My first impressions of the new Sony NWZ-S639F 16GB

[konishiwa]

http://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img5194lj8.jpg

I just got it yesterday but I think I'm in love Here are my first impressions:

Appearance:

It's so tiny!!! I have pretty large hands and it's almost difficult to handle sometimes. It's verry sleek and sexy and quite heavy compared to the nano. It's made of metal, isn't scratch prone and the quality of the finition is just top notch. The screen is ridiculously bright and crisp and the navigation is just excellent, verry intuitive.

Sound:

My setup is:
Sony NWZ-S639F DAP
Shure 530PTH
320kbps mp3 encoded with EAC Lame v0

The player just sounds amazing!!!, I mean everything sounds just right. The highs, the mids and the lows are just all well rounded and the soundstage is just unbelievable; way larger than with my nano amped with the RSA Hornet. There's no hiss whatsoever and even the radio sounds great. If you want a great player with no frills, it just doesn't get any better than this.

[Mr_Junesequa]

the player has upped highs low mids and upped bass

[bestnaru]

Originally Posted by Mr_Junesequa

the player has upped highs low mids and upped bass

Which makes it the perfect match for SE530
The high is now not lacking and the bass is controlled and refined.
Although SE530 still suffer the high roll off problem, they sound so amazing and satisfying on most of my tracks that I start using SE530 as my main phones again.

[BloodSugar00]

Nice impressions! Glad you're thrilled with your purchase . Gotta give some more thought to as to whether I will sell NWZ-A829 and buy one of these in it's stead. Hmmm...

[nywytboy68]

Originally Posted by BloodSugar00

Nice impressions! Glad you're thrilled with your purchase . Gotta give some more thought to as to whether I will sell NWZ-A829 and buy one of these in it's stead. Hmmm...

Go for it!!! I have a D2 & A829 that I'm gonna' pawn off so I can get a new Sony. I'm waiting for the NWZ-S639F 16GB to hit the US, so,............. The waiting game SUX though!!!

[gnuZ]

Originally Posted by Mr_Junesequa

the player has upped highs low mids and upped bass

Actually, it only has upped bass. When EQ, AVLS and all sound enhancements are disabled, the mid and high frequencies are flat while the bass is boosted only about a decibel or so. See my RightMark Audio Analyzer results for the NWZ-S639F here (testing method found in this post).

I do agree with konishiwa's comment on the player's soundstage. Sounds great with my Koss KSC-75's and does pretty well with my Sennheiser HD600's.

[Podtweaker]

Hey Sony , was'nt your last generation top player 16g also ? Granted it probably sounds much better than the Ipod touches, but at least they offer a 32g player. 320kbps files still don't cut it for some of us . Did Sony at least "fix" their lack of lossless support other than wav (which sounds very good & the only reason I still carry my A829 in the bag with my other players) that at least would be a step in the right direction. I don't mean to be rude but please don't try to convince me of how good 320kbps files sound. Every so often I will temporarily put a CD on my Sony at this rate & listen to it for a couple days just to see if I can enjoy it nearly as much as my lossless files & it's always a no go for me. I actually think flash players might be mechanically better for the reason they are not mechanical. When the flash players get to 64g or better w/ more lossless options I'm back in.

[Mr_Junesequa]

Originally Posted by gnuZ

Actually, it only has upped bass.

these tests arnt loaded

heres something i worte ages ago and a loaded rmaa.

the sony nwz series of walkmans all have extremely good sonics.

They have a slightly increased low end out of the box. not by much, but enough that its noticable. they also have upped highs...again not by much and flat all be it slightly recessed mids. recessed but they are there and noticable when you are listening to music. mods are usually done in the service menu to bring the highs down to flat as some people think they are a bit harsh. bass is kept as it is out iof the box usually, although there is a very effective bass equalizer setting called 'clear bass'



here is an example of what i mean



Rap and dance sound phenominal with this player. Jass is also good.

For rock, classical or some jazz a more balanced flat player would be more benneficial. Although a lot of people have noted that the player is perfect after playing around with the service menu settings. Beware...the s616 and a818 series isnt as customizable as later models ie a728.

it also sounds a little shallow or electronic...dont have a reason for this. perhaps the recessed mids?

Btw re: sony if you read Mavis's review of the HD3 back in 2004 he says basically the same thing about the warm sounding sonics of the sony player (HD3).

to quote him :

Anyway, the sound on the HD3 is, well ... interesting. It has much stronger and deeper bass than the iPod, but it also seems to have a more defined high-end. Meaning, it sounds very hollow, for lack of a better word. It's like the mid-range is lacking - good lows and good highs, but not very balanced at all. If you use the EQ to drop the bass and the high end, it helps to balance it out a bit, but I really wish this thing just had a 7 band EQ so I could have my low end AND a balanced mid-range + high-end. Oh well. Due to the way the EQ works, it's one or the other - good low-end at the expense of mids, or good high-end at the expense of mids. That said, the bass is GREAT - tight and deep - I can hear all the low frequency beats and stuff that I really missed with the iPod. It's just not very balanced.

but just to conclude...you really have to listen to this player. It is fantastic. Impressive ... right out of the box.


One can see that there is a trend in the sound of the sony network walkman mp3 line with the exception of the vaio mp3.

[toughnut]

Rebel XT = blurry picture? :P

anyway, u make me feel undecided to upgrade my D2 to 16GB... now i'm considering this sony...

[nywytboy68]

TBH, I have a A829 and the D2 - the A829 DOES have the better SQ. I love all the things my D2 can do, the SD slot is FANTASTIC, and I can customize out the ho-ho's. The Sony just sounds BETTER! If you can get the new S Series, in 16gb mind you, jump on it. Sony is really making some fantastic players. From all I've read, they pretty much always have.

[toughnut]

How the hiss? currently i'm using UM2 on D2 and i can hear hiss during silent/startup. i still remember shigzeo mentioned it before, sony player hiss louder than D2.

btw, i can 16GB S639 can be purchased less than usd145 but it's not retail pack. only the player and earbud. consider as OEM unit.

[konishiwa]

Originally Posted by Podtweaker

I don't mean to be rude but please don't try to convince me of how good 320kbps files sound.

I don't have golden ears I guess, cause to me the difference between a well ripped mp3 at 320kbps and a FLAC file is undistinguishable.

Originally Posted by toughnut

Rebel XT = blurry picture? :P

anyway, u make me feel undecided to upgrade my D2 to 16GB... now i'm considering this sony...

I know, shame on me, but I was kind of in a hurry. to me 16GB is huge cause my previous player was 2GB. Anyway i prefer less storage but great sound and this player delivers.

Originally Posted by toughnut

How the hiss? currently i'm using UM2 on D2 and i can hear hiss during silent/startup. i still remember shigzeo mentioned it before, sony player hiss louder than D2.

btw, i can 16GB S639 can be purchased less than usd145 but it's not retail pack. only the player and earbud. consider as OEM unit.

No hiss ans something I forgot to mention is that the earbuds that come with the player are really good.

[toughnut]

konishiwa, do u notice any hiss when using SE530 with S639?

[MVPlaya]

Originally Posted by toughnut

btw, i can 16GB S639 can be purchased less than usd145 but it's not retail pack. only the player and earbud. consider as OEM unit.

Can you PM info?

[konishiwa]

Originally Posted by toughnut

konishiwa, do u notice any hiss when using SE530 with S639?

None whatsoever and I think the Shure and this DAP are a match made in heaven.

When I bought the player, I bought at the same time the new Rachel Yamagata CD and been listenning to it non-stop but it's a verry slow, intimate album.

Yesterday I started listenning to other more upbeat music and I just have one thing to say: WOW!!!!! It's like a thousand time better than what I expected from this DAP (and my expectations were pretty high). I got to mention the soundstage again cause it's just out of this world! I'm hearing stuff I've never heard before: the singer wetting her lips, the sound of the piano cord when it's getting hit, conversation between band members before a song. Everything sounds right and tight.