunately without the adapter, the walkman tends to move about more but it is still firmly anchored into the cradle slot.
Accessories
The cradle ships with a USB cable, an AC adapter (5V) and power cable. The power cable and AC adapter are the exact same models that came with many of the older walkmans (A1000, A3000), the AC-S508U. The AC adapter is a nice addition since I do not think the normal NWZ-A81x models (or current walkmans) ship with an AC adapter. I was fortunate to have had one since it came shipped with my A3000 model.
Conclusion
Apart from the price (49.99 plus taxes), I do think the cradle is an excellent purchase, it allows for much easier syncing to the pc or for charging, the design looks great and matches the back 818 I have and it feels solidly built. If our sound system (975WF) came with a dock for walkmans, I would have not gotten the cradle, but Sony must have forgotten that Sony users own Sony walkmans, go figure. I do hope Sony does provide an easier method to hook up the Walkman to the sound system in their future products, be it via Bluetooth or some other physical connection.
Pros
-solid build quality
-ease of sync and charging
-AC adapter provided
-great design
Cons
-base and top are fingerprint magnets
-not worth 49.99
-no WM-port out to sync with Sony sound system
(I can post photos if people want me to)
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