grenert

Success with the HD1! This should be stickied. One weird thing I noticed was that the re-imported songs have a dark grey "musical note" icon next to the library number (instead of the blue-green icon on the other songs). Anyone know what this means? Thanks again for the tip! -J. P.

One important thing to remember is that when you rip from a CD to ATRAC, the resulting files will be gapless. HOWEVER, if you have ATRAC files and convert from one bitrate to another (for example, from 256 to 133), the files WILL NOT BE GAPLESS. I just tried it out on an ATRAC CD. So, you should rip to whatever you plan to use for the CDs. -J. P.

Just tried out my canal phones (Panasonic RP-HJE70) and there is some faint high-frequency hiss present. It is definitely noticeable during quiet passages of classical music. For other types of music, I'm not sure you'd notice. Also, since these earphones don't completely block out sound, I can't hear the hiss when there is a lot of ambient noise. I'm sure it would be more noticeable when listening in a quiet room. As far as amp power goes, I listen at about 70% max volume. I would say that it plays to loud volumes, but not ear-splitting levels. I have an old Discman (from 1997) that really can make your ears bleed. This player is not as loud.

Two things you might want to try: 1. Install SS on a different computer and try making CDs there. I was only able to get CD burning to work on one of my computers. 2. Downgrade to SS 3.4. I was unable to burn CDs with 4.0. Probably so few people burn ATRAC CDs anymore, I wouldn't be surprised if Sony didn't even test this, given the many other bugs they let through.

How is the FM and AM reception? Both reception of AM and FM is pretty good where I live (dense urban area). Other small radios I have get overwhelmed by strong stations, but the D-NF430 is pretty good about keeping them down. I don't know how good reception is in an area far away from radio stations. Note that the equalizer and clearbass settings do not work with the radio, so your EQ options are limited with the radio. Overall, I think the sound is very good; not quite as good as some other portable radios I have, but definitely nice to listen to. Battery life decent with rechargables? I've never measured the battery life, but my impression is that Sony's numbers using alkaline batteries are quite a bit higher than what I get with NiMH rechargeables. I'd estimate I get around 8-10 hours listening to regular CDs, something more than that listening to ATRAC/MP3 CDs. I should point out that I use my player with a backlit remote (RM-MC55EL, not included with the player), which I'm sure decreases battery life. The battery meter fluctuates when listening, and it dips down pretty low sometimes, even when the battery is not very old. So, what happens is that when you first turn on the player, the motor spools up and draws a lot of current. This drives down the battery momentarily, and can cause the player to think the battery is dead. I think the end result is that the player prematurely says the battery is dead and refuses to play. Fortunately, it only takes one battery, and it's easy to just pop in another AA. Maybe the battery meter is more stable with alkalines, allowing them to play longer. I dont think the LCD on the unit is backlit. Is it hard to read? As you would expect, it is impossible to read in the dark or very low light situations. Otherwise, it is very easy to read. It works fine with my two LCD remotes, which are backlit. It would've been nice to have backlight on the player itself, however. Any performance oddities that are extremely frustrating? I really like the player. The only downside is that it's quite a bit thicker than my D-NE10. I haven't done a lot of direct sound quality comparisons with my other music players, but my impressions of the sound are that it is very clear and detailed. The clearbass is very good for adding bass without being too boomy or muddy. I also like the parametric EQ. Speaking of that, it would be nice to have multiple custom EQ settings for different headphones/environments, but you only get one. I only recently bought some canal phones, and I haven't tried them out with the player to see if they hiss. With open headphones, either there is no hiss, or it is drowned out by the ambient noise the headphones let in. For the price, I don't think you can go wrong. -J. P.

It may be a bug in Sonic Stage. A similar issue came up regarding importing unprotected ATRAC files, which then could not be written to CD or transferred: http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?...ost&p=14367 Maybe the same bug occurs when importing MP3 files as well. Try deleting the files from your library (without deleting the actual files). Then re-import them again and see if it works. Good luck. -J. P.

Thanks for the information! I did manage to accidentally delete some ATRAC files on my computer that I have on my HD1. While the HD1 still has the files, I have no way to back them up or delete them to make room on the player (without losing the files forever). Now it looks like I have an option! I am out of town and haven't had a chance to try out your idea, but I'll report back once I have. Cheers. -J. P.

For what it's worth, I could not create an ATRAC CD using version 4.0. However, version 3.4 worked fine. You can only create an ATRAC CD using Sonic Stage. If you try to burn a CD of ATRAC files using Nero, the CD cannot be read by your player. Like I said before, unless you have a good reason to create an ATRAC CD, it is often a lot easier to use Nero or some other program to create MP3 CDs.

Sony Style USA has the new S2 sport Network Walkmen up on their web site. No prices yet; they list the availability date as Sept. 15. http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP....-S2_walkman_2GB I'm a little disheartened to see the battery life listed as only 18 hours. Perhaps that is actually an accurate estimate, in which case I'd be happy with it. Still, it's a lot less than what they list for the NW-E00x series. I really like the sealed case, given that a number of owners of the NW-E00x and NW-A4/5/6xx have had problems with dust and sweat getting inside the player. It's great to see new players from Sony. Now when will we see a new HD player...? On a more downbeat note, the last time I was at my local Sony Style store, there was only one (cheapo, junk) CD Walkman on display, and none of the higher end models were even available for sale. It looks like Sony has stopped development of portable CD players, and is just focusing on low-mid range models. EDITED to correct to new link.

Well, it looks like the Sony Style store in San Francisco jumped the gun a bit. They have the NW-E005 already available. If anyone is itching to purchase, you might want to check out your local Sony shop. I'm still torn between getting: NW-E005 one for the tiny size and AAC support, or NW-A608 for great battery life and 3-line display What to choose, what to choose. -J. P.

You're being bombarded with a lot of interest! Does the program work with AAC or ATRAC? Thanks for your work!

So, for someone who has the NW-A608 and USB 2.0, how long does it take to load 2 GB?

According to amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GIPHN...2846401?ie=UTF8 The NW-E005 is finally being released in the US. Pretty good price - $130 for 2GB. They give a release date of August 14. You can see on sonystyle.com that they are FINALLY phasing out the original "core" players (NW-E505/507). The 507 isn't even available anymore, except as a refurb. I can't believe the old "bean" players are still available. With the new NW-S205 coming out, it looks like Sony USA is getting up to speed (long overdue).

I had a similar problem with SS 4.0. I think there is some bug with creating ATRAC CDs with that program. I was never able to get CD burning to work. I then installed SS 3.4, and it worked! I don't think I'm missing anything with the older program, since the main updates were to add the Connect store (which I don't use) and features for the newer hard drive MP3 players. You might as well try the older version, which I think can be downloaded from this site somewhere. Is there any particular reason why you're burning an ATRAC disc? You could always use a different program to burn MP3 CDs, which your player should also be able to read. The main reasons for going with ATRAC are better sound quality (subjective; debateable if this is really true when compared to a good MP3 codec like LAME), better battery life (definitely true), and gapless playback. If you already have your music in ATRAC, then that of course is a good reason to stick with it. Cheers. -J. P.

Hi, Juancho. There is a fairly long delay in Sonic Stage where DRM (copy protection) is added to the files prior to burning onto the CD. This takes most of the time. Once burning actually starts, it's about as fast as any other burning program. Since you can't bypass the DRM, there's nothing you can do about the extra delay. Also, be sure to have the "writing settings" (under Tools -> Options -> Creating a CD) for creating an ATRAC CD set to "standard transfer mode" so that files are not transcoded to a different bitrate for the CD. Otherwise, there will be a much longer delay. If you want it to transcode to a lower bitrate so you can fit more songs on the CD, then you just have to accept the problem. Transcoding is a slow process with any program. Glad to hear you are enjoying your ATRAC Walkman. I have two, and I really like them. Although it is more of a pain to create the CDs, once you have them, it is much easier to swap CDs than it is to plug in a player and select files to transfer. Plus, I'm not always at a computer when I want to change songs. Cheers. -J. P.

I've had skipping sounds with bad rips from CD. I'm not sure how good Sonic Stage is at ripping CDs. When I rip to MP3, I use Easy CD-DA (shareware) or Exact Audio Copy (freeware, but a little harder to use). These two programs have very robust handling of read errors on the CD. You could confirm it is a problem with the MP3 by playing the file on your computer to see if the skip is reproducible. Cheers. -J. P.

Is there any difference between the NW-A1000/1200/3000 besides the size of the drive? Could you put a larger drive into any of them? I believe the drives are made by Toshiba, and they also make a 40 GB version of their 1.8" drives. That would be a nice way to get a big HD player in the United States, where we don't have access to the A3000 (plus, 40 GB is twice as big as the A3000 has). Anyone try this? -J. P.

I know this sounds weird, but: I converted some WMA files to ATRAC using Sound Forge, then imported them into SonicStage. Like you, I got a "0times remaining transfer count" and I couldn't burn an ATRAC CD or transfer to my HD1. However, I then deleted the songs from my library (without deleting the actual files on disc). Then, I tried importing the same files again, and it worked! "Unlimited" transfers allowed! Go figure. And yes, we are going through all of this hassle to use ATRAC. For me, it is because some music is really hard to listen to with gaps (think Dark Side of the Moon or lots of classical music). The improved battery life is another benefit.

Yes, I see now that would be an annoying problem. Does SoundForge have the same problem? Maybe you could use a standard ripper to rip to WAV, then use SoundForge to convert to ATRAC.

This does sound like a bug, but are you sure it would be a problem in most circumstances? I assume that the end of the previous track that gets added onto the start of the next track is missing from the first track (i. e. that it is shifted to the next track, rather than duplicated). Usually when you're listening to gapless music, you probably listen straight from start to finish (at least I do). So, I wouldn't expect that you'd notice anything: The first track ends a little early, but is continued on the next track gaplessly, and then the "true" next track begins. Am I missing something? I've ripped gapless CDs using SS 3.4 and haven't noticed anything wrong during playback... -J. P.

Thanks for your replies; this is exactly what I was looking for!

Well, I think that GYM is fantastic! I was able to pull 8GB of MP3s off my NW-HD1 using it. I did notice what seems like an error in the directions to generate keys: At the part where you delete the test files from your library, it says to also delete the source files (which I interpret to mean to delete the actual files, not just the entries in the library). I couldn't get the program to work unless I left the actual files intact. Anyway, after that it worked great! Gave a modest $$$ to the author as thanks -J. P.

I tried importing a bunch of WAV files into SonicStage 3.4. They appeared in my library, which is fine. However, they were still WAV files. Is there a way to automatically convert to ATRAC upon importing into your library? I can only get the file to convert when transferring to an ATRAC device, and even then, they are still WAV files on the computer. It seems like this should be possible, but I can't figure it out. Thanks for any help. -J. P.

You could use the player via LCD remote control, although I'm pretty sure you can't access all the features that way.

I know this is a cross-posting, but the thread where I originally posted this is not overtly about Stringer. There is a very good article in the New Yorker about HS: http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/arti.../060605fa_fact1 It makes the corporation seem rather segregated and dysfunctional. Cheers. -J. P.