[ssserpent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beatl£Maniac Sony just don't make rubbish. I need a player that will last and that has quality sound.

Don't be fooled, alot of new products are faulty, and since my DEJ2000 Discman, with which I had heaps of problems, I'm wary of Sony...

Quote:

Originally Posted by "Shattered" The RM-MC35ELK works with the HD-NW series, but I don't believe you can access the Menu and Mode functions with this.

And you can with the RM-MC40ELK? It just doesn't look as good as the 35..

 

[mikecli]

Dosun, how did you get the Chinese characters to read on your HD1??? Sonicstage usually rejects any files that contains characters it does not recognise, and seeing that you have to upload ur music through Sonicstage am really wondering how you managed to do it.

If anyone else has a solution to this then please let me know. Had my HD3 for a week now and it's been a real joy, despite initial misgivings.

 

[arun_hallan]

The HD3 is perfect except the volume being a bit low, in my opinion.

 

[dosun]

Quote:

Dosun, how did you get the Chinese characters to read on your HD1??? Sonicstage usually rejects any files that contains characters it does not recognise, and seeing that you have to upload ur music through Sonicstage am really wondering how you managed to do it. If anyone else has a solution to this then please let me know. Had my HD3 for a week now and it's been a real joy, despite initial misgivings.

I just imported it into sonic stage and then transferred it over to the HD1. I think I know what your problem is. This isn't an issue with SonicStage itself, you have to set your Windows to be able to understand non-unicode languages.
I'm using XP so I just went to settings -> control panel -> regional settings -> advanced -> (pick your language). The sonic stage should be able import those files with the correct characters.

BTW, I just got my HD1 also and it has been pretty good so far except for the lack of MP3 support (waiting on the firmware). No issues with SonicStage yet either. It just has a steeper learning curve than other music managers.

 

[Beethovenian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by epzcaw I am still having probelms with this. It seems to work onlh intermittently. Extremely annoyingly, the Play UNIT Icon continues to be displayed even when it is not active. Have you found this. I had the same probelm with the original NW HD1 which I bought as well as with the NWS HD3 with which I replaced it. It looks to me like a software fault in the system. Have you had this problem?

I have not had that problem. What I notice, though, is that to make a play mode function you have first to select it and then start playback. If you change it during playback, it won't recognize it (say, if you want shuffling tracks in an album, selecting that function when you already chose the album will only make it shuffle through the whole HD, instead of just that album; you have to start the album after selecting the function). Another thing: When you choose play unit, it will play the whole unit. So if you start playback from the last track, for instance, it will go back to the first one and on until it reaches the next to last. It's not exactly intuitive, but there's at least a logic to it.

About remotes, I don't know the RM-MC35ELK, but since it was the one that came with the HD1 in Japan, I believe you can use the mode function. In the RM-MC40ELK, you can access every playback function in the player, changing "modes" and even turning EQ on or off.

 

[heminder]

ok, i've decided to go for one of the Sony Walkmans: HD1 or HD3...

i've just deleted ALL of my OGG Vorbis files, and have touched-up on my ATRAC3 collection; ready for transfter.

decision time:
HD1 or HD3 ???

HD1 advantages over HD3
> smaller
> lighter
> comes with dock
HD1 disadvantages over HD3
> everything routed via dock
> i heard it's less unintuitive???
> green backlight?

HD3 advantages over HD1
> looks cooler
> supplied with better headphones
> nice blue backlight
> bigger navigation "wheel"
HD3 disadvantages over HD1
> no dock
> heavier by 20g
> bigger by 1mm

i am really stuck. any help welcome.

BEFORE YOU REPLY:
i am not looking for an *MP3* player as i detest the format. nor am i looking for OGG Vorbis as it consumes more battery life and takes forever to encode. SonicStage work A+ on my computer, so no problems with the software. at all.

i do not really go far away from my home so much that i need to carry a charging feature for my walkman's battery to recharge, but it would be useful if the feature was there.

i am also thinking about wearing the walkman around my neck. ...does 130grams weigh you down??? or is the lighter option better?

also, can you reverse the colours of the display on the HD3? i do like the blue backlight a lot better, but there is a little bit too much information on the screen of the HD3 as i'd like there to be. the menu on the HD3 is supposed to be more intuitive than on the HD3, i heard. is this true?

one more note:
on either of these players, can you navigate this way: GENRE > ARTIST > ALBUM > TRACKS ?

oh, and AMAZON:
HD1 - £199.99 incl vat+del
HD3 - £219.99 incl vat+del

thanks for all help

 

[dosun]

I'd take the HD1. Both players are basically the same except the cosmetic difference and the HD3 plays mp3s. Why pay for something oyu aren't going to use?

 

[MysticMouflon]

I received my UK NW-HD3 (it's silver - I'm a traditionalist!) yesterday and I tinkered with it for only an hour or so late last night, so these are only my initial impressions.

Case:
It seems to be pretty solid. It's a little heavier than it looks, if you get my meaning. Having said that, I'm not too bothered about it because I'd rather use something that's solidly built then something that might fall apart after any decent amount of use. The buttons also seem solid, which is an improvement on some of Sony's recent MD offerings.

Connections:
I really don't like the power/USB dongle thingy because the connector seems to be very fragile. I wouldn't want a cradle either. What I really would have liked would have been separate mini-USB and power jacks, like there are on Sony's digital cameras. I guess they did it like this to reduce design changes from the NW-HD1? The USB cable is too short - even when you take off those daft cable "clamps". It doesn't really matter though because I already had the USB cable for my Sony digital camera plugged into my computer, which is much longer, so I'll use that (tidier too).

Headphones:
The supplied 'phones are rubbish. They always have been and I suspect they always will be.

Screen:
I think the screen is just about large enough and seems pretty clear to me, although it does smudge very easily. I changed it to the negative setting, which is still very easy to read and looks pretty cool.

Noise:
The hard disk is very quiet. You can only really hear it when you place the player on a hard surface, eg. my computer desk at home, because any vibration tends to get amplified. Having said that, it's much quieter than a MD player.

Sonic Stage 2.3:
I've never used any other "music manager" before, so I can't comment on the others. I've also never been "into" MP3s, so I can't comment on that either. Anyway, I downloaded SS a week or so ago from the Connect Europe (UK) website and started "recording" my CD collection at various bit rates - speech at ATRAC3plus 64, jazz/rock/pop at ATRAC3 132, classical at ATRAC3plus 256. CDs, depending on how fast the CD drive could read them, were regularly being recorded by SS within a couple of minutes. SS, for me, hasn't posed any real problems at all (yet). Yes, it sometimes takes a bit of thought to work out what's going on, but it's not that difficult. The only real problems I've had with the software so far have been CDDB related (so not SS's fault) - why do some people even bother adding entries to CDDB?

Transfer from Sonic Stage to the HD3:
Do bear in mind that all of the music I transferred was already ATRAC encoded and stored in SS's "database". Anyway, I transferred around 5GB of data and it took no more than about 10 minutes, which I thought was pretty impressive. The only problems I had, which were only spotted by looking around my music library on the HD3, were with duff information inserted into individual tracks by CDDB. This was easily fixed by editing entries in the SS library, deleting the affected album from the HD3 and then re-transferring it. I did this with 4 albums and the whole thing took less than 5 minutes to do.

Menus (from Menu button):
The menus themselves are fine. Sony couldn't really go wrong with this.

Search Modes (from Mode button):
They're OK I suppose. All of the information is there but the order in which you access stuff seems a bit odd in some modes. Access speeds are pretty good though. I am struggling with the concept of "Groups" a bit because SS and the HD3 don't seem to share the same ideas on this.

Sound:
I didn't use the standard 'phones plus this is all very subjective...

My initial impression was disappointing. I tried something recorded at a high bit rate first and the sound was muddy, dull and lifeless, so I tried lower bit rates and got the same results. So, it wasn't great "out of the box". I proceeded to the Sound menu to see what I could change. Well, the preset sound options, eg. virtual surround and digital EQ (can't remember the exact menu names) weren't that great either IMHO. Even when I tried customising the sound using the 6 band "graphic equaliser", I couldn't get the sound I was looking for. In the end, I actually got what (I think) I wanted from using the bog standard bass and treble adjustment settings. Again, I need to play around with this much more.

On the subject of "that" background noise, I have to report that I heard it too. I first listened to the machine whilst it was charging and could definitely pick out a noise, even when the machine wasn't actually playing anything. However, after disconnecting it from the mains, the noise appeared to go away.

Anyway, I hope someone out there finds my first impressions useful/interesting.

 

[Sphinx89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysticMouflon The USB cable is too short - even when you take off those daft cable "clamps".

thanks for taking the time to review it, my impresions are slightly similar to yours in some resepcts, the casing etc

btw, what are the cable clamps actually for?

 

[MysticMouflon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sphinx89 btw, what are the cable clamps actually for?

I think the intention is to allow you to shorten the cable to keep things tidy. In this case, they're not a lot of use!

 

[Twizzle]

Well, I received my RM-MC40ELK remote this morning. Strangely, although it was ordered from the US Audio Cubes site, it had shipped from Japan, and therefore has its instructions in Japanese on the back of the box.

Does anyone therefore know somewhere online that I can download any English instructions, or a scan of the English instructions from the box?

Failing that, anyone worked out exactly how to use the little 'jog wheel' on the remote? Not quite sure that I've worked everthing out just yet!

Also, any idea if I can have the remote backlight 'on' with the unit's backlight off (to save battery life)?

Andy

 

[mavis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysticMouflon I think the intention is to allow you to shorten the cable to keep things tidy. In this case, they're not a lot of use!

Actually, they're meant to provide EMI suppression.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twizzle Well, I received my RM-MC40ELK remote this morning. Strangely, although it was ordered from the US Audio Cubes site, it had shipped from Japan, and therefore has its instructions in Japanese on the back of the box. Does anyone therefore know somewhere online that I can download any English instructions, or a scan of the English instructions from the box? Failing that, anyone worked out exactly how to use the little 'jog wheel' on the remote? Not quite sure that I've worked everthing out just yet! Also, any idea if I can have the remote backlight 'on' with the unit's backlight off (to save battery life)? Andy

Mine was in Japanese too, just kind of push all the buttons a few times, you'll figure it out.

 

[SCHWONG]

Has anybody tried the "Moodlogic" software Sony is offering on their support website for the NW HD1?

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/modelpage.pl?mdl=NWHD1

I was wondering if anybody had, and if it really does create playlists.
Also if anybody could try this moodlogic software with their nw hd3, would be nice to know if it works with it.

 

[Sphinx89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavis Actually, they're meant to provide EMI suppression.

sorry, could you explain that a bit more for me please

 

[MysticMouflon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavis Actually, they're meant to provide EMI suppression. Quote: Originally Posted by Sphinx89 sorry, could you explain that a bit more for me please

EMI == Electromagnetic interference.

No, I still reckon they're annoying things that make the cable uselessly short!