 |
Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman 20 GB Digital Music Player (Red)
By: Sony Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 81
More Information
 On: 2007-10-09
So ok, the latest iPods models have colour screens and even touch sensitive displays that - lets face it - are really fun to use. HOWEVER, if sound quality is important to you, then you simply can not go past this brilliant unit from Sony. My only wish is that Sony and Apple would work on a combined product! Then I think many people will be in true nirvana with brilliant looking devices that make every note of the music sparkle. The great thing about the NW-HD5 is that you dont need to use lossless or high bit-rates in your music to get great sound. EVERYTHING sounds amazing.
 On: 2007-04-14
It is very user unfriendly thingy. You have to use the Sonic Stage that comes with it. I bought it in 2004 to avoid iPod. I put up with it for a while. The player itself is fine. Very flat and sleeky, stylish looking. Only the software is stupid.
The audio out jack stopped working in 2007. so no more music for me. It cost me a lot of money when I bought it in Europe.
Now I went iPod. Great accessorizing opportunities unlike Sony. iPod works great with many car audio. Alpine that I have let me press menu of the iPod on the reciever. iPod stays in the Glove box. Nothing like that happens with Sony Walkman (not that I know of).
Byt he way, I now use it as an external hard drive. :-)
On: 2007-02-16
ive purchased the black version since the release of this player and it has not caused me any inconvenience at all.
this is simply the best bang for the buck. granted, its more pricey than an ipod or mini with similar capacity but its also much better constructed. the surface is very difficult to destroy unless you really bash it against something intentionally. daily wear and tear is non-existent with this player. mine still looks the way it did when it came out of the box that fateful day.
sound quality far surpasses ipods, in my opinion. you cant tell the difference until you actually fork over enough cash to get a high-end pair of headphones (ive listened to both players on ultimate ears super.fi 5 and shure e4gs). once you do, youll realize that ipod falls way short when reproducing bass clarity and intensity - very important to me as im a metalhead/punk junkie.
the display looks stylish to boot. theres the option to invert screen color so that you can have a black screen match the black player and vice versa (though a red player with black screen looks the most striking). screen tilt technology is a bit of a gimmick. the complete look of the nw-hd5 just screams style. its sleek, matte (i hate highly polished products, very garish), solid and has some weight to it - which i like, it tells me that the player is well protected. ive dropped it several times at about waist-length and it hasnt yet suffered any dents or scratches. i like to set trends, not follow them - which is why ive opted for this player rather than ipod, which ive considered getting prior to its actual release but soon decided against it due to everybody and their dogs owning one. for the longest time thereafter (release of ipod, prior to release of nw-hd5) ive used the rio nitrus - which i highly recommend to anyone whos fashion conscious yet cant quite afford this, if it could even be found at all with the influx of sony nw-a models).
sonicstage is not difficult to handle at all. however, one thing i did not like about the player is that you NEED to use the sony proprietary formats (atrac3, atrac3 +) to get the full enjoyment out of any song. the equalizers are off limits to any other format - an unfortunate consequence. the only problem i have with sonicstage is the inability to convert any song that youve converted to atrac3+ back to its original format. therefore, unless you plan to leave twice the amount of disk space for each song by having a copy of atrac3 and a copy of mp3/whatever, youre going to be stuck with atrac3+ till the day you die (or till the day they release something that allows backwards conversion). the only way that ive been able to get songs back into mp3s is by burning them to CDs then ripping them off as mp3s again. vastly annoying.
On: 2006-11-17
So sad Sony discontinued this unit, which is the very best Ive ever seen. To wit:
1. Superb sound quality, much better than my iPod
2. An easily user-replaceable battery (which costs less than a Jackson at any lithium ion battery site)
3. Incredibly tiny size
4. A black and white screen, which gives it TREMENDOUS battery life. Color displays suck up power, and for what? No, its not a video/photo device, so I guess that will be a problem for people who want to watch movies at the size of a postage stamp.
SonicStage isnt nearly as bad as everyone says, but whatever. Its not like you use it every day with a player like this anyhow.
Sad to see you go, NW-HD5. I wish Id bought an extra when you were still around.
On: 2006-10-28
Im not a techie, but I wanted an IPOD for Christmas, but my Dad, in all his infinate wisdom bought me a sony walkman NW-HD5 and told me it was better. So, I loaded up Freddie Mercury, Carly Simon, and the rest of the gang and got to work. Ill admit Im a complete twit and I have no patience for learning computer programs, but I didnt really have a problem with Sonic Stage. I havent used itunes, though, so I really cant compare. I CAN, however compare the condition of my walkman to the condition of my best friends ipod. A year later, my lovely red walkman looks as shiny and new as the day I bought it (and it spends a lot of time in my purse) whereas my best friends ipod started looking like a thrift store special within a year.
The sound qualitys great and I love the fact that I didnt have to fork over a lot of money for a transmitter to play it in my car. I have a tape deck, so I was able to use the same device you use to hook your cd walkman up to your tape deck.
There is one thing a lot of people criticize me for on my walkman...whats the point of having space for 13,000 songs when all you want to listen to is QUEEN?
On: 2006-07-30
I have had the red version of Sonys HD-5 for just over a year now and have not had any problems. While iPods seem to break every 6 months, the HD-5 works just as well as when I first bought it. I am a heavy user and the screen + casing have minimal scratches. Except for the cracked buttons (which are invisible to the untrained eye) the HD-5 appears brand new. Truely a wonderful MP3 player.
 On: 2006-05-16
the player is beutiful. the sound quality is superb. the transfer speed is superb. the battery life is awsome. the navigation is not too bad. the black light is cool. sonic stage is no good. u cant edit playist already on the player from sonic stage. u cant use the player as a portable drive for files. thats too bad. sony spoils us with their sound service once again.
On: 2006-02-04
Much better than apple. MP3 player is supposed to perform and they should not be judged by their looks. Apple may look good, but this performs a lot better. Esp the battery.
On: 2006-01-31
I Just got my Sony Nw-Hd-5 this morning and am already loving it. It is so much better then the I-Pod if you dont mind the fact that you must use the Sony Softwhere that comes with it.
My reasons for the sony over the I-Pod.
1. You can change the battery your self and purchse the battery for about 80 bucks from Sony parts and service.
2. When The Battery finaly dies and cant be recharged you dont loose your music. Ive heard from people at the I-Pod store when your battery dies compleatly in about 2 years you loose all your music unless you have it backed up and that takes up a lot of space on your computer.
3. The Sony HD player is much smaller then the I-Pod.
4 The Sony costs about the same as the 30 gig I-Pod yet plays more music with less space at 20GB it plays 1300 songs only 2000 songs less then the more expensive I-Pod witch retails for 100 dollars more.
for those resons and more I think the Sony NW-HD-5 kills its compatision The Over-priced and too big I-Pod!!!!
On: 2006-01-12
So, Im now on my fifth MP3 player. Ive had the following:
1. Archos 20 Gig-Awful, simply AWFUL. Sound was substandard. The manual was rife w/ errors and inconsistencies and the device was prone to freezing up. Took 3 days to figure out how to use it as it was my first MP3 and as already stated, the manual was filled w/ errors. Promptly ditched ASAP.
2. Rio Karma 20 Gig-Sound was adequate, was intuitive to use, software was user-friendly, great little reliable gadget. Still works, only passed it on because I thought Id upgrade to...
3.iRiver H340 40 gig-Sound was slightly better, far bigger capacity, durable, reliable, had lots of bells and whistles such as picture and text file options, HOWEVER, the firmware that was supposed to upgrade never did(US version), as newer devices came along from iRiver. Met an untimely demise due to a collision w/ a wall that ended its too brief life. That is not to say this device is not durable, this collison was at fairly high speed, and would have damaged just about any device.
4. Creative Zen Touch 20 Gig-Superb sound quality, ridiculous and quite frankly ugly blue light thingy that was totally wasteful of battery(could be switched off however) AND the touch controls could become irksome to someone until used to them. Unfortunately, not a terribly reliable device, prone to freezing, died shortly after purchase. Replaced by...
5. Sony NW-HD5
The Good: Exceptional sound, 40 hours of battery life, replacable battery. Thus far totally reliable, and consistent.
The Bad and Ugly: SonicStage Software which is exceptionally easy to use, at least the later versions 3.1 or 3.3(Ive heard earlier versions are far less so), and endlessly entertaining if youve got nothing but hours of time to burn cds(it takes upwards of 30 minutes to burn one cd, regardless of the speed the CD drive). Heres the big, BIG problem, as other reviewers have pointed out, and I cannot state this enough...Once the software is installed and you convert files and load songs from your pc to your NW-HD5, Sony essentially takes hostage your virtual music collection.
You can NOT use another pc to add songs to the player. AT ALL. Apparently, in an effort to curb piracy Sony has added some features to their software making it impossible to use any other computer then the first you connect your device to transfer files. The problem w/ this, as others have pointed out is that if you lose your present computer, upgrade, etc. You cant use the new pc to add files UNLESS you delete everything that is currently on the device and reload the files. Now if something happens to the pc you originally used and you failed to back up all your music files, and you have a substantial collection, (you CANNOT use the device to re-load files on to your pc btw), and as already mentioned, you cannot use another pc to load files onto the device your only choice will be to re-burn ALL your collection, delete the files on your device and replace them w/ the new files from your pc. At least, that is what Sony wants you to believe...NOT TRUE.
There is a way around SonicStage. Im no computer geek but having faith in computer geeks the world over, who love just such a challenge, I was able to locate on the web the holy grail of software for Sony owners such as myself who dont want to whittle away the rest of their lives mucking about w/ re-burning cds, etc. (God bless computer geeks/audiophiles) DID I MENTION ITS DRAG AND DROP SOFTWARE??? I was able to add my entire collection on to my new player w/out any scary warnings or restrictions or interference from Sony, even added songs I had on my old pc and songs from my newer pc w/out any issue. Ironically w/ a software they provide on their website. Take that corporate weenies!
Simply search google for SonicStage Alternatives and you too will find the answer(HINT: on the Sony site it doesnt list the NW-HD5 as compatible device, HOWEVER, the software works JUST FINE). Takes seconds to download and its easy to use. Just keep in mind that the files can only be added if they are in ALTRAC or MP3 format. You can continue to use whatever software you want to burn and catalog your cds.
Sorry Sony, but youve got no business taking peoples pcs hostage, or monitoring individuals activity w/ your intrustive softwares. Not all of us pirate music, and Ill be damned if the music IVE already paid for will be controlled by a third party. Get over it, or get out of the MP3 player business. Had I been aware of Sonys actions Id never have purchased the device, and if I had had the option of returning it for another device I would have. While Im satisfied w/ the overall product, Im disgusted by what Sony has done and will NEVER purchase anything from them until this type of nonsense changes.
Sorry for the xtra long review. Hope it helps.
On: 2006-01-12
Got this player in early December and thus far it has exceeded my expectations. Enough has been said in other reviews about the negative aspects of the software, so I will stick to the player itself. The sound is very good for a portable player. I really like the push button navigation on the Sony vs. the flywheel found on other devices. Hey, call me old fashion, but I just find pushing the buttons easier. The battery life on this player is just awsome. The fact that the battery is removeable is a major plus. The only negative that I can find, and it is not a major one, is that the volume on the MP3 player must be turned up to the maximum when connected to external speakers such as home stereo or in the car.
On: 2005-12-30
I bought the HD5 a few months back to replace my enormous and dying Archos player. I picked it over the iPod because of reviews about the functionality, menus, long-lasting (and removable!) battery, and sound quality. Let me tell you, in this regard, this is a wonderful piece of machinery. The sound quality is amazing and I love the deck-of-cards size of the thing.
Now, let me backtrack a bit. A couple years back, I started this massive project of ripping the songs I enjoy from my CD collection (300+) so I could have them on my PC and mp3 player. It took me two years off and on to complete. I was really concerned about losing my mp3 files, but I figured that as long as I had them on my mp3 player, I had a backup copy and was safe.
Sadly, about a month ago, my hard drive crashed. I got a new drive, reloaded WinXP and all of that oh-so-fun stuff. Then I reloaded SonicStage and tried to move my music files back onto my PC. No luck. These ATRAC files can only be reverted to mp3 on the computer they were converted from, and since I had a new hard drive, I was out of luck. Sure, I can actually copy the ATRAC files from the walkman to my PC, but theyre in a format that can only be played by the same copy of SonicStage that spawned them, plus there is no decent software available to convert these back to mp3 format.
I contacted Sony customer service, politely explaining my situation, and their response was essentially "tough luck, pal." So, as things stand, Sony has essentially taken my 15+ gigs of music hostage. I understand the need to protect the music industry from rampant bootlegging, but this is as far away from "customer friendly" as it gets, folks.
The moral of this story: backup your mp3s on DVD-R before you import them into SonicStage if you want to keep whats yours.
On: 2005-12-30
hd-5 has the best sound quality of any mp3 player out there. im not sure why there are so many complaints about sonicstage - its as easy to use as i-tunes. by the way, im one of the few who does NOT LIKE the CLICKWHEEL - so i love the controls on the hd-5. also, this baby is solid - the aluminum case is beautiful. my only complaint is the volume is too low.
On: 2005-12-06
Sound is great, nice device, but it lacks built-in features and accesories as the ipod has. For example, you cannot erase or edit a song without connecting the player to your PC; if you want to use a transmitter you will have to use a third party one (Belkin)which uses an ackward wire connection; the Sony speakers offered also use a wire connection and the sound is loud enough to use it in your bedroom or office but thats it. Next time Ill buy an ipod.
 On: 2005-12-05
This player has great sound, and thats the most important point to spending almost 300 dollars on a mp3 player. The other features are just extra filling, but this player lacks a lot of useful features. I had to take a star off.
50% of my music are not in English, and the only Asian language this player can show is Japanese, thus creating a lot of problems. Then theres the lack of a microphone, i mean how much would it be to add a mic in there. Itd make this player SO much better.
Ive heard so much complain about SS, but its actually really easy to use, I dont see what the problem is about it. Overall this player is really great for people looking for the best sounding mp3 player out there.
On: 2005-11-07
this is an outstanding player. the sound quality is best rated [...] and the removable batter that has a rated life of 40 hours!!!! and a feature that no other player has, is that the screen is bi-directional. what does that mean?
well you know how some platers are held in the upright position (like the ipod) and some are held horazontally (like the rio fordge) well, this player does both! a very nice feature.
also the buttens are all tact-tile, meaning that you actually pres down to move the curser, (unlike the ipods touch wheel) some people like this, some people dont, i do. it is very handy and the buttens dont accidently get pressed. i took of 1 star on this review because of the price, 280 american for a black and white mp3 player! heck, now you can get the 20 gb ipod photo for 30 bucks less! so the price does bring it down a notch.
but if you have the money, and arent looking for a color screen. then this is the best SOUND QUALITY player you can buy.
On: 2005-11-03
I recently purchased the Walkman NW-HD5, and I love it.
I have read alot of reviews, and I have one opinion that differs. Sonic Stage is not as bad as mentioned. If you have a little patience and read through the menus and options, it is rather simple. About it being slow, I have been copying my CD collection at the highest quality possible and the quality is flawless. I do not mind the system taking a little time to make sure there is quality sound. This is why you BUY SONY. It takes approx 15 min to burn a full CD at 256 kbps ATTRAC3.
I do find the door that covers the USB port is very cheap and am very surprised that more attention was not paid to this area of the device.
Another draw back is that since Sony is not as mainstream as another device, there are not as many accessories. But if you are looking for quality and price you can find it here.
On: 2005-11-03
This is my first "MP3" player, and its very impressive. The unit feels great in the hand, nice and solid, and its intuitive to use with the tactile buttons. The red color is great, and will hopefully help me not lose it somewhere. I got the Sony MDR-EX51LP earphones to use with it, and the sound is fantastic; Ive never used earphones with such nice bass. I also got a silicone cover for it off ebay and that provides protection in case of drops and scrapes.
I have no problem at all with Sonic Stage v3.2. Its easy to rip CDs and then transfer them to the NW-HD5. Ive moved about 120 CDs to the player and enjoy having my whole collection in my hand. I find the ATRAC3plus at 64 kbps to be fine for all of my albums.
I recommend this product.
On: 2005-11-02
This is a great player except that Sonic Stage will not work with Unicode characters and the player will NOT display Non-English song titles such as Chinese. I reluctantly returned it for this reason only.
On: 2005-11-02
This is a great MP3 player. It is very robust as I have dropped it and it works fine. Thus far I have ripped only CDs. I previously owned an ipod mini, but find the sound much better out of the NW-HD5. I also think the screen is clearer. The best feature is that I dont have to worry about the battery running out. I dont worry about taking this on a weekend or 3 day trip and not having the AC adapter. I even left it on accidentally over night and it still had 70% battery life left! Sonicstage software has worked fine for me. The other point to mention is that with Windows this was a breeze to get up and going, much easier than my ipod mini.
On: 2005-10-29
My only problem is that it plays about 1 second per minute slower than the playing time on the display, no matter whether mp3 or atrac format. (This is annoying because I need to play in sync with DVD movies.) Is it only my device, or are yours like that too???
On: 2005-10-26
Great MP3 player. Perfect size, both physical size,weight and drive space. Also is extremely easy to navigate and figure out. Sonic stage software is very user friendly, as is the player. The sound is loud, crisp, and very clear. In my opinion, and apparently several others, an excellent player, possibly the best one on the market; especially for those of you that would rather die than conform to the iPod fad and get a great MP3 player out of the deal.
On: 2005-10-22
This is most likely the best portable music player on the market.
I dont understand the complaints Ive read about the SonicStage software either. Its about as user friendly as anything else Ive seen. If I had a complaint about anything it would be about the lack of availability of accessories. Beyond that I have nothing but praise for my new Sony NW-HD5.
On: 2005-10-21
Away from fiddling with its settings and transferring music from Sonic Stage, I absolutely adore the Sony NW-HD5. Not only does it look great(Red only), it sounds fantastic, and is easy to use. The lack of color screen, the reputation of having some of the best sound out of any MP3 player, and the inclusion of a 40hr-rated battery life make the Sony very worthy of the Walkman model name.
Typical Usage: 12HR workdays, with the MP3 Player spending half the time hooked up to speakers, and half the time in my pocket. Dedicated Line-Out setting used etensively.
Complaints: Whats with the dust under the screen? Wish this player were drag and drop capable.
Raves: The red player is gorgeous. The others are ugly. The weight of the mp3 player is perfect. The size is perfect. The display is wonderfully gorgeous and simple. Color? We dont need no color. We need longer battery life! On a 13HR roadtrip, I never thought once about running out of batteries. Unlike some players, the NW-HD5 HAS a removeable battery, and can be recharged while having songs transferred to it via USB 2.0. Transfer speeds are unrivalled.
Sonic Stage: I like it because I can set it so that everytime I plug in my NW-HD5, and initialize Sonic Stage, the program syncs my music, and never puts on duplicate files. I dislike having to import music into SonicStage, but realize you have to do this with iTunes, and WinAmp. I like atrac3, but I also like having mp3s. My NW-HD5 has a combination of both formats. If I dont care about audio quality, I convert CDs to 128kbps MP3s. If I care about sound quality, I use 320kbps ATRAC3plus. You *can* use both formats. I do wish there were more formats I could convert from (AAC, anyone?)
If you use Napster, its a bit of work. You need to take your DRM .wmv files, burn them onto a CD, and import the CD into SonicStage.
Conclusion: The player is amazing when its being used, its very easy to use. I have owned an original 5gb iPod, and Creative Zen Micro, and would say the Sony falls in the middle of the two in terms of ease of use.
If I could use the Sony with Napster, id say it would best MP3 Player on the market. As it is however, the software used to set it up leaves somethings to be desired: namely lack of drag and drop capability, and the inability to convert more formats.
It has to be stressed again: This is an amazing piece of hardware, that is *slightly* hindered by Sonic Stage. If you have your own CD collection, you will love the NW-HD5. If you have a large collection of MP3s as your sole source of music, you might be a little disappointed with how much effort it takes to transfer music to the NW-HD5.
This is my favorite MP3 player on the market, and my disappointsments are greatly outweighed by how happy this player makes me. It flat out works. Too bad about the dust. Its very aggravating.
On: 2005-10-19
Have you seen this player in the flesh? Amazing size, full metal body, tactile buttons! Plays native Mp3s with amazing sound and performance I love it. Sonic Stage works fine for me and is very simple. It is a little slow to initialize but the transfer speeds are awesome. Also this player comes with the AC charger although you can charge it with a standard USB cable. My only disgrunt is that if you use a remote with it, it defaults to "head phone out" and wont let you use "line out". This is a minor problem for very few people. (Its small enough to be a remote itself anyway.) I have had it for a couple months and the battery life is outstanding even at 192KHz mp3 format mainly using the higher voltage "line out" feature in my car. I was going to buy a DC charger for my car but I dont ever need to charge it.
On: 2005-10-19
This is an excellent product.
It is built sturdy and does everything that I ask of it.
Many have complained about the software, I downloaded the most recent version imported all of my 3000 mp3 and then ripped about 100 cds.
It imported well, converted well, played everything I put on and even was pretty easy to pick up the free songs that came with the unit.
I have used this as background music at several church functions, just used a patch cord and pluged into the buildings speaker system, put the unit on audio out and people were indeed impressed.
I am looking to purchase 2 more for my girls.
On: 2005-10-18
I bought this on a trip to the Sony building in Tokyo and I instantly fell in love with it. I was looking for a compact replacement for my bulky Creative Labs Zen player and it fit the bill perfectly.
Pros:
- casing is very solid
- the audio quality is some of best youll find in a portable audio device
- supports MP3, WMA, WAV, AND ATRAC3
- easy menu navigation
- extremely compact and lightweight
- long battery life (longest Ive seen)
Cons:
- DRM (need I say more?)
- SonicStage (only software to transfer files)
Overall this is a very solid competitor on the portable audio market. I believe it provides much more of a value than the high-priced iPOD (set aside from the CONS).
On: 2005-10-16
Sound Quality is great, despite other reviews I have read the Sonic software works great also. My children have I pods but I reccomend this over the Ipod, much easier to use. The gapless transfer is great for us that love live recordings. Works easily with your stereo or car system. This is breakthrough tecnology, I love it!!!!!!!!!!!
On: 2005-10-14
The sonud quality of this player is as good as Iaudio M3 if is not better. The battery life is just amazing and size is so compact. However the good news ends here.
The sonicstage is crap, have you trieds to import Asian songs such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean songs, well, its a nightmare. The user interface is so bad, if you have thousands of mp3s, you will never find the songs that you want.
I have this player for a month now and [...]
On: 2005-10-12
This is my first Hard Drive based player. I seriously considered buying an iPod Nano instead, but ultimately the additional cost of accessories such as a power adapter turned me back to the Sony NW-HD5 player. Ive been playing with the player and SonicStage for the last several hours. My initial impressions are mostly good.
As many others have pointed out, the piece that covers the USB and power plugs is EXTREMELY flimsy. I had read this numerous times, but Im not sure if words alone can describe just how fragile this piece feels.
Sure SonicStage isnt the greatest music software available. From my experience thus far, it is not as crash-prone or bug riddled as others have stated. I normally use MusicMatch Jukebox Plus as my music management software. If I could have used that software instead of SonicStage, this would be a 5 star rating. Ive never been fond of iTunes software either for managing music. Both SonicStage and iTunes are extremely limited in their scope and advanced options for managing music. As far as music stores, iTunes is my favorite, and Sony Connect still has a long way to go before I endorse their music store.
Honestly, I dont see what all the fuss is about Sony demanding you to use SonicStage. Apple demands that you use iTunes and only iTunes with an iPod. Whats the difference?
Ill tell you what the difference is to me: Battery life. I want a music player. I dont need frills like a color screen (which drains battery life), or games. I have games on my cell phone, dont play them. I wouldnt play games on my mp3 player either. Add a color screen to the NW-HD5 and I guarantee battery life drops by 50%. I havent tested this myself yet, but even 20-30 hours is far superior to any iPod on the market, and thats important to me.
I never leave purchased music in the DRM wrapped file. They let me burn it to CD, and thats always the first thing I do. I then re-rip the music I purchased in an unprotected format. Audio-fanatics may claim you lose audio quality this way, and mayhap you do, but Ive never noticed a significant difference. So I will still buy music wherever I choose. DRM incompatibilities arent enough to stop me from using music I pay for.
One thing that has greatly impressed me, which I was somewhat worried about: compatibility with the MP3Pro format. As I said, Ive used MMJB Plus for many years, and all my music is ripped to MP3Pro, which is not exactly the same as MP3. It provides better quality with smaller file sizes than MP3. My last player, an RCA Lyra CF-based player was unable to handle MP3Pro files, even though MMJB was the software that came with that player. My Lyra wrapped MP3 files in a cryptic MPX format, and could not decode the MP3Pro files. Ultimately this became a huge pain to change music on that player.
Im very pleased to report that the NW-HD5 plays my MP3Pro 96kbs songs flawlessly. Of course, Sony also wraps songs in a protective wrapper when it transfers them to the player, much like my old Lyra did. Sony uses the OpenMG format to wrap songs with DRM. But unlike my old Lrya, it transfers wicked fast. A full album transfers in just a few seconds. I transferred over 120 songs to the player in about a minute. This was probably my biggest concern when buying a new player, and I am extremely happy that I dont have to convert my music collection into another format to put it on my player.
The DRM wrapping is NOT as clumsy as some reviews have stated, such as PCMag. I absolutely detest DRM, but on the NW-HD5, it seems invisible to me. Sony has put together a very good player. I dare you to find a player on the market that has no DRM built into it.
The audio quality is fantastic. The volume is plenty loud, although that will be tested thoroughly in a few months. Seems to me that it goes loud enough to be heard without problem on an airplane.
The player does get 4 stars. But heres where theres room for improvement:
1. SonicStage -- lots of room for improvement, both in library viewing options and in the music store.
2. The cover for the USB port and the power connector needs to be more sturdy, but at least it has a cover. The "dock" connector on an iPod has no cover at all!
3. A few accessories, such as selling a case would be real nice. The included pouch is a nice addition, but simply isnt good enough for me.
4. Additional compatibility. It would be nice if manufacturers didnt lock you into a single option. Sony, Apple. Quit the turf wars, and work together. Sadly this will probably never happen, but one can hope.
On: 2005-10-12
The Good:
This is not a bad player dont get me wrong, and truely excels with its battery life. I have used it in the car for hours before going on holiday and it went days before needing a charge with an average normal usage of at least a few hours a day. Thumbs up there!
When you get the player in your hand it feels great and is a truely nice looking player. It isnt an IPod and people in public often genuinely seem interested to know what it is. It is also marginally smaller than the IPod with the same drive capacity. The case is also quite hard to scratch, unlike many IPods I have seen. Thumbs up!
The Bad:
It does however have some substantial problems. The first is the issue of the buttons cracking. It is a common problem with 167 players registered to date in this database: http://www.junto.co.uk/Consumer/Sony_NW_HD5.aspx.
Mine has stress fratures/cracks on the buttons (bottom left and right, plus top left). They are stress fractures that appeared for me during the first few days of use! This should NEVER happen on such a product from such a major manufacturer. It shows that Sony have cut corners, avoided quality testing and used inferior components. People used to high build qualities will be disappointed. Thumbs Down!
The Ugly:
Now comes the worst part - the software. Sony seem to have bought in from OpenMG, a lame, poorly designed and outdated music management program, which fails dismally to do anything with any degree of success. It will not list albums where the artists are mixed, so compilations albums go out the window. The only way around this is to manually create playlists, but the interface is clunky and slow. In fact I am waiting now for Sonic Stage do do "something", though "what" I am not sure, while I type this review. So, if it seems like it has crashed, do not fear, it is just "thinking". You yourself can come onto the Amazon website, give your review of the player and rest assured that eventually Sonic Stage will come back to life. Im sure if you have 3 albums in your library it works like a charm. I have all my music (8GB) and it is really slow.
There is no drag and drop facility and all music needs to be converted from MP3 and WMA to the ATRAC format, which is proprietary and cant be played in Windows Media Player for example. This sucks, especially considering Sonic Stage cannot compete as a music player. If it did work well, Id keep all my music in Sonic Stage and use it as a player. Instead I now have an extra 8GB of ATRAC files sucking up space on my hard disk, alongside the WMA files I play in Windows Media Player.
Thumbs down!
On: 2005-10-11
I used to own an Ipod Mini and I couldnt believe how bad the sound was. When I heard good reviews about the NW-HD5s sound quality I decided to get one. The good reviews are justified. Sound quality is indeed superior to that of the Ipod. I mean, its still not home-theater quality but its excellent considering it is a portable device holding thousands of songs after all.
 On: 2005-10-08
The Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman may live up to its billing in the CNET review and other reviews, but the SonicStage software required to run the NW-HD5 is unacceptable. Each time I start SonicStage on my computer, it takes minutes to load, and it takes many minutes more once the NW-HD5 is connected to the computer for the list of songs on the NW-HD5 to appear. That is where the problems start, because SonicStages capacity to manage a sizable music collection is weak. Once SonicStage has loaded my music collection into "My Library," the program is poorly organized and lacks the ability to efficiently search, sort and organize the songs by artist, genre, album, etc. It takes forever to maneuver from one song to the next, and when changing the "View" from "Album" to "All Tracks" the wait continues. Transferring songs from the computer to the NW-HD5 is painful and it is difficult to pick and choose groups of songs to transfer. Surpisingly, deleting songs from the NW-HD5 takes practically as long and is equally as difficult. If you have a small music collection, and you only want to move one, two or a small group of songs onto the NW-HD5, SonicStage might function better (I wouldnt know), but if you have a sizable music collection and if you intend to take advantage of the NW-HD5s 20 GB hard drive, then get ready for some serious frustration. By comparison, iTunes is a dream come true when it comes to searching, sorting, organizing and transferring songs. I could continue my criticism of SonicStage function by function because I havent found anything that it does well. When I purchased the NW-HD5, I felt the sound quality and battery life were more important than the music management software and would justify having the product despite issues with the software. I was wrong, and I hope this review will prevent others from making my mistake.
On: 2005-10-07
This piece of hardware is incredible. Ive owned an ipod 4g, an ipod mini 6gb, an archos gmini xs200, a few of creatives flash players, and have seen and held most of the popular 20gb players out there. Nothing else can quite compare.
Hardware Quality:
It feels durable. I feel confident about its safety whenever I carry it around, except for the usb cover which does seem a bit flimsy. I made it a priority to buy a case for my ipods in the past, but it feels like this thing doesnt even need one. It is well constructed, and the screen is easy on the eyes. The buttons on mine havent begun to crack. (yet) We will see though, its only been a week or so.
Rating: 4.5/5 (unless the buttons crack)
Size/Weight:
The hd5 has got everything beat hands down except the xs200 which seems a bit bigger, but its lighter (4.2 oz). Honestly, the hd5 is pretty heavy for its tiny size. Ive seen some sites say it weighs 4.1 oz, 4.4 oz, and 4.8 oz. Realistically, its probably 4.8 (135 grams), but thats still really light for a 20gb player. (the new color ipod is 5.9 oz) The hd5s only competition in the size department is its own previous hd players and Archos. To clarify, it is bigger than the hd1 (3.9 oz), smaller than the hd3 (4.4 oz), but a bit heavier than both. But as you have probably already heard, the pictures dont do it justice.
Rating: 5/5
Battery life:
Amazing, not even comparable to the ipods or the xs200. Honestly, Im not sure about 40 hrs. though. I use mp3 lame vbr at around 180 kbps, and Id say the battery lasts between 20-30 hrs. Plus, the battery is replaceable, and its not huge or heavy either. Not only does the battery last way longer, but it charges quicker too. You could probably get another spare for around 50 bucks.
Rating: 5/5
Navigation:
The click wheel is unrivaled. I havent seen anything as easy to use, but the controls on the hd5 are sufficient, even for large music libraries. It does take getting used to though. The longer you hold down a direction button, the faster it will scroll down. (it doesnt speed up forever though, after a few seconds the speed is consistent) Fast-forwarding within a song isnt as easy as it is with the clickwheel again, but its not bad at all, about 2 seconds to scroll through 10 seconds of music. Also, the designated buttons for volume come in handy too, unlike the ipod.
A little tip: if you tap a directional button twice and then hold it down, it will start scrolling down faster a bit sooner as opposed to holding down the button right away. This is convenient if you know you have to get to a song that starts with an o or something.
Rating: 4.5/5
Sound Quality:
Great, better than any other mp3 player I have ever heard. I hooked it up to my speakers at home and I was amazed. I compared the same mp3 files that were loaded in both the hd5 and my ipod mini, and the ipod isnt up to par with the hd5. Atrac3plus is a great format too, though I probably wont use it because I dont want to marry sonic stage and sony just yet. At 160 kbps I can only tell a slight difference between the cd and the compressed format. Even 48 is listenable. (I know to many of you, its not) But those of you who listen to mp3 (not lame) at 128 kbps, you wont notice the difference. I personally think that atrac3plus is superior to aac and maybe even wma, but dont hunt me down and kill me just because I think so. Its just my opinion.
Just to let you know, I listen to a variety of music (alternative, punk, rap, hip hop, a little jazz, slow jams, etc.) and the hd5 plays all these back extraordinarily.
Rating: 5/5
Software:
Sonicstage isnt horrible, but its not as good as itunes. It gets the job done, even if it does take a few times longer to transfer music to the player. It takes about a minute per gb to transfer music to the ipod, but probably around 5 minutes a gb for the hd5. And great news! If you hate Sonic Stage, you dont have to use it!
SONY VAIO MUSIC TRANSFER
and the
MP3 FILE MANAGER
are two drag-and-drop alternatives that both work, though its not lightning fast either. This does get rid of all the protection crap on Sonic Stage tho with mp3s. With mp3 file manager, you can transfer music onto your hd5 from ANY computer without having to install software, since it is saved on the hd of the hd5. What sucks to his uploading music to another computer. Havent figured this out yet, but Im sure its possible. Also, if you use vbr to encode your music, they are compatible with both programs (even though vmt says it doesnt support vbr, it actually does.) The problem with these programs though, is that it will be hard to update your music library; youll have to find the songs that you recently added, or if you change info on some of your songs then youll have to find those and delete the old ones to add the new ones, etc. Getting the music on the hardware is a bit of a drag, not nearly as luxurious as with the ipod, but the hardware is truly worth it.
Rating: 3/5
Annoying quirks:
It doesnt turn on nearly as fast as the ipod, about 4 seconds.
Sometimes going back and forth from the playback screen to the menu takes a few seconds (about two) unlike the ipod which is almost instant.
Shuffling songs gets annoying too when you have to press a few buttons. You also have to press a few buttons to get to the playback screen, but no biggie.
The only options you have fot the backlight are keep it off, or 10 and 30 seconds. The battery is so killer though, you shouldnt even have to worry about the backlight draining the battery.
Playback on mp3 isnt completely gapless in-between songs, but neither is the ipod. It does come close, though. I believe atrac3plus is gapless though.
Cool Features:
The initial search (works only for individual tracks) comes in handy.
The various screen orientations is kinda useless in my opinion, but i guess it could be of some use. It doesnt actually work the way most people think. The screen only changes if you turn it off in one position and turn it on in another.
The screen is big enough to display everything youd ever want to know about the track listening to, including the track name, the artist, the album, its genre, the bitrate, the track number, the time elapsed, and battery life. What more could you want? Lyrics? The screen isnt colored, but who cares? This thing does what its supposed to (play music) and it does it well. Do you really look at pictures or marvel at the screen when youre listening to music?
The hd5 has a line-out option included (instead of just headphones), which comes in handy if you intend to hooking it up to your sound system.
Accessories:
Dont ever expect decent headphones to come with any type of player, including these. Get another pair.
I heard the RM-MC35ELK remote works with the hd5, but I dont have one so Im not sure. This would be really convenient though.
Get a case! The hd5 comes with a lousy felt bag that you should probably use to put coins in or something, anything but the hd5. Proporta (www.proporta.com) and JAVOskin (you can get one here on amazon) and some other brand on ebay provide cases. If you want any case other than a silicon one, youll have to look to proporta. The best deal is the ebay case though, it came out to be $10.50 after s&h.
Conclusion:
This piece of hardware is great. Yes, the software that comes with it is close to crap. Use vaio music transfer or mp3 file manager instead. Buy it if you have a little spare time on your hands, own a decently fast pc (and not a mac), actually care about sound quality, battery life, portability, durability, and still want to look good while youre at it. If you own a plain white shirt that has a tiny picture of an alligator on the front pocket and you paid over 50 bucks for it, get an iPod. (better yet, a nano) Itll be a nice addition to your outfit. Also, if you own a mac or have a large library that isnt encoded in mp3, this might not be worth it. Buy decent headphones and a case while youre at it. I cant say anything at 259 is a steal, but this is definitely a good eal.
(...)
On: 2005-10-07
This is a good product, the Atrac3 compression software is very useful and practical. The size and weigth outstand for a long the Ipod.
Purchase it!!
On: 2005-10-06
Great battery life, easy to navigate, huge hard drive, great sound quality. Really no negatives about it. Its about the size of a credit card, only thicker. Great, great purchase.
On: 2005-10-03
The player is great, good size, nice design, very clean, good LCD (could be color), the software is very easy to use and after you convert the cd to mp3/wma/attrac3, takes seconds to transfer for the player.
My only down point is the lcd, not bad, would just be great if had color, thats all!
On: 2005-09-29
First... my previous mobile device for music was an old net md.... those old devices that used minidiscs that could store like 5 cds per minidisc.
So... after a long wait and being quite skeptical about the iPod and wondering why Sony didnt use the atrac3 technology in one device I wait... and now I am the proud owner of a NW HD5.
First. One major complain is about the SonicStage system. Ok, this software will be by far your standar software to play media files. But, for what is was designed, concert cd to atrac3plus files, it works very well.
I mean, I am a veteran of the old SonicStage 1.2 so I know HOW annoying this software can be. But this new version is very, very easy to use...
An advise... convert your files to atrac3plus files... youll save a lot of space in the 20 gb drive in you can make those 20 gigas in something like 40 gigas for much less money, with the sound quality.
So, the software is fine. The sound quality? Really, really good, even with the standar headphones set you get. You can chose between several options of sound quality or you can create your own custom equalizer set.
Navigate in a huge collection of music files.... is really easy... very easy... besaides you have an option "shuffle" where you can play all your files in a random fashion, which makes it very, very funny...
Botton line.
You get a lot more for what you pay.
The software isnt really that hard to get into it.
The sound quallity is great.
The design is great (far better than the "wheel" control of the iPod).
And is cheaper than an iPod, with better quality.
So... go for it!!!
On: 2005-09-26
Ipod Is Better. Yea, sonys is said to have better sound quality, but you need to be real picky about sound to notice huge differences. Yea, sonys battery life is 40 hrs., but it does not have color capabilites, games, photos, etc.
The sony player uses Sonic Stage, it is no secret that this program is awful.
Navigation is somewhat easy, but clearly nothing will beat the ipod.
This is only a good product for those who dont d/l music online, have a large cd album, dont mind sonicstage, dont care that it isnt an ipod, need 25+ hours of battery life, etc.
If you never had an MP3 player dont start with this one, GET AN IPOD...it is better
On: 2005-09-22
Sound: Efficient. The CNET testing labs deemed this is as the best sounding mp3 player. And that report was why I bought it in the first place. The ER6s I bought HOWEVER, seems to question this. Bass response seems slightly exaggerated from mp3s ripped by SONICSTAGE) at 320 Kbbits thats imported directly from the CD source.
Ease of Use: Efficient.
The menus are relatively easy to navigate. I like the initial search feature that categorizes songs according to their first initials. The Menus seem disorganized however. You have to press the Search Button twice to access the menu screen. Why not just add a separate MENU button in? This is very incongrous, in my opinion and was put into place simply to suit the cross amidst four button design that Sony was opting for. Its also very NON-user friendly to have to return to the menu again to simply access the playback screen. Youll have to go literally through THREE menus after searching just to see the song thats being played. Simply idiotic. While were on the subject of the playback MENU: For some reason, the player does not scroll the ALBUM name when it doesnt fit the 1 inch and half screen (which is ALWAYS). Youll always have a cut off album name, which simply defeats the purpose of going through the painstaking process of having put it there in the first place!!!
SonicStage - Relatively easy to use but lacks some categorizing features (on the TRANSFER tab, listing the songs stored in your player) that could have made renaming tracks/albums/artist less of hassle. Note however, that the software is not coded properly since youll need a computer with oogles of RAM to keep the thing from freezing. (Look to forums to verify.)
Features: Poor for a $250 purchase.
No FM Radio. (MY GOD.)
The directly supported file formats are MP3 and Sonys ATRAC format. It does not play WMA without changing it to Sonys BELOVED ATRAC 3 format.
No drag and drop transfers.
No colored screen.
Cant store pictures, meaning NO wallpapers and NO album art during playback screen which would have been big bonuses.
One thing that Sony did right however was to include a replaceable battery.
Build Quality: Absolutely, and utterly: ATROCIOUS.
This is the aspect of the player thats in fact, FLAWED the most This type of quality should not be accepted from a $200+ device.
Screen - The screen is very, very, very, very, sensitive to scratches. In fact, I find that cleaning it thoroughly with an LCD cleaning cloth (received with Dell lappie) left scratches. Even the INCLUDED pouch left its large share of scratches. Youll need to babysit this one and buy a decent Proporta case to take care of this baby.
Buttons - The button cracking issue is very rampant and caused me to request a product exchange with this store. It was denied, however, because Amazon have noticed that the issue is very much widespread. I dont blame them though, but SONY instead who used inferior materials and performed minimal testing on this product in order to cut corners and gain an extra penny out from our well earned money.
Recommendation: If you can live with the exaggerated bass response, lack of features, screen scratches and cracked buttons, then BUY IT!
On: 2005-09-22
I bought the black NW-HD5 in august for the price of $280 well all I can say it was worth the money. First off I sold my ipod to get this it was worth it. Sound quality was horrible on my Ipod, sound quality is awesome on my NW-HD5 way better than my ipod. People complaing about cracks in the buttons my player has no cracks maybe its only a few. I go to collge and it seems that everyone has an ipod its nice to have something different than everyone else.Okay people that complain about Sonicstage are either a) dedicated ipod people. b)people that have computers that are not quite up to date. Sonicstage actually is pretty good just dont like the Sony Connect store seems buggy with the new update but i rarely buy online music, i buy cds. Navigation is simple yeah click wheel is easy, but their both easy not like its hard to search for a song by holding a button. Battery life is about 28-35 real life hours, battery is also removable which is cool there on sale in the uk already I checked a website that was selling them already. MP3s DO PLAY ON THIS MACHINE I encoded my collection two years ago on Musicmatch they transfer perfectly to the NW-HD5. If you are a person that really really wants some thing that plays games, and functions somewhat like a pda and doesnt mind horrible sound get an ipod. If your a person that likes listening to your music at good quality get the NW-HD5. At $255 this is a steal
On: 2005-09-20
Ok, Im currently "on the fence" about this product and a comparable ipod or creative zen. I have looked into a few things regarding all of the bickering regarding battery life and cost.
Apples site has info regarding cost associated with battery replacement for an ipod no longer in warrenty. [...] The link is: http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/service/battery/
I am attracted to the ability of the nw-hd5s battery to be swapped out, but how much will they cost? and where available? so far, I cannot find onine, (probably because product is new) and it is a concern of mine.
On: 2005-09-20
The player is awesome. If you go to the gym or go on jogs, this is the player for you. You can find a neoprene armband on ebay for 10 bucks...wut a deal as opposed to an ipod armband for about 40. The player doesnt have FM tuner, but who cares, you get your mp3 ideas from the radio, if u happen to like a song, look at the new music on sonic stage, and either buy it, or go through a "piracy" site if u feel that is the right route. Its semi annoying that you cant buy music from yahoo music unlimited, but i spoke with a sony rep and he said u can get a subscription based service from sony in the future as it IS planned. Also, ATRAC3PLUS is by far superior to mp3s and ipods infamous AAC. Lets face it the Ipods selling point is its clickwheel,alarmclock,games, and "sleek" design. But heres a trick, but MusicMatch plus, get all ur mp3s u have, do supertagging, and it fixes all ur id3tags so manuevering in ur new sony is MUCH easier than Ipods, trust me. Ive researched EVERY single mp3 player on the market, trust me, its taken a long time. The CowonX5 is just too hard to sync, its too much effort, and has too many features, its an mp3 player not a mini laptop. The ipod is hyped, period. Its quality and battery life just are plain bad, and its a hassle to buy an expensive mp3 player and then send it back in for a NEW BATTERY, lame. Sonys is replaceable, thats how its done. The closest to the quality of the SONy is the Creative Zen. I really liked this player. It has EVERYTHING and more than the ipod, alarm,easy access, touch pad. It has DJ, ease of use, AWESOME sound, great headphones, Better than IpOD, but not as good as SONYs, battery life. Its also cheaper. The selling point for the sonys was the face that it was made for an active lifestyle, the Creatives was meant for walking around and listening to it. THAT is the difference. so if u have an active lifestyle, get sony. Just walkin around town or sitting somewhere listenin to music, get the creative. Honestly though, the Ipod isnt worth the hype, however the nano is quite impressive, ill give the engineers that one. yet...id still get the sony or creative. the new zen micro photo from creative might be something to wait for if ur still unsure, or the new ipod5g might be something to wait on if u REALLY just love the ipod...and of course the next sony will prolly have FM,Color, etc...however battery life will be compromised...its up to you. GOOD LUCK!
On: 2005-09-20
First of all the thing looks great. The anodized aluminum casing is pretty cool and it feels nice to the touch. The buttons are small and you may need to be careful so as to avoid "cracking" the centered corners of the middle buttons; so far I have had no problems and the buttons respond very well. I use the Sony MDR-V6 headphones with this player and I usually max out the volume level to compensate. While the high-range sounds just fine, the bass leaves something to be desired. If only Sony could have equipped these with their Digital Mega Bass boost feature, it may have sounded just right - alas, it does not. With lesser headphones, you probably wont notice. Accessibility to desired tracks is quick and easy. SonicStage? Its not the greatest and it is limited in what it can do, however, it IS easy to manipulate. Sometimes the "Playlists" created in the computer do not always transfer in correct order to the player, which is inconvenient. It is built tough - I was at the gym one day and the player somehow flipped up into the air (a good 5 or 6 feet). I watched in absolute horror as it fell to the hard floor. Despite a slightly bent corner on top, it continued to function and playback perfectly! Battery life is SICK - I can play it for hours on end without thinking about whether its about to burn out. Youre going to want to buy a better set of earphones, as the ones it comes with are merely passable. It comes with a small cloth pouch, which looks nice. As far the flimsy USB / DC IN jack cover? It does look pretty weak, but if youre not rough with it you shouldnt have any problems. To close, Sony needs to give future models MORE BASS power, and up the dose up to 40GB.
On: 2005-09-17
BELOW IS MY UPDATED REVIEW (15 MARCH 2006)
I am something of an audiophile who deliberately stayed away from compressed audio...till the convenience factor came into the picture - like being able to take it to the gym, have all my music whilst on vacation, etc. And compressed audio formats have indeed improved, from their earlier tinny versions.
I dont download music and use the NW-HD5 only to store my personal CD collection, at the best possible bit-rate and in the best possible format; mostly in AtracPlus @256K.
Have had the unit for about 6 months now. Personally, I feel that the AtracPlus sound quality, proprietary to Sony, is far better than other codecs Ive heard like MP3, AAC, etc. Yes, while the HD-5 may not have a colour screen and its software is not hugely intuitive, the HD-5 serves its specific purpose and does it well to boot. This is a MUSIC player, remember?!
The desktop software, while not being overly friendly, does its job well. Updates are available at the Sony support site. The battery life is outstanding and Sony scores again, in this area. A useful feature is that the HD-5 has a replaceable battery.
Bottomline - if you are want a portable digital audio player with the best sound quality, small size & decent storage (20GB), look no further than the HD-5. If you want more bells and whistles, look elsewhere. Frankly, however, most of those bells and whistles really belong in a PDA (contacts, calendar, alarms)?!
On: 2005-09-15
I personally dont like the IPod because of the battery life. After a lot of research NW-HD5 is the best interms of battery life. Ive played with the IPods and they have a lot of great stuff but a crappy battery life killed it. There are downsides to this player but I am willing to over look them for better battery life. Connect is not the best online music store. It didnt have some cds I wanted. Sonic Stage is a pain to deal with sometimes. But like I said I am willing to sacrifice for better battery life.
Thats just me.
On: 2005-09-11
This is a really nice unit. Handsome, small, easy to use.. but.. the power cord must be plugged in behind a very flimsy door on top of the unit (use primarily in the car, plugged in) and when connecting it to the car stereo the volume was half of what my previous Archos XS200 was doing..... Went back to the Archos and returned the SONY
On: 2005-09-07
Dumped ipod, got this one today. I found the software is straight forward. It is easier and much faster to start up than itune. Sound quality is great. If you are comparing ipod with sonys, get this. If you have a sony camera, the USB interface is the same. One less wire to deal with. ipod is a piece of garbage (dead battery all the time) along with bad service from Apple.
The battery seems last forever!!! Just love it.
On: 2005-09-05
sony is foxy! he compromised to mp3 market. but actually he wants everyone to use his own format atracB he developed this beautiful machine to allure mp3 users. this machine gave a lot of restriction to mp3 format.whats more, when you compare the sounding quality of mp3 and atrac format in this machine, mp3 is terrible! it means you have to transform your mp3 files into sonys format atrac.
sony is really foxy!
if you are mp3 fan, do not buy this machine. it is a cheat
On: 2005-09-02
It took me a while to choose an MP3 player, but I finally made a decision and I am extremely happy with the choice.
Sonys HDD Walkman offers awesome battery power compared to IPods flimsy battery life, it is smaller and I think it is better sound quality too. It can also hold nearly 8000 more songs than the IPod!
The Sony unit was a litle more expensive than the IPod, but by the time you count the cost of replacing the IPod battery every twelve months, and the IPod-specific accessories you need to buy, the Sony is quite cheap; the Sony provides you with the AC/DC adaptor and a soft pouch which IPod doesnt. Also, the unit has a built in drop protector that retracts the arm of the hard disk in the event of dropping; this eliminates a lot of problems my friends have had with HD units no matter what the brand.
I read about the problems with the SonicStage software, but I really cant say I have experienced these same problems. You have the option to change most formats into SonicStage when you load the software. For every review on the SonicStage problems, I have read the same type of problems for ITunes - so it really isnt any different.
I personally found the SonicStage V3.1 very easy to use - simply load your CD, select the tracks you want recorded, then burn to your library using wav., Mp3. or Atrac3plus format. Once downloaded, transfering to the Sony HD is a breeze and the sound is incredible. You can also select your own categories for listing within the player too.
The unit has several Digital Preset equalisers and sound options which can be used when listening to certain types of music. The screen colour can be inverted and the screen has auto rotation facilities.
The only problem I see with the unit is the lid that covers the USB and AC port - it appears flimsy, although I know that they use the same type of cover for some of their cameras and I have never seen problems with them, so heres hoping the are the same. Also, I have NOT had cracks in my unit. I have also updated the units hardware to V1.2 (free from Sony).
All in all, an awesome unit that I love! :D
On: 2005-09-01
Reviewing the Sony NW HD-5 is really easy and fast:
ITS A MAGNIFICENT HARDWARE MASTERPIECE OF ART AND A SOFTWARE PIECE OF CRAP!!!!!
If this hardware could run Itunes or Musicmatch, it would be the best mp3 player ever....
On: 2005-08-30
this thing is so much better than the iPod. i love it to death and i will use it for as long as it is top of the line which unfortunately for my wallet is only about another six months tops. regardless it is a cool gadget to have with all of its little features and things like that but the only thing that would have bin better would be the click wheel that the iPod does have. i dont want to sound like some sort of retarded iPod user its just that for some reason the iPod has become the standard that everyone compares their MP3 players with. alright peace
On: 2005-08-30
I purchased my HD5 on Saturday, August 27th and am truly pleased with all of its features. The feel of the HD5 in your hand is very solid and gives you a sense that theres something more than plastic involved in its construction. I was able to figure out the navigation within two or three pushes, everything is very intuitive if youve ever had a player before. The size is fantastic, smaller that I thought I would be able to get away with.
This is my first big plunge into the big player arena, moving from a half Gig Flash MP3 to this HDD MP3. I spent the first night ripping about 50 CDs in my collection onto my computer since I have so much room now and dont have to be so critical about what can go on! The `on the fly book marking is very simple and is more likely in my case vs. setting up play lists in advance on my computer. Searching for music on the player is very much like using the MS Media Player, so everything feels that much more familiar.
While researching whether to purchase the HD5, an iPod, the Samsung YH-J70 or the Cowan X5, it was a bit tough to figure out which of the products had the best compromise of features that fit my needs. I usually wind up creating an actual list of features that I really want in order to get through selection process and not get hung up on emotional response to things.
My need for this player is travel; I have been a professional traveler for a few years now, but usually keep it within the US, no more than about five hours of fly time per day. With relatively short flights, I have been able to get away with a small MP3 player and my laptop HDD. I am now moving to trips between the US and APAC, and am in the need for ten to fifteen hours of music play time capability.
A primary feature that I was interested in was battery life and this definitely drove me to the HD5 which has at least twice the `real world battery life of the iPod. Good quality playback is of course a requirement, layout of controls and connectors are key as well. Since Im on the road a lot, I am always trying to reduce the amount of stuff that I haul, so charging via USB was important too. The HD5 seems to have faster charge via USB times than other players as an additional perk (came with AC cable too...not sure if this is true of the iPod). I saw on the Cowan X5 that there was a little adapter required to get all of the cables hooked up to it, this one item totally scared me off of this player regardless of all the high praise from user.
In terms of special features, i.e. FM tuner, pictures, video, etc, I wanted an MP3 player, not something pretending to be a small computer. I am not sure why I would want picture and video capability on my MP3 with a screen similar in size to my picture phone...is this really seen as a usable and sexy feature to people?
I was pretty sold on the HD5 but very concerned about all of the dissenting comments concerning SonicStage that I read online. In the end, I figured that every MP3 player that I had ever purchased in the last five years had come with quirky but functional software applications. I decided that I would just close my eyes and take the plunge and not get hung up on this one issue. In the end, the SonicStage software is just fine, it works very smoothly, imports and transfers tracks effortlessly and doesnt seem as cluttered with odd entities that I have seen in other applications. With that said, let me reemphasize a warning that I have read and have now experienced. If 95%+ of your computer based music comes from ripped CDs you will not be unhappy with SonicStage and the HD5. If by chance you are a music downloader and this music did not come from the Connect Music Store, your music is completely unusable on the HD5. Let me say it again, you have music from Napster, MSN Music, etc...this is all completely unusable on the HD5 because of SonicStages self impose license verification management protocols. Sure it would also me cool to have this player work on a drag and drop format, but I am not a sharer of music, I put it on, prefer for it to me cataloged for me so that I can logically search for it and delete it if I am done with it.
I have already ordered the aluminum hard case from [...] since I will be throwing this into my computer bag and dont want to crush the screen now have a button depressed that entire time running down the battery. Other than this, I dont think Ill need anything else since its such a complete and clean gizmo!
Rational for dispatching the competition:
Apple iPod:
Battery life too low, lots of reviewer complaints about scratching of case and screen, too much junk on player...I think this degrades its usability and drains battery life, the shear number of accessories available allows Apple to give you nothing since you can be forced to purchase them from third party.
Cowan X5:
Since Cowan offers a high battery life version (the `L ?) I didnt hold battery life against it, the proprietary loose adapter required for connection of cables at the base was my sole reason for taking this off the list.
Samsung YH-J70:
Not really available yet, but I like Samsung and there companies leadership so I always give them a look. Usability doesnt look to be quite a simple as the iPod and HD5 and I had some concerns on its robustness and cosmetic vulnerability as commented on by a reviewer or two. Truthfully, I needed my player now and couldnt wait for availability and additional information on this devise.
Others:
cNet had enough to discourage me from doing much investigation of the others as well as a general impression of cheapness I have for the Creative players and a boycott of all Rio players (really bad experience with a player from Rio where they had a bad, defective player, they knew it but were not interested in recalling it...did I mention that I HATE Rio?)
On: 2005-08-27
I believe this MP3 player is above average in terms of features and capabilities. However, its two main weaknesses are the horrible software that is needed to install on the PC for the music transfer (you have no choice but to use that program), and the screen which is not as legible as the Ipods. As a result, I cannot really give this unit a positive recommendation until these two issues are addressed.
On: 2005-08-23
I bought the Sony NW-HD5 20 gig walkman a little over a month ago. We all know how sony skrewed up with its past portable audio devices. The minidisk walkman was a nightmare to manage due to all of sonys proprietary nonsense. But this time there finally starting to come around. The NW-HD5 has less proprietary b.s. You still have to use sonys sonic stage software in order to PLAY your wonderful MP3s.(iPod makes you use itunes) But there is good news. This device lets you use it as a portable USB2.0 HD. So just assimilate all the media that you can while youre out, and then load it on to your device properly when you get back to your pc. Other than that, Great interface, solid/sleek construction, and superb sound quality. All three reasons why I keep buying sony. One last thing, the glass tends to scratch pretty easily so you might want a case for that. Me...I dont care. I can read it just fine.
On: 2005-08-19
I just purchased this item and was very disappointed. After going through the lengthy process of trying to figure out how to get my music to the player (because all my music was stored on another hd player that Sonic Stage wouldnt recognize) I started with a sample set of my music, which included about 50 mp3 tracks and about 5 entire albums also mp3 tracks. The first thing that happened as I started to explore the player was I saw that I was not going to be able to line up albums for play. That is to say if you have 500 albums on your player and one day you are at the beach for example and you decide you want to listen to 5 or 6 albums of your choosing you are not going to be able to do it unless you have previously made "playlist" of those particular albums. I believe this is a fatal flaw and severely diminishes what the player is supposed to be used for in the first place. All the other reviews here are right on but for me if you cant have freedom of what you want to hear away from your computer - its a no go. No matter how cute and small the player is. Im returning mine.
On: 2005-08-16
After resisting the Apple iPod for months I finally got tired of toting a laptop along just to play music on flights while travelling and following a favorable review of the new Sony NW-HD5, I took the plunge and got one. To be brief....it is a great device. I have found that even the in-the-ear headphones that come with it are more than adequate and have stopped lugging Bose noise cancelling headphones around as well. The Sony was easy to set up and the battery life really is one of its strong selling points as it easily lasts for long international flights with time to spare. Navigation among playlists or songs by genre or artist is a snap. The controls are large enough that they do not accidentally get pushed yet the entire device fits into a shirt pocket with room to spare. I think anyone who wants an MP3 player and who does not want to follow the herd with Apple will like this Sony product.
On: 2005-08-16
Great sound, good selection of user options, and an unbelievabe amount of space. The battery last for ever and I have not had it skip once. The only thing I didnt like was the difficulty in removing files. You can add a ton of files at once, but you can only remove them one at a time.
On: 2005-08-14
Sony NW-HD5 is a beautiful compact piece of audio player, unfortunately it is very restricted on the audio file type it can play, hence it was returned.
For example, it could not play protected wma files I downloaded from my personal cds. Plus, the soundstage software it came with was very difficult to use, plus it does work with Windows Media Player, Winamp or Musicmatch mp3 players.
On: 2005-08-14
This thing is fantabulous! Its my sidekick wherever I go. Just me, my rifle and my HD5 walkman. Ive got so many songs on this thing to last me all deployment. The sounds is great and can be adjusted with the equalizer. Its pretty heavy duty, its durable whether Im running or if its in my cargo pocket. The cost was about the same as the Ipod, but everybody and their momma has an Ipod... I wanted something new and different, what would this world be like if we all had the same things, same hairstyle, same outfit? No complaints whatsoever here. I strongly recommend this for anyone thats looking for something small, convenient, and outstanding! I cant wait to get back to the U.S. of A. so that I can use the FM transmitter in my car and not have to lug around a cd case with 500+ cds that can get jacked. I simply would unplug my HD5 and take it with me when i left my car. Technology is awesome. Well I hope this was helpful in you making your choice, I know my choice was a good one.
On: 2005-08-11
Is this unit an iPod killer? I dont know, but I can certainly say that it killed my iPod. Sure, ill admit that the scrollwheel is the best mp3 player navigation system out there, but I do not miss it one bit. I am beyond impressed with the Sony HD5:
- I ran a test and got over 30 hours of play at 80% volume playing tracks rippped at 132 ATRAC3.
- ATRAC3 tracks sound better than mp3 tracks ripped at 192 kbps (and they are smaller in size, hence more music.)
- Identical mp3 tracks sound much better on my Sony (I did a side-by-side test with my iPod.)
- The Navigation system is almost as fast as the iPod once you get used to it.
- SonicStage is not as bad as everyone says. I ripped 240 CDs in ATRAC3 and I had a total of two crashes. It isnt as stable as itunes, but how often are you going to be using the software? 99% of your time is going to be spent actually using the player itself.
- On the fly playlists, three different equalizers, dedicated volume buttons, compatibility with existing Sony remotes, track search by initial, removable battery.
On the downside:
- Yeah, the AC/Firewire cover seems really flimsy, but I dont think it will break as long as Im careful with it.
- I do miss the thousands of accessory options that iPod users have. [...], a UK company, probably has the best assortment of HD5 accessories.
Oh, and regarding the "button cracking issue", the is not a common issue and it is purely cosmetic. You would literally have to put the player right up to you eye to see the cracks. Also, the only cases I have seen this are with the silver player. If you are worried about it (and you shouldnt be), stick with black or red.
On: 2005-08-10
I recently purchased Sonys nw-hd5 player after much research online for a new mp3 player. When I finally decided to fork over the money for it, I loved everything about it; the sound quality is great, the size is only that of a deck of cards, the software is easy to use, the 20GB hardrive is more than plenty, and the battery life is tremendous. I couldnt have asked for a better player, so needless to say, I was extremely frustrated when the player developed cracks between the center four buttons after less than a week of light use.
I was able to contact someone from Sony to ask if this was an issue they were dealing with, and they dismissed it by saying it was a "rare occurance". But after reading over 120 entries from forums online saying they experienced the same cracking issue within a week of use, I am disappointed with Sonys response.
This player is excellent and would be given a 5 out of 5 star rating if it werent for this minor cosmetic problem, but for the cost, it was not one I was going to overlook. I returned it, and am now awaiting the arrival of a Creative Labs Zen Touch.
On: 2005-08-10
It doesnt have as much functionality or user friendliness as an iPod but its battery life more than makes up for it.
On: 2005-08-09
I had the Ipod for a year and a half and was pretty happy with it fo a while. It had battery issues and I had to charge it constantly. It would also occsionally lock up when I went into some of the menus. I enventually threw it out of my car going 35mph becuase it locked up and wouldnt work. I then purchased the Sony NW-HD5. I feel it is by far supperior to the IPOD in many ways. Most important to me is the super long battery life and its excellent sound quality. It also looks cooler than the Ipod IMO. Dont be brainwashed by the Apple Ipod machine. Take a risk on the Sony. Its worth it. Make all of those trendy Ipodians jealous by playing your Sony for 40 hours straight while they recharge 3-4 times.
Peace and chicken grease!
On: 2005-08-02
This is one lovely little toy. It is priced at about the same as an ipod 20GB, but is far better in every way.
PROS
- Removable battery.
- Battery life is much longer than an ipod (40 hours vs 15), thus will require fewer charges, and the batterys will last a lot longer overall. It charged from empty to full in under 2 hours on the first time.
- Sleek looking.
- ATTRAC3plus is very high quality, superior to MP3.
- G-sensor to protect HDD from a fall.
- Sound quality is superb.
- There is also a HOLD switch to lock the controls.
Having said that, there is one misguided misconception from ipod proponents... the lack of a clickwheel. The argument is that the up/down scrolling buttons will be too slow when you have 10,000 songs and it will take forever to scroll through them. This couldnt be more wrong. The player will never list your entire collection together. They will always be filtered by Artist, Album, Genre, etc, which makes navigation a lot quicker, and you do not need to scroll through all that. Secondly, even if you did need to scroll through a large list of tracks, once you hold down a directional button for a few seconds, instead of scrolling one track at a time, it will scroll an entire screen at a time, and very fast too. So the lack of a click wheel is not an issue. Please get your facts straight before you complain about it.
The second big complaint is SonicStage. Other people say its really crappy and difficult to use, and slow. While its not the most intuitive piece of software, and I can definately suggest a lot of changes to it, its not as bad as people say. It didnt take me long to figure out (a few minutes), and once youve figured out it should never be a problem. It is not slow at all if you are transferring MP3s from your hard drive to the Walkman. Only takes seconds. I havent tried ripping however. It only crashed on me once, not constantly like it did for other people.
(...)
The last common complaint however, about the AC and USB cover on the unit being flimsy is indeed true. The opening flap appears very badly designed and looks as if it will break easily. I have a feeling its a lot more durable than it looks, but I would advise you to be extremely careful when opening and closing that flap.
One other tip I would give is to switch off the backlight permanently. Every time you press a button it will turn on for 10 seconds, and will drain the battery faster.
Overall, I think this is a great unit, and a better alternative to the ipod 20GB. Its very small (much smaller than an ipod and a lot sexier) and well designed, barring the flap. It is let down by a few small things, but nothing you cant look past easily. Some people hate SonicStage, but you dont have to use it, download the alternative from the URL above. Even if you do use it, its not that bad, people are blowing it out of proportion. I would give it 4.5 stars if it were possible.
On: 2005-07-29
Sony has created a potential iPod killer with this unit. The only reason iPod might be a better choice for you is if you have already bought several songs through iTunes, or if your computer is a Mac.
Many may ask how this unit compares to the iPod. From my own experience I can easily say that the HD5 is much better, overall, than the iPod.
One benefit is that the HD5 is a simple, straight-forward music player. Theres no silly gimmicks like color screens and photo viewers. I say this is a benefit because I have found that simple devices almost always work better than overly complex devices with too many useless features.
Another benefit is sound quality. Being that I am considered by most to be an audiophile, this is very important to me. I can definitely say that the HD5, using Sonys ATRAC3plus, sounds much better than Apples AAC when encoded at similar bit rates. Also, ATRAC3plus is, without a doubt, superior to all mp3 files I have used.
A third benefit is gapless playback, meaning no breaks between tracks. This is very nice when listening to albums like Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon which were intended to be heard as an uninterrupted whole.
Now, I have read a lot of complaints about Sonys proprietary software, SonicStage. I do agree that it has its flaws, but please, show me some software that does not (even iTunes has problems). So long as you are patient you will be able to work with it.
Yet another nice thing about this unit is that it can be used as an external HDD. I found this very useful when transferring large files from one PC to another.
Overall, I am very happy I replaced my evil little iPod with this wonderful unit from Sony. Those of you interested in something other than what you see in every store really should give the HD5 a try.
On: 2005-07-29
Lets see... Pay 299 for and IPOD or pay 299 for HD5 thats smaller, sounds better, and more unique than other mainstream players.
The only issues I have ever encountered with this device deal mostly with the Sonic Stage Software.
Its a little slow and tempermental, but even on my 4 year old piece of crap laptop, it still gets the job done. You just have to treat it like a woman going through that special... well never mind... It works best when nothing else on the computer is running, and you leave it alone while it is working on something. For Example... when it is transfering music from a CD, do not go into the library and mess around. If it does stall, heres a hint. Dont start clicking all the buttons at the top because it will just cause the thing to stall even more, just calmly get up and see if it will work its self out. Also, i was a little irked about transfering. I used a mini-disc player for years, and i just wanted to transfer that music into my library, and then onto the HD5. Well because of privacy in the software, you cant transfer the music unless you already have that music in the library... BIG HELP... Once sony fixes this problem, their MP3 players will kick apple out of the top...
For those that complain about the lack of media support, The Atrac compression is WORLDS better than anything else out there. If your an audiophile, try the 256 atracPLUS. Hands down, that sounds better than CDs, WAV, or anything else you claim is better.Yes, it is a little irksome that it doesnt support copyrighted media, but most other players only support one copyright media. And a hint, there are ways to get around that.
well anyway. The Player itself is amazing, and increadibly easy to use so...
If you are in to mainstream, having to have everything that everyone else has, even if it has worse sound quality, go for the IPOD.
If you want a better product overall (yes, except for sonic stage) get this, and you will be pleasantly suprised.
On: 2005-07-27
I had high hopes for this player... An alternative HD mp3 player to, perhaps, match the ubiquitous iPod. The only reason this player gets 2 stars is because of its stellar audio performance, the audio quality is far better than the iPod (have had both I can say this). HOWEVER, and this is a big however, my players hard drive stopped spinning after less than I a month. As a result I sent it back to Amazon for a refund. This type of performance is unacceptable. So I say to those of you who are adventurous enough to hope this player will work; but it for the audio quality. Otherwise, get something that has been in the market for awhile.
On: 2005-07-21
Please, if you buy this MP3 player, make sure there is a good return policy. Im a software programmer and Sonys Sonic Stage software is the most inept piece of software Ive ever encountered in my life! I am so surprised that a megabillion dollar company like Sony would release such badly written code. First of all, when you get it, make sure you update to the latest version which is 3.1, that solves a few of the issues.
However, that still does not solve how poorly the software creates its database of your music files. Switching views from say, Artist to Album or any other type means waiting NOT on the order of 10s of seconds but on the order of MINUTES....yes, MINUTES. On average 2-3 minutes for the software to change views. Now, Ive never used an Ipod so I dont know how slow their software is, but being a computer programmer, I *know* it should take that long!
Performing other tasks with the Sony Sonic Stage software is also painstakingly slow.
I made the mistake of not buying my mp3 player from Amazon, which has an excellent return policy, just to save a few bucks but now I regret my decision.
Its just so disappointing because the hardware looks really sleek and thats what attracted me to this player but one thing you cant test out in the store or online is the software and Sony Sonic Stage is about as broken as software can get.
Feel free to buy and try Sonys mp3 player but just make sure theres a good return policy. Or, save yourself the time and get an Iriver or Ipod.
On: 2005-07-21
Sony 20GB Digital Music Player (released 2005.)
The recently released Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman 20GB Digital Music Player is an awesome piece of technology and a great effort from Sony. This player completely stops the overrated i-pod in its tracks - it is a far superior and underrated device. I bought the Sony player two weeks ago and havent looked back since. Below are the positives and negatives about the player:
PROS:
- Size. The Sony Digital Music Player is a nice small and discrete size. It fits into your pocket easily and is not at all cumbersome.
- Durability. The player itself is quite sturdily built and is designed to be very resilient to damage from dropping. The electronics in the player get very few reports of malfunction and the only reports of mechanical damage come from people who are foolish or clumsy enough to sit on the player!
- Operability. The player is much easier to operate than an ipod. Rather than messing with a central wheel to flick though lists, the Sony Player has just buttons to do the job. It keeps it simple and less fiddly.
- Battery Life. This ones a killer. The battery within the player when at full charge can play 40 HOURS music. Thats 25 hours more than an i-pod battery capability.
- Battery Charge Time. This is a positive. Only three hours to gain a full charge using the AC adaptor lead provided.
- Song Storage and Memory Capacity. This is another big plus that the Sony player has. The player supports a new format for songs called the Atrac3-plus. With this, set at 64kbs, you can add way more songs onto the player. For example, a 4MB size song file in MP3 format is about 1.5MB in size for the atrac3-plus format. The sound quality for the format is brilliant also. Therefore, with the 20GB Sony Player you can store up to 13000 songs using the new format. Contrast this with a 20GB i-pod which can hold up to 5000 songs. Case Closed!
- Great Sound Depth. The bass and treble is excellent on the player. Apprarently this is another aspect that makes it superior to the i-pod. I cant certify this but apprarently the bass is supposed to be better on the Sony Player.
- Affordability. The Sony Digital Music Player is cheaper than its i-pod counterparts. This is certainly true in a song capacity to price ratio.
- Connectibility. The Sony Player is easily adaptable to speakers or other external sound systems, using the line-out setting. It can connect to practically any music device.
- Usability. The menus on the player are easy to locate and use. Music can be found via an artist, album, genre or single track search (there is a letter search facility also). The player will also switch itself off when not playing after a few minutes or so automatically, so theres no battery waste to worry about (although its not as if you have a small amount of battery life to play with!).
- Software. Comes with the SonicStage music transfer facility. Ive noticed some reviewers have had problems with the software. I personally find it fine. As soon as I got the hang of the way to transfer the stuff using the program, it was easy and is great to use.
- .... And the final positive, lets face it, the Sony Music Player just looks so much cooler than the i-pod!
CONS (Not Many):
- AC Adaptor Cover. This is the only frail part of the model and care should be taken not to drop it when it is open as it could easily sustain damage.
- Colour. The screen is just black and white, whereas there are many i-pods which come in colour BUT, cmon WHO CARES AS YOU BUY THE PLAYER FOR LISTENING TO MUSIC! Okay it doesnt store pictures and things like an i-pod can but then, you have PCs, Camera Phones and Memory Sticks to do that for you anyway.
- Screen. The screen is a nice size but can easily scratch so it is best to store the player in the pouch provided at times of non-usage.
So, overall this Sony Player is simply an awesome buy and for anyone who just wants something to play music pure and simple and lots of it too should get this! The Sony NW-HD5 Player comes in black, silver and a funky red colour (ive got the latter) and takes ordinary sony earphones. Its a great piece of technology which can store a mammoth amount of songs .... not bad for its small size. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
by: mrmartyfromsf On: 2005-07-19
This is (so far) the best Walkman on the market. The design is attractive and compact and the sound out of those comfortable headphones is just amazing. It is smaller than the iPod and has 20GB of memory (do you have 13,000 songs to record?). The interface is easily read and maneuvered and the battery (lithium-ion) lasts a long time and is swappable (mine goes for nearly 40 hours). The price is excellent for this kind of quality. It claims to have great shock ability, but Im not going to drop mine on concrete anytime soon. The only thing that is missing is access to FM radio and recording. Other than that, this little baby is the best on the market for the next six months at least!
On: 2005-07-18
Picked this device from Frys a week ago. This baby looks good, feels good and better yet, Sounds GREAT. my wife owns an Ipod so i can compare both and without any doubt state that this new player from SONY could be an Ipod killer.
This player is almost 1/3 smaller in size than Ipod and more attractive. comes in 3 colors and i got red. Sony claims battery charge to last 40 hours. havent checked that out yet but havent charged my player ever since i got it a week ago. the battery indicator still shows FULL charge and i have used it alot.. SOUNDS 10 times better than an Ipod (yes, i am not kidding), i have been using 132kbps ATRAC3 format which is close to MP3 192kbps with much smaller size files. i have heard that ATRAC2 Plus is better than MP3 128 or maybe close to MP3 160kbps with a file size no more than 1.5 MB. havent tried it yet but will eventually check out the sound quality.
SonicStage is easy to use and pretty much takes care of every need of this player. if you are using plain old MP3 files, it syncs with windows media player just fine; however, will convert WMA files into ATRAC3 Plus 64 kbps before it sends it to the player and you dont have the option to use ATRAC3 with WMP.
Love the menu and equalizer options. Above all, i love the fact that if the battery dies some day i dont have to send it to SONY (unlike Ipod) for a bettery replacement. i just have to flip open the battery slot and slip an new one in. I was actually interested in buying the new color screen 20GB Ipod, but the salesman at BEST BUY informed me that 1 out 5 Ipods are being returned due to some defect or the other. So all the Ipod owners and shoppers, check this one out and see what you all are missing. Highly recommended product by SONY.
On: 2005-07-13
I am so glad I did not follow the iPod herd and went with my Sony player. I can always count on Sony to deliver the quality I grew up with, I have never had a complaint on any Sony product I have ever owned. First off, the player itself is VERY small and sturdy, solid and simple. iPods feel flimsy, cheap and look stupid to boot, more like a toy than a quality player. I will never understand the appeal.
People always complain about the headphones that come with most products, what do you expect, the manfacturer to include some $200 high end set with everything? Shut up and go get another pair, they are not that expensive you cry babies! Aside from that, the sound quality is amazing as always.
Second, the SonicStage software is not that bad, it has its quirks, but its not as terrible as the so called "experts" might have you believe, it is just adequate. This is a high quality player and the Atrac3 sounds just as good if not better than MP3.
Thank you Sony, I hope to see this one up to 40gb soon!!!
iPod be dammed!!!!
~~~~~~UPDATE 11/1/2005~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well Ive had my NW-HD5 for a while now and I must say the battery life is just as they promised. On average I get a total of 27 hours before I even see the indicator bars begin to drop. Very impressive. The sound quality is terrific and I have managed to drop half of my CD collection in this thing so far on MP3 and Atrac Sony format. I must say once you hear the difference, you will see that Atrac3Plus sounds clearer thatn MP3 in most instances, at least to me. Very satisfied customer here!
On: 2005-07-12
Id rather cut off my arm than buy an ipod. That in mind, I chose a Sony NW-HD5 player on the basis of strong reviews from CNET and the like...
Its fantastic, I must say. As a college student, I have a crapload (going on 60 GB) of music, and I listen to it all the time. Luckily, I dont listen to all of it, and can store a significant amount of this nifty little player when Im on-the-go. This player has magnificent battery life (its been playing on and off all day, and still doesnt need a charge) and is tiny and light as can be.
Also, I think its basically a rule of thumb to invest separately in a decent pair of headphones rather than rely on the oft-lacking accessories included with players.
My only real fear is the the cover for the USB and AC power outlets...I must agree with the other reviewers here that it is quite flimsy. That exempted, once there is a decent variety of accessories available (carry case with clear plastic cover, car mount, etc. Oh, and when Sony upgrades the SonicStage software- organization of files could really use some work. It seems reasonable to assume that those two things will happen sometime in the near future, and then Ill be super-happy with this purchase. Im already pretty happy with it now!
On: 2005-07-12
Yes, the software is terrible, and yes, the platic usb cover will break off. I love that it fits in my pocket, has 20gb capacity, feels solid, and is bright red. Sonys walkman puts the iPod to shame, but Apple iTunes puts the Sony SonicStage software to shame, and the iPod is a little easier to navigate. Apple has never been known for quality hardware, and Sony has never been known for quality software. Too bad they cant get together on this one. Youll have to decide which is more important to you - overall ease of use, or a 20gb player that fits comfortably in your pocket.
One hint after you buy: enable the "Digital Sound" equalizer and the music sounds a lot better. The other equalizers dont seem to do much at all.
On: 2005-07-11
This player is very nice. It is smaller than the ipod and any other hard drive player on the market. It is easy to use in the car and the display works well. Color is not needed since this is an MP3 player not some digital video device. The replaceable batery and batery life are two huge selling points. The reason I have to give this 3 stars is due to Sonic Stage software. It is absolutely required to transfer your tracks to the device. I tried to just copy/paste my MP3s to the device and no good, kept getting database not found. I first tried using Sonic withthe default settings the ATRAC3 format is active. I have about 15GB of music I transferred about 12 GB of it and it locked up after the Cs, then the Js, then Ms, then Ss. and Ts. THat is right it locked up the software and had to restart 5-6 different times. THe application is truley a piece of crap. In addition you can not rearrange your library on the player side or the "My Library" side. THe only way to re-organize your music is to delete from the "My Library", re-organize in MS explorer, then re-import to sonic. HOW STUPID IS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am going to call Sony and just flat out ask them if I can get around using this software. If so then it is a GEM, if not I may ultimitly take this back and bit the bullet and get an Ipod. Keep in mind I HATE the Ipod, but what other real choice does one have. IRiver is about the only ohter choice for a good player.
I think the device is GREAT but SONICSTAGE IS VERY VERY VERY VERY BAD!!!!!
On: 2005-07-09
This mp3 player is almost perfect!
Ive noticed constant complaints about the software, the sound, the headphones, the "bi-directional" which does work mind you.
Software for starters.
Sonic Stage works quite well!
You do need a pretty powerful computer. Its not exactly for low end computers because of the menu fading, slick buttons, etc etc.
Id recommend, a stable computer,
at least 2-2.5Ghz with 512MB DDR with a decent Video card. And plenty of space. The only problem Ive had, is when Ive tried to change a bunch of songs or artists names at a time.
Other than that, Ive had no problems transfering mp3s and ATRAC music to the player.
The Player
Its small, its slick, and its sturdy!
The tactile buttons are nice and feel sturdy to the touch!
The screen is still the standard 1.5 inch but the new lighting is brighter and easier to read. The only problem I had was the flap the protects the USB and AC adapter. I must agree that that is a shameful excuse.
The sound quality is awesome! With a decent pair of headphones you can easily distiguish between the beats of the bass guitar or the strings of a violin.
The equalizer is a fine addition and allows easy navagation for finding the right sound.
Headphones
Yes, the headphones are crap. But what company actually sets you up with a damn good pair of headphones from the box?
Spend 20 dollars on a decent pair and, while Im sure some may disagree, it does improve the sound.
Bi-Directional
This is a neat feature.
I didnt have any problem with it. Make sure you set the option in the menu to auto. This only works, when you turn the player on, it doesnt work while the player is on. So if you turn the player sideways while its on, nothing happens. If you turn the player off and turn it sideways, then back on, the screen will flip to whichever direction.
Mp3 and ATRAC
Finally, mp3 has become easy and the kinks have been pulled out for native play. If you have an mp3, transfer it, sonic stage does the rest!
For those that complain about ATRAC are those people that dont buy CDs and either download mp3s off the net legally or illegally. For those that do it illegally I have no sympathy for you. Although I dont see why, if you download a song off of napster, and it is mp3 format, why it wouldnt work.
I had no problem transfering all my music from CD to ATRAC plus 3 and then to the player, and then the 35 mp3 songs I had directly. Not one problem.
Overall,
if you want a good player that is sturdy, reliable and sounds great! Go for this. I personally think that iPod is overrated and the battery life cant touch said 40hours. Battery removall, battery life, and menus are easy to operate.
Dont buy this however, if you dont have a large music collection, or you just dont listen to music that often.
On: 2005-07-09
First of all: Im not pro or contra I-Pod (because these days most reviews seam to be biased on this part: Is it an I-Pod, meaning are you hip and most reviews seam to be concerned with the hipness factor: my only concern is the sound quality and user friendlyness vs prize, and this is what well look into.
Im an audiofreak and this is my main concern: does it sound good and francly when I listened to the I-Pod with the supplied headphones I thought it was pure rape of soundquality. So when I read excellent soundquality in some reviews about this MP3-player I was certainly expecting a lot of this Sony.
Lets go thru the motions as you would when you start to unpack your new toy.
Buildquality: this is surely a pro. It doesnt only look sturdy, it also feels like it. The size of the unit can best be compared to a pack of 25 cigarettes (NOT a creditcard as sometimes mentioned) but with only half the depth. Then, first negative surprise > you slide the cover away for the power and USB port. Flimsy to say the least and a rather cheap shortcut which is out of place in this otherwise firmly build unit.
Installing the software: I had no problem putting the CD-Rom in my Windows XP Pro (2nd service pack installed) based pc, following the instructions, installing the native Sonic Stage v3_1 software, and from there it pretty much pointed itself out. If you dont have basic computer skills, well: dont buy an MP3 player. Anyone who can manage making a play list in Windows Media Player of Win amp will certainly find his way around. The interface isnt slick, but frankly I do not care, as long it does the job, and it does.
Transferring songs into the player. Again no problems, if you can right click and know where to find the USB-port on your computer, its all rather simple to pump your whole collection or parts of it in the player.
But here comes a first con: Sony mentions that this player also supports WAV files. This is a lie: WAV files are being converted to ATRAC-format when transferred to the player, which means there is NO way to listen to music on this unit in a not compressed format (which is a shame because of the large harddrive).
For an audio purist who wishes to use the high volume hard disk to listen to songs in uncompressed format, this is definitely a first let down: Sonic Stage simply converts the WAV-files into ATRAC so lets be clear: WAV is NOT supported for playback, only ATRAC and MP3, and even concerning the last there are some remarkable glitches. When transferring the songs, its easy to follow the process: when songs are transferred in the original format things go relatively quick, when things are converted to ATRAC the process slows down and of the 500 songs Ive pumped into it, several MP3 tracks where converted and offered me no choice but converting if I wanted to get them on the player that is (although these MP3 files never caused any problems for playback on my computer with Windows Media Player or Win amp, so there should be no reason to convert them to ATRAC).
For any audio lover like myself, the horror of compression on compression, is like making a compromise on a compromise (two times compression is BAD for sound quality -unless you like to listen to music that has all the dynamics crunched together).
OK, after this first disappointment its time to find our way thru the menus of the unit. Again anyone who is used to working with a computer should have no problems in finding his way in the menu-based options. It all pretty much points itself out, and its only a matter of clicking the arrows to quickly access the different submenus. If you can manage finding your way around on a modern gsm, this should pose no problems.
Pro: its also possible to search on first letter and of course there can be searched according to artist, album, genre, playlist, etc.
But here it comes: the moment of truth, because no matter how pretty the design, or user-friendly the interface, its about the sound (or isnt it anymore, I dare to ask) > we hook up the (very cheap) headphones and HORROR: the sound is cold, has almost no bass response and far too sharp treble.
The overall feel of the sound is very thin and the bass response is as appealing as listening to a steel drum. The dynamics are crunched together in a small spectrum and any audiophile will shiver. I immediately thought of returning the unit to the shop and demand by money back for this pure rape of sound quality. I really can not relate with people who find this good or even excellent sound quality: its obvious these people certainly never listened to music on a decent hifi set.
OK, then I hooked up my Beyer Dynamic DT 911 headphones. A remarkable difference, but still far from close to the sound of a hifi set: if people relate to sound quality as excellent then I think of hifi quality, but this certainly isnt it.
And then there is a serious problem with the sound volume: there is a volume limiter installed (impossible to switch of in a easy way, unless you do a non authorized hack -which could ruin your unit if you do it wrong or non validate your guarantee), which makes the player unsuitable for noisy environments: dont try of thinking to seclude yourself from noisy environments with the supplied headphones or the sound volume offered.
Well, after you forked out a decent amount of money for this player, there is no choice to cash out again for decent headphones (or probably this is planned all together). Consumers seam to find it acceptable if they pay already a decent amount of money for kit, they still have to fork out more to replace a headphone which is surely the cheapest one Sony could find to accompany the player. If this quality is considered to be good, well, then the sound of my clock radio is less cold.
The headphones supplied belong only in one place: the garbage bin, and thats where they are right now, because they are a pure rape to sound quality. Waste of material, and adds to the garbage dump. Shame on you Sony.
Moving around to find a song is only a matter of routine, after a couple of minutes I was already quickly finding my way around, with no problem what so ever. You can even add bookmarks within play lists, so anyone who takes his times to configure his music tags before importing music should have no problem.
Oh yes, forget about the screen that would follow your view on the player. It simply doesnt work, and Im not the only one to find this out: also the CNET review mentions this. Makes we wonder if the disc-protection works, because when a manufacturer offers a feature which doesnt work, it makes me wonder about other so called innovative ideas like the protection from shock. Im reluctant to throw it to the floor to find out. However, I made some wild movements (due to my first shock when I heard the sound quality), and it didnt skip, so thats partly assuring.
Conclusion: although the device and supplied software is user-friendly, its obvious you should have some basic computer skills before you start complaining. If the manual states to switch off other programs BEFORE installing, well then simply follow the instructions. Build quality is very good but with a flimsy shortcut (the USB cap), and sound quality with the supplied headphones is TERRIBLE. There is not even a case supplied to roll up the cord, but this doesnt matter because they were so bad I tossed them in the bin | | |
