With so much in common it came as no surprise that the S and E class both sounded pretty much the same with the S544 producing the same warm and pleasant sound that distinguished the E444. The inherent competency of the device and the seven EQ settings – five fixed, two variable – ensure the S544 is tolerant of a wide range of musical genres.
Colourful options but, speakers aside, much the same as the E series
According to Sony, a fully charged S544 is good for 42 hours of audio and 6.5 hours of video, though those numbers drop to 17 and 5 hours respectively, if you use the speakers rather than the earphones. We found those times to be pretty accurate, managing 15 hours of audio and just under 4h 30m of video with the speakers set to full volume.
Buy direct from Sony and the S series is reasonable rather than great value. The 8GB S544 will set you back £120, though who is going to pay that when the 16GB version only costs a tenner more is anyone's guess. Since Sony will sell you a 16GB E-class Walkman for £110 that means the speakers command a premium of £20. You may disagree, but we're not sure they're worth it.
Verdict
If you want a small media player with built in stereo speakers, then the S544 is a pretty self-recommending choice. It does everything you would expect a modern Walkman to do and the speakers make a better fist of things than you might expect. But despite thinking long and hard about it, we still can't come up with a convincing reason to actually buy a media player with speakers. ®
More Media Player Reviews...
Philips GoGear Muse |
Cowon D2+ DAB |
Samsung YP-Q2 v. Sony E-series |
Apple iPod Touch 3G |
Sony Walkman NWZ-S544
COMMENTS
Mathew White
Dont you think thats too much for a First Date? Bless you. You are sweet.
@Gazza
Please place your device on the table while i get the latex glove out. If you bend over it will make this much easier.
Why so low rating
Another crock review at El Reg.
The reviewers paucity of imagination, is no reason to downgrade the rating. If the headphone audio quality is anything like my Sony when using my Shure E4Cs, then it is probably a great audio media device with a great screen to boot.
I know plenty of people for whom absolute audio quality is of less import than many other factors, so I applaud Sony for attempting to get some sort of reasonable sound quality within the limits of the form factor.
90% for the device
0% for the imaginatively challenged reviewer.
Dweeb
@ Ben Rosenthal
True words. The green revolution died due to the realities of public transportation. As long as busses and trains are crammed with coughing, noisy, scum, whoever able to afford it will use a car.
Excellent little Gadget
Just bought the 16Gig NWZ-S545R from Amazon. The Speakers run for just over 11 Hours on a full charge. Who needs Speakers?
I find earphones uncomfortable and when I'm working I cant hear the phone. So I've had a 8 Gig Sony with a plug in speaker for a while now. Its good for background music while I'm working. I also have a Zen Stone Plus with its own speaker. Excellent - but only 2 Gig. But with the 16 Gig Sony I now have all my Music to go. Plus the Comedy's I missed from Radio7. A few Audio books for when I get to put my feet up. Or just listen to the inbuilt radio (which uses the headphones for an Aerial) but sound comes out the Speakers. Limited Volume - but not anti-social. This is the 1st. one I can listen to while its ON charge. Excellent bit of kit. 8/10.
