NWZ-S639FB possible purchase

[Krash]

I live here in the US and am looking at purchasing this flash player. As I explored the forums I would like to possibly confirm some things before I go ahead. First is the volume limit. There seems to be no solid answer if this can be turned off once in test mode. I would be purchasing it from the UK, which I have heard that it comes off or on depending on the case. I'm hoping to hear that I can change this if necessary... I have also read that France is the real concern so I don't plan on purchasing it from there. Am I safe getting it from the UK?

Also I had the HD5 which was stolen (the reason for this replacement) and loved it because of the Line Out function for vehicles and home stereos. I'm under the impression this unit will not have that? If so how is the sound quality when put through a system? The line out was nice because it was made for higher output....

Anyway thanks for the time hopefully I can hear some good news...

[cautious]

Just got my NWZ-S639F this afternoon. It looks awesome, so tiny, thin and light. The photos online don't do it justice. Such a great price for 16gb @ £87.99 from amazon. Price fixed until xmas I believe.

I've only had a little play around with it but there are no limits on the volume I'm using at about level 15 out of 30 on a pair of CX300 headphones and its pretty loud. It also has a AVLS setting but this is off by default.

There is no line-out mode which kinda sucks, but it does go super loud so shouldn't be much of a problem. I'll wire it up to my hifi and report back.

Coming straight from a HD5 as well the sound is quite different, the clarity and detail are incredible, its quite scary as it makes it feel too bright in places, doesn't have that soft more natural sound as the HD5 does. I've heard these reports with the A800 series as well. Could be a pairing of the earphones, I've yet to try the EX series it comes with, and also will have a play with the EQ. Perhaps I'm just not used to it yet? One of the first thing I noticed is that you don't get that slight background hiss between tracks, its completely silent.

Couple of other things so far:

-Transfer rate on copying to the device seems much slower than the HD5 (I used to use ML sony)

-It doesn't seem to like long filenames on tracks using drag and drop. Doesn't seem to offer to truncate them, just refuses to transfer them and tells you.

-No standalone charger - as with pretty much every MP3 Player out there nowadays. Took about 2:30 hours to charge out the box.

-No sexy slip/soft carry case like we got with the HD5H - looks like they only do the silicon and plastic shell types which are all too over-kill for me.

Overall though I'm pleased so far, its a nice little device. I'd welcome other owners views.

[Krash]

Hey thanks for the above reply! Yeah I am excited about the unit. I purchased it new from a seller/store on ebay for 69.99 pounds (sorry not sure how to do the symbol thing), shipped to the US! That is about $114 US.I could not believe it as they go for a lot more usually.

About the standalone charger I know it is a USB port and only charges via computer, but I have heard rumors that the charger for the nwa-3000 (and similar series) works to charge it from a wall jack (plug the USB into the transformer....). I guess I'll have to see when it gets here..

Anyway, thanks for the update keep posted if you learn anything else about the unit!

[cautious]

Wow you certainly got a bargain there!!

Yeah the nwa-3000 type charger should work, as well as any USB main's charger you can pick up nowadays. I just need a mains charger for travelling really, so will have to pick one up.

Well I've spent a bit more time with the device, adjusted the EQ and got it sounding perfect with my CX300's, just lowering some of the levels slightly to get rid of some of that brightness I was experiencing. It sounds amazing, I really didn't expect such a jump from the HD5. Playing back some PCM wav files I'm hearing backing vocals on songs I didn't even hear before! Its brought new life to my music, which is such a great feeling, sounds silly but I want to listen to everything I've ever owned again, just to hear the quality I've missed. I've got a feeling I might run out of space soon if I do that though.

Hooked it up to my Rotel amp and it also sounds just as amazing, ramping it up on the volume to max on the unit doesn't seem to effect the quality in any way.

The sensMe features seem to work quite well, but initially takes an hour or so to index the library.

Used the FM Radio on the way to work this morning, which is a strong selling feature for me. Its also very good, crystal clear reception and good stereo balancing. Much better quality than the one on my Nokia N95 which I've been using everyday for about a year.

The UI is very different from the HD5, so it takes a little getting used to but its all very responsive and lightening fast. 10 or so themes on the device but most of them are quite crap in my opinion. Screen is a nice size and very bright. I'm not going to be using it for video so don't really care for those features but there are quite a few videos already on the device which look great on playback.

Well hope you enjoy the device as much as I am when you receive it. Any other questions let me know.

[Krash]

Hey thanks for the reply glad about the positives of this unit. The UI should be alright to get used to. i had the A3000 for a while until I broke the volume slider. I have a remote to change that so it will work for the time being. One other question the A3000 is notoriously slow for searching I'm guessing this flash based unit is much quicker?

[cautious]

No problems on the feedback.

The UI is very fast on music, no lag on any searching or scrolling or anything, as you said as its flash based so its all instant. The thumbnails on photos and videos take a few seconds to generate. One thing I noticed is that you can delete photos and video's on the unit but not music which is a little strange, guessing its down to the way it indexes the library or something. Would be a nice feature for individual tracks, but not a big drawback for me.

[Krash]

One other thing I've heard since the player does not have a dedicated Line Out option from the menu, I hear there is a dock which would would for home and such, but I will take my music in my truck a lot. I've heard that there is a bluetooth line out option that you can plug in to the unit? If this is true where can these be gotten? I will do all necessary to figure out a line out option for portability.

Edited December 4, 2008 by Krash

[cautious]

Yeah according to the leaflet of accessories you get in the box they do a bluetooth adaptor and various docks, not sure if this would do a dedicated line out or just do the same output as the headphones out though.