Shinji Ikeda

One can wonder what Sony USA is thinking. USA is the largest consumer market in the world. It would make sense to release this there. Sony may be releasing the NW-B100 series in USA, but the product has not been announced yet. I am for one who is hoping for this product to be release in America, but we will have to wait and see.

Sony has created small fiefdoms in each country, and each fiefdom does not encroach on another's. It would be worth the drive, but hopefully you are not to far from the boarder. With the NW-A800 it seems strange that it is not available in America. From experience, Sony is the past has released products first in America then Canada and usually give America a wider variety in colour and models.

I have not notice SonicStage updating the counter for each track. Until you mentioned it I did not think about it. SonicStage updates the playback history on the player, which lists the songs in the exact order you played then. If a track was played three times, it will appear three times in the playlist. The exception is if the same song is played successively then it only appears once. The NW-A800 seems to be brighter than the PSP under direct sunlight when adjusted to level 5. Actually, the NW-A800 is completely usable under direct sunlight, while the PSP has been unusable under. The higher brightness level does reduce NW-A800's battery life, so it is best to use it sparingly. DSP, it is unknown if you are having the same experience? DSP, would you agree with that the video playback on the NW-A800 is a gimmick to show off the 76,800 pixel with 256K colour screen? Or, is this a feature that you would not use? Sony might have found the sweet spot for screen size and video quality with the NW-A800 series.

Just to verify. It is SonicStage that determines the language of the players. The NW-A800 supports German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, and Russian as the menu language. The menu language comes in Japanese by default. The funny thing however is that default language is usually English if the unit supports one language. The manuals that are installed are the same as the version of SonicStage installed. However, you can copy it from the CD if your already have SonicStage 4.3 installed or for any other reason. Unfortunately we do not know what region that you live in so it is hard to determine if it is cheaper in Japan. The unit is about 32800 Yen. This include 5 percent tax. With the addition of shipping, and possible import taxes will it be cheaper in Japan than other regions.

The NW-A800 and other DAPs are just a devices, and work just like a computer. Although the menu can be changed on the NW-A800 to another language, SonicStage controls the languages displayed. Selecting the language the menus will be displayed in has not effect on the information displayed for the song. There is absolutely no difference between a Japanese NW-A800 or a Korean or English version. What is different is the version of SonicStage. SonicStage controls what languages can be displayed on the NW-A800. Your Chinese friend has a NW-A800 and you nice how intelligent the Chinese songs and artists are arranged. Then you realize that the Chinese songs and artists are not arranged on your NW-A800. They are all clumped under etc.. There are tricks that can be used, but they are only tricks. These same problems exist under Windows. Sony should make SonicStage bilingual, even if it is just a niche market. English may be the dominant language, but most English speakers speak English as a second language.

Stuge, great picture. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Just one note. This is the safest method to add album art using drag and drop. However, this can be done at the top level. SonicStage will prompt you if you want to add the images to multiple files. Unfortunately, the options are yes and no with no cancel. If you need to drag and drop multiple images, the second method would be quicker. Stuge does this make sense. Again thank you for the picture.

Congrats. We would like to hear your impressions of this player.

The sound of an elated owner of NW-A800 series. Is the SNR number the S/N that is seen in the photo you took. This can be also found in under the Common Settings under Unit Information. The only I think is strange is the NW-A800 is larger than the NW-S700/S600, but the former comes in a smaller box. It seems that the hissing comes from the design of the headphone and not a fault in the design of the NW-S700. The hissing is noticeable when the when the NW-S700 is off, and also when the headphones are disconnect. It seems to exist with the MDR-EX082 headphones, but is not as loud. Thanks for the review.

Zizone, The sound difference between the NW-S700 and NW-A800 series is very insignificant. The NW-S700's noise cancellation feature does exactly what it is suppose to do at a reasonable price. The design of the headphones create some addition noise. This has no relationship with the player, or the microphone in the case of the NC21 headphones. I use both the NW-A800 and NW-S700 everyday. The design of both units have their advantages, and are utilized differently. Only when comparing the sound is the difference is notice noticed. The NW-A800 displays both language characters. You need either Microsoft AppLocale or another computer. With AppLocale the target language is selected. SonicStage does not support UniCode or similar technology. However the NW-A800 does. Using the language setting on your computer it is possible to install SonicStage on that computer in the target language, without the need for Microsoft AppLocale. To get full support in Chinese a different computer is required.

For those that own an NW-S700 series Walkman, they have realized several thing. The noise cancellation works. It should be called the ambient noise reduction. Music sounds significantly better. Technically, noise cancellation samples the external sounds usinf the microphones on the headphones and creates inverse sound waves that nullifies this. Also, the noise cancellation allow you to enjoy your music at lower levels. The only problems that I have encounted is on windy day. The sound quality can be worse if winds blows across the microphone. I have PSP and the NW-S700. The sound quality on the NW-S700 is far superior even without the noise cancellation. The NW-S700 series walkman is excellent, and would adequately replace the PSP if you only care about music/audio playback. My advice is to only dump your PSP if you never play games on your PSP. Sony however does manufactures noise cancellation headphone. Which should be about $100US. This will allow you to have the best of both worlds. Have improved sound quality and keep your PSP.

To be honest Sony will not drop ATRAC. They have invested in the technology. From my perception there are many misconceptions about ATRAC. ATRAC is specifically used my Minidisc players and several of Sony's product. I would like to expand on Zizone's comment and state that Sony will continue to support different format including ATRAC. It is possible to write those 600 ATRAC Song to a CD, but I must verify this. I do not think you have anything to worry about. Sony is still promoting the players that they released recently. Finally, I think ATRACLife will be changing it name.

My previous post should have read 'Currently, the NW-A800 is not available in any region other than Japan'. Sorry for any confusion. We all know that the NW-A800 will be released in other regions. Most models should also be available in Canada now however.

It sucks to rip all the tracks again? Actually, SonicStage like must software has various settings. Either the files were accidentally deleted, or this was done in the setting in SonicStage. Never say yes when SonicStage prompts to delete any files, unless you really want to do this. SonicStage does not store files, it only manages the files. For Verifications: Connect the Walkman Click on 'transfere mode and setting' the toolbox icon Click on 'Advanced...' Under 'Convert files while transferring' ensure that nothing is selected. Simpler never gives you choice.

The NW-A800 is not available in any region other than Japan, which does not have the volume restriction. Thus no hack or exploit exists for changing or removing volume restriction. Honestly the volume is high enough, but the desire to have an unaltered version of the player is understood. The safest choice is to wait and get the European model, but many people seem happy with getting Japanese imports.

SonicStage is a great utility. It does the job it is supposes to do, but the NW-A800 series makes SonicStage shine. The NW-A800 has features that have been well thought through. Some that are surprisingly missing from the most popular player, which proves just because you are the most popular does not make you the best. The complaints against SonicStage are from people who have not used the most recent versions, or just like bashing Sony. Also, may people want drag and drop directly to the player. This does save time, but many of the feature that make each DAP great will not be able to be utilized. I have issues with SonicStage, but they are so minor that they are funny .

Have you moved the directory that contains the file? To verify this: Select one of the files that you are trying to convert, right click and select properties. Select the 'file info' tab. On the right should be 'location:', and below this will be the location that SonicStage believes the files are. If this directory has change, this will cause problems. SonicStage only references the locations of files, and does not store them. Solution: Either delete the files (references) in SonicStage and re-import the MP3, or move back all the files. Hopefully the files have not been deleted, otherwise the former will have to be done.

This is just a picture and nothing else. The Walkman logo does not look clean, there seems to be a long line just above it. Sony Ericsson does have branded phones that have the Walkman logo on it, but the position of the logo seems just wrong. The original post seems to be vague.

Not quite sure if they actually come with black headphones or not. The sound quality of the NW-A800 series is superb. The casing textured which is enhanced more on the white model than the black. However the black has a lower visual profile than the other colours. You should build up your library in SonicStage 4.3 including you play lists, album art and podcasts. Then wait until May 17 and make you decision then. Your experience will be greatly enhanced when you have your NW-A800. Honest

Thus Ishiyoshi, PSP Video 9 is not need, since Image Converter converts files to both H.264/MPEG4 AVC Main and Baseline profiles. Is this correct, Ishiyoshi?

Ascariss, Sony Canada in the past had this same problem with the MZ-RH1 Hi-MD recorder. Having sale figures would be interesting information about the A800 series verses the A3000/1000 series.

Image Convert is Sony's software. Image Convert only works with AVI, MPEG, QuickTime or Windows Media(WMV) files. You have to convert the you video files one of these format before importing into Image Convert. Yes, this is a long process. Ziznone, I will revisit my tests with the headphones.

Yes, it is possible to subscribe to RSS feeds through Image Converter. However they can only be video casts Image Converter, can be imported. Image Converter will present an error message stating that the content is not a video (content can not be download). I have not encounter any subscription based podcasts. With SonicStage the audiocast need to be downloaded then imported into SonicStage. Exporting podcast from iTunes to SonicStage should work if it is possible to export MP3 files. GQ Smooth is this possible, since I will starting looking for a RSS downloader and would like to consider all products.

The NW-A800 does not have a port for a remote. The NW-A800 series however does have a WM-PORT that allow the attachment to other equipment such as a Sony Stereo system and BlueTooth headphones. SonicStage depending on your region allow you to connect to Connect, Sony's online store. Connect sells music and allow you to listen to 'Radio'. So, it is currently not possible to subscribe to or purchase podcasts though SonicStage. More reviews/previews http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3332 Here is Lyris Lite Review http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?...3332&st=30# http://www.lyris-lite.net/2007/03/sony_nwa...go_get_one.html

While searching for podcast an interesting feature of SonicStage was encountered. SonicStage will place the correct album, genre, artist name, release date and other data if it is contained in the audio file. This has happened while importing audio files into SonicStage. It is not known if this works with version other than 4.3. Navigating the NW-S700/S600 series is quite easy, but can be quite easy. There are times that require both hands to do change settings. The NW-S700/S600 is designed for operation with one hand. The UI is designed for circular navigation. You a can adjust the dial-jog to progress through individual songs or playlists/album. All the controls are placed at the top of the unit when the headphone jack is located. It will take time remembering the sequence for playback modes.

It would make sense for Sony to release a new HDD player. A larger flash player would not be very price competitive. Sony has release 3 series of flash players since October of last year, but still has not release a replacement for the NW-A3000 series. It would be great if Sony released a 60GB plus model. However a 16GB flash player may be possible. We will have to wait and see.