Customer Reviews
Glad my Zen finally died... 
2008-04-10
The Sony is a Fantastic player...my cherished 20 gig Creative Zen with Sony ear phones died with the help of me banging it on the table in frustration. I never did like the Creative software interface and definitely don't do the Itunes Apple thing...
Read the reviews here and they are spot on - esp. with sound quality. The included ear phones are a step above the $30 Sony ones out there. Huge sound from this thing. I wish my Creative had died a long time ago. I didn't know what I was missing. And Sony does know sound.
The form function is nice and solid. I had an old Sony Palm Pilot that was a lot like this and survived lots of abuse.
The only cons are the phones cord is stiff....but maybe that has a purpose. The weird cord lengths are a mixed blessing as I occasionally got tangled and sent the old ones flying with the rubber ear buds going the opposite direction.
Glad the software is simple and useful. The old mini disc junk is gone. Thank you Sony!
The best MP3 player 2008-04-05
This is by far the best MP3 player that I have. Sound quality is great. Software is user-friendly. Battery has long life. Screen is sharp.
The only downside, there is not a lot of accessories to choose from. But the size is very generic especially with Sansa E200 series.
Sony vs. Insignia. 
2008-03-14
After my Rio Volt SP150 Mp3/WMA/CD Player died, I thought I might join the rest of the 'Sheeple' and get an Ipod, but I had heard bad things about Ipod's having battery problems. I brought my own pair of headphones to Best Buy and asked them if I could test some of their players. I spent an hour going between the 4 gig Insignia Pilot (with removable battery, upgradable SD memory, and built in FM Radio) and the Sony NWZ-A816.
I finally settled on on the Sony. The Insignia Player may have the upper hand as far as options go. But the Sony has the better sound quality (once you tweak the Clear Bass, Normalizer and 2 Custom EQ's to your preferences). It also last 35 hours on one charge which is amazing. The Volume Adjuster is on the outside of the player, instead of being hiden in some part of the Menu like it is on the Insignia. The only things I would probably change would be their stock headphones (one side is longer than the other, wtf?) and perhaps give it DiVx and .MPEG playability, since finding an MP4 converter tool for my videos was a hassle. That "Replaceable Battery" and "Memory Upgrade" stuff would be nice too.
Also a Wall Charger would be great for when I go to visit my folks, who wouldn't have a computer for me to plug it into to charge it.
Decent MP3 player but way too overrated!! 
2008-03-12
I bought this after reading all the glowing reviews. To me, sound quality is paramount. I already own an IAudio U2, Creative Zen Vision M and a Meizu and wasn't really looking to add to my collection but the reviews wowed me over to the point where I said, screw it, why shouldn't I have another? And if I didn't like it, I figured I could give it to my MP3-deprived sister (the poor thing only has one). Well, it looks like she's getting another. It's actually a fine unit, with a great form factor and looks but this unit pales in comparison to my I Audio U2 which is far and away the finest sounding MP3 player I have ever heard and one that I've had for over 3 years! To my ears, the Sony Walkman sounded harsh and overly bright even with the much ballyhooed "premium" ear buds. The bass on the I Audio is deep, tight and punchy which is how I like it. I tweaked the settings on the Walkman to maximize bass effectiveness but it couldn't hold a candle to the IAudio. Needless to say, I was disappointed as I expected much better. I even swapped out the earbuds from my other players and while they improved the sound (could it be that the stock earbuds supplied with the Sony were defective?? To their credit, they were comfortable and I did insert them securely in the ear canal) but not enough to change my review and assessment of this otherwise decent MP3 player.
With this behind me, I've now got my sights on the IAudio U7 player... you go back, Jack, do it again!
This player has wonderful sound! 2008-03-12
I am no expert on mp3 players, but this Sony is awesome. I bought an iPod Nano and was very disappointed in the sound quality & did not want to spend more money on earphones. So I took it back and got the Sony and have been congratulating myself ever since! The earphones it comes with are fantastic as are all the sound/equalizer options you get. It was easy to transfer music from Windows Media Player. I find the controls easy to use and the screen is a good size & very clear. Yay Sony!
Great Product 2008-07-14
This is a good MP3 player for a decent price. Sleek look, clear screen and easy to navigate. I only use it to listen to music. Although I've watched what it came with. If you want to get movies on here get the higher gig ones. But if you just use it for music then this is the player. Some review said it was not loud enough. I don't know what that person is talking about. It's very loud if you want it to be. The only bad thing is that the new headphone design is awful in my view. And it's short even with the extension. I just bought another pair of Sony headphones and use them instead. I would recommend this player to anyone. But get the hard case for added protection. This is a sturdy product but you always want to be on the safe side. I lift weights listening to mine so I'm always worried.
Great sound..... 2008-06-07
This Mp3 sounds great...I got some Korn songs (the first and second album) on it...and the deep sound explode on my ears....brutal...the four stars is just because it doesnt have the fm tuner..
Sony NWZA816BLK 4GB Walkman 2008-05-24
I was in the market for a 4GB mp3 player and did a fair amount of research before finding this model on Amazon. The price point was very competitive and what swung me was the ear buds. Although this is an older model it suits my needs perfectly and the sound quality is top notch with the supplied earphones.
I use it for music only, loading it with 256kb-320kb rips and downloads.
THe interface is very intuitive the only thing missing is a fm tuner but for the price I can do without that. All and all a very satisfying purchase.
Great Little Player! 2008-04-21
My favorite part of this player is the length of the battery. It lasts so long, I never have to worry that its going to die in the middle of my workout. When it is charging, it has to be plugged into a computer that is on and awake and the player will turn off. Because recharging is just a little inconvenient, its so great that I don't have to do it often.
The menu is so easy to use and you can always get back to the 'now playing' screen with no problem. It turns on quickly, and if you pause the music will turn itself off automatically to save all that great battery power. If you have the player locked, it will eventually go to a screen saver, which you can set to show a black screen or a clock. There is a setting, though, that shows the information for a new song when it starts playing, so you don't have to turn it back on if you want to check.
As opposed to the rest of my generation I am weary of electronics that are too small. I drop things (alot) but this player seems sturdy enough that I won't be able to break it easily.
Generally I use the smart shuffle feature and just let it play through all my songs. With my Creative Zen, if I went back in the shuffle, the order would change. With the walkman, the order is set and you can go back and forth to have a customizable but still random listening experience. This is just my preference, though. You can also choose to have a completely customized playlist. I love that you can skip through the alphabet to get to songs (or albums or artists). its so much faster than scrolling through everything!
My only complaint is just a minor annoyance really. The headphones chord is too short without the extension, but with the extension plugged in, it impossible to wrap the chord round the player. Also i'm not sure that I understand the purpose of the J hook, or whatever they called the fact that the left side is very short and the right side is very long. Otherwise I like the actual earbud that goes in my ear. So, i guess i'm willing to put up with it.
With my only complaint being about the headphones, which can easily be replaced based on preference, I highly reccomend this great player!! (mine is actually pink, but i don't see why black would be any different!)
2,300 Songs? 2008-04-17
I enjoy this player. It sounds good. It syncs fast and it is easy to navigate. However, I can only load about 850 songs and the review says it holds 2,300? I deleted all the free software and am baffled. The review should say how many hours of music it holds. Are they saying it holds 2,300 two minute songs?
