Sony, SRS-NWM10

It’s all very well splashing your cash on a Sony player and revelling in the outsider status, but one thing you’ll miss out on is the opportunity to shower pretty gifts on your music player.

Luckily, to keep its loyal, non-conformist customers from going completely crazy and trying to mash their Walkman into the nearest iPod dock, Sony has produced this mean and moody looking little dock for its NW-A1000 and NW-A3000 players.

Official line

And very fine it is too in all the ways you’d expect from an official Sony product. It’s battery or mains powered, has 4W of power, a line input and charging ability.

It’s also nicely styled although it’s not quite as solid on its feet as you’d expect. There’s also no remote control, which slightly dents the dock’s usefulness.

Musical ability

Luckily, when you get to slapping on some beats you won’t be too disappointed. As long as you don’t push it too hard you’ll get clear, detailed and surprisingly musical results for such a small system.

Crank up the volume and limitations will start to tell, with a harshness revealing itself in the treble. But if you just want a bedroom-filling docking friend for your Walkman, this has much to recommend it.