Are you considering the new Sony NW-A800?

[iqbelow50]

Hey all, after eagerly awaiting Sony to bring out their next-gen walkman, my interest is already waning. Just wanted to know if any of you guys have decided to buy it or not? and if so what was the deciding factor.

For me the trump card of walkman was great build quality, sound and battery. However, it seems that their products have dropped in build quality in the last 3 years, and Cowon players seem to beat walkmans on battery and sound. Am I just grossly misinformed?

Anyhow- I think i'm going to go with the cowon d2 4gb flash (SD expandable) - no sonicstage - better battery/sound - more format support - bigger screen

[DSP]

I'm in some way considering all walkmans.

But I don't plan on buying this one.

I think sony players have great SQ. Better than Cowon players. But I'm very happy with my NW-S703 for the moment. I think this is the best Walkman so far (except for the MiniDisc walkmans). NW-A800 is just for keeping up with the masses who all want video playback. I don't follow the masses. I just care about SQ and nice features and design. I think NW-S700 series has it all.

So unless NW-A800 drops drastically in price I'm not buying one.

greetz

[ceres]

I'm in some way considering all walkmans.

But I don't plan on buying this one.

I think sony players have great SQ. Better than Cowon players. But I'm very happy with my NW-S703 for the moment. I think this is the best Walkman so far (except for the MiniDisc walkmans). NW-A800 is just for keeping up with the masses who all want video playback. I don't follow the masses. I just care about SQ and nice features and design. I think NW-S700 series has it all.

So unless NW-A800 drops drastically in price I'm not buying one.

greetz

Same here although Sony SQ dropped after HD5 but is back at industry´s best with the S7.

About cowon: I used to own an x5 but sound was a tad worse than hd5 plus too bulky. The new D2 looks interesting although not as polished as clix. nevertheless, I´d like to take a look.

A808 would need to drop to around 220 street price to be worth some thought. I heard the finish applied is matte plastic and not anodized aluminum. one more reason to shun it.

[DSP]

WTF?!

Plastic? No metal?

shame on you sony!!

I must say that SQ on S700 series is really superb! BUT, I think it's a big shame that the SNR is sooo low.

I own an Creative Zen vision:M with a 97Db SNR. I really love that. It sounds sooo clear and natural. It's sweet!!!

Sony should add this to their Walkmans too! I bet they'll sound twice as good!!

greetz

Edited March 7, 2007 by DSP

[BastiB]

So I don`t really know yet.... First I want to wait and see how it looks in real life and how it feels in the hand....

Second, I willl only buy it if there will be a video store to support that... I mean King of Queens on the way to work would be quite nice... So far I still love my A-1000

[navsimpson]

If I didn't have a player already, I would definitely consider the a800 series - probably the 2gb or 4gb model though. I figure you either get a player that does 10 or 20 albums, or one that does your entire collection. There is that tricky pricing issue though - if the 2gb is CDN$229, for only 70 bucks more, you can get a 30GB iPod Video. All that extra space (and iTunes versus Sonicstage) would be tempting. I think the sound quality of the Sony would still win out at the end of the day for me though - but maybe a Zen Vision would be a better deal. Still, I can't wait to see if the positive steps they've taken with this player also get made for a high capacity player.

Also, given that the Connect store or something like it is probably headed over to the PS3, it's certain that some sort of video store is coming.

-Nav

[sonyslave]

Well I was a bit critical of this new player in another thread, but I'm not considering it - no I've pre-ordered it from Sony! Hopefully it will be here at the begining of next month.

[Zizone_]

NW-A800 series is very tempting to buy considering it has very nice screen, DSEE, and $50+ headphones being supplied.

But, I personally enjoy small stick like DAPs with Sony's Jog Shuttle (really easy to use and again small!). In the past, NW-E400 series did not have as good sound quality as to MD players or NW-A1000/3000 series though better than nano.

NW-S600/700 series really have one of the top sound quality with this small size. Also, I don't need big screen, NW-S700series display is perfect for me; in fact, it displays jacket or album arts pretty well.

My NW-S706F has Noise Cancel function, color OEL display, and most importantly incredible sound quality, so I am staying with it until Sony releases next gen NW-S or NW-E series.

I hope Sony will continue to produce this small stick like DAPs in future.

Oh, it is my personal thought: NW-S and NW-E series have the better design than NW-A series. Usually, small gadgets looks better than bigger ones.

Edited March 8, 2007 by Zizone

[Shinji Ikeda]

The more that I see the NW-A800, the more am determined to buy it. It is more expensive that I that the iPod nano. I only wish that I could read French.

http://www.journaldugeek.com/index.php?200...ages-et-en-main

[riceb0i87]

I'm definitely considering getting the new NW-A800. I only have the NW-E405 right now, and I simply love this device (except the small capacity). Small, compact, great battery life, good quality, stuff you expect from Sony, etc...

First of all, the A800 is priced the same as the Nanos up here in Canada (MSRP of $169 for 2GB, $229 for 4GB and $299 for 8GB), and you're getting the same capacity, bigger screen, good headphones and more features. I always felt that Sony overpriced their DAPs (bought NW-E405 for $150 back in the day), but not with this player. And I actually want to listen to my mp3s as is, instead of converting to atrac3+@48kbps to fit more in 512MB

I like the video and photo playback, even though it's a little gimmicky on a tiny screen.

I've never had issues with SonicStage like everyone else, so I'm not too worried about the software. It probably affected the newer Walkmans. It's not the best program out there, but it does the job... eventually.

The A800 UI looks really good. The whole search by letters thing (if you see the preview, it's actually A-D E-H ... not like the official pictures A-M N-Z) will cut down so much time, and the now playing screen looks very nice (colour, album art!).

Everybody check out this preview (not the silva bokis one):

http://www.generationmp3.com/index.php/200...w-a800-par-gmp3

And plus, it's Flash! I don't have any HDD-based players, but you hear so many things about dropping them, lagging, etc.

However, I want to see it up close first, and possibly wait to hear what other Walkmans Sony's announcing this year before buying it.

The only things I wish they included in the A800 series is noise-canceling, and an FM Tuner. Other than that I think this is a step in the right direction for Sony.

[LG1_]

I am considering it, but why on earth did they hav to remove the REMOTE jack.

WHY SONY WHY!!!!

It was my fav part.

I think my HD5 might be the best then.

Mini USB

Removable Battery

Both things that the A800 doesnt have

[jonny mac]

The A800 looks very nice indeed. In Europe the deal-breaker would be if it's Euro-capped, the 70X series reportedly isn't but who knows about new models?

On the other hand, the prices for 70Xs are dropping now (maybe due to this announcement??) so maybe I'll pick up one of them for less...

[kerfuffle]

I am considering it, but why on earth did they hav to remove the REMOTE jack.

WHY SONY WHY!!!!

It was my fav part.

I think my HD5 might be the best then.

Mini USB

Removable Battery

Both things that the A800 doesnt have

I guess having eight gigs of music isn't sufficient enough for a remote jack to be built into the player. *shrugs*

[LG1_]

I guess having eight gigs of music isn't sufficient enough for a remote jack to be built into the player. *shrugs*

Remotes were in min disk the NW-HDX and the a1XX so why shouldnt it be in the A8XX

[DSP]

personally I think sony is going a step back with this player.

I always loved Sony DAPs for their exclusiveness.

They were never like the rest. They always had something special.

Like metal casings, shiny finish, unvisible screens, VPT, lightener sized players with an overload of style..

I could go on for a ling while.

NW-A800 is just folowing the masses. Video support, Photo support, LCD colour screen.

It's still special in a way, it's design, it's GUI, it's functions... but it's plastic like the mass (at leat what I've heard here ).

So it's still a sony, but a bit moren ''standard''.

So far NW-S700 is my favourite Network Walkman from sony!

greetz

[mdsjack]

Well, keep in mind I still don't have an mp3 player, waiting for the "perfect one" since I first saw NW-HD3, which looked superb to me, but I didn't buy because not available in black.

since then I've been looking for a pure mp3 player, the direct successor of a cd player, but couldn't find one which satisfied me.

I'm still waiting. I must admit all those new brands like the mentioned Cowon did a great job in the last years, but I still prefer known brands like sony, samsung, etc. Don't like the Ipod.

Right now I think the time has come. I'd like to try the a800 myself, first. I might also consider a samsung or something similar, 8gb flash, but I still would like a sony.

Don't know...

[ceres]

The A800 looks very nice indeed. In Europe the deal-breaker would be if it's Euro-capped, the 70X series reportedly isn't but who knows about new models?

On the other hand, the prices for 70Xs are dropping now (maybe due to this announcement??) so maybe I'll pick up one of them for less...

who told you it isnt capped? I reckon it is although it still gets plenty loud, at least with efficient phones.

[Guest Stuge]

the 70X series reportedly isn't but who knows about new models?

Hey ,Every New Sony walkman released in Europe is volume capped .

and Regarding to the topic :

I will be buying A8xx series walkman as soon as it is released in my country .

[ceres]

Well, keep in mind I still don't have an mp3 player, waiting for the "perfect one" since I first saw NW-HD3, which looked superb to me, but I didn't buy because not available in black.

since then I've been looking for a pure mp3 player, the direct successor of a cd player, but couldn't find one which satisfied me.

I'm still waiting. I must admit all those new brands like the mentioned Cowon did a great job in the last years, but I still prefer known brands like sony, samsung, etc. Don't like the Ipod.

Right now I think the time has come. I'd like to try the a800 myself, first. I might also consider a samsung or something similar, 8gb flash, but I still would like a sony.

Don't know...

I´d suggest you go try them all in a store of your choice. Bring the phones you usually use and crank it up.

[Shinji Ikeda]

I was happy to hear that the NW-A800 series is being released in my region on March 21th. I will take a serious look at the unit then. I have considered the iPod-mini a couple of times when looking at DAP, but have never liked how it works. The iPod with the click wheel works wonderfully when cuing a track.

After see this link

http://www.journaldugeek.com/index.php?200...ages-et-en-main

I have also looked at the link provided by riceb0i87 about NW-A800 and MP4. I hope it works as well as the S706F.

I did notice a program called image converter for video files.

When I have this until in my hand, I will not commit myself to buying it.

[Zizone_]

I think the volume is capped because of the European law. So unless Europe changes its law, I don't think Sony can do anyting about it.

[kerfuffle]

Remotes were in min disk the NW-HDX and the a1XX so why shouldnt it be in the A8XX

I've never heard of the A1xx, but the NW-HD series has a minimum twenty gigs memory capacity, which is more than twice the size of the NW-A800. I guess that's the reason (in my previous post) why the NW-A800 doesn't have a remote.

[aob9]

NO........., I have the NW-703 and NW-HD3 which are superb. I love Sony DAPs but portable video just doesn't cut it with me. The whole techno world is banging on about High Definition television and small, portable (difficult to see) video at the same time.I just don't get get it....and please no comments about needing glasses.

[Ascariss]

uhm who said the unit is plastic? I've not seen any places that said it is plastic and from what I can tell, the body of the player is the same as what the A1000 is made from, ie the rear and sides are identical materials and since the front is same as rear, then I venture to guess its all metal.

as for remotes, this is person dependent and majority of users don't use remotes.

Only reason I used the remote for my minidisc is because the LCD on the unit was not backlit and impossible to read at night, so that is why the remote was provided. the A1xxx series had a remote jack for a simple remote and even though older remotes worked with them, not all were were fully functional.

I am sure sony has a reason for no remote, it probably did not sell well on the A1xxx series, I never saw one at the local sony store, and even asked, they said only the site carried it.

I'll probably will be replacing my A1000 with this since I want a high capacity flash player and the price is identical to the nano here, which I will never consider since i've used one before and listened to it and it was average. seeing as the headphones that come with this are great, the value for money here is no brainer.

not sure which colour though, either blue, black or white, need to see them in person.

[markey]

Personally I think the reason why the nw-8xx series doesn't have a remote jack is because it's not as bulky as the old hard disc models which you would tuck away in a jacket pocket or bag. Being roughly the size of a nano I would find no need for a remote.

I agree with Ascariss concerning the material used on the NW-8xx. It looks exactly the same as the A1000/A3000, but I don't think it's metal either. It looks like some sort of coated plastic.

I would take a guess thet the European NW-7xx series is not capped. Reason being I have compared my NW-S706F to both my HD5 and A1200, both have had the cap removed. The NW_S706F is louder. Not just using the supplied MDR-NC022 earphones, but also using Sennheiser PX100's, MDR-EX71SL's and the supplied phones that came with the A1200.

[metal]

not sure which colour though, either blue, black or white, need to see them in person.

According to Sony Japan, the 8gb model only comes in violet and black.

So you practically left with two choices.

[Zizone_]

According to Sony Japan, the 8gb model only comes in violet and black.

So you practically left with two choices.

As for Japan, there is silver in addition to violet and black for 8GB models.

I was actually hoping to have same cover as NW-A1000/3000 on the front, but I guess people didn't like that(?)

Edited March 9, 2007 by Zizone

[Ascariss]

According to Sony Japan, the 8gb model only comes in violet and black.

So you practically left with two choices.

I don't live in Japan.

Jet Black, Pearl Pink and Snow White are the colour options in Canada for 8 gig model, so either white or black.

we can always ask silva bokis about the materials of the player.

[metal]

Oops, my bad, I have the (wrong) impression the color options in Japan are all we've got from overseas.

I believe the Silver colour is limited edition and only available in Sony style Japan.

[pata2001]

I would take a guess thet the European NW-7xx series is not capped.

Volume cap in Europe is a LAW. I don't think Sony is going to break the law.

[ssasha]

In fact it's a very expensive broken cellphone.

Sony foget bout evrything but money: 8 gb flash - around 100$ retail, qvga screen - kidding?!

But i forget one thing - ones how can listen music from cellphone don't mind bout such things like quality..

Seems like all wondering how it can be cool to have all music in one hand - cd album - 100 Kb Woaaw.

Mine all mine

[DSP]

Wheter this unit is metal or plastic, i think it misses that special edge.

It looks kinda cheap. I liked NW-A1xxx glossy surface, and NW-HDx metal casings.

But the back of my NW-A1200 looks and feels kinda plastic. So NW-A80x looks just too cheap for me. The real sony look is fading away imho.

NW-S70x combines the two best designs of sony in the last years: Glossy black surface with unvisible screen and true metal body with chrome look.

So allthough NW-A80x looks like the best DAP in its class to me, I'll never be considering it.

But sony could really get a piece of the ipod with this if they get their marketing right.

'cause it's not the best sony has to offer imho, but its surely the best the market has to offer at the time.

greetz

[markey]

Volume cap in Europe is a LAW. I don't think Sony is going to break the law.

It probably is capped but to me it sounds louder and better than my uncapped HD5 and A1200.

[Ascariss]

DSP, the glossy finish is all bells and whistles on the older A series, sure it looks great and is more or less scratch poor, unless you use a knife, but it had too many flaws.

improper fitting to the body

dust under the cover

did actually scratch although it was bearable

sqeaked

useless to look at outdoors or in any sunny conditions

cell phones are good for music if you don't care about quality, but I do. I tend to buy my music in cd and 320 format off websites and like to transfer it to my mp3 on that quality, I've yet to listen to a cell phone, even sony ones that come close to the A series for sound quality.

Sasha no album is 100kb, unless you are referring to a photo of the album cover.

people just bash and don't give a product a chance, unless you have held it in your hand and listend to it, you have no right to say it's a bad product. no matter what reasoning you use.

[Zizone_]

Though in NW-A1000/3000 series with the glossy had some problems, I would still prefer for my DAPs with the glossy surface at least for small DAPs like NW-S or NW-E serieses. The glossy surface for NW-S600/700 series is better than the NW-A series in my opinion.

As for the NW-S700 series, The surface fits properly (no squeaking and etc.) and twice brighter color OLED (compared to NW-A1000/3000) is visible under sun light but the quality is reduced. But if Sony can make screen brighter in next gen NW-S or NW-E series, then I do not think having this glossy surface would be a problem.

I prefer this sort of glossy surface with some rounded shape on my NW-S series (it is not that rounded; good balance between flat and round). I think this rounded shape is to change light refraction so the screen is more visible than if the surface were flat under the sun light.

Anyway, I agree with Ascariss on that we can't judge a product without using it. It seems like so many people (including the site writer and people who comment) bash product (i.e. engadget.com which I don't visit anymore due to this very reason). Also, so many people just convert currency and claims as if the converted currency is the price in U.S. Some claims that NW-A800 series would be $400 and start bashing (I hope we all know that simply converting currency really means nothing)... Yet, having no knowledge of global market they call themselves the leader in gadget news...

Actually, I don't know where I am going with this one

Oh, and I also buy CD only like Ascariss to convert them into ATRAC Advanced Lossless and for booklets with some extras.

Edited March 9, 2007 by Zizone

[Guest Stuge]

In Japan the NW-8xx series prices is lot cheaper .

Prices as follows :

NW-A808-32,800 yen

NW-A806-26,800 yen

NW-A805-:20,801 YEN

[ssasha]

- Sasha no album is 100kb, unless you are referring to a photo of the album cover.

- ha!!

- this mean that all dream about compress ewrything to zero

compress music, compress pictures, compress memory, compress air and water... its so dumb

we just luse

- I have a3000 (atrac lossless tra ta ta...) and compared to cd walkman 985 it sound like cheep motorola cell

and compared to vinil or tape - its just fun. Its not about music or sound, Its all about fastfood for ears. I love my ears and prefer hear outer world sounds then cheep compressed shit.

Its just my opinion to sony's politics in portable audio

[Ascariss]

- Sasha no album is 100kb, unless you are referring to a photo of the album cover.

- ha!!

- this mean that all dream about compress ewrything to zero

compress music, compress pictures, compress memory, compress air and water... its so dumb

we just luse

- I have a3000 (atrac lossless tra ta ta...) and compared to cd walkman 985 it sound like cheep motorola cell

and compared to vinil or tape - its just fun. Its not about music or sound, Its all about fastfood for ears. I love my ears and prefer hear outer world sounds then cheep compressed shit.

Its just my opinion to sony's politics in portable audio

you need a reality check, vinyl only sounds better when listening through a turntable. a 320 mp3 copy of vinyl compared to 320 cd-sourced mp3 does not sound better. How do i know? I know a lot of house music djs and they have told me that a digital copy of a vinyl rip comes no where near the cd sourced 320 mp3, as well the beats per minute on vinyl sourced mp3 is not constant and quite difficult to mix with.

320 mp3 is comparable to wav, most people can't tell the difference in blind tests. I don't use atrac, its pointless when I buy all my music in mp3 anways. compression will always exist, sony does not support wavs on their a series unless you convert to atrac lossless but i've compared atrac lossless on my mp3 player to 320 mp3 and there is NO difference.

[thefanboy]

Zizone,

I dont visit engadget or gizmodo any more.

the way they report gadgets makes me feel none of those ppl have any common sense.....

when sony introduced s7, some fool at gizmodo writes..."sony says this will cut 25% noise, I feel 25% noise can be cut by just putting the earphones on...."

what do you feel after reading such ignorant writer.....? and there were enough comments on this......i felt like among pack of stray dogs.....!! (product page clearly said it will cut 75% noise....)

actually legal action against these ppl are possible for analyzing a product with incorrect information. and sony wont do that as they are already having a bad pr management. Those engadget/gizmodo idiots are having fun teasing sony because there is no website to represent sony's fanatic fan base....it is again sony's mistake they did not support any community for long time.

Sometimes I feel sony shd go thru that, just check how many problems still ppl report on sonicstage.If somebody cant load music on to their music player with this software......then wtf ? you cant have easy ride on ppl's hard earned money.....!!

[sdfzz_]

I found JPN reviews of a800

http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/lifestyle/artic...09/news091.html

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070309/np001.htm

they said

-response time is way faster than old A series (a1000/3000)

-sound quality is better than S series

-cannot play movies made for PSP, but u can encode them to play on A800

-movies made for Ipod can be played on A800

-the screen is good, but viewable angle is limited

-searching speed and menu are better than Ipod

Looks pretty good to me

[Zizone_]

Actually in some songs, which I am very familiar with like 陵辱の雨, I can tell difference between 320kbps and lossless (the background effect with is very subtle is missing).

Whether people listen to compressed audio or not depends on people. In fact, there are people who has no knowledge regarding to compressed audio.