Can the VAIO Pocket VGF-AP1L handle ATRAC3Plus 352kbps?

[Jerex]

Hi Guys,

Haven't posted here in ages! A belated Happy New Year to all! Hope you all had a great holiday season.

I recently was delighted to find a 'new in box' VAIO Pocket VGF-AP1L on ebay and managed to get it at a great price, just over US$160. I've admired the VAIO for a long time and it is great I've finally managed to get one.

I recently managed to start playing around with it, installed the firmware upgrade etc. and transferred some music over using SonicStage CP 4.2 and so far it has been excellent. But I have noticed something when playing back ATRAC3Plus files at the 352k bitrate. Basically the files play fine and sound great, but if I access and use the menu/GUI - scroll through the listings (tracks, albums, options etc.) it affects the sound of the playback with short intermittent pauses, kind of like a disc skipping. As soon as I stop accessing the menu, playback returns to normal and there are no problems.

I initially was worried there might be something wrong with my unit... but it seems like this only happens with 352kbps files, there are no problems at all with ATRAC3Plus 256kbps files, playback is clean and unaffected by menu access and usage (I haven't tried other ATRAC bitrates or MP3s yet).

Keeping in mind that when it was introduced, ATRAC3Plus 256kbps was the highest quality available, and they only enable 352kbps quite a while later, is this a minor design limitation on the VAIO Pocket for a bitrate that they thought they would never release to the public? Or...is there something wrong with my unit.

Hope it's the former... I'm happy with 256kbps generally. 352kbps sounds amazing, and is still perfectly usable on the VAIO, just a minor annoyance when I need to access the menu!

Look forward to hearing from you guys. Many thanks in advance.

[Heman]

Don't worry! The stuttering behaviour of Atrac+352 happens on my VGF-AP1 too. It seems the Win XP is running with a PIII CPU. Yes, the Vaio runs well with no disturbance. I stay at 256 because the file size makes Vaio happy - little swapping, and sound is good enough.

[Jerex]

Hi Heman,

Thanks for the reply! Good to know it's normal, although I would have liked to use 352kbps on a few albums... But 256kbps is great most of the time.

Any other views on this and the VAIO Pocket in general? Would love to hear more opinions on users' experiences with the VAIO Pocket and tips on getting the best out of it etc.

What codec/bitrates and headphones/earphones do you guys use?

I'm thinking of buying the PDair leather flip case for my VGF-AP1L, anyone have any experience with this case? Is it any good? Is it a good idea to also get a screen protector?

And finally, keeping in mind that the battery of the VAIO Pocket is constantly discharging even when off, is it a good idea to keep it plugged into the cradle when not it use? Or should I cycle the battery; i.e. wait until it's quite low before charging it and then taking it off charge when it's done.

Many thanks for your help guys!

[RoGeR-atrac]

Hi Jerex,

Been using the VGF-AP1L for over a year now and still love its versatility. (Not to mention its sheer size and weight!! ) I've stopped using the remote because it was quite fidgety and tend to plug in my Sennheiser HD457s directly into it. I charge my unit everynight before hitting the sack and it still gives me very good battery life... survived 2 days on standby... with the occasional listen. IIRC, its better to repeatedly top up the charge rather than letting it drain and cycle.

I tend to stick with LP2 132kbps as I share music files with my NetMD units, although some albums were encoded into 256kbps which is great... but 'bulky'. Coming from a minidisc fan background, I have more than enough albums with me now... and still have about 50% space left. I tend not to overload it ... as the scrolling then becomes sluggish.. and the occasional stop in music between tracks happens.. even in LP2.

Anyway, do enjoy your unit. I'm still loving mine! And yes, I did get the leather case too as it helps prevent the metal body from superficial scratching!

[Heman]

Try Earphone JVC FX77 (Victor FX77 in Japan) next time (has deep bass, and mid/treble soundstage is not recessed with VGF-AP1, but not with NW-A3000)

[Jerex]

Hi guys,

Many thanks to you both for your friendly and informative replies! I'm loving my VAIO Pocket, but haven't got round to buying the PDAir leather case yet, so it's current relegated to home/desktop listening duty haha. Still using my RH1 for when I go out, but I look forward to rotating between the two units once I get the case.

So far I've mostly been using my Grado SR-80s to listen to the VAIO and it's quite a nice combination I think. The sound quality is great, very detailed, clear, but most of all, very musical and enjoyable. I haven't done a proper comparison between the VAIO and RH1, but I get the feeling the VAIO has a slightly warmer, fuller sound, while the RH1 is a bit more analytical. Both are excellent, just not sure if one is better.

I've been wondering how the sound quality between ATRAC3Plus and MP3 compare on the VAIO Pocket. Again I haven't had a chance to test this, although MP3s sound very decent on it, I'm primarily an ATRAC (Hi-SP) man.

I have to say the newest network walkmans look great, and seem to have awesome features and sound quality. But for me it seems the VAIO Pocket is still arguably the best high capacity player Sony has made (I love the colour screen, album art features, versatility, unique controls and style and the solid build quality!). I would love for Sony to make a new high capacity player in the near future though. Preferably with extra features such as Wi-Fi and web browsing hehe. But I'm very happy and not looking to change players for the time being.