[Mr Iriver]

Last players I have used are HDD players. So I am used to carry have songs everywhere with me.

I have a pair of shure E3s and from what I heard the sony players syenergize very well with them shures.

I am looking at the following players:

The mobiblu DAH 1500i: http://www.gideontech.com/content/articles/291/1

Sony NW-HD5: http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000130039140/


What I need:

*They must be UMS. I am sure the little cube is but what about the sony. I can use software for music, but don't want to use it for data too.

*Must syenergize well with the shures.


-So which player do you guys think I should get?

-What color do you guys think is the sexiest? (Is it me or the red sony is mad nice)

-Does the conversion to atrac deteriorate sound quality noticeably for use with the shure E3, or is it worth it considering the EQ benefits, the gapless playback, and insane battery life?

-How is the syenergy with the player and the shures?

-How is the sound quality in these players for portable use out through the shures, and how do these players compare?

Do you guys think I could get used to having a flash player after having had players that allowed me to have my 3000+ music collection anywhere?

Thanks guys

 

[onelasttime9]

Keep in mind that Sony runs on a 6-month release schedule, and thus new players will be coming out I believe in December (though th2 20GB one is a brick compared to the HD5 and in my opinion the HD5 looks better).

 

[Ypoknons]

Firstly, the HD5 is not exactly the latest player in Sony's lineup - the hard drive Walkman is. Some early HD5 had cracking buttons. The flash player thing is probably okay for urbanites and it depends on your life style - do you drive hours to work, or do you walk 15 minutes from dorm room to Silver?

 

[Mr Iriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ypoknons Firstly, the HD5 is not exactly the latest player in Sony's lineup - the hard drive Walkman is. Some early HD5 had cracking buttons. The flash player thing is probably okay for urbanites and it depends on your life style - do you drive hours to work, or do you walk 15 minutes from dorm room to Silver?

Aren't both the hard drive walkman and the HD5 the same. By hard drive walkman, are you reffering to the updated Nw hd5s, or to a completely different player, that even looks different.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B0009GUE10 Is this the Hard drive Walkman.

I think I'll go for the HD5. Is there any other player with a similar form factor, at least 20GB that I don't know about.

Thanks.

 

[yusar]

Archos Gmini XS202 is similar in size.

The HD5's main downfall is the SonicStage software; although, with version 3.3 it's not so bad. Better than Creative's Media Source, Rio's Music Manager, iRiver Plus, and Olympus' m:trip. The flash player software is alright, but gets a little seedy when managing a lot of music.

Second, there isn't good support for playlists. They're possible, but not really easy to access.

Still, I love my HD5.

By the way, the new player announced is the NW-A3000-- Google it. However, the A3000 is larger than the HD5.. it's iPod sized. Should be available in Japan late November-December.

 

[Mr Iriver]

Do you guys think I should wait for the A3000 or should I just go for the HD5 THe A3000 does seem like a brick from the size described on the specifications. http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/portabl...095440p,00.htm

BTW: Is the NW HD5 recognizable without software. I am aware that for music transfers software is required, but what about data transferrig. Can I just transfer data without requiring any type of drivers, as if the player was a removable Hard drive.

 

[DigDub]

the hd5 is small and sturdy. it does act as a ums in windows xp. no software needed to transfer data files. the hd5 sounds very good with my e4c. and i think the red is the sexiest.

 

[Ypoknons]

Actually, this is the hard drive Walkman
Sony NW-A3000
Comparison with NW-HD5

 

[Csidinim]

I think this glassy model with lopsided control placement is fundamentally hideous, but I guess a lot of people do actually like it... whatever happened to universal aesthetics.

 

[carsncars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Csidinim I think this glassy model with lopsided control placement is fundamentally hideous, but I guess a lot of people do actually like it... whatever happened to universal aesthetics.

Universal aesthetics? Do that and you end up with a Honda Civic. Not the new one. Not offending to anyone, but then again, not hugely pleasing to anyone.

 

[LFC_SL]

As a Sony HD3 owner I have been their harshest critic but

a) Sony have officially acknowledged the 'cracking buttons' issue. They'll either fix your player for free, using a better material, if "new" stock isn't already fixed

b) If you use MP3, you can avoid SS (search forum). Atrac still SS, but it does seem to be improving a bit, latest is 3.3. Go on dapreview (link in my sig), they have news story on new features

N.B 3.3 now adds playlist support

 

[nickd75]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Iriver , are you reffering to the updated Nw hd5s

Updated HD5? Is this along the lines of HD1->HD3 aesthetic update (slight change in buttons etc)?

Difficult to know what to make of the A3000, but I suspect that the Connect software will go through several iterations (a la SS) before it's stable. I also suspect I'll stick with the more 'conventional' design of HD3/5 for the moment - call me boring if you like....

HD3 has a background hiss with Shure E3c - apparently this is due to a charging circuit being next to an audio circuit, or somesuch. It's not noticeable at anything above 'very quiet' when playing back tracks. I did think the HD5 looked hideous, but I'm gradually coming round, and if my HD3 were to die, I'd look into buying one...

Nick

 

[b0rk]

Hi there,

I've had my HD5H for about 4 weeks now and I adore it! Trust me, get the HD5H not stock HD5, you get +10Gb = 30Gb totoal for a tiny increase in price. Also I recommend you get this case:
http://www.stoneaudio.co.uk/stoneaud...p?product=1501
AND some LCD screen protectors (I just got mine from a camera shop).
Finally

this remote is pretty cool, I only use it now and then but useful for skipping tracks in repeat mode and adjusting volume [RM-MC35ELK]:
http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/sear...tle=RM-MC35ELK
Sonicstage does crash, my tips are:
Dont use auto-transfer function, its crap.
When converting MP3>Atrac only do say 3-5 albums at once.
Use the main window to transfer MP3 files.

All I need are some good headphones: MX500s sound lower OK, my Beyerdynamic DT330s really show it off but are HUGE! Thinking E4C at the moment but don't want to be disappointed by bass: Does anyone know how they compare bass wise to say lower end Beyerdynamics?

cyas!

 

[chatoyer]

Have a black HD5, purchased a few weeks ago, and use with e4c and Senn PX200 cans. Sound quality superb, and hands down beats any iPod I've ever listened to (same songs, same cans).

Sonicstage has been fine for me (version 3.2). It does exactly what it is meant to do. It's not pretty, but then most music transfering software has never really turned my crank anyway.

Back to the cans: better bass responses from the Senns, but then I'm not fully convinced I've really broken in my e4c canalphones just yet, plus supra-aural cans tend to provide more bass than canalphone (IMHO).

Don't like the styling of the new HDD-based players from Sony.

Ypoknons: the HD5 was billed as a Walkman as well. It's on the box and it's on the startup screen. Even the HD1 from a few years ago was billed as a hard drive walkman.

 

[nickd75]

Quote:

Originally Posted by b0rk Hi there, I've had my HD5H for about 4 weeks now and I adore it! Trust me, get the HD5H not stock HD5, you get +10Gb = 30Gb totoal for a tiny increase in price.

What colours does the HD5H come in?
And to be honest, you shouldn't really be converting MP3->ATRAC, one because the effect of transcoding is to lower the quality of the track and two because the HD5 plays MP3s as standard!

Nick