[sammywammy23]

Hello,

I am looking for my first mp3 player, and these two look the best at the moment. Which one is the best?
I am looking for a reliable player that won't break (i know about the cracking issue), will not crash on me, will be able to withstand a few drops and will not scratch too much after one week.
I need a player where the programs aren't too complicated for two reasons: - I am not much of a computer whizz, and my computer isn't very good (Win 98, 433 MHz, 64MB RAM).
I need a player that is easy to use straight from the start up. I don't want to have to fiddle around for an hour to get to one song. I am very disorganised and my music is very muddled and unorganised, which player would be best for me?

Thank you in advance

Michael

 

[azncookiecutter]

Sonicstage for Sony is a pain in the ass. Trust me, I've used it with some of my old MD players I used to have, eats up all system resources, and that's bad with your computer. Get a X5L.

 

[vranswer]

Dissenting opinion. I enjoy my NW-HD1 quite a bit. Sonic Stage 3.1 has given me no hassles. It's a little goofy but works fine. Sony players have a pleasing, non-fatiguing sound that provides a nice break from iPod (which I also love).

 

[DigDub]

the iaudio x5l is for you then. upgrade to xp if you can. i don't think win98 supports plug and play hard disk.

 

[Bolt San]

Since your computer isn't too modern, get the X5. I'd recommend it anyway over the HD5, but even more for you, because SonicStage will take forever to load and annoy you to no end.

Also, all you need is one driver and it'll work on 98.

 

[FenderP]

I think it also depends if things like an id3 tag DB is important. SS 3.1 isn't bad at all. 2.x wasn't great, but 3.x is light years ahead in speed, at least on my PC>

 

[abitdeef]

x5 has a cleaner output , has more eq options (for mp3) and has a stonger amp and in general sounds better than hd5. I had both, and in the end the sony went back. The sony is nice and compact and has a good rich sound and has awesome battery life and is built nice.

Sonic stage is a resource hog , but not difficult to use. If you want one of the smallest 20 gig and have efficient headphones and don't mind sonic stage the hd5 is nice. The x5 has tons of codec support and drag and drop (no id3 database) and is built like a tank and will drive tons of cans.

Also the x5 is a better bang for your buck.

Any specific questions PM me. Oh, and organise that music

Scott.

 

[dames]

I have a Sony (Vaio Pocket though, not HD5) and the only complaint I have with SonicStage is that it feels really slow. It doesn't seem to fill up resources, though; usually when I check it's using up only around 30MB. Then again, that's around half your RAM. No matter what you get, I'd recommend spending an extra $20 and buying a 256MB stick.

 

[h-man]

I have both x5 and hd5 at the moment, and I have to say that the x5 gets much more ear time. It sounds better imho, and the feature sets are incomparable. However, the Sony player has a lot of plus points including its size and look and sounds pretty good. SS 3.1 is not bad at all, but with my large music library (50 Gigs of 192mp3 and 256atrac3+), it runs significantly slower than itunes (on a very fast computer with 2GB of RAM). One major plus point of the Sony is Gapless playback of atrac files, which is important to me when listening to Pink Floyd!

 

[LFC_SL]

STOP

Sony UK have finally admitted to the "cracking" buttons issue and are investigating. They are asking for country where player was bought, date bought, serial no., photo, send player in etc.

They have said they have people from Sony Uk and Sony Jap researching new materials etc.

So, patience to see how it turns out? or give up on Sony and get a iPod....sorry an X5

 

[jant71]

Maybe your choice should be X5 vs. Vaio pocket. The pocket is still the best Sony HD player and the price is cheap($239) considering it is 40GB and comes with a cradle and remote. The only real downside is the larger size.

 

[h-man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jant71 Maybe your choice should be X5 vs. Vaio pocket. The pocket is still the best Sony HD player and the price is cheap($239) considering it is 40GB and comes with a cradle and remote. The only real downside is the larger size.

I couldn't agree more. The vaio pocket is an excellent player, and I think only its size counts against it.

 

[darkninja67]

X5 lover here. Best DAP I have owned.