NW-HD1 vs. NW-HD3 vs. NW-HD5 vs. NW-A3000

[Aalaap]

Hey..

A cousin just recently got me an NW-HD1 and I'm pretty happy with what it is. No, actually I love it more than any other MP3... sorry... digital audio player I've used before!

The thing is .. I can't seem to find any difference between the NW-HD1, NW-HD3, NW-HD5 and the more recent NW-A300. All are 20GB, all do ATRAC3plus, and other than the NW-HD1 (without the upgrade), they also do MP3. But what else is different? Other than the form factor, of course.

Personally, I love the NW-HD1 the most because the placement of the control buttons are just much more convenient to use by the right hand thumb. The NW-HD3's centered button arrangement doesn't seem as comfortable. ANd I pretty much hate the square buttons on the HD5 in either portrait or landscape mode. The NW-A300 does look pretty svelte, though...

I looked around the web for a comparison chart but I couldn't find anything useful. Perhaps someone could help me out with that?

Thanks..

- Aalaap

[Guest Stuge]

First of All Congrat`s on buying HD1 .

If you ask me There are lot of differences between HD1,HD3 ,HD5,A3000

1.)HD3 has Digital Audio preset ,LCD Monochrome Screen ,Plays Mp3 files as well

2.)HD5 also has the the same features as HD3 has :

Some Additional features of HD5 are :

i).Orientation of Screen can be Done (Either Left or Right )

ii).Initial Search Is also AVAILABLE (wHICH I FOUND VERY USEFUL)

iii).Removable battery

3.)A3000.(This series is altogether diffferent from HD series )

Wma files can be played after a firmware upgrade.

ii.)OELD Screen(returned)

iii) New Features added are Intelligent shuffle ,Artist Link etc

iv.)Bigger in Size .

v.)Removable battery .

*If You upgrade your HD1 via firmware then you will get all the features of HD3 .

*Firmware upgrade will cost about $19

[Aalaap]

Okay so basically I'm not missing out on anything really important. Intelligent shuffle would be nice, but other than that there's nothing I really crave for in the HD1.

Because SS or VMT transcodes MP3 to ATRAC3plus on the fly, I don't need MP3 or WMA support on the player. I prefer the horizontal / landscape orientation. I prefer OLED. I like the smallest-in-class size.

The HD1 rocks! {love smiley}

- Aalaap

[Guest Stuge]

Hi,

Aalaap,

Hi to Mumbai

It is not recommended to convert your mp3`s to Atrac because during conversion sound quality of the file is lost (Little bit ).Also you can easily exchange mp3`s(Using GYM see software section) .But at the same time i`m not sure whether Sony India will upgrade your HD1 through firmware .

[Aalaap]

I had asked my cousin to get it upgraded before she got it down here for me, but she found out that they stopped upgrading the firmware since September or so.

I doubt Sony India even knows any such device as an NW-HD1 or NW-HD3. They only know the NW-HD5 that's selling here right now.

About the sound quality, well, I am very fussy about how my music sounds, but I have had absolutely no problems with ATRAC3plus at 64kbps. I tried 48kbps as well, but that was noticeably low in quality. 64 works just fine for me. It depends on the kind of music you listen to - since i mostly listen to house, trance, psytrance etc., it just seems to work fine for me.

Anyway sound is a subjective thing, and as long as one person likes it, it works for him. I like ATRAC3plus at 64kbps, so I'm gonna stick to it

I remember using a Sharp MD-MT20S a long time ago. MDs also use ATRAC compression right? Since the MD-MT20S didn't do USB or anything, I would play stuff in Winamp and record to the MDs via line in and it would sound sooo good with those excellent headphones!

Thanks again for the help!

- Aalaap

[Guest Stuge]

I doubt Sony India even knows any such device as an NW-HD1 or NW-HD3. They only know the NW-HD5 that's selling here right now.

I said that because Sony India Never launched HD1(So they might not be able to suppoet it ) but they do know about HD3 & HD5(Because they launched both of these models in India ).

Also I will suggest you to Contact Sony on this number "1600 11 11 88"(Toll Free) & Ask them whether they can upgrade your HD1 or Contact via E-Mail

[Aalaap]

Interesting!

I'll check it out.

By the way, off late I've been having some problems with the HD1 that seem to be associated with the HDD. I've filled up only around 1.5GB yet, but some 10% of the tracks either play blank, or stop playing after a few seconds. Some of the tracks even cause SonicStage 3.3 to hang upon selecting them. Bad sectors maybe? It's only been a month since I got it!

Thanks for the info...

- Aalaap

[MDX-400]

First of All Congrat`s on buying HD1 .

If you ask me There are lot of differences between HD1,HD3 ,HD5,A3000

1.)HD3 has Digital Audio preset ,LCD Monochrome Screen ,Plays Mp3 files as well

Functionally, it actually seems there are few differences between some models, particularly the HDx series...

I've asked myself this same question (differences between the HD1/3/5) and I couldn't see much difference either; except, IMO, the HD3 looks the best.

When you say the HD3 has Digital Audio Preset I'm assuming this means the same 8 step Bass/Treble from MD units with the feature? Also I thought that was only applicable to MP3 files, while ATRAC3/3plus files got the multi-band EQ, correct? Does that mean the HD1 has no sound adjustments at all for MP3s (since it lacks Digital Audio Preset)?

Also the HD1 has an OEL screen as well?

Seems there should be no difference in playback of MP3 files sound quality wise with the HD1, the HD3 and the HD5 because they ALL use the exact same Sony CXR704060-201GA System Controller / D/A Converter IC in them. The HD1 has that nice stand/dock thing too... Does the HD3 have any other differences over the HD1? Is the user interface any different? Is the battery life any better?

[Guest Stuge]

Does that mean the HD1 has no sound adjustments at all for MP3s (since it lacks Digital Audio Preset)?

Originally HD1 doesn`t play mp3 files .It only play Atrac Files .So the question of Eq working with Mp3 doesn`t comes into play .But we can play mp3s if we upgrade the firmware of HD1 .Than it has same functions as HD3 has Like Digital Audio Preset ,Plays mp3 etc

Also the HD1 has an OEL screen as well?

Yes

Is the battery life any better?

Battery life of HD1 is same as HD3 ,30 HOURS IF Atrac3 plus@48kpbs is played .

YES ,I Agree with you Looks wise hd3 is the best if you campare all the models of HD series .HD5 looks like gameboy but screen hd5 is much brighter than HD3 & It has a user removable battery ,Initial search etc .