I think the Walkman range of MP3 players are the best on the market in terms of price and good software. Unfortunately I have had to purchase about 4 of these machines over the years as the digital socket always eventually becomes unreliable and you can no longer input or output files. I bought this NW-E394 to replace an NWZ-E585 because it has become troublesome. I was hoping that by now, SONY would have fitted a USB-C connector instead. That being said, this NW-E394 has a better connector than the E585 and the plug connects positively. Also the 3.5mm audio jack is much better than the one on my previous player as it goes in with a reassuring click. I liked the E585 because it is has a 16GBit capacity. This new one says it has a capacity of 8GBit, but it reads as a 7GBit on my computer. The player is well made but I don't think it is quite the same quality as the E585. When I got it out of the box, I plugged it into the USB port on my computer to charge it up and was a little worried when I saw a red temperature gauge symbol on the battery icon. I assume that means that something is overheating. I unplugged it and an Icon appeared to tell me that the battery was flat and must be charged. This is worrying, and time will tell if the player is actually faulty. All that being said, I have found that the player does work as I would expect and it to, and also works OK when plugged into the USB port in my car (which is where I use it most). It is slightly different in operation to my last player and does not have a built in clock which annoys me more than I would have thought. Overall I would say that this player is value for money and I expect to get reliable service from it.

Happy with this as suits my requirements whilst walking with good sound and ease of use

I have used this model for many years and love it. Lovely size and design with the right amount of options. I like the feel of the buttons and the ease of use. It's a nice detail to be able to add pictures and to have a radio function. It takes a lot of music and the storage folders are useful. Small criticisms...The body design is not as durable as it was years ago when the components in this model were heavier - it lasted longer. It's not good that the power button doubles as an option button. Charging via USB is easy although it's not always clear when it's ready for use. But on the whole I think it's a great player and I hope a little walkman like these will always be available for those of us who prefer more analogue-style technology.