Sound Quality 9/10
Overall 9/10
....
sounding far and away better than the current generation iPod nano, or touch for that matter. Even the YP-Q2, which sounds very good, can't compete
Whether listening to MP3, AAC, WMA or linear PCM files you'll notice the E443 gives a warmer, fuller and generally just better sound than its near rivals. That said, I don't have a current iRiver model, which anecdotally could still best this Sony, but I'll warrant the difference would be small.
Listen to a pair of
Ultimate Ears 700s with an
iPod touch and you might be forgiven for thinking Paramore's
Brick by Boring Brick lacks presence low down, but from the E443 there's bass a-plenty, without it becoming overpowering.
You don't have to be borrowing a teenage girl's music to see the benefits, either. Something more grown up like Wagner's
Ride of the Valkaries or Beethoven's
Symphony no. 9 are an eminently listenable experience on the E443 to the extent that I'm not really looking forward to reverting to my iPhone for day-to-day music playback duties.
if all you want is a focussed music player that sounds good, nay great, then the E443 (or one of its higher capacity siblings) should be your first port of call
from
http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/review/2009/10/05/Sony-Walkman-NWZ-E443-4GB/p1
