rosjos

This link to the UK SonyStyle website has the 16gb model; on pre-order for £225 https://shop.sonystyle-europe.com/SonyStyle...002BC29B74)/.do Is this new, or is this what people have been querying lately?

Thanks F1rick - at least this highlights an ability to transfer ATRAC to the new NWZ's without a total conversion of files. I have over 75gb of ATRAC files, and was dreading the day when my current ATRAC compatible Walkmans bite the dust.

Very interesting - are you able to tell if these files play gapless, or does a gap get created in the transfer/copy step?

Thanks for the reply Waqas. Much appreciated.

Now that forum users are in receipt of their new NW-A800's, can anyone advise if this unit has proper "line out" feature (like Sony HDP's and most MD's) or does it follow previous flash players with just the headphone out feature.

I'm fully converant with the transfer settingsof SS - I have not changed the settings at all, it is just this unit is slower than all other ATRAC devices I have owned, where I was expecting it to be faster, if anything. But hey, the music is on it now.

Just treated myself to a new S706 - the display packed in on my A1000, and since I needed new headphones, I thought I would kill 2 birds with one stone! The sound is great (the static hiss is bearable). However, i can't get over the transfer rate - it is absolutely woeful . Having lived with MD, Hi-MD and a few HDD players this unit has the slowest transfer rate on any Sony device I have owned. I was actually expecting the opposite with a flash based player. Anyone care to agree or disagree?

This static, or slight hiss, seems to be inherent in all hard drive/flash players - be it a Sony or Apple i-pod or whatever -and this is not the first time it has been mentioned on the AL forums. I must back up doomlordis with his observation of the MZ-RH1 - if you want a totally clean, hiss/static-free sound go with Hi-MD. Minidisc is the only digital player I have used where I have not experienced this noise. Although the noise is slight, and is dependant on the listening environment, it can still irritate. There again, some people don't even notice it (especially the "sound conscious" i-pod user! ). Having bought 2 Sony HDD players I have now returned to Hi-MD for "headphone listening". My HD3 now only gets used through small speakers at the office, and the A1000 is now plugged into my car through the Aux-In. I was keen to see how the S7XX would perform in relation to the hiss-issue, and this thread has answered that. I don't know if this is something that can be sorted or not.

At last, some HONESTY and - to a lesser extent - some REASSURANCE. If Sony had come clean at the start and been honest about this issue and pointed customers in the right direction (ie, CONNECT has problems, use Sonicstage 'til we sort it out) then this shambles would not have dragged on so long. The reassurance would have been greeted with some acknowledgement and acceptance from most, especially if Sony appeared sincere about the whole situation and their efforts to solve the problem. But most importantly for Sony, their integrity would have remained (almost) intact. Are they really so stupid to realise we, the consumer, are not totally naiveand won't accept being fobbed off - or is it just arrogance on their part. As it is, we have been treated like s@*t for the best part of two months, and too bad for Sony, the damage is done and their reputation has sunk. Sony's success IS their reputation for quality and they may have to pay the price. For the best part of 20 years all electronic consumables - worth several thousand pounds - in my household have come from the Sony stable. Guess what - they have lost my loyalty. I am just but one individual and in their arrogance they may laugh me off as just that. More fool them if that is their attitude. Their announcement today has shown an element of honesty (maybe not 100%, but hey they've admitted defeat with Connect) and I do feel reassured now that they are taking steps to make the user experience feel somewhat fulfilling. WHY COULD THEY NOT HAVE DONE THIS WEEKS AGO? The CONNECT software engineers abilities came into question from the start. Now the Connect Software is on the way out, they look totally inept (so much for the "commitment from the Connect team", banded about this week by the affecionada on this forum). Anyway, lets wait and see. WELCOME BACK SONICSTAGE.

SULAND - See the recent post titled "A3000 white noise during playback". As I posted in my reply on that topic the slight "Shhhhhh" noise, as you term it, seems inherent in ALL HD players, irrespective of brand/model. Anyway, check out the above for more info.

Nope - only Normal; Repeat; Shuffle; Shuffle&Repeat; and, Repeat 1 Song

1. The unit does support random selection. 2. Connect really is that bad - in fact it is worse than bad. Sony really need to get the finger out with this one...and pretty damn fast. But don't be disuaded, Sonicstage works perfectly well - it is fast in comparisson to Connect and actually alot better for ripping CD's to, importing files, aesthetically more pleasing, better editing and....well it's absolutely everything else. The only draw back to using Sonicstage is some functions, like Artist Link, will not function if tracks are downloaded without using Connect. Hopefully Connect will be overhauled in the very, very near future. Sound wise, I doubt any other HD player can compete with the new Sonys.

FAO Ascariss: The A1000 certainly has gapless playback using ATRAC (I wouldn't have bought or suffered it otherwise - gapless is important to me). That said, there is no gapless playback when using CONNECT Player through the PC (why I use Sonicstage). But hey, with software as appalling (and that is being kind and restrained) as Connect, what do you expect. Back to the topic - I, too, find that the A series plays an individual album, then stops. I have also noticed if you start playing the album from, say, track3 the player will play through the rest of the particular album and then play tracks 1 and 2. Strange. I would have preferred the player to continue onto the next album, like the HD3, but it's no big deal. Unlike Connect software, which is a VERY BIG deal (have I already mentioned I detest this shambolic excuse for software?).

All HDD players seem to have this slight "noise" - Sony, i-fad etc. Some people don't notice it, because it is only really audible during particularly quiet sections of music, or during silence between tracks. It is this noise, hiss, whatever you want to call it, which gives my MZ-NH1 the edge over my A1000 and HD3. For those who claim they can't hear it, switch your machine off, turn the volume down to zero and then press play - you won't hear music just this "noise" being referred to by the others. It is faint, but noticable enough, especially if you have lived with the pure, clean sound of Minidisc for several years - try doing an A-B test between MD and HDD and you'll see.

Expect miracles - we need a bloody miracle! And as for, quote "...the way software works in large companies is that it takes time to go through all the "proper channels...", what proper channels did CONNECT Software go through before its initial release? What is the problem here? It's not as though they are having to re-invent the wheel. They may have built this thing "from the ground up", Kurisu. I suggest they return it to ground level and bury it. As far as the need for "patience" - if the thing wasn't ready for the market then SONY should have shown patience and waited 'til the software was usable instead of the position it (and we) are now in. Oh, I forgot -Xmas time - big sales - money - silly me. The bottom line is there is absolutley no excuse for this, whatsoever. If the Connect team are as committed as you say, then it's really a question their competance. As for patience - it has ran out.

Some of us have now been forced to endure and suffer this appalling software for TWO MONTHS now. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. Despite Sony conceding that the Connect software is seriously flawed, and me being advised, quote "we are working on solutions to the reported problems to resolve this as soon as possible" (but only after I lambasted them following the initial patronising response I received), AND Chris' assurance umpteen weeks ago that a major upgrade was on its way, NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE. Fine, I can accept the probability of problems during the initial period of new product and software release. However, the fact that the "shambles" that is CONNECT player has been allowed to rumble on for so long defies belief. Do Sony not fully appreciate the magnitude of this self inflicted f@%k up, and unacceptable assault on their customers? Not impressed. Not in the slightest. In fact I am damn angry - can't you tell? The A1000 is a great sounding machine - it almost, just almost can compete with the MZ-NH1 in that department. But the accompanying software has turned me right off using the bloody thing. I absolutely detest i-pods and all they stand for, totally. However with my contempt at Sony, despite the years of satisfaction from countess Sony products, I am wondering if my loathing should be reversed for this abomination. I suggest they scrap CONNECT, and tweak Sonicstage to allow full functionality with the A-Series, whilst allowing backward compatability with earlier ATRAC devices. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? Anyone? RANT OVER! I feel slightly better now.

Went on-line about 15 minutes ago and was prompted to install ANOTHER update for Connect - having already installed the one mentioned here. Went ahead and installed without noting the details of version etc. Guess what - the Connect program will not start now. Not at all. Not a jot!. The flash screen either does not appear, or just hangs. Tried a few reboots, and have now given up. I have had my NW-A1000 for a week now - a nice black one from my local Sony Centre. The souind is really good - IMO better than the HD3. Still think the MZ-NH1 sounds better than any HD player. As far as Connect software is concerned; Having immediately dismissed it and went straight back to Sonicstage 3.3 - (btw why do so many people have problems with Sonicstage? The layout and functions are clear, and apart from the minor problems with earlier incarnations, Sonicstage is pretty good music software) - I went back and tinkered about with Connect. Connect does have alot of bugs, and does not have as many features as Sonicstage. The bugs aside, I feel my biggest problem with Connect was the fact that it was NEW. It was not Sonicstage. I like Sonicstage. I did not need a change - I felt I did not need 'new'. Once you muck about with it you get a feel for it and it's own quirks youi start to, well, get used to it. I think it does have the potential to be good. Sony MUST quickly sort the bugs out. Once (if!) they bring in the editing functions of Sonicstage, I feel people on this site might just come round to it. I still prefer Sonicstage just now. Particularly since it is the only program I can access, as of todays date! Good points about Connect: The drag and drop - just find the file source of your oma files and drag them into the "Library" tab on the top left corner. Likewise, just drag files to the player or from the play in the same way. The docking station/charger is pretty excellent too - with a line out at the back aswell to hook up to an amp/stereo, without having to use the headphone socket at the top of the player. Anyway, the major software problems must be sorted NOW , or I will refuse to keep giving Sony the benefit of the doubt.