Some questions about NW-E003F

[johnnybebad]

Hi,

I bought my sister a NW-E003F for Christmas, but after reading some reviews here, I am thinking about returning it. Hopefully you people will be able to clear some things up:

1) Does the player play actual MP3s? Or does Sonic Stage change everything over to Atrac before it gets to the player?

2) Is the volume exteremely quiet? I am in Canada, but I have read some Europeans claiming their volume is very quiet. Is this the same in Canada?

3) Can the player also be used as a thumb drive? For example, if I wanted to copy some files from our PC to my laptop, could I do so without installing Sonic Stage on my own computer?

4) Is there any way to charge the player, besides USB? What if she goes on a long trip away from the computer, will she be "doomed" to no music for the rest of her trip after 20+ hours?

5) Can you navigate through the song titles while a song is playing, or do you have to skip through each song, like a CD player?

6) How complicated is Sonic Stage? Reviews make it seem to be the program from Hell... My sister is fairly computer illiterate, and I don't want to give her a gift that she'll get frustrated with. Is there ANY way to just drag and drop files onto the player?

Hopefully someone here will have some answers...

Thanks!

[SkylineGTRspecII]

hey. i can help u alot. Your sister will be very happy to recieve this gift. its one of the best audio players out there. its good that u chose this one. okay to answer your questions.

1. This player can play actual mp3s. You get to choose if u want to convert to alot of varieties of formats. mp3 is the default format. if you need help on leaving the music file to mp3, just ask me when u need it. it should be mp3 by default, thats how mine was, but the convert is so much better. the quality is better because of ATRAC3plus Compression TEchnology withouth losing quality. it's compression file is way better than ipod's sound quality which is amazing. iono how sony does it.

2. No, the volume is normal like usual. the Eurpoean has passed a law that limits the volume on all European audio devices. so you dont have to worry about that. Canada and USA is perfectly normal volume.no limiter.

3. OMG! WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THIS? OF COARSE THE DEVICE IS A THUMB DRIVE. the old sony model could act as a thumb drive too. just save it anywhere in My Computer under the NW audio device. of coarse. so dont worry, im positive.

4. Yes there is a way to charge it. You can buy a charger that is i think called the "usb charger." its mostly used for ipods when it just came out, make sure u get the USB charger not the IPOD dock only charger. the usb charger will work with 90 % of mp3 players in the world. u use the usb that came with the walkman and stick it in the wall adapter. it has a usb slot on it. it cost 30 bucks, i saw it yesterday at an electronic store. u can buy it on ebay for very cheap. make sure its like over 10 bucks, so ur sure its not fake. id buy it at a store, for saftey.

5. OMG! Of coarse you can. you have to understand that Sony is one of hte best brand out there. they're better than ipods in my opinion. in sound quality, durability, nice designs and cool ones too. and more flexible functions. so yeah, of coarse you can look at other songs while listening to a certain song.

6. okay, i ono y ppl are getting mad about sonic stage. sonic stage is not for dumb people, like itunes is. sonic stage is more advance is professionalized. right now, i love sonic stage alot more than itunes. the updated version is very very quick. when ur sister opens the box, dont use the installation cd. thats an outdated one. ill give you the website to download the new and updated version which is easier and faster. Okay now for the drag and drop, listen to me first. You can not drag and drop. Dragging and dropping is a bad thing, thats y sonic stage and Itunes don't do it in the first place. Dragging and dropping is for cheap mp3 players. a music manager such as sonic stage and Itunes do not use this because its better, more organized, and u get to do alot more with the songs and name of the songs and lots more!

Now that i answered your questions, you can see that this is the perfect gift. but there is a catch. here they are. These problems can be corrected though, takes some time, but its worth it for this player.

1. It will not show the band name.

Solution: when your using sonic stage. put the band name for the title so it shows up on the player(am i smart or what, lol). example : Martina Mcbride - The Gift instead of just The Gift for title.

2. MP3 format will only hold about 250 songs.

Solution: i dont understand why u would want to leave it in mp3 format when the ATRAC3plus compression sounds even better, sony is good at doing things, and it can hold 695 songs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats so incredible. but its ur opinion, if u want to lveave it to mp3 format and be like the classics, go ahead, dont know why u would when u can use the compression technology which sounds better and more songs.

3. Last problem, if your sister is a jogger. she mite have a very very almost impossible hard time of reading the display in direct sunlight. this absolutely DOES NOT BOTHER ME AT ALL! because i am not a jogger and how often/rarely am i directly in the sunlight for who i am, lol.

Solution : Use your hand to make a shade over the player. it's that easy.

and thats all the problems i can think of. 3 simple problems which can be corrected very easily. once again, sonic stage will be very very easily and hassle fustration free if you ask me for help. after that ull master and and love sonic stage.

okay i have the site. make sure when u open the package, do not use the installation cd. download the new and updated sonic stage at:

http://musicstore.connect.com/custom/promo...?checkBos=false

i hope your sister likes it. This is better than the ipod, u will see. the ipod had only one advantage over this Walkman, and that is its Scroll Wheel. This ABSOLUTELY DOESNT BOTHER A PERSON LIKE ME, because i always have my walkman on shuffle. I dont like going in order, cuz ull hear the same song over and over when u start the player up again. what can i say? i love Everything about Sony! they're just amazing. oh and one more thing before i go, i recomment u buying her the Sony MDR-EX51 model and up headphones. She will be satisfied, i garantee. this is one of the best headphones out there. they start at 40 dollars at best buy, circuit city, and alot other places. once u have this, its then the best mp3 player ever.

OMG! I TOTALLY FORGOT TO TELL YOU. YOUR COMPUTER MUST HAVE SERVICE PACK 2. WITHOUT THAT, YOU CAN NOT USE THIS PLAYER. TO CHECK FOR THIS, right click on "My Computer" and click "Properties." Under the general tab, you should see somewhere that says under System: Service Pack 2. If you see that, your good to go.

[johnnybebad]

Thanks a lot for the help! I guess I will stick with it after all.

One more question though... We have Windows 98 on the PC... It says on the package that it supports Windows 98 SE, which we have... So, why do you say we need Service Pack Two?

I was curious about converting from MP3 to Atrac just because it only makes sense that the quality will worsen going from one lossy format to another lossy format. If she rips CDs, I will tell her to use ATRAC, but it doesn't make sense to have to convert MP3s to Atrac. Likewise, the quality definitely cannot get better when it is already bad (yes, I think MP3s sound bad for the most part.)

But again, thanks a lot!

[SkylineGTRspecII]

i know it sounds weird, but the Atrac3plus sounds better than mp3 format on the ipod. everyone's been talking about it on this website and and alot more other websites. but i dont understand, u need service pack 2 though, becauase i use to not have it and it could not use soinc stage, and i saw that someone had the same problem. i knew it wasnt only me. so i had to get a readl geniune windows cd key, and it was service pack 2 and it worked. windows 98 will can have service pack 2. all u need to do is check and c if u have it. Do what i told u to do earlier to check it by right clicking "My Computer" and tell me if u have service pack 2.

[pata2001]

4) Is there any way to charge the player, besides USB? What if she goes on a long trip away from the computer, will she be "doomed" to no music for the rest of her trip after 20+ hours?

5) Can you navigate through the song titles while a song is playing, or do you have to skip through each song, like a CD player?

6) How complicated is Sonic Stage? Reviews make it seem to be the program from Hell... My sister is fairly computer illiterate, and I don't want to give her a gift that she'll get frustrated with. Is there ANY way to just drag and drop files onto the player?

Hopefully someone here will have some answers...

Thanks!

4. Sony also sells a USB AC adaptor. I think Sony's is cheaper ($20) than Apple's USB AC adaptor. You still need a regular USB cable though.

5. Yes, but since the display is only 1 line, browsing is not really easy. Plus, the display can only display one info at a time (title, artist, album, no combination due to the 1 line limitation). The default display doesn't even display artist tag, only track title, and album when you press the folder button. Speaking of CD players, Sony AtracCD PCDPs, 2nd gen onwards, can browse music on MP3/AtracCD (even AudioCD) without skipping every songs.

6. Sonicstage has improved, but if your sister is computer illiterate, anything can go wrong. There is NO way to just drag-n-drop files to the player. If she doesn't want to use any software, forget Sony and buy DAPs from Sandisk/Cowon. If she wants an easy software, get her an iPod + iTunes.

they're better than ipods in my opinion. in sound quality, durability, nice designs and cool ones too. and more flexible functions

SQ? The E00x series is a budget line. Their headphone output is noisier (probably because Sony use cheaper amp/components) than, let's say, devices that use an HD-amp like the RH1. Use a low impedance earphone, set the volume to 0 on an E00x, you hear nothing (which is good). Increase the volume to 1, and you'll hear a background noise right away. Doesn't mean it's bad, but previous Sony Network Walkmen (eg. my NW-E3, E99) have cleaner headphone out. More flexible functions? My iPod is unicode, can display kanji without having to edit registry, gapless with regular MP3 without the need to use a propietary codec, and have tons of accessories to choose from. Sony USA cannot even make Sonicstage unicode after all this years. Oh, read my sig.

[SkylineGTRspecII]

4. Sony also sells a USB AC adaptor. I think Sony's is cheaper ($20) than Apple's USB AC adaptor. You still need a regular USB cable though.

5. Yes, but since the display is only 1 line, browsing is not really easy. Plus, the display can only display one info at a time (title, artist, album, no combination due to the 1 line limitation). The default display doesn't even display artist tag, only track title, and album when you press the folder button. Speaking of CD players, Sony AtracCD PCDPs, 2nd gen onwards, can browse music on MP3/AtracCD (even AudioCD) without skipping every songs.

6. Sonicstage has improved, but if your sister is computer illiterate, anything can go wrong. There is NO way to just drag-n-drop files to the player. If she doesn't want to use any software, forget Sony and buy DAPs from Sandisk/Cowon. If she wants an easy software, get her an iPod + iTunes.

SQ? The E00x series is a budget line. Their headphone output is noisier (probably because Sony use cheaper amp/components) than, let's say, devices that use an HD-amp like the RH1. Use a low impedance earphone, set the volume to 0 on an E00x, you hear nothing (which is good). Increase the volume to 1, and you'll hear a background noise right away. Doesn't mean it's bad, but previous Sony Network Walkmen (eg. my NW-E3, E99) have cleaner headphone out. More flexible functions? My iPod is unicode, can display kanji without having to edit registry, gapless with regular MP3 without the need to use a propietary codec, and have tons of accessories to choose from. Sony USA cannot even make Sonicstage unicode after all this years. Oh, read my sig.

what the hec is DAP? everyone keeps saying that.

[AntiPod]

1. It will not show the band name.

Solution: when your using sonic stage. put the band name for the title so it shows up on the player(am i smart or what, lol). example : Martina Mcbride - The Gift instead of just The Gift for title.

2. MP3 format will only hold about 250 songs.

Solution: i dont understand why u would want to leave it in mp3 format when the ATRAC3plus compression sounds even better, sony is good at doing things, and it can hold 695 songs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats so incredible. but its ur opinion, if u want to lveave it to mp3 format and be like the classics, go ahead, dont know why u would when u can use the compression technology which sounds better and more songs.

3. Last problem, if your sister is a jogger. she mite have a very very almost impossible hard time of reading the display in direct sunlight. this absolutely DOES NOT BOTHER ME AT ALL! because i am not a jogger and how often/rarely am i directly in the sunlight for who i am, lol.

Solution : Use your hand to make a shade over the player. it's that easy.

and thats all the problems i can think of. 3 simple problems which can be corrected very easily. once again, sonic stage will be very very easily and hassle fustration free if you ask me for help. after that ull master and and love sonic stage.

okay i have the site. make sure when u open the package, do not use the installation cd. download the new

hey SkylineGTRspecII, i have a NW-E005F, but problem 3 does not bother me at all. I did have some trouble reading the display of my old E405(black), but no trouble for 005(violet) so they might improved it somehow.

and to johnnybebad, enjoy ur mp3 player ;D

SkylineGTRspecII: im not sure about wut DAP stands for but i guess "digital audio player" would make sense

Edited December 11, 2006 by AntiPod

[SkylineGTRspecII]

hey SkylineGTRspecII, i have a NW-E005F, but problem 3 does not bother me at all. I did have some trouble reading the display of my old E405(black), but no trouble for 005(violet) so they might improved it somehow.

and to johnnybebad, enjoy ur mp3 player ;D

SkylineGTRspecII: im not sure about wut DAP stands for but i guess "digital audio player" would make sense

oh crap i forgot, yeah it shouldn't bother u at all. when i wrote that problem i was thinking about the NW-E507 which i have. every other problem and information is correct except for that one. i totally forgot, thanks for the notice. i still don't understand how u read it, becuz nw-e507 is almost he same material and design as NW-eoox.

SkylineGTRspecII: im not sure about wut DAP stands for but i guess "digital audio player" would make sense

hahahahhaa lol! good one! does make sense but im really curious still for what it really stands for.

4. Sony also sells a USB AC adaptor. I think Sony's is cheaper ($20) than Apple's USB AC adaptor. You still need a regular USB cable though.

5. Yes, but since the display is only 1 line, browsing is not really easy. Plus, the display can only display one info at a time (title, artist, album, no combination due to the 1 line limitation). The default display doesn't even display artist tag, only track title, and album when you press the folder button. Speaking of CD players, Sony AtracCD PCDPs, 2nd gen onwards, can browse music on MP3/AtracCD (even AudioCD) without skipping every songs.

6. Sonicstage has improved, but if your sister is computer illiterate, anything can go wrong. There is NO way to just drag-n-drop files to the player. If she doesn't want to use any software, forget Sony and buy DAPs from Sandisk/Cowon. If she wants an easy software, get her an iPod + iTunes.

SQ? The E00x series is a budget line. Their headphone output is noisier (probably because Sony use cheaper amp/components) than, let's say, devices that use an HD-amp like the RH1. Use a low impedance earphone, set the volume to 0 on an E00x, you hear nothing (which is good). Increase the volume to 1, and you'll hear a background noise right away. Doesn't mean it's bad, but previous Sony Network Walkmen (eg. my NW-E3, E99) have cleaner headphone out. More flexible functions? My iPod is unicode, can display kanji without having to edit registry, gapless with regular MP3 without the need to use a propietary codec, and have tons of accessories to choose from. Sony USA cannot even make Sonicstage unicode after all this years. Oh, read my sig.

um okay, u mentioned accessories which is not a function. functions as in u can control the bass and tremble, that means its more flexible than ipod because ipod is preset. there are some more better functions also.

Edited December 11, 2006 by SkylineGTRspecII

[SkylineGTRspecII]

oh and AniIpod, just to let u know, im also anitIpod for many reasons like u. i hate it so much., i hate apple computers and ipod with a passion. they're so freakin gay. 2 simple reasons to show u y, but there are lots more, heres 2.

1. everyone in the world knows the sould quality sux, i have 4 brothers with ipods, they say it all sux compare to sony devices, i mean all sony devices!

2. In my opinion, sonicstage rips the crap out of itunes in speed with its updated version.

3. just had to add another one. Sony devices such as the NW-e50x and nw-e00x and nw-axxx and nw-a60x looks so much freakin better than ipods.

4. heres another one because ipods are so gay! SONY DEVICES ARE HAVE MORE FLEXIBLE FUNCTIONS! U DO MORE!

5. LAST ONE PROMISE, BUT OBVIOUS NOT THE LAST ONE. THE HEAD PHOENS OF IPODS ARE FREAKIN RETARDED. LOOKS LIKE CRAP AND SOUNDS LIKE SHI*. EVERYONE AT SCHOOL HAS THEM, EVERYTIME I SEE THEM I JUST WANT TO TAKE A SISSOR AND CUT THEIR WIRES BECAUSE ITS SO GAY.

6. LAST ONE FINAL PROMISE. WE ALL KNOW THAT APPLE OVERPRICE THEIR IPODS. WE ALL KNOW A FREAKIN 200 DOLLAR IS ACTUALLY WORTH AROUND 100 BUCKS. I HATE HOW APPLE RIPS EVERYONE OFF AND TRICK THEM INTO BUYING A PIECE OF CRAP WORTH 50% LESS.

SO THERE U HAVE IT, just like that. F*** you ipods! gosh i hate them. i just want to buy one and throw it in the pond.lol. we all know sony looks better and act better.

by the way, do u still use ur nw-e407? wandering wat color cover u have on it.

[AntiPod]

oh and AniIpod, just to let u know, im also anitIpod for many reasons like u. i hate it so much., i hate apple computers and ipod with a passion. they're so freakin gay. 2 simple reasons to show u y, but there are lots more, heres 2.

1. everyone in the world knows the sould quality sux, i have 4 brothers with ipods, they say it all sux compare to sony devices, i mean all sony devices!

2. In my opinion, sonicstage rips the crap out of itunes in speed with its updated version.

3. just had to add another one. Sony devices such as the NW-e50x and nw-e00x and nw-axxx and nw-a60x looks so much freakin better than ipods.

4. heres another one because ipods are so gay! SONY DEVICES ARE HAVE MORE FLEXIBLE FUNCTIONS! U DO MORE!

5. LAST ONE PROMISE, BUT OBVIOUS NOT THE LAST ONE. THE HEAD PHOENS OF IPODS ARE FREAKIN RETARDED. LOOKS LIKE CRAP AND SOUNDS LIKE SHI*. EVERYONE AT SCHOOL HAS THEM, EVERYTIME I SEE THEM I JUST WANT TO TAKE A SISSOR AND CUT THEIR WIRES BECAUSE ITS SO GAY.

6. LAST ONE FINAL PROMISE. WE ALL KNOW THAT APPLE OVERPRICE THEIR IPODS. WE ALL KNOW A FREAKIN 200 DOLLAR IS ACTUALLY WORTH AROUND 100 BUCKS. I HATE HOW APPLE RIPS EVERYONE OFF AND TRICK THEM INTO BUYING A PIECE OF CRAP WORTH 50% LESS.

SO THERE U HAVE IT, just like that. F*** you ipods! gosh i hate them. i just want to buy one and throw it in the pond.lol. we all know sony looks better and act better.

by the way, do u still use ur nw-e407? wandering wat color cover u have on it.

lol ya i dont really like ipods but i have to admit that it appeals to the crowds more than sony does...donno why sony cant beat apple, probably the price and sonicstage

i never used itunes before so i cant make comparison between those 2

oh i have my old trusty 405, (gonna sell it soon >_<) the cover is black

i thought u wanted blue so i guess it's not gonna be appealing to u

[SkylineGTRspecII]

yeah i wanted blue. so close doe. anyways, the reason why apple is more popular and crowds buy it is because it is a popular white people brand. Over in the US, everyone buys the. the majority of the race is white. other people are so stupid, they just tag along and buy ipods and get ripped off about a 100 bucks without knowing it. Sony is actually better. and about itunes, itunes is easier, but sonicstage is more flexible with fuctions. u do more, so in other words, itunes is for dumb peoople, making it ez. on the other hand, sonicstage is a more advanced and professionalized program. even a middle school kid can use it. my brother has itunes, its ok to him. but i hate ipods alot. so yeah, u live in the Americas, majority will be ipods. those who live on the eastern hemisphere have sony. sony is more popular in the World, apple is just popular in the US. sony rarely ever overprice their items, just as the ps3 is underpriced. so they are not making any profits. but apple is making a huge profit off of stupid people, can't believe they get away with it.

[egl88]

Hi Folks, I just bought a Sony NW-E003F, and I'm not sure if it is working correctly. When I plug it into a USB port on a Dell laptop (running XP Pro), the display lights up briefly, with "access", then goes dark. I've left it plugged in for over an hour, and the display never comes back on. It is not recognized by the Dell at all. Also, when I unplug it, it does not turn on at all, indicating, I think, that it was never charged in the first place. I've loaded the sony software successfully, bit it does not recognize the player when it it plugged in. Am I doing something wrong, or is this a faulty player? Is there an "ON" button? How can you tell if it is charged?

Thanks for any advice you can provide to this newbie.

[pata2001]

Sony is more popular? Let's see: http://kakaku.com/ranking/itemview/mp3.htm Kakaku popularity rank. On the top 10, 6 of them are iPods, while 2 of them are Sony. As for sonicstage, it cannot even display chinese/Japanese/Korean without registry edits and applocale, and cannot display all languages at the same time, while iTunes is unicode. Let alone smart playlist with live-updating.

Hi Folks, I just bought a Sony NW-E003F, and I'm not sure if it is working correctly. When I plug it into a USB port on a Dell laptop (running XP Pro), the display lights up briefly, with "access", then goes dark. I've left it plugged in for over an hour, and the display never comes back on. It is not recognized by the Dell at all. Also, when I unplug it, it does not turn on at all, indicating, I think, that it was never charged in the first place. I've loaded the sony software successfully, bit it does not recognize the player when it it plugged in. Am I doing something wrong, or is this a faulty player? Is there an "ON" button? How can you tell if it is charged?

Thanks for any advice you can provide to this newbie.

Try plugging the unit while your laptop is connected to its AC adaptor. Some laptop USB ports are not full powered (to save battery life). There is no "on" button on the E003, but you can press and hold the folder button, and you get access to the menu. Try this: Go to the menu, choose setting (the toolbox icon), then Advanced Menu, USB power, select 100mA. This would allow the E003 to charge from a lower powered USB port, but it will take longer. Best bet is to just invest $20 to buy Sony's USB AC adaptor so you can charge the unit faster.

[egl88]

Pata2001,

Thanks for your suggestions Pata2001. It still doesn't charge even when the laptop is plugged into its AC adapter. I can't change the USB power setting on the E003F because it never turns on when I hold the folder button (probably because it's not charged?) when it's not connected to the laptop. Catch22: can't charge it on a PC without changing the USB setting, but can't change the USB power setting unless the E003F is charged.

It's a shame, I really wanted to like this little music player.

Egl88

[pata2001]

Thanks for your suggestions Pata2001. It still doesn't charge even when the laptop is plugged into its AC adapter. I can't change the USB power setting on the E003F because it never turns on when I hold the folder button (probably because it's not charged?) when it's not connected to the laptop. Catch22: can't charge it on a PC without changing the USB setting, but can't change the USB power setting unless the E003F is charged.

It's a shame, I really wanted to like this little music player.

Do you have a desktop PC? Try plugging the unit to your desktop USB port. If not, then you better invest $20 for Sony's USB AC adaptor, a cheap investment (even cheaper than Apple's iPod AC adaptor).

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/20INTERSHO...AC%2fDCAdapters

[egl88]

Thanks Pata2001, that's going to be my next try. I'm going to plug it into my Dell Desktop PC at work.

[mintylula]

ehh...dw

Edited December 17, 2006 by mintylula

[egl88]

Tried NW-E003F on the USB ports on my Dell desktop and still wouldn't turn on, so I returned it for an exchange at Staples (only $49 after rebates). Turns out it was a bad unit, as the new one works fine on laptop or desktop. Now have about 180 songs on it, and it's working great. Nice little unit overall. This will be my "grab and go" mp3 player when I don't want to lug my iPod mini around.

Thanks again for suggestions.