Sony ZS-YN7PS Psyc Multi-Codec CD/Tuner Boombox (Gray)

Rating:
Summary: Great Sound
Review: I have not spent a lot of time with this unit as yet and cannot comment on recording and the ATRAC3plus capabilities or the software. But I have listened to it and I'm very impressed with the sound quality especially given the size and cost of this unit.

Rating:
Summary: Nice boombox. Great features for the price.
Review: LIKES
1) Great features. Sleep Timer. Folder Browse. LCD Display. Remote Control. Great sound.
2) Nice sleek design. Easy and light to carry.
3) Runs on batteries or plug into outlet.
4) Great price.
5) Plays MP3!

DISLIKES
1) Characters doesnt scroll left-to-right so you have to name your files/folders unique enough to identify by the first few characters.
2) Skips some mp3 files. But I reburn the same songs and it played again so it just might be my CD is scratched.

MISC INFO
1) Plays ATRAC Sony format. You can burn ATRAC CD's using the software included which is suppose to fit more songs in 1 CD w/ slightly lower quality. I dont really use this cuz its too much hassle doing conversion.


Rating:
Summary: nice hardware, ATRAC SonicStage software is CRAP!!
Review: The boombox itself is nice and gives good sound, and I was able to play regular CDs and mp3 CDs fine. I didn't buy it for its ATRAC/ATRAC3PLUS playing capability, but since it came with this I wanted to try it out. They include a piece of software called SonicStage which you use to create ATRAC CDs that you can play in the boombox. I was hopeful, because at the default setting (which I assume would be near CD quality) you could fit over 20 albums on one CD (I usually only get 13-14 albums on an mp3 CD at 128 k). Unfortunatley, the SonicStage software is complete crap. I tried many different things and absolutely could not get it to work. Several times it completely crashed Windows XP on my laptop --- I had to dislodge the battery to power it off so I could restart, and that is pathetic for a piece of software! I even downloaded and installed the latest version of SonicStage, but it was equally crappy. So in sum, if you're not interested in the ATRAC capabilities of this boombox and just want to play CDs and mp3 CDs, it is a good boombox; if you're expecting great things from ATRAC, you are in for a big dissapointment and don't buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Great!!!
Review: While there are no hidden treasures. It does everything it says it can do. The only 2 complaints are the way it rests on the bottom doesn't make it quite as sturdy as I'd like (Because of its arched theme). And when reading an MP3 cd it takes more than a few seconds. Overall I give it 5 stars and would/have recommended it to friends and family.