superiorduck

I'd never thought that post will continue... maybe it's a sensible topic, anyway, i want to say one thing, my stolen NW HD3 was a great sound, and really miss it, a lot!! but, again, i'm not an audiophile, and I don't use any Hi-Fi headphones, in fact, because iPod's white earphones are a robbers magnet, i use my old NWHD3 Sony earphones. I'm don't need (but I wish) a fancy or expensive Etymotic or Shure earphones to hear my Pink Floyd collection, but I understand the pursuit of quality of this forum, but, for a moment, be realistic, there is any difference between an iPod's crappy earphones, and Sony's? I believe the difference is inside the player, and so far, i found a little bit better sound in the iPod, but is a personal believe.... maybe if a have a 500 US$ Shure earphones, maybe I can tell a real, scientific difference, if you wish, in favor of Sony. There is a hype about the iPod, and all manufacturers with any relation with this niche, including Sony, wants to take advantage with this hype, and outhere, Bang & Olufsen, Harman Kardon, Denon, Bose, known for their high standard in Hi-Fi sound, they have fully integration products with iPod, and, yes, is a commercial strategy, but, they don't want to sell a HiFi product, if the source - iPod - sound like, well, like you wish to think, less than Sony. Hey!, even Sony have sound docks for iPod. One final thought: Sony's really big trouble is not iPod, is iTunes, and the whole sales structure involved. If you have a DAP, fully integrated with a efficient sales scheme, a software where you can manage your files, and buy media, and play it anywhere you want (in the subway, airplane or TV set) and... make calls and surf the web... all in a very unified system, you've won the lotto. This is the Apple success over Sony or even Microsoft. Sony have the DAP, the phones, the PC, the TV Set, the distribution channels and the Media, but nothing of that works together. There is not a just a matter of build an iPod Killer. Again, nothing is perfect, nor my english, i'll follow this topic with great interest!

A few months ago i was stolen my great, beuatiful, NW-HD3, Black, and for me, a few gigs is no enough for me. My HD3 had 20 Gb, fabulous sound, and small size, but, once lost, which DAP next? The Creative Zen, 30Gb, color screen and video playback, and beautiful looks, but you can't use it as a mass storage, unless you install a proprietary software to do so. Sony?, well, they have the A8000, but for the features, is very expensive, and the others Sony's DAP, hmmm, very small in capacity, small screen also, lack of accessories. The other, Apple iPod. I've had to admit, I'd bought in a rush, some friend of mine went to the States for a weekend, and, well, the next monday, a new black, shiny 30Gb iPod, 5.5 gen was in my hands. So far, i found my new iPod, fabulous, for me, and i'm not an audiophile, i have to accept that the sound of the iPod, is, in my humble opinion, far more crisp and detailed than my stolen HD3. The way that I manage the files with iTunes is like a breeze, not like the horrid experience with SonicStage. The screen, well, color!, is a nice feature, great resolution, nice interface, but, is a not essential. But when you navigate in the iPod menu, you find a well designed piece of hardware and software, is very easy find the song you want to hear, you can easy create playlists, and, this is great, the EQ really works, no matter the extension of your music files, instead HD3, only works with ATRAC, and I only have mp3's. About the video, well, this is a nice thing, but only for show off in front a friends, this is a useless feature in a 2.5 inch display, despite the quality of the image. I bought my iPod only for music. The cons of the iPod... is a freakin' fingerprints magnet, it get dirty as far as you pull it out the box, not like the HD3, aluminum case, also very resilient. The iPod's plastic front and the metallic back get scratched really easy, and a case is a must have. And, one thing that really hates about my iPod, is the volume control, the clickwheel is not quite precise, and sometimes is very hard to control the volume, I miss a dedicated volume button or rocker. Well, nothing is perfect, but at this time, I'll stick with my iPod, and hope, in the near future, Sony releases a truly iPod Killer, or, at least, a serious competitor, I hate see myself like a sheep with a white earbuds among thousands more. Thanks for the great information about Sony DAP's and related info, your work is very important and valuable. I'll see you around

but, if you don't need a photo viewer (nice feature), video playing (for me... useless), medium storage capacity, the NWA-1200 is a great choice.... a few improvements since HD5, and a great sound, but read all the reviews about this player and the A3000, as far i read here, they have a building issues that you might be aware before you buy. My opinion is the same. Wait... wait for Sony's Next best thing, or go research about the huge DAP universe outside iPodville.

Wait.... or save for a Toshiba Gigabeat or.... Zune?... (sorry Sony' hardcore lovers!) I'm waiting for a new and improved Sony DAP...but there are good others DAP's in the market, and you maybe want to see how good is the Zune thing instead to get right now a Sony DAP. Sony is still a good choice, i'm very glad with my HD-3, it works fine to me, but I really hope a new Sony release, a good one.

Most the time i listen music in shuffle mode, barely listen a single album, anyway, i'm living my "brit pop-rock/manchester" period, and I'm currently listening in my HD3, bands like Charlatans UK, The Stone Roses, Elbow, Snow Patrol, The Verve, Stars, Coldplay, Ocean Colour Scene, Porcupine Tree, Doves, and others with similar kind of music, like Death Cab for Cutie, The Stills, etc. blended with some classics like Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin.

I'll check it out, thank you

Hi.... i'm intented to get a noise cancelling phones, but I don't want to spend a lot of money, and I found a pair of Sony MDR-NC6 noise cancelling phones in the Sony Store here at a great price. I found a mixed reviews at amazon.com, and, maybe i can find a some "expert" review here in this forum. Due to the lack of phones at home, i believe this phones are, for the money, a best choice.... or get a Bose's phones (too, too expensive for me!) Thanks

i'd never need to authorize my HD3, even since i connect my unit to my PC for the fisrt time, also, at the time, i'd never use Mp3 FileManager. My HD3 comes from US, but I live outside US (notice my english!), so, in order to use my HD3 whitout hassle, i previously install the latest version of SS (3.2 i think) JEB version -overseas version works good too-

I have a HD3 too, but, i actually run it in two computers(home and office) and i can flawlessly transfer music with both PC's without authorizing, perhaps because I use Sonic Stage JEB version, downloaded here in the forum, i'd never run the installation cd.... maybe if you run this version, your unit can work with 2 or, maybe, i don't know, more PC's.. good luck!

Me again, thanks for the .exe, but.... how i run Microsoft AppLocale?, the truth is... I don' t know nothing about this... please guide me with this issue, or tell me how to install your edited installer, thank you Ishiyosi.

Hi guys, where can I get SS japanese version? Maybe is a dumb question, but, I wonder if this software comes in japanese, or I can install it in english? Thanks!

hi guys, in this month, i'll recive my brand new NW HD5 Black, (I can't wait any more!), anyway, i'd read here about real player working along with NW HD5. its true? Personally, i couldnt work sonic stage with my cd walkman D-NE301 and i hope transfer files (mp3 mostly) without this piece of s*** of SS.