jrhughes

Shinji, yes, the plastic shell does have an opening for the hold switch. I almost went for the leather case, but decided on the shell because I wanted the player to remain very small and sleek and to have full protection. I have to say that this case is better than I was thinking it would be. The fit is absolutely perfect and the way the buttons work is such a good idea. The opening for the hold switch is bevelled and is completely flush to the back of the player, so dust will have a hard time getting in. This is no cheap-looking plastic shell: it's quality stuff.

I agree completely... I am so impressed with my A808 which I bought last weekend. It's gorgeous. Right after I'd bought it (from a Sony Centre) I went back to get a case. They had three on offer: silicon skins (two in a pack) for £19.99, a leather one at £19.99 and a hard, clear plastic shell for £17.99. I went with the shell and I have to say it's just perfect. It protects everything, including screen, and has its own sealed buttons which push down on the unit's buttons. It's an absolute perfect fit and I'd recommend it without hesitation.

I was annoyed (and initially puzzled) by the same problem when I got my A1000. I use SonicStage and have done for some time, being a big fan of MD. After transferring some stuff from my SS library, which includes a lot of mix albums such as Global Underground, I noticed that the display within SS of the A1000's contents was showing all of the track artists instead of album artists. Not good. I thought it was because I'd transferred using SS instead of Connect, but no. To cut a long(ish) story short, I installed Connect and found that I could display the A1000's contents, transferred from SS, by album artist (eg, Nick Warren) instead of all the track artists. It's arranged slightly differently to content transferred using Connect, but still much better than it is displayed in SS. I'm hoping that, beyond v3.4, we may be able to get Connect-like display of A-series content in SS as it is in Connect. For the time being, I use SS for everything except viewing and deleting content by album on my A1000, for which I use Connect.

Inaccurate reference to the treble? Whatever you're talking about, I didn't omit anything intentionally. If you think that, by virtue of your testing, you are in the position to state what sounds good and what doesn't to the majority of the population, then I really can't be bothered to argue with you. I agree with what you said about an improperly fitted PX-200, though, regarding bass/midrange. I know that I fit mine properly and enjoy full, taut bass as a result - and I stand by my statement that you are in no position to judge whether my PX-200 are fitted properly or improperly to my ears. To reiterate: I am not *directly* comparing the sound from the £40 PX-200 to the £150 E3c. I am merely saying that the two produce a similar *type* of sound (i.e., natural, taut, detailed..) in comparison to that of the PX-100. Don't read any more into it than that. I've made my point; to those who have understood it, I hope you don't dismiss the superb PX-200 for use with the NW-A1000 / A3000 (just to get back on topic ) ).

>Funnily, if the E3c's do sound similar to the PX200 then your PX200 are fitted wrong. You are in no position to make that judgement. My point is that the E3c has a similar type of sound to the PX-200, as opposed to that of the PX-100. What's more, I would suggest that, if the PX-200 can sound anything like the E3c at all, then they are fitted perfectly well. >The PX200's do sound worse than the PX100 on many levels, not just tonal... >...with the PX200 delivering more wool in the bass. I emphatically disagree with you. But then, if you'll notice, the point I was trying to make from the beginning is that this is a very personal thing. To me, the PX-200 clearly sound far better than the PX-100 and I'd reverse your "wolly bass" statement. I can't listen to the PX-100 for long without experiencing some fatigue due to the overblown, wolly bass. I never use any boosting or equalisation settings on any of my equipment, incidentally. The PX-200 (and E3c) are, to me, much more naturally sounding than the PX-100 (and EX71) and more of a pleasure to listen to. That will not be the case for everyone, just as your statements do not apply universally. Cheers.

That's OK, Obli; no apology necessary. I have read similar "reviews" of the PX-200 which slate it in comparison with the PX-100. I am certain that a large proportion of these opinions are based on the fact that they are not sitting properly on the ears and/or haven't been run-in yet. In order to get the (superior, in my opinion) low frequency reproduction form the PX-200 to full effect, they do need to be low down on the ears, so that the centre of the drivers fire directly into the ear canal. Careful placement is quite important with these, but once you adjust the headband accordingly, it becomes second nature. Don't get me wrong: the PX-100 is a fine headphone but it is just too overblown for my taste. They sound false, just like having a graphic equaliser connected to a home hi-fi (back in the 1980s, when that seemed like a good idea) and boosting the lows and highs way too much. The initial impression is "wow!" but the sound soon becomes very fatiguing. Of course, some of those opinions will be from people who do prefer the very warm, heavily bassy sound, or maybe just have a player that is rubbish at reproducing the low frequency end. The A1000/A3000 definitely does not fall within that category. As a friend of mine once said, "whatever lights your garden." I think he'd been drinking. Cheers.

> the Sennheiser PX-200s do but sound quality suffers as a result. What?? The PX-200 is way ahead of the PX-100 in the sound department! I'm not trying to pick an argument, but just making the point that, within reason, what sounds great to someone might sound not so good to someone else, and vice-versa ;o) I have the PX-100 and two pairs of PX-200. The PX-100 is fine, but I always felt that they were too overblown in the lower frequencies. Very comfortable, though. So, I tried the PX-200 and was initialy disappointed with what was, by comparison, quite a "thin" sound. But, a combination of my learning how to wear them properly (they need to be quite low down on the ears) and running-in has resulted in a wonderful, natural sound with deep, controlled bass. There's no need for the overblown wooliness or the even more exaggerated bass response of the EX71s, as another poster has mentioned, with equipment that's able to produce a reasonably flat frequency response. These things are wonderful, especially for the price. I can't listen to my PX-100s for long, any more. Or my EX71s. I've just invested in the Sure E3c and am listening to them now, as it happens, connected to my A1000. These things cost me £150 but they are great, especially considering their size. The sound is quite similar to the PX-200, which is a sound I prefer. Thankfully, the PX-100 and the PX-200 are inexpensive enough to be able to try one and, if you don't think it's wonderful, try the other. If you like a lot of bass at the expense of some definition, go for the PX-100 or maybe the EX71 (depending on whether you want a headband-type or ear-canal type). If you like a more natural sound with deep, taut bass, go for the PX-200 and let then run-in for a bit. Cheers.

> connect for most doesnt work at best. Do you have data to back up that statement? I suspect not. I'd be willing to bet that Connect Player works for more people than otherwise. I have installed CP on three totally separate machines. Two of them are quite old and lowly specified. It works without a hitch on all three machines. That's a 100% success rate. Totally different machines, but all run up to date XP. One important point, though, is that there is a definite need to restart the machine after installation, even though it doesn't explicitly tell you to do so. If you don't do this, it hangs when you connect your device for the first time. A swift restart solves that. Granted, it's obviously buggy, and Sony has recognised this. But to say that it doesn't work for most is just useless speculation.

Hello, I have been using, and will continue to use, Hi-MD (MZ-NH1) via SonicStage. But (happy birthday to me!) I've just been given the A1000. Lovely little machine. I've been reading these forums for a long time, watching with interest the developments with Connect Player. I haven't tried it yet, since it won't recognise Hi-MD recorders yet. Now, I have used the A1000 with SonicStage and it works, but, annoyingly, there's a problem with compilation albums which annoys me. I don't much care for Artistlink and the like, so I'm not bothered that that won't work, but I do own several compilation albums (eg., Global Underground mixes etc.) which Connect fails to group properly. I'll give an example. Nick Warren's GU: Shanghai is listed in SonicStage as a compilation, with each track having the original artist beside it, but the Album Artist is Nick Warren. When Hi-MD is connected, the album is grouped with other Nick Warrens as the artist. Good. When the A1000 is connected after transfer, the best it can manage is to list each individual track artist, each one having an album called GU: Shanghai. Bad. I guess I'll have to install Connect. Is it OK to do this with SS installed, and to use both on the same machine (obviously not at the same time)? If I convert my existing library in order to import to Connect, will it disappear from SS or will it be copied? Many thanks in advance, JRH