Sony HDD players vs. others

[Tiesto]

I showed my HD5 to one of my workmates and he was amazed, so much that he wants one for himself. Unfortunately I cant find any Sony DAP to a reasonable price. So what are the alternatives? Thosiba or iPod or ... He doesnt want to wait for in coming released.

[pata2001]

There is the Zen Vision:M which has been the talk of many websites as the definite competitor for the 5G iPod. It's 30GB, color screen, photo and video capable. It's more expensive than the 30GB 5G iPod, but it includes an AC adaptor, which the iPod lacks.

iAudio X5 is also a good contender. Color screen, pure USB mass storage (simple drag-n-drop for music transfer, no software), supports OGG and FLAC.

[Guest Stuge]

THERE ARE TWO MODELS IN iAUDIO X5 &X5L(with more battery life).I think I -audio will be a good choice.

[Tetsugaku-San]

Both the X5 and the Creative have a built in FM radio as well, + a Mic, and ability to record from the radio. I believe the Creative has a better screen than either the iPod or the X5 however (defo the iPod) at 265,000 colours as opposed to 65,000.

[bangraman]

Aside from the fragmented software suite of questionable usability, the Creative Zen Vision M seems to be the player to have right now. It's got some elements of the things which makes the iPod good to use, plus some of the non-audio features that some people might want. Although it's probably worth saying that the radio signal-pulling facility of the iPod remote might be better, and that voice recording is at best 'serviceable' on the Vision M... CD quality it ain't.

There probably won't be 'driverless drag & drop' programs available for it (unless you count MTP functionality, which I don't) like Yamipod or Sharepod for the iPod, or MP3 File Manager for Sony. Nevertheless, I don't mind using Mediasource for example these days... it's better than any Sony software.

I had one of these on pre-order but I just cancelled it. I'm curious, but I decided I'm not that curious... I'm just going to stick with the iPod for now. I fancy just listening to music for a while, instead of learning my way around the inadequacies on yet another player.

The X5 is the machine to have for people who do a lot with USB-OTG and also those who can't bear the thought of using software to load music. I feel that's a retrograde step myself, but most geeks seem to disagree. Perhaps I am only a pseudo geek.

[Tiesto]

Im checking the iAudio user's guide right now, it has a lot of features which make it seem more like a Palm instead of a music player, I havent asked him whether he wants or needs all these features, all I do know is that he loves my HD5 with no video, no radio, no voice recorder, no text viewer.

So regarding to sound quality and user interface (placing the HD5 as the best ) I might assure that the order of the alternatives would be:

1st iAudio?

2dn Toshiba, iPod?

3rd ???

p.s. The price limit is US$270 what I paid for my HD5 (Vanns.com)

Edited February 2, 2006 by Tiesto

[bangraman]

Roughly speaking...

Placing the HD5 user interface as 100%:

iAudio: 100% (assuming you don't like sorting by ID3 tags, which is cited as one of the main reasons of buying an X5. If you do like sorting by ID3 tags, 50%. Interface structure is similar and speed of operation is practically identical)

iPod 5G: 150%

Toshiba F: 90%

Unequalised sound quality, placing HD5 as 100%:

iPod 5G: 105%

X5: 105%

Toshiba F: Haven't heard long enough to comment before I slammed it in a drawer in error

[Tiesto]

Unequalised sound quality, placing HD5 as 100%:

iPod 5G: 105%

X5: 105%

Toshiba F: Haven't heard long enough to comment before I slammed it in a drawer in error

huh... but didnt the HD5 win a Cnet prize for the best sound on their category? then the HD5 should be good with or without the equalizer... I wonder

Edited February 23, 2006 by Tiesto

[bangraman]

huh... but didnt the HD5 win a Cnet price for the best sound on their category? then the HD5 should be good with or without the equalizer... I wonder

I'd like to know how they conducted those tests. In my case, it was by matching the players to the same volume (not by ear but machine-assisted), hooking them up to an audio switch with some of the best phones you can buy, as well as regular listening tests. I look mainly for quality as opposed to colour, which can be changed. The yardstick of that may vary from person to person.

[Rumz]

I'd like to know how they conducted those tests. In my case, it was by matching the players to the same volume (not by ear but machine-assisted), hooking them up to an audio switch with some of the best phones you can buy, as well as regular listening tests. I look mainly for quality as opposed to colour, which can be changed. The yardstick of that may vary from person to person.

And with sound quality being as close as bangraman says, it boils down to whether / how you like to color your music (ie EQ it, etc) as well as what other features are important (type of UI, software, formats, etc.) I find that for minimal differences in sound quality like that, other factors come into play like the headphones you're using. In the end, I find that I personally simply adjust to the sound signature of a given player as long as it meets a certain minimum quality requirement.

[Tiesto]

Another victim of my red HD5. A couple of weeks ago I showed my player to a friend of mine, it didnt catch much of his attention, just the words "it's a nice mp3 player". He stopped by my house last night, he has a big smile on his face and black HD5 on his hand. He bought it in a little audio store hidden at city's downtown but it was the last one unfortunately. "what an amazing find" I said "what an amazing player" he replied. HD5 FEVER!! Now if I might get one for my workmate...

[Guest Stuge]

"what an amazing player" he replied. HD5 FEVER!!

I think Sony should have continuted the sale of HD5 in US .