Review: Sony NW-HD5
Jun 10, 2005 at 11:17 PM Post #77 of 159
the silver hd5 is already shipping in sonystyle
 
Jun 11, 2005 at 5:37 AM Post #78 of 159
what's interesting is that the product page makes no mention of the new true playlist functionality, which to some people is very important. All they like to tout is the crazy insane battery life.

One thing I do wonder is whether or not the HD5 is usable as a mass-storage device while just plugged in via USB. The HD3 requires power from the AC (while plugged into the computer) to be seen by the PC. Somewhat odd and frustrating, considering you'd always have to carry both cables around - and the oddball adapter too, regardless.
 
Jun 11, 2005 at 8:40 AM Post #79 of 159
Quote:

Originally Posted by doclloyd
what's interesting is that the product page makes no mention of the new true playlist functionality, which to some people is very important. All they like to tout is the crazy insane battery life.


They probably don't want to highlight the fact that they left this feature out in the first place....
 
Jun 11, 2005 at 2:52 PM Post #80 of 159
Quote:

Originally Posted by doclloyd
One thing I do wonder is whether or not the HD5 is usable as a mass-storage device while just plugged in via USB. The HD3 requires power from the AC (while plugged into the computer) to be seen by the PC. Somewhat odd and frustrating, considering you'd always have to carry both cables around - and the oddball adapter too, regardless.


That's not quite true. The HD3 prompts to connect the AC adapter on the screen, but this is not necessary. I copied many gigs of songs to the unit with it never being plugged in.
 
Jun 11, 2005 at 3:02 PM Post #81 of 159
Quote:

Originally Posted by SDLeMire
That's not quite true. The HD3 prompts to connect the AC adapter on the screen, but this is not necessary. I copied many gigs of songs to the unit with it never being plugged in.


yea. the hd3 does not require the power adapter to be plugged in.
 
Jun 11, 2005 at 4:15 PM Post #82 of 159
Quote:

Originally Posted by mushu
It still seems that the cracking appears on the EU models though. I don't think it makes a difference personally...as long as it doesn't get worse than a crack seperating the buttons


really? great, on top of higher prices.....and it wouldn't bother you? now seems cracking buttons has replaced the hiss problem
biggrin.gif
 
Jun 13, 2005 at 1:34 PM Post #83 of 159
After reading the reviews/oppinions on this forum last week I bought a HD5 Saturday 11th. (UK)
Here's my overall short review.

Good Points.
Size:
well it's almost smaller than my Mobile phone!

Sound:
Can't fault it, sounds great, but with NEW headphones.

Speed of access:
I've read it's a bit slow? What!!??

Layout:
As straight foward as I've seen, if you can't work it out, then I wonder how on earth you ever turn your telly on! LOL!

Uploading songs:
Not a problem - even some "dodgy characters" went up with out a hitch. So far I've upped 80 Albums at 192k mp3. not one has failed.

Storage:
Well I've said I've Upped 80 Albums at 192k mp3, still got 12gb free!

Sonic Stage:
Not crashed or anything, so simple and straight forward in my view. I must point out i'm using a new Sony laptop, so a Sony working a Sony program - I should have no probs eh? I have to say the reviews scared me, but I (and i undeline I) can't see what the fuss is about.

Bad Points
Headphones! sort it out they sound Naff! I actually previewed the unit in a shop with my own headphones, and I thought it sounded awsome, then when I plugged in the ones supplied I had to laugh at how crap it made the unit sound!

Seamless track to Track. How hard can that be to sort, surly a firmware update can get round this!!! SORT IT SONY!

The Hold button looks naff and the PC / power access flap is a breaking part in the making.

Overall, this little beast is the best money I've spent on a music hardware for ages! 9/10 (sort the headphones and the flap and hold button - and you'll get a 10!)

Going to do a side by side compare it to a Ipod today at work !
The guy with the Ipod already told me mine is better looking , and the menus are better, etc... But I've never looked at an Ipod so I can't say....
 
Jun 13, 2005 at 1:37 PM Post #84 of 159
Oh I'll add I was talking to a guy in a Sony Center and he said making it louder with the KEYCODE button pressing, invalidates the warrenty, but doing it again return it back to normal I guess if the unit went back to sony with the code activated, then it would be invalid, so if you can, turn it off before returning for repairs!
 
Jun 13, 2005 at 7:34 PM Post #85 of 159
Agree, it's a really nice player, with a few minor flaws.

Sonicstage needs a fix. If you have an album where all the songs aren't in the same bitrate, they end up in different folders on the player, one for each bitrate. Annoying, I don't wanna re-encode my songs to fix this. Same problem goes if the genres are different.

Features to wish for, CUE support. Where a whole album is encoded into one file, and having the split points in a CUE file. This would rule, this is how I encode alot of my DJ Mix CD's.

Another thing, my player has freezed 2 times in a couple of weeks, the last time it happened the screen turned up with "SYSTEM ERROR 020". No idea what this means, but it don't seem normal, and I didn't do anything unusual.
 
Jun 14, 2005 at 8:16 PM Post #86 of 159
I managed to mess things up when I changed the volume settings, because it didnt to back no normal when I pressed Mode for a whole minute to end the procedure. Got totally confused in there, and had to take out the battery to restart. Now it seems I have managed to turn of the orient screen, it works in vertical, left and right. but not on auto. And this is only on the first day. Anyone have a clue about how to fix the screen, or do I have to live with my mistakes...
Even so, its a great little thing. Dont know if I should go for MP3 or Atrac3 though. Worried about sound quality. Advice?



Quote:

Originally Posted by Keram
You can't cycle back.

You can't cyle through folders either.

Got mine a few days back only problems are the flimsy power/USB cover and the really inaccurate battery meter (keeps increasing and decreasing).



And for anyone who wants to know how heres the volume unlock code:





Start the player. Start playing a song. Turn the HOLD function on by sliding the swich
at the top. Then, Hold the SEARCH/MENU button and enter the button sequence:

Right, Right, Left, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Up, Down.

Let go of the buttons, and put the HOLD switch back to its original position.
The backlight will cut out and you'll be in the service menu with "POWER" displayed.

Press DOWN a few times to select OTHERS and press Right to get into the menu.
Keep pressing down until you get to SP SET (Sound Pressure Setting).
Press Play/Pause to get into change the option. Then press SEARCH/MENU to
toggle the option on or Off (obviously, Off is for louder sounds).

Then either hold STOP or remove the battery to get the player out of the
service mode. For some reason, you'll have to go back into the player's options
to manually turn the backlight on again after doing this.


(found it on the avforums sorry if I didn't credit you)

Not sure if you can reset the sound though and if the warranty is void.

Do buy the HD5 if you are considering as I enjoyed mine
smily_headphones1.gif



 
Jun 15, 2005 at 6:37 AM Post #87 of 159
I have just got one of these little beauties in black, and so far I am very impressed with it. I am encoding in ATRAC hi-SP (256) and it sounds great. From my minidisc collection, I can assure you that lp2 (132) will also sound good, if you want to fit more songs on, although the artefacts are more noticeable. Lp2 is probably as good as 160 MP3. I still think that 224aac sounds better than hi-sp though (when played through the same soundcard and dac).
 
Jun 16, 2005 at 11:24 AM Post #89 of 159
hey guys,

i just got this awesome player in black .
I tried to install Sonicstage but in the middle of the installation it just goes : ' installation terminated '
nothing more...


anyone has the same irritating problem ?
I have this lovely player and can't use it
frown.gif
 
Jun 16, 2005 at 11:57 AM Post #90 of 159
Catastrophe,

I have no cracks, and I really don't understand what's so worrying about it? Buttons seem really sturdy, and just get it replaced if you get any cracks? (Should go under the warranty). It's a music player, not a diamond bracelet.
EDIT: Ofcourse it seems like "everybody" has cracks. Do you think everybody without cracks would come here to report they got no cracks?
eggosmile.gif


Ambro,

Didn't have that problem. Sonicstage installed nicely here. Try downloading it instead? Close all other apps while installing. Dunno, keep trying
smily_headphones1.gif
 
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