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General discussion

Sonic enhancements: Sony vs Sony.

Jun 27, 2009 10:53AM PDT

Hi everyone,

I'd greatly appreciate your input. I have my eye on the 8 GB Sony NWZ-A728 player. I don't really care about extra features, I just want great sound and this one has a number of audio enhancements: Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE), Clear Bass, Clear Stereo, and great EX Series headphones that isolate noise. It's the best Sony 8GB deal for my price range (the S series is too expensive). However, it seems to have just been discontinued, so it's only available from a few places. The Fry's website had it for $109 but it seems to be out of stock in all stores....and the places that do have it seem to sell it for around $170 or so, which is significiantly more.

So I looked at the 8 GB Sony player they have everywhere right now, which is the NWZE438F for a great price of $99.99. While it's newer, they seem to have stripped it of value. It comes with the cheapo ipod-quality headphones. Even worse, it has none of the sound enhancements I mentioned above.

My question is - headphone issue aside, would these two have basically the same audio quality? Or does the combination of DSEE, Clear Stereo, and Clear Bass technologies, plus the EX headphones, really make the A728 worthwhile? Is the difference noticeable? Also, any suggestions on where I could buy the A728 for a good price?

Thanks so much for your feedback...cheers.

Discussion is locked

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I think they sound equally good
Jun 27, 2009 4:37PM PDT

But I'm no audiophile. I own both. I just bought an 8GB A728 a month ago at Best Buy for $70. They only had pink left. I'm a girl who likes pink, so I didn't have to think twice. I think for $99 price point the E438Fs are a good deal, unless you can actually find that $109 A728. And certainly better than the $170 plus that you were finding it for. At that price you might as well spring for the S series. While I like the way the EX earphones sound, they kind of annoy me because they have that cable with one side longer than the other. Not that big of a deal, but I have other earphones that I use instead. Currently switching off between Shure e2cs, V Moda Vibes, and Altec Lansing Backbeat 326 - the latter two I got for under $40.

If you really want an S series and you don't mind skimping on capacity and color, the SonyStyle website has a 4GB red one that comes with an armband for $80.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665366459

If you have a SonyStyle physical store near you, you might want to check it out. Sometimes that have great deals on players that they are or have discontinued.

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Thanks!
Jun 28, 2009 6:26PM PDT

Thanks for the input! I also found a pink A728 for a solid price, but the color was a bit of a dealbreaker for me, I'm afraid. I'm definitely going to check out the earphones you've mentioned...

I believe I'm going to go with the cheapest of the S series: the NWZ-S638F (only available in red for some reason). I did end up finding an A728 for about $100, then saw the S638 was only $119 and probably worth the difference, since it has the FM tuner, SenseMe, is lighter and smaller, etc.

I was also wondering about the 8 GB Zen players, though. I hear their sound is also up there...but how do they compare to Sony soundwise, especially considering the DSEE, equalizer, and Cleat technologies?

Cheers!