Product Reviews

Most MP3 players come with standard earphones that fit loosely into the ear. Many people find these perfectly comfortable, but they don't stop outside noises from getting in and often let music leak out - something that others can find very annoying.

Sony's NW-S703F is the first MP3 player we've seen that comes with noise-cancelling earphones as standard. The pair's attractive black and silver drivers fit comfortably into the ear, blocking out some noise, and use active electronics to counteract regular, low frequency sounds, such as an air conditioner or the racket from jet engines. Not only does the setup work extremely well, but the NW-S703F and its earphones produce unusually good sound

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quality. Music sounds clear and detailed, with plenty of crisp treble and well-defined bass.

Unlike other noise-cancelling earphones, which often have a bulky battery pouch, the MP3 player itself contains the necessary electronics and power source for the earphones. Though the earphones use a custom Sony jack and socket, the player's design means that you can use any set of headphones with a standard 3.5mm audio jack plug should you need to - but bear in mind, you'll lose the noise cancelling trickery if you do.

You can adjust the earphone's noise-cancelling level, but only if you can find the well-hidden option using Sony's strange rotating collar control. This is nowhere near as slick as an iPod's touch-sensitive control wheel, but the Sony is quite easy to use once you get the hang of it. Its battery lasted for more than 31 hours of continuous music, which is an excellent result.

As with many other Sony MP3 players, you put songs onto the NW-S703F using the supplied SonicStage software. This has similar features to iTunes, but it isn't as good. You can make compressed audio files from your own CDs or buy protected music for the player from the SonyConnect online store, but you can't shop at iTunes or stores such as Napster that sell protected WMA files.