juli_

If they come out with a 16GB player with gapless support, I will be first in the queue! I know there's a 16GB Japan-only release but I'm referring to units sold outside Japan. The only thing that concerns me is the majority of people don't care about gapless (look how many people rushed to buy the A81x as soon as SS was dropped) and I wonder if Sony won't bother with gapless since it doesn't seem to have affected sales (or user opinions) of the A81x

It works very well in my opinion, but there will always be people who want more bass

Hi there, first of all - how/where did you back up the library? Secondly, when you installed Vista, did you also install a fresh copy of SonicStage, or did you use the one that was still on your PC? For any hope of a successful back up when changing PCs, you have to 1) Back up the library to removable media or an external hard drive, and 2) Install Sonicstage on the new computer. Finally, once SS has been re-installed, use the backup tool to restore your library from wherever it's been backed up to. I'm not sure, but I think the error message you got might relate to the fact that your library wasn't authenticated during the restore process.

I think this has already been discussed somewhere on here. If I remember rightly, there are no plans for a firmware upgrade to enable it to play gapless. You have the Atrac-free model, which will not play gapless. Bummer, and it would be nice if the 818/808 could have the firmware upgraded to enable them both to have the same features, but it looks like an impossibility, so yes - you'll probably have to wait for the next player!!

oops double post

OK, did you try the 'reset' yet? You won't lose your songs but it might fix the glitch you're experiencing. And can you remember if, (prior to the problem) - you'd ever unplugged the unit while it was still 'busy'? That can cause corruption of the database, and effectively wipe out everything you have. But as you're getting the 'No songs are available for playback' message, I don't think it's corrupted. Shamefully, I can't remember where the reset switch is. . .

Sorry if I wasn't clear. You don't physically rebuild the database yourself. Once the device is connected back to the computer, the database should automatically be rebuilt. You didn't say whether you'd plugged it back in after the error message?

Have you tried reconnecting the player to the computer and letting SonicStage rebuild the database? I had this error message once before (can't remember why now), but I just plugged it back in and let SS rebuild and it worked OK after that.

That's a really long way to have to get round it. I know it can't transfer songs that aren't on your hard drive though. Even if they show as being in the library - if they've been deleted elsewhere, they won't transfer. Have you tried actually playing (through the computer) - any of the songs that couldn't be transferred? When I try to transfer something I've deleted from the hard drive (and forgotten to delete from SS) - I get a message to say 'cannot locate file for transfer'. I'm just trying to establish if any of this applies to what you're experiencing.

Can you be a bit clearer? Are you trying to transfer songs from the library to your player - or from the player to the library? And are all the songs on your physical hard drive?

If you want drag and drop, I suggest you swap it for the A816 (same physically, but different software) You've bought the model that uses SonicStage and Atrac. Are you able to return it for the other model? What error message s are you getting when you try and transfer?

The NW-S7xx flips albums with the speaker cradle though, even though it's marked for use with the 8xx series. I think Sony have redone the packaging because prior to the release of the 8xx - the cradle was labelled for use with the 7xx series - but in the last few months, the description has changed and it now states 'for use with the 8xx series' - but it is the SAME speaker cradle and it DOES work properly with the 7xx series.

Quick painful truth - it can't be done. The album-flip facility works with the S700 series but not with the 8xx. I had the other speaker cradle as well (exactly the same as the NW001 but with wi-fi) and that's when I realised the remote control didn't function in the same way. I called Sony about it ages ago and they spouted some rubbish about how the file structure was different and the remote could not 'read' it. He suggested I re-buy the NW001 (the one without wi-fi) because he was 'positive' the remote control would function correctly with the 808 - but of course it doesn't!

Thanks for pointing that out. You're right. The standalone uses 'digital audio' CDs, and the gapless is lost when importing the copy into SS. I just experimented with another CD and it is definitely the 'digital audio' CD that's the problem. So thanks again, now I know NOT to copy gapless CDs in the standalone

I must now add a Sony RDR-HXD870 dvd recorder to my collection. Brilliant when it doesn't delete timer recordings before they've been recorded

Hi there, no you're not being daft at all. I had the same concerns recently when I bought a new desktop PC. I have SS 4.3 on my laptop and my entire library is in Atrac. So this is how I made the (surprisingly painless) transition. 1. Back up your existing library FIRST on your laptop via the SS backup tool (very important). I backed mine up to an external hard drive, but you can use other methods which will be available when you start the back up. 2. Do NOT try and restore the back up to your new PC until you have FIRST downloaded SonicStage on to the new PC. So download SS first. 3. Next, have your back up ready, whether it's on disc or an external hard drive. 4. Then open SonicStage and select 'Tools'. Select 'Back Up My Library' (don't worry, the 'restore' feature will come after) You'll be asked if you want to quit SS and start the back up tool. Say yes. 5. Once you've said 'yes' - SS will close down and the back up tool will open. There will be 2 options available: 'Back up my library' and 'Restore my library on this computer'. Choose 'restore' and once authentication takes place, everything should go through smoothly. I had absolutely no problems with the transition to my new PC at all, but make sure you follow the sequence carefully, and if there are any other questions, ask away

Hi there, I wouldn't bother with 500 x 500 album art on the 700 series, because the display area is not big enough to appreciate the extra detail. You can try both sizes to see if you can tell the difference, but I couldn't tell on mine. It's nice that it displays album art, but it's really not big enough to justify large file sizes (in my opinion)

I hope they do. It's the only reason I didn't buy the 818 as an addition to my 808. Of course, gapless is only a concern for those of us who have live albums in their collection, and many of my friends play individual tracks, and so don't care about gapless. But I really do, so it would be a major disappointment if the next generation of players overlooked what I consider to be a basic feature. Regardless of whether the gap is only a 'blip' - all it does (apart from thrusting me rudely into the next song instead of wafting me there on a fluffy cloud), is draw my attention to the fact I am now listening to a previously gapless CD with a 'blip' at the end of every track. It's very unsettling

Which case are you referring to, the clear polycarbonate case?

I did a straight copy of 'Tubular Bells' on a standalone CD copier. When I ripped the duplicate copy (which is gapless) in SS (in Atrac) it wasn't gapless anymore. I still had the original so it wasn't a problem, but it would have been if I didn't have the original anymore. It's been my experience that for gapless to work - the original CD has to be used.

My main issue with the E4G was the louder I went - the more 'bright' they would sound. For hours after listening, I would have a strange 'ringing' in my ears, which was quite unsettling. I don't listen any louder with the Denons, and I don't suffer from the after 'ring' at all. I still feel the E4G was the best headphone for acoustic, it was amazing - but the Denons do very very well with acoustic, and they also manage to suit every single piece of music I have, so I find them much more versatile than the E4Gs. If you are coming from E4, I think you will appreciate the Denon as a fantastic all-rounder and the Sony drives them easily. When it's quiet I can listen between 8/10 and when it's 'normal' listening in the day, I don't need to go past 20 or it would blow my ears away!

You need the original CD as well, not a copy of it. It doesn't work with the copy. I found this out through trial and error.

Thanks Dura, your advice made sense, and I've since removed the 808 from my Amazon basket! I just got panicky thinking it would fail and I'd have nothing to use. But by the time that happens, there'll be a new model out. And I can still use it in the speaker cradle anyway when the battery starts to die, so all is not lost. I'm OK for space at the moment as I redid all my 352 bitrates when the battery took a big hit. Now I have all instumental in 256 and vocals in 192 and it all sounds fine, plus I have about 2 GB still free. So thanks for saving me some money . . . and now I'll wait patiently for another Sony next year. Re: Denons - how much did you pay for them in the end? Amazon.com have them on special offer at $99 at the moment which is an amazing deal. Shame I don't live in America. I also just bought the Denon AH-C551 (also $99) as a slightly cheaper back up for the C700s! Considering both phones are about the same price as the Sony EX90 at the moment, I'd say it's a great deal, especially as although the EX90s are very very good, the Denons do isolate more and sound a lot better. I think you'll enjoy them a lot, and if not, someone at Head-Fi will snap them up for sure!

I need some advice please. Sitting here listening to my 808 and imagining a time when it stops working fills me with such dread that I immediately went to Amazon to order a second one just in case. It's sitting in my basket as I type, and I've put the older 808 in there, not the new 818 (even though it's £20 cheaper!!). Reason I chose the 808 again is because there's no certainty there'll be a firmware update for the 818 to enable it to play gapless. So my question is: if you were buying a second unit, would you go for the 818 in the hope it would implement gapless at a later stage? I definitely cannot live without gapless, I can live without ratings and on-the-fly playlist if I have to, but not gapless. I also have 2 speaker cradles so it would be useful to keep one in there without having to take the case off all the time. My other question is does anyone know roughly how long the life of flash players is? Before the battery dies? I love my 808 a LOT which is why I want another one!! But I want a minimum of 3 years out of them, not a maximum. I don't know if the '500 charges' claim is based on full charges, or whether it counts when you're connected to the PC transferring and stuff. Has anyone got 2 808s??? EDIT The ZA618 is the same price as the A818, but isn't the 618 considered to be the model 'down' fron the 818???