I want to take back my NW-A3000

[Tetsugaku-San]

After using this thing for one month to the day I really really can't stand it any longer. When I look back on it my 3 year old Creative 20Gb was much better.

I know, I know, I gave it a glowing review at first but that was only after using it for two days and when I thought Connect would be patched to usable status.

I hate to say it but I'm going to try to get Sony to take it back and, shock horror, buy an iSheep 30Gb instead.

Here's my problems with the player/software.

Player locks up ocasionally for no good reason. Coming home on the train last night I listened to Kid A by Radiohead, fell asleep before it finished and when I got off the train and tried to start it up again all of the buttons where unresponsive. Bizarely vollume still worked and after pressing buttons randomly for ten minutes it finally half started up again. This is not the first time it has happened.

The player interface is shit, example: viewing a playlist you can only see track titles, and there is no way of viewing the detail of the track without playing it - rather than pressing option and choosing something logical like 'details'

You can't make playlists on the fly.

Last transferred option, really handy I though, especially as it remembers the last 3 transfers - however - when you view the last transfers it only shows album names - not artist then album as you would expect if it followed the style of the main library.

I can't see the screen in the sun, especially not if I have my sunglasses on (It's been v sunny for December in England!)

Connect takes ATLEAST 5 minutes, normally 10 to even start. I don't have a slow PC by any means.

When connect does launch even making a playlist is laborious because the software is so slow, I have to sit with task manager on one screen and when it jumps to 100% CPU use I have to leave it for a few minutes until it chills out, I have turned the artist data background service thing off.

Transferring, or even selecting tracks for transfer takes *ages* and *ages*.

I DON'T want an iPod, I know the sound quality is inferior, but if thats the ONLY advantage of the Sony, well sod em. I love Sony gear and I want a Sony walkman, just looks like today is not that day.

Edited December 22, 2005 by Tetsugaku-San

[Guest Stuge]

Have you TRIED Toshiba`s Giga byte ?I have heared good things about it .

If you are lucky they will take it back..

As soon as i will get my HD3 back from Sony i will definately throw it (sell it ).After selling it off I will look for I-River ,Samsung,I-POD,Creative HDD players..

[Razorback]

shocking news....

but not enough for me not to buy one...

the problems you mentioned are very very detail...

of course these are your opinions and wish that it ends for your good...

[Guest Stuge]

shocking news....

but not enough for me not to buy one...

the problems you mentioned are very very detail...

of course these are your opinions and wish that it ends for your good...

←

Razorback,How is Sony service in Turkey?

It`s a very important to have very good service backup.

[Razorback]

totallyi i know nothing about the service...

[subLime]

I got my A3000 today and so far i´m absolutely stunned.

After reading all those forum posts about the Connect software i was prepared for the worst. But that´s totally not the case.

It´s fast for me; the only thing that pisses me off is the gracenote database, it tries to fill all your 'unknown' id3 tag holes and edits them - i got a lot of tracks that are 2005 but gracenote thinks they are 1999/whatever.

I haven´t experienced any lock ups until now.

Playlist on the fly - have you tried that 'bookmark' thing? i think it´s supposed to work like that

Connect doesn´t take 5-10mins to start up for me, more like 10sec

The display is awesome, so nice to watch the whole thing work, when the light fades out; when it´s in idle mode and little animations are flying over the screen

Transferring tracks is fast for me - again after all the posts i expected it to be really slow; not the case

Only thing i can say: The new walkman is so much better than you would expect by reading forum posts.

[Dinko]

I hate to say it but I'm going to try to get Sony to take it back and, shock horror, buy an iSheep 30Gb instead.

Have you TRIED Toshiba`s Giga byte ?I have heared good things about it .

Having been playing with an iPod Nano for a couple of weeks and having played with a friend's Gigabeat, I would indeed recommend the Gigabeat over the iPod. User interface on the Gigabeat isn't quite as clean as on the iPod, but it's full of customization options, sound quality is almost as good as Sony and features lots of preset equalizers (although it's built-in user-equalizer is pathetic: bass & treble only), it doesn't stop playback everytime an album ends, it has a fantastic screen, it's fast to control once you get the hang of it, you can delete tracks on the go... Heck, the only things missing are: FM Radio & Line in recording. It also doesn't attract fingerprints - the casing isn't very reflective. The screen is fairly easy to clean once you smudge it.

On the other hand, the iPod is easier to control, has lots of accessories for it, is smaller than the Gigabeat, plays video, has games & syncs with calendar.

I don't know what the prices in the UK are, but right now, Best Buy Canada is selling off the Gigabeats at ridiculously low prices and has often done so in the past two months. The 20GB Gigabeat goes for 250$, while the 4GB Nano and the 6GB A1000 go for 299$. Hell, I'm seriously tempted to return the Nano and get a Gigabeat instead. Check local stores. Toshiba looks like it might be undercutting other brands to increase Gigabeat market share.

[EZero]

When will Sony learn?

They're never going to catch Apple. Creative's new player is what the A3000 should have been.

[Dinko]

When will Sony learn?

They're never going to catch Apple. Creative's new player is what the A3000 should have been.

They'll learn some day. 2 years from now Sony will have the best music player on the market (including software). Until then, better look elsewhere.

You're right though. Creative's new player is what Sony should have come up with. Especially if they found some way to magically make it as small as the iPod yet still feature all the features of the Creative.

[Guest Stuge]

Player locks up ocasionally for no good reason. Coming home on the train last night I listened to Kid A by Radiohead, fell asleep before it finished and when I got off the train and tried to start it up again all of the buttons where unresponsive. Bizarely vollume still worked and after pressing buttons randomly for ten minutes it finally half started up again. This is not the first time it has happened.

←

May I ask you Something Tetsugaku-San,

When ever the buttons of A3000 become unresponsive You might hear sounds from the player or Hard disk (Chuck chuck ) if you put the player onto your ear.

Tell me did you get hear this type of Sound ??

Since your player has fallen 2 times on a hard surface, So i think unresponsive button is directly related to

[e9225794]

It´s fast for me; the only thing that pisses me off is the gracenote database, it tries to fill all your 'unknown' id3 tag holes and edits them - i got a lot of tracks that are 2005 but gracenote thinks they are 1999/whatever.

You can disable automatic id tag editing in the options.

I am using my NW-A1000 for 3 weeks now on a daily basis, and absolutely love it.

CONNECT is a bit of a CPU hog, but it was stable up to now, so no issues here.

[mgillespie]

Connect is absolutelty unusable for me.

On my main PC, it's a massive CPU hog, and takes about 7 minutes to start. It then consumes about 700MB of system memory.

My main desktop PC, it shows no CD drives, so I am unable to rip any music from CD, even though there are 2 CDdrives int he PC.

If I connect the NW-A3000 to my lapop, that shows a CD Drive, performance is very poor on this also. I CAN rip music on this, but having 2PC's sharing 1 NW-A3000 does not work, it simply corrupts the devices music database, all the history and favorites information needs to be rebuilt (on the desktop PC).

I am on the verge of taking it back. Great hardware, absolutely horrendous software....

Edited December 24, 2005 by mgillespie

[Guest Stuge]

Great software, absolutely horrendous software....

Mgillespie!!! I don`t understand this >

I think you are trying to say "GREAT HARDWARE,ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS SOFTWARE...

[Tetsugaku-San]

Thx for more replies guys - *if* I could get Connect working properly I wouldn't be so worried about it and I could probably cope with the players idiosyncrocies but I can't see any way of getting it faster, I mean I'm running on a brand new Athlon 64 3200 with the newest core, 1 Gb fast ram, a new fast mobo and everything so it should certainly be enough to use Connect properly.

As for the unresponsive buttons, no it's not the HD clicking, this is what eventually happened to my Creative, and you could feel it happening. Also the accelerometer in the player should stop that happening. The unresponsive buttons, I would think, is far more likely to be piss poor firmware.

I *really* want the Sony, and I'm incredibly pissed off with how bad this thing is once you've been using it for a month and the initial wow factor has worn off. I mean don't get me wrong, it looks fantastic and it sounds better than fantastic but if you can't get music on, and then can't manage the music on the player, how useless is it?

[lamewing]

They'll learn some day. 2 years from now Sony will have the best music player on the market (including software). Until then, better look elsewhere.

You're right though. Creative's new player is what Sony should have come up with. Especially if they found some way to magically make it as small as the iPod yet still feature all the features of the Creative.

←

That is what was said two years ago.!!!

[amigoguapo]

They'll learn some day. 2 years from now Sony will have the best music player on the market (including software). Until then, better look elsewhere.

You're right though. Creative's new player is what Sony should have come up with. Especially if they found some way to magically make it as small as the iPod yet still feature all the features of the Creative.

←

then doin't buy a SONY, cuz that's not wat SONY should be and never will be, that is what made SONY the BEST!!! and other companies will never be a SONY, forget that stupid IPOD garbadges!!! SONY is for ppl who can handle it!!! not for amtures!!!

[sh33p]

i think the thing that always brings me back to sony is the fact that they make hardcore no-nonsense music players for people who want simply that. i travel a lot and i appreciate not having to run for a power outlet every five hours. i would've gone for the new creative for the extra 10gb but nothing can compete with sony for pure practicality.

and connect runs fine on my p-m 2.0 laptop.

heyy just out of curiosity, who's running CONNECT on Auto-sync, and who's running it on manual sync?

I'm running it on manual and it's fine for me... I wonder if the people experiencing problems have it on AUTO and could alleviate them by trying manual?

Edited December 24, 2005 by sh33p

[Guest Stuge]

That is what was said two years ago.!!!

←

Wait for 2 more years

2+2=4 And after 4years Someone is again going to say this

So after another another 2years 2+2+2=6

They will take infinite time :

[lamewing]

then doin't buy a SONY, cuz that's not wat SONY should be and never will be, that is what made SONY the BEST!!!  and other companies will never be a SONY, forget that stupid IPOD garbadges!!! SONY is for ppl who can handle it!!! not for amtures!!!

←

This is the same elitest nonsense I hear from the Apple fanatics. It is rather humorous to see that the Apple folks aren't the only ones who think this way. I really don't think Sony is the end-all-be-all of the electronics world. LOOK around at all of the screw-ups and failures that has taken Sony from leading the pack. If Sony was so great, then why can't they compete with iPod "garbadges".

Sorry dude, but no matter how nice the hardware is, if the software and human support system isn't there, then it is just a pretty door-stop.

I think the A-series could have been a nice product, but it seems to still be in the beta stage. Wouldn't it have made better sense to have evolved the HD5 (with a nice removeable battery) versus dumping it and starting over ..... again. I think the HD5 had so much potential, if only they had fixed the problems; instead Sony just dumped it and tried to wow everyone with the "new" walkman...yet it has crappy software and the folks at Sony cannot even answer our questions about the product.

[sh33p]

perhaps sony is some how manipulating the ipod's popularity and realises there will be people dead set against buying ipods who will settle for any credible alternative.

i know i am most certaintly guilty of this charge. that and the battery life. i hate having to charge

[Bijl]

I never experienced this lockup with my A3000, Connect works fine (but slow), and I don't use playlists (and I absolutely wouldn't need to be able to sort on artist within a playlist :S) , so I love my Walkman , it's UI is much better then the iPod's, although I do miss the clickwheel.

Edited December 25, 2005 by Bijl

[Dinko]

then doin't buy a SONY, cuz that's not wat SONY should be and never will be, that is what made SONY the BEST!!!  and other companies will never be a SONY, forget that stupid IPOD garbadges!!! SONY is for ppl who can handle it!!! not for amtures!!!

Funny. I love fanaticism. And I thought *I* was a Sony nut...

As for stupid iPod garbages... it's not the best music player in the world, but so far I'm happy to report that 20 days in and my Nano still works properly. RealPlayer is doing great and iTunes is pretty fast. That's more than I can say about the poor A1000 which was a mess. I don't use any of the Nano's features other than music playback, and while it has its problems, at least I don't have to plan 3 hours ahead of time on what I want to listen to (that's of course if CONNECT actually launched properly). With the Nano, I just connect and transfer. No bugs. No hangs. Easy.

The other part of what you're saying that I have a problem with is that Sony should never be at the forefront of technology and features. If that's the case, then we'd all better stop buying Sony products right now, because two years from now the company will disappear and you can forget about product warranty then. I'm not one to claim that a company should respond to every stupidity demanded by the consumer market. But there are some basics which, whether you like it or not, are becoming standard and they have to be there for people to buy the product. Take cars. Years ago, everyone was advertising air bags as superb ad-ons. Nowadays, cars that don't have air bags won't go anywhere. What used to be a luxury is now standard fare. At least it is where I am. The car sales people now mention air bags in the same sentence as FM radio. They have to say it, but they know nobody's listening to the list of standard specs.

Finally, as for Sony being about people who can handle it, and not being for amateurs, what you're basically saying is two parted:

(1) that people need the time to learn how to use the device, and need to plan 3 hours ahead of time, what music they want to transfer to their device.

That's all nice and well in a pretty world where we do nothing else but listen to music, unfortunately, if you live that life, many of us do not. We prefer to have a device which works. Something that doesn't take 2 days to import a few hundred files, and something that doesn't take 5 minutes to start, and something that doesn't gobble up 98% of CPU performance. That appears to be the case of some of the people here who were very successful with their purchases. It is not the case of the other part. Maybe we should have a poll to see how many bought A1000s and A3000s and had no glitches, and how many had major problems with them.

(2) that Sony can't come up with something that's functional

I see absolutely no reason to sacrifice functionality just so the company can put a four-letter stamp on the player and pretend it to be "special" when in reality it is not.

The problem with your argument though, is that, other than being gratuitously insulting, it doesn't make sense. Because Sony players are for amateurs. Once you get your music on them that is. Using most Sony players is easy and intuitive. Browsing around is simple & convenient. No stupid click wheels that rub against your coat with each footstep blasting volume to Max before rubbing back the other way with the next footstep and lowering volume back down again.

Where Sony players require special skills is in the software department. Now, freaks like us can put up with Sony's software incompetense because we love the gadgets, and we're willing to take some time to make them work. The average person though, neither has the time, nor the patience, nor in many cases the skills or willingness to put up with capricious software just to get their music onto their music device. It's easier to just return it and get something easier to use. As crazy as I am about Sony devices, and as much as I love the looks of the A1000, at this point, even I was unwilling to put with more nonsense and just returned it. The burden in 2005 (soon 2006) is on the manufacturer to make his product competitive, not on the customer to put up with a company living in the past. Today, one of the key functionalities for any gadget is ease of use. Sony players are easy to use, if you can manage to get your music on them, but doing that is much harder than it sounds. And given the other options in the market found in better players from brands as diverse as Samsung, Toshiba and Gateway, any product which is hard to use across the whole spectrum, not just the hardware, will lose out in the long term.

perhaps sony is some how manipulating the ipod's popularity and realises there will be people dead set against buying ipods who will settle for any credible alternative.

And it's a great strategy. Given how gorgeous and different the new players look, I wouldn't be surprised to find a bunch of people buying them just to get something that isn't an iPod, and seeing how all the other players look like iPods with their touch pads, touch strips, scroll bars and other touch-sensitive gimmicks, the A1/3000 are the only real alternatives.

Unfortunately, for some of us with negative experience, the alternative isn't really credible. I was looking at a 4-8GB player, and avoided the iPod Mini and iPod Nano like the plague. The moment I saw FutureShop had the A1000 in stock, I rushed in to see the new A1000. I didn't intend to buy. I just wanted to see. But I fell in love. Seeing the A1000 in person was incredible. I couldn't resist. I found a bunch of excuses to get it. And I did. The rest is sadly documented on these boards. After a miserable week of wasting time with Connect, and other problems, I just got pissed, packed it all up in frustration and regret and took it back. A few days later, seeing no alternative, I returned to the store, head bent in shame, and got a Nano... contrary to what I had sworn never to do, right here on ATRAC Life. I said I would never buy an iPod. There I was, asking the FutureShop clerk for a black 4GB Nano... Pathetic, but sadly true. I feel like a traitor, and I hate myself for not liking the A1000. But it was a lame excuse for a DAP, and in the end, the Connect Walkman was not an iPod killer. For me, personally, it was a Sony killer. It was a fantastic player... critically flawed.

[NoOneHome]

The BIG advantage (IMHO) of all Sony players over almost anything else, including the iSheep, is support for Gapless albums. I have a large number of gapless/mixed albums - even my xmas stocking brought me 3 more gapless albums, including Madonna's new album & a couple of Dance albums. Not to mention sound quality is pretty much unsurpassed.

Playing these on iPod etc results in them being spoilt by the dead gaps that are inserted between the tracks.

It might be worth hanging on for a short while as the people in the know say there is a MAJOR upgrade of CP software & NW-A3000 firmware very shortly. If they get it to work like SonicStage, which looks almost identical but without the bugs and performance problems then we'll be on to a winner.

You could try using SonicStage3.3 (d/l from connect.com) for a while. I have both installed and it's not just quicker - it actually feels fast and loads in seconds whereas CP takes 1-2 mins. It can import and use your existing OMA files created by CP so no need to uninstall CP, just upgrade when the better software is released. You'll lose the odd CP specific functions (Artistlink updates etc) but you may find it's an acceptable temporary solution.

As for playlists, as above post, you can add to bookmark lists on the fly - I think holding play/pause down for a sec while a song is playing adds it to the current list, but the manual expains it.

Hope this helps.

[sean7]

I've had my NW-HD5 for a little over 2 weeks now and while the sound is great for the most part, I've already had problems. The screen has gone out for up to half a day at a time. The battery indicator seems to have a mind of it's own. It's nice to think for yourself, but some indication of battery life would also be appreciated.

I've heard some crackles and spits in the sound (once it cut out altogether for a few seconds).

Some of the buttons don't feel as responsive as others. By that I mean some of them don't seem to have the same travel as others.

I can't figure out how to play all the tracks at the same volume. One of the most important features and I can't find it in the manual.

If the tracks aren't in ATRAC format, the equalizers don't work and it won't convert my variable bit-rate mp3s anyway. Sony must be having a good laugh about this one.

I had a Creative Zen Touch 20gb player before this which also had great sound and battery life. Then I dropped it!!! I wanted to try a new player and I like the size of the NW-HD5, the sound is nice, the battery life seems good and the screen is very crisp (when it works), but I don't feel confident about it in the long run. Something about it just seems cheap. The Zen Touch felt much more robust. It was built like a tank and unfortunately dropped like one too, but it was also completely hassle free.

I'm going to try and return it, which is easier said than done in Shanghai. I took it back while the screen was out and they tried to tell me it was okay.

I don't know why I'm ranting, I guess I just need to vent. Anyway, I'm sure it's great for many, but I'm gonna knock-knock on Creative's door again. And if that door won't open, how do I play my tracks at the same volume?

[Christopher]

Let me tell you one thing, that screen problem your having is definitely not normal -- I really consider the HD5 to be one of Sony's best (sellers), but at the same time one of the worst units to ever debut in a certain sense. I also agree about the build quality -- there was a dip if you consider the HD1, HD3, HD5, NW-A3000 -- which one is the odd one out? You really should have your unit looked at, regardless. Do you have the latest firmware?

[Guest Stuge]

Tetsugaku-San,

Have you given your Unit back??If not Then Try WMA firmware.

[hawkspy]

Have to comment here...Have an iaudio X5 30Gb, ipod 60Gb for the car and now the NW-A3000. Bluster aside - here's the facts:

AudioQuality:

1) iaudio X5. Utterly superb sound. Configurable. Adjustable EQ. BBE sound enhancement means MP3s sound like CDs. By far and away the best quality. Great punchy bass...MP3s sound awesome. And LOUD! God - if you think Sony's offerings are loud - this thing will deafen you - without distortion.

2) (and a long way back) iPOD. I know that this will attract criticism but really have gradually improved the sound quality in my experience - with a good amp it sounds great - like through the car amp or in a BOSE sound dock.

3) NW-A300 (and really, disappointingly - a long way back again). Ok with good headphones. Poor shitty bass. config EQ but doesnt seem to make a lot of difference...not the one if sound quality is a premium. Tinny sound

Looks/Build quality

1) Sony - speactaular - now - but plastic shell is going to definitely cop abuse.

2) (Close) - iaudio X5 - steel case, black hardened plastic shell. Feels beautifully professionally made.

3) ipod - adequate - depends on your luck.

UI (on board):

1) Sony - superb. I bought it for the artist link, smart suffle, fave shuffle etc - small things but they add up to a lot. I think easier to use in some ways than ipod

2) ipod - very slick - despite the yawn factor - they got it right first time and it shows - the fact that everyone else has had had to change UIs for every subsequent model player just to scramble back into the game says it all.

3) iaudioX5 - the guy who designed the interface was definitely drug affected. Adequate basic functions but harder than it needs to be. (But great sound). Needs a desparate upgrade in UI.

Software:

1) itunes - it just works. Simply, beautifully.

2) iaudio X5 - none needed - just drag and drop (there is a really amusingly bad software available - but why bother)

3) Connect. Really not as bad as they say - works to synch tracks ok. Connect online not available in Australia yet...but definitely not any use for managing your music collection - look to itunes for this. And therein lies the problem - if your software is going to be so lame...well why force us to use it? Really annoying. I mean - it works - but you just sort of think - well why is it exactly that I am forced to use a particular software to transfer tracks? Not a deal breaker - its ok - just use itunes to manage your library. Also - in spite of statements on this site that no on-the-fly- MP3 to ATRAC is occuring - the length of time it takes to transfer tracks on a Dual Core Pentium 3-0 GHz with 2Gb ram - strongly and suspiciously suggests otherwise - I cant be sure but I wouldnt bet that it isnt occuring in the background. Can anyone confirm this?

So there it is - the Sony does have a great look and is a good UI....but if you are an audiofile get the X5 from iaudio - which is a cut above any player I have evr heard.

My 2c

[mercury_in_flames]

Let me tell you one thing, that screen problem your having is definitely not normal -- I really consider the HD5 to be one of Sony's best (sellers), but at the same time one of the worst units to ever debut in a certain sense. I also agree about the build quality -- there was a dip if you consider the HD1, HD3, HD5, NW-A3000 -- which one is the odd one out? You really should have your unit looked at, regardless. Do you have the latest firmware?

My black hd5 works great, thank you. Everyone loves bashing it because of the buttons flaw.

[Guest Stuge]

3) NW-A300 (and really, disappointingly - a long way back again). Ok with good headphones. Poor shitty bass. config EQ but doesnt seem to make a lot of difference...not the one if sound quality is a premium. Tinny sound

Have you tried the Volume unlocking tweak in A3000.??

HereEuropeans: Boost the Volume of the NW-A3000/1000

[lamewing]

Have to comment here...Have an iaudio X5 30Gb, ipod 60Gb for the car and now the NW-A3000. Bluster aside - here's the facts:

AudioQuality:

1) iaudio X5. Utterly superb sound. Configurable. Adjustable EQ. BBE sound enhancement means MP3s sound like CDs. By far and away the best quality. Great punchy bass...MP3s sound awesome. And LOUD! God - if you think Sony's offerings are loud - this thing will deafen you - without distortion.

2) (and a long way back) iPOD. I know that this will attract criticism but really have gradually improved the sound quality in my experience - with a good amp it sounds great - like through the car amp or in a BOSE sound dock.

3) NW-A300 (and really, disappointingly - a long way back again). Ok with good headphones. Poor shitty bass. config EQ but doesnt seem to make a lot of difference...not the one if sound quality is a premium. Tinny sound

Looks/Build quality

1) Sony - speactaular - now - but plastic shell is going to definitely cop abuse.

2) (Close) - iaudio X5 - steel case, black hardened plastic shell. Feels beautifully professionally made.

3) ipod - adequate - depends on your luck.

UI (on board):

1) Sony - superb. I bought it for the artist link, smart suffle, fave shuffle etc - small things but they add up to a lot. I think easier to use in some ways than ipod

2) ipod - very slick - despite the yawn factor - they got it right first time and it shows - the fact that everyone else has had had to change UIs for every subsequent model player just to scramble back into the game says it all.

3) iaudioX5 - the guy who designed the interface was definitely drug affected. Adequate basic functions but harder than it needs to be. (But great sound). Needs a desparate upgrade in UI.

Software:

1) itunes - it just works. Simply, beautifully.

2) iaudio X5 - none needed - just drag and drop (there is a really amusingly bad software available - but why bother)

3) Connect. Really not as bad as they say - works to synch tracks ok. Connect online not available in Australia yet...but definitely not any use for managing your music collection - look to itunes for this. And therein lies the problem - if your software is going to be so lame...well why force us to use it? Really annoying. I mean - it works - but you just sort of think - well why is it exactly that I am forced to use a particular software to transfer tracks? Not a deal breaker - its ok - just use itunes to manage your library. Also - in spite of statements on this site that no on-the-fly- MP3 to ATRAC is occuring - the length of time it takes to transfer tracks on a Dual Core Pentium 3-0 GHz with 2Gb ram - strongly and suspiciously suggests otherwise - I cant be sure but I wouldnt bet that it isnt occuring in the background. Can anyone confirm this?

So there it is - the Sony does have a great look and is a good UI....but if you are an audiofile get the X5 from iaudio - which is a cut above any player I have evr heard.

My 2c

Hey thanks for giving the Cowon unit a thumbs up!!! I have used an X5L and have been very impressed with it. The sound quality and construction are top notch. Yes, the UI is a bit of an annoyance, but it has SO MANY features compared to either Sony or Apple....and it uses a simple "stick" control; no touch pad.

My black hd5 works great, thank you. Everyone loves bashing it because of the buttons flaw.

I would have to agree that the HD5 needs to be looked at in a critical manner when you consider that Sony tried to save a few bucks only to make a control device that breaks under normal use. I would have expected better from Sony.

[hawkspy]

Have you tried the Volume unlocking tweak in A3000.??

HereEuropeans: Boost the Volume of the NW-A3000/1000

Yes - but I think this limiter is enacted only on euro units...mine was already set to "Off"...

I am comparing it to sound Q of X5 which is great

[Tetsugaku-San]

Ooooo I never replied to the controvercial topic I sterted - sorry

Anyway - no I haven't taken it back - mainly because althought legally I think I could still, the ding on the bottom of the player will make them argue about te return in the shop. Instead I'm just gonna have to write to Sony to moan - and hope they release some patches.

Did anyone get around to sending the list of problems with connect/nwa3000 to Sony? Maybe if we all sent it they would listen . . .

[nuld]

NW-A300 (and really, disappointingly - a long way back again). Ok with good headphones. Poor shitty bass. config EQ but doesnt seem to make a lot of difference...not the one if sound quality is a premium. Tinny sound

Hawkspy, I am finding it hard to take your review seriously mainly because you say the EQ doesn't seem to make a lot of difference. Well on my a3000 tweaking the EQ brings the sound even more so to life, compared to an iPlod which seems to have a muffle placed over its output. I have just bought a pair of Creative EP-630 buds and it's like having a subwoofer injected into my ears! Plenty of bass for me. Admittedly I have never heard an iAudio, but NW-A3000 along way behind an iPoo? Really? My ears tell me something very different.

[hawkspy]

Hawkspy, I am finding it hard to take your review seriously mainly because you say the EQ doesn't seem to make a lot of difference. Well on my a3000 tweaking the EQ brings the sound even more so to life, compared to an iPlod which seems to have a muffle placed over its output. I have just bought a pair of Creative EP-630 buds and it's like having a subwoofer injected into my ears! Plenty of bass for me. Admittedly I have never heard an iAudio, but NW-A3000 along way behind an iPoo? Really? My ears tell me something very different.

Never said ipod had good sound quality. But if you havent tried the iaudio you havent heard good sound quality. The a3000 sounds tinny. Check it out before you comment.

[nuld]

Never said ipod had good sound quality. But if you havent tried the iaudio you havent heard good sound quality. The a3000 sounds tinny. Check it out before you comment.

And i never said that you did say an iPlod was good, but you did say it was better than a walkman and i beg to differ. If its too 'tinny' for you, use the perfectly good Custom EQ setting. With good buds, no way tinny. More than enough bass.

[hawkspy]

And i never said that you did say an iPlod was good, but you did say it was better than a walkman and i beg to differ. If its too 'tinny' for you, use the perfectly good Custom EQ setting. With good buds, no way tinny. More than enough bass.

Am using Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones at home or SHURE E7c when out and about - I think you'll find they both represent good headphones. Tweak or no tweak - I believe the latest 5G ipod has better sound quality than the a3000....but the iaudio is by far and away the best available (in terms of sound quality).