Head to head: Sony Walkman X-series vs Apple iPod

By Dave Oliver

It can't have been easy for Sony to have watched its iconic Walkman brand of portable music players so completely overtaken by Apple's all-conquering iPod. But like John Connor standing up to the Terminators, Sony has finally come up with a device capable of fighting back. We took a close look at both devices to see which is worthy of your hard-earned.

Style
The iPod Touch is slimmer but bigger at 110x62x9mm and 115g compared to the X-series' 97x53x11mm and 98g, though the Touch's angled sides make it appear slimmer than it actually is. The Touch does look sleeker, though the Walkman's rugged stone-effect sides and compact dimensions have a certain appeal. It also has hard buttons on the top and sides which allow you to control playback when it's in your pocket.
Sony X-series Walkman: 8
Apple iPod Touch: 8

Overview
Price: £209 (16GB), £279 (32GB)
More info: Sony
Size: 97x53x11mm, 98g
Formats: Audio - MP3, AAC, PCM, WMA, Video - MPEG4, WMV, H.264
Computer interface: Sony Media Manager
Extras: Web browser, FM radio
Battery life: 33hrs (audio), 9hrs (video)

Screen
The Sony X-series' trump card is its 3in OLED screen, which makes the iPod's LCD look positively dowdy by comparison, though it is slightly bigger at 3.5in. This newish technology is just beginning to appear in TV screens and has the advantage of offering sharper resolution, faster rendering speed and a wider viewing angle, as well as being less demanding on the battery, due to its lack of a backlight. All good stuff, though the benefits aren't quite so obvious on the very small screen as it is on larger models. Nevertheless, Sony's screen is clearly a breed apart, with sharper edges, clearer detail and more vibrant colours.

The capacitive touch aspect of both screens is about the same, with just the right amount of pressure required to brush through menus and activate on-screen buttons.
Sony X-series Walkman: 9
Apple iPod Touch: 8

Sound quality
The Walkman has a range of audio effects that it wears very proudly on its sleeve (or at least its menu options). The iPod on the other hand offers the best sound it can manage as standard. The Walkman has Clear Audio and Clear Bass, plus DSEE (which tries to replicate elements which may have been lost in compression). The sound is always better with these options engaged, so you'll never want to switch them off. Which begs the question - why make them an option?

The Walkman also has a five-band graphic equaliser with five presets and two programmable settings so you can set your own balance. The Touch has 22 EQ presets, which doesn't offer the same flexibility.

The Walkman has a built-in noise cancellation option, which blocks out ambient noise such as traffic and trains. It only works with Sony's supplied headphones, which are pretty good, and clearly ahead of the Touch's for sound quality, though they're lacking a little in the bass. Switching to our preferred Sennheisers on both devices however easily confirmed that the Walkman has the edge for sound quality, with fuller, more controlled bass, crystal clear midrange and additional sensitivity in the treble.

If for some reason you feel the need to play your music in public via loudspeaker, you'll be disappointed with the Sony - it doesn't have one. That said, it's debatable whether the tinny speaker on the Apple device is preferable to none at all.

For audio flexibility and for overall sound quality, it has to be the Sony.

Source

How To Fire Your Boss!