[mirage]

is there any way where you can audition another player to see if it's a faulty set or an inherent problem in this release?

 

[doomlordis]

I have had a hd1 for 4 months and i am very very happy with it, the hiss you are hearing is either caused by an inferior product (possible and disappointing) or a faulty unit , the hd1 hasd no background noise at all.
The 1 and a half hour transfer is a small annoyance , it is probably caused by the wrapping like you say.
I look forward too other reviews to see if your "hiss" is a one off.

 

[sekigahara]

hm... tell me, if you turn on your hd3, but not let it play a song, is there this noise also? Or just during playback ?

 

[mavis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sekigahara hm... tell me, if you turn on your hd3, but not let it play a song, is there this noise also? Or just during playback ?

Just during playback. The hiss does not increase/decrease with volume adjustments, either. It's just THERE. But only during playback.

 

[Filipe]

Hi, thanks for the review

Have you had a chance to compare the ATRAC files ripped from CD in the MD player VS the HD3 (or HD1 for that matter)?

What MD did you have?

 

[Talonz]

If you decide to get an amp in the future, you can either get a cable with built in impedence or have additional resistors in the input stage of the amplifier. This will mean that you will need to turn the volume higher on your source, but the resistor will attenuate your source so that you can effectively eliminate or limit the constant noise. Noisy sources are so annoying, aren't they

 

[Sefu]

Just a few questions
How long does it take for SS to add its protection and transfer to the HD3?
And is there gapless playback for MP3s?

 

[mavis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sefu Just a few questions How long does it take for SS to add its protection and transfer to the HD3? And is there gapless playback for MP3s?

It took about an hour and a half for 2,100 songs.

As for gapless, I'm sorry - I didn't check. And I just took the unit back to the store and got my money back, so I won't be able to find out for you, I'm sorry.

Thanks to Mr. Shinoda at Sony Japan, who called the store and told them to accept my return, I was able to get all my money back this evening. In fact, I'd say that getting my money back was the best part of this entire experience!! (btw, that's not an exaggeration) ... lol. Of course, you guys should wait for more reviews before making a final decision, it's possible that I simply had a defective unit. I just don't have the time or patience to find out.

 

[Spex]

Hi,

I saw threads on this forum about NW-HD3 on Friday & I've just had my account validated so that I can add my comments.

I'll pre-qualify my statements by saying that my agency do a lot of work for Sony UK & that's how I managed to get hold of a (Japanese) NW-HD3 on Friday. In fact, I'm writing an article outlining my intial experiences for the Sony UK website.

I'm not here to puff up the product, but I can address a couple of the issues raised in this thread.

[size=medium]SonicStage 2.3[/size]
The review unit I have is a Sony NW-HD3 in Japanese packaging with Japanese software, leaflets & a Japanese power charger. I hit the same problem as mavis - the Japanese SonicStage 2.3 would't load on my non-Japanese laptop. Non-Japanese versions of the NW-HD3 will have properly loading versions of the software - it's the Kanji character sets that mean Japanese software won't load on non-Japanese versions of Windows.

I did manage to find a quick solution - SonicStage 2.3 is available as a full free download from the (Sony Connect European store). Because this version of the software is linked to the European Connect Music store you may need to download versions from the US, Australia, etc if you are based in one of those countries.

Once it was installed the software recognised the NW-HD3 and I was able to confirm that it can rip to ATRAC3Plus (it also seems to rip to MP3 but I haven't tried that yet) & that it transfers MP3 encoded tracks to the player without conversion.

I copied 1400 MP3 tracks from my desktop PC to my laptop over a Wireless-G network (that part took ages, but has nothing to do with the NW-HD3). The actual transfer to the player is in 2 parts. First, I used import folder to add the tracks to my library. Secondly, I pressed 'Automatic Transfer' and waited. I didn't time it, but the transfer speed seemed better than acceptable at round about a second a track.

[size=medium]Background Hiss[/size]
The NW-HD3 I am testing has no background hiss - at least not that I can hear. I tested with the phones that came with it as well as some in-ear phones I bought from Radio Shack last year that have mouldable sound isolating foam plugs to seal off outside noise. The NW-HD3 sound was definitely better on the Radio Shack phones - the same is true of my iPod - but there was no background hiss with either pair.

I won't go through a full review of the NW-HD3 because I'm sure that given my business links to Sony, people would read it with a degree of cynicism.

Cheers,

Col

 

[mavis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spex The NW-HD3 I am testing has no background hiss - at least not that I can hear. I tested with the phones that came with it as well as some in-ear phones I bought from Radio Shack last year that have mouldable sound isolating foam plugs to seal off outside noise. The NW-HD3 sound was definitely better on the Radio Shack phones - the same is true of my iPod - but there was no background hiss with either pair. I won't go through a full review of the NW-HD3 because I'm sure that given my business links to Sony, people would read it with a degree of cynicism. Cheers, Col

Wow, thanks for the info! Figures that I would get a defective unit, it seems that it very well may have been defective after all. Anyway that's good to know. If your unit had the same background noise as mine, there would be no mistaking it - it was VERY obvious at low volumes, and between tracks - annoyingly so. I'm sure a lot of people will be relieved to hear that my problems were simply due to a defective unit.

As for the software, I was told by Mr. Shinoda at Sony Japan that my HD3 may or may not work, even with the proper (HD3 supporting) version of SonicStage from overseas, due to different firmware. Although, to be fair, he really didn't know. Of course, you're saying that the unit you have worked fine with the European SS 2.3 ... sigh ... I wish he had been able to give me a more accurate answer! Actually, I just wish Sony would make their electronics as region-compatible as Apple, considering that I bought my 4G 20GB iPod at the same store as the HD3, and it (the unit + iTunes) worked just fine on my English OS ... Oh well.

Thanks again for the info.

 

[sekigahara]

So I think one should not buy a new device at the moement it comes out

Sony has not as much experience as Apple, and this is one of theire first devices, so one shouldn't wonder if it's not the best.

But I may wait a month or so before getting a new player, so I can see if the hd3's better than those first impressions gives us.
And since I have to wait anyway for the hd3 to come out in January, this is no problem for me

@mavis;
I think you should wait two weeks and then visit a store where you can try out the hd3, so you could proof if this noise was just the one from a defective device.
but another question; did you never consider the Toshiba G21/22 ?
I'm interested in it...but it's a Japan only device...

 

[mavis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sekigahara @mavis; I think you should wait two weeks and then visit a store where you can try out the hd3, so you could proof if this noise was just the one from a defective device. but another question; did you never consider the Toshiba G21/22 ? I'm interested in it...but it's a Japan only device...

I might check out another HD3 in the future, but after my experience this weekend, it's not that high on my list of things to do ...

As for the Toshiba, I'm not very impressed by its design. I actually teach English at Toshiba, and the engineers in my classes aren't very impressed, either ...

 

[sekigahara]

well the design isn't great I know, I was just intrested in it's size...
But the Toshiba F-series are cool, with this touch-plus-thing

but again nothing for me.

But you can't take away the iPod from your wife, can you?

So you are an English teacher ? or do you just give them lessons cause English is your mother tongue? (forgive my curiosity

)

 

[Talonz]

Spex, on your report of no background hiss, try using a higher sensitivity pair of headphones. Radio shack headphones and stock buds probably won't pick up the hiss in my experience. From what I have read, hiss is a problem with every unit once higher sensitivity headphones come into play.

 

[dthiep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavis I might check out another HD3 in the future, but after my experience this weekend, it's not that high on my list of things to do ... As for the Toshiba, I'm not very impressed by its design. I actually teach English at Toshiba, and the engineers in my classes aren't very impressed, either ...

When I first read the review, I was surprised by how good your english is.
english teacher ah?

Edit: I thought you were japanese