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SanDisk Sansa e140Proof positive that SanDisk should stick to memory. Price: $189
by Jamie Lendino 
Like most flash-based players, the incredibly light SanDisk Sansa e140 doesn’t skip during workouts and offers very good battery life. Its standout features include a memory card slot for expansion and earbuds that supply a significant amount of noise reduction. Unfortunately, the player’s poor sound quality and flimsy design prevent us from recommending it.
The Sansa’s plastic case is slim and lightweight, which means you can carry it in your pocket comfortably. The buttons and volume dial feel cheap, but they supply enough resistance to not activate the hold button in transit. The earbuds are covered in rubber and should prove more durable than the typical, flimsy black cloth. The Secure Digital card slot is great for additional storage, especially as prices continue to fall on 1GB and 2GB cards. Despite its excellent passive noise cancelling, we found the sound quality of the Sansa e140 below average. During one song, the bass resonated for far too long and the default EQ settings didn’t help. From the factory, the player has TruBass at its maximum setting of +10, SRS to +8, WOW to ON, and the EQ focus to High. These settings result in completely distorted sound at moderate volumes, with a muffled effect. Fiddling with these settings helped, but not much. The battery is not rechargeable, but endurance was good overall with a standard AAA. The Sansa lasted 12 hours and 35 minutes (about four hours less than Sandisk claims). It might seem tempting to pick up the Sansa at a steep discount, but at $189 (the same price as hard drive players with four times the storage), the Sansa e140 falls flat. SanDisk Sansa e140 Specifications
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