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Hi all, A battery problem with my A805 prompted me to consider more memory for my 'mobile audio' needs. I will be submitting my A805 for repair but I went ahead and ordered an NWZ-A818 from my local Sony Centre . Well, I got a phonecall as I was leaving work yesterday and I collected it on the way home. Okay, I eventually got it out of the packaging after much struggling. I mean this was wedged into the box and I couldn't unpack it without tearing the packaging a little. Comments; 1/ Does not receive album art from WMP 11. Every other device in my house ( kids Creative Zen etc) successfully receives album art from WMP, no problem. On the 818 only the album icon is represented by album art, the individual tracks are not. This cannot be a tagging problem as other devices don't have this issue. Anyhow, when I look at 'MY MUSIC' within VISTA with Windows Explorer each track is listed by it's cover art icon. I tried using ''drag and drop''; same issue. 2/ I Installed Media Manager 1.1 for Walkman to see if this would help.....NO, in fact it will only import 7.1 GB of my 15 GB MP3 collection. WMP, REALPLAYER and QUICKTIME all correctly import my entire MP3 collection so I have no idea what this is all about. 3/ My A805 came complete with 'Image Converter 3.0'. This excellent software allows me to literally 'cram a sofa down the toilet'. No matter what I throw at it gets converted and transferred to my A805, automatically. This software doesn't even see my NWZ-A818......so your on your with video with this device. 4/ This may only be a minor issue but the 'Home Page ( icons menu)' on the A818 is not as graphically sleek as on the A808. Does album art really matter? ........Probably not in the grand scheme of things. Do I really need it? Probably not either. Will I try and fix it..............I don't have the appetite to be honest...........but why be so difficult Sony? As for the video issues.I have other conversion software that works just fine, but again why did Sony take this away? Bottom line.....The older NW-A80* series is a much better device by a long shot........ I really can't make up my mind about keeping the NWZ-A818. I have always liked Sony SQ and I don't NEED to fix the album art issue. After all,the player will spend most of it's time in a leather case. More importantly, despite these issues this is the way SONY is going and we may have to go with it IMHO. I still can't see a better device out there ( and I have looked). Cheers. Anthony

I don't think they are available juli. Both Sony Centres in my neck of the woods only have the NWZ series. All of the online stores I checked are the same!!!!

Well,Well........a thumbs down from OLD SKOOL D. I had a hunch that this unit wasn't up to our very high standards on Atraclife. I lost interest in it when I realised that my brand new Sony cradle was too small for it. I would need to upgrade to the new cradle. That coupled with the fact that it just doesn't look as good as the previous models.

Thanks for the encouragement, I'll probably give it to them and hold my breath. They have a nerve looking for money though, obviously this doesn't affect our statutory rights or they wouldn't get away with it. I'll keep you posted as to the outcome.

Don't you just love it......LIVE REVIEW by a SONYPHILE...........Be sure to let us know when you're going for a cup of tea, we might think we have lost you.

Yes, I spoke to them this morning, they want €45 to look at the walkman. If they decide it isn't a warranty issue or that it was mistreated I will lose my money. I didn't mistreat the unit, it is in spotless condition, the battery just gave up suddenly. I am concerned about potentially losing my money though!

No, nowhere near that. But, I always recharged the device before it ran down, I'm not sure if that affects Lithium ion battery life!!!

For those that are interested. After only four phonecalls I managed to get direction with this issue. I have to take the unit,receipt of purchase and €45 to a repair centre in the South of Ireland. They will send the unit to Hungary where another service centre will check it out. If they find the issue is my own fault they will keep the €45 and wave me goodbye. If there is a genuine fault with the unit they will repair it and send it back to me.....and I get my €45 back. I also checked out a replacement unit ( NWZ as opposed to NWA). That would cost me €99 in my local Sony Centre. Hum!!!!

Hi Oldskool, Be Honest, apart from SQ (which we expected to be good), what do you think about the overall 'feel' of the player compared to the NWA-80* series? It is obviously a bigger unit......is it too big by comparison? Does it feel as well built as the earlier unit.? Do you LOVE it? Sad git ( me, not you) Anthony

Hi to all you 'wise' ATRACLIFE members, I have a new and urgent problem. My beloved A805 is 16 days from the end of the 12month warranty period and the battery has suddenly gone from 20+ hours to less than 3hrs. It also discharges when not in use. In short, it's knackered. I have my receipt BUT................I bought it online from advancedmp3players.com. They tell me that because it is a battery issue I have to contact Sony directly. This wouldn't be so complicated if I didn't live in Ireland (Rep.). Does anyone have any experience of dealing with Sony from across national boundaries? I will contact SONY Ireland tomorrow but I can just hear the person on the other side of the phone saying " Well, if you bought it from a UK website you will have to contact Sony UK or deal direct with the website. ". AND, when I contact the UK, I can hear " Well, if you live in Ireland, Sony Ireland should help you................I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Any Advice???????

My parents have a SONY TV and SONY STEREO for about 15 years. I have 3 Sony Digital Walkmans, one of which is still under warranty, all are facing being outdated any minute now depending on how quickly I run into trouble with SS....................................now there's progress.

The NWZ series may be cheap, but I own and use a HD1,an S703 and an A805. They all rely on SS. I'll just have to wait and see what happens. Us SS users will probably get some time before we run into some irreversible problems. Lucky, I always ripped my music in MP3, converting to Atrac when ever it was required........... as if I knew it wouldn't last.

This is a very good point. What hapeens if we have to do a system restore and SS requires 'authentication' over the internet. I am a heavy PC user and do system restores fairly often. Does this mean that I will need to install SS every time.

I have the Seinnheisser CX 300's-I love them. Watch out for fakes on ebay. I also have Sony MDR-V300 for listening at home, I like the sound from these also, but they are DJ style 'phones. As a treat to myself ( like I need one) , I have a pair of Bang and Olufsen A8's on the way, extravagent I know but what the hell. I can't comment on these as I don't have them yet but I believe that they are far from 'value for money'!!!!!!!!

Agree with Juli, Sony players and headphones are noted for their emphasis on bass. A lot of Walkman fans appreciate this over other manufacturers that will remain unmentioned ( particularly the fruit type). I also find the equalizer settings a bit unrealistic and (just) occassionally notch up the Clear Bass a little bit. Unlike Juli, I don't use the Dynamic Normaliser as I find it can cause minor distortion in some tracks.

It would be nice to complete this process by removing the icon (link to the store) from the SonicStage software. There is little point in having it there any more. However, I expect Sony will abandon SS support in Europe now. I wonder what will happen if there is an issue with a Microsoft update in the future.........get out the wallet, I guess.

Thanks for the review Zizone. Even though I am tempted by the bigger screen and slight sound improvements I think I will hold off for now. What has really changed my mind is the need to reinvest in a new cradle. I have already forked out for 2 BCR-NU3 cradles for my A805 and S703 ( one at work,the other at home) I was hoping that the A820 would be compatible.

Interesting points, which have halted me in my tracks for my search for audiophile headphones (for my NW-A805). It seems there is little point in spending large amounts of money on headphones if the playback device cannot drive them. It's amazing to learn that such an excellent device can show limitations in this area. So, where to now????Bang and Olufsen Beosound 6 for approx.€700

I nearly panicked yesterday when I played the new album from NINE INCH NAILS ( free download from their site) on my NW-A805. The first track is a a basically a piano tune. I was horrified at the distortion through my Seinnheiser CX 300 headphones, especially when a particular note on the piano came through. It turns out that the Dynamic Normaliser was switched on and this was the major cause of the distortion.Switching DN off reduced the noise by about 80% but there is still a 'little rattle' at particular points during the tune. I have tried using my SONY MDR-V300's also and they detect the same slight distortion but no way near what it would be with DN switched on. Has anybody experienced anything similar and have I found a 'flaw' in the NW-A80* soundstage? BTW the bitrate is 320Kb in MP3 format and no such 'distortion' is generated through my Pioneer sound system using the same headphones.

Actually, the ipod touch isn't a bad looking device. I personally would prefer buttons over touch screen technology. I just find it more practical. As for practicality, how many people are getting used to talking on an ipod. I have never seen such a frenzy over a silly little device. A phone should look like a phone, not a DAP or a PDA.

Rotating the headphone jack often causes noise. It's usually caused by an 'incomplete' fit between the plug and jack, or dirt, dust etc.. I woulnd't worry about it unless it's affecting normal use. I would also suggest the issue is more to do with the jack on your Walkman than with the plug on the headphones.

Interesting you should mention 'missing some Bass'. I was able to locate a few reviews on the 'net and one of the most common complaints was exactly that. That's NOT good for me as I love heavy bass. That's one of the reasons I like Sony devices; right. I imagine these 'phones may be designed with Classical ( not rock and Metal ) music in mind.

Hi all, Does anbody have any opinion or experience of these 'High End' headphones. I saw them in the flesh at my local B+O centre yesterday. I didn't have my A805 with me to try them out. €150.....they must be good, either that or they are just ridiculously priced. http://www.bang-olufsen.com/page.asp?id=46&bhcp=1 BTW their latest MP3 player, BEOSOUND 6, is only €575.....a steal.

YES,YES,YES, I feel like a child, I can't wait for a Sony large capacity Walkman. It's been years. " WE HAVE LIFT-OFF".

Thanks for the info old school. I presume what applies the UK also applies to Ireland. I'll also stick with my 805. I am a bit impressed by being able to record direct from TV, but it has to 16GB or nothing.