Amazon.com: Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman 20 GB Digital Music Player (Black): MP3 Players & Accessories

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104 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sony HD-5...My new HD player, June 22, 2005

HD5 Owner (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman 20 GB Digital Music Player (Silver) (Electronics)

For the past year I have been searching for a new hard drive player. My 2nd generation IPOD has served my well for the past 2 years, but at this point the battery life has dwindled down to about 3 hours per charge.

Let's face it, these days when you're shopping for a HD player, you first look at an iPod then you look at the rest. I was going to purchase an iPod Mini until I saw this player.

These are my observations, or review since I'm writing this on Amazon. I'm trying to list the facts but you shouldn't take my word for it. What's right for me might not be right for you. Do some research on electronic specific websites like CNET, I rather you take an expert's opinion over mine.

- The Sony HD5 is about the size of a Mini, it's wider but shorter. For a 20 GB player it has a clear size advantage to everything else on the market today.

- As an ex-iPod owner, I have a lot of MP3s. The HD5 can play them with no problem. I also realized that with iTunes I have been ripping my CDs into Apple's ACC format (iTunes default format), these unfortunately were not recognized by my HD5. I started re-ripping my CDs again with Soundstage (see next) into Sony's Atrac3 format. At 132kps Atrac3 the music quality is superior to 196kps MP3. Atrac3 is also a gapless playback for the electronic music lovers out there.

- Sonic Stage is very slow when tagging large music files. However, you don't have to sync your player with Sonicstage like you had to with iPod and iTunes. All you have to do is to click on the songs your want and move them into or out of the player. You can sync too, if you want.

- The clickwheel on iPods is amazing. Far more superior of a technology than what the HD5 has. Lucky for me, I don't listen to 4000 songs by 1000 different artists. So my library is compact enough for me to find songs easily.

- Removable battery and 30-40 hrs playing time depending on your music format. The better the format, the more juice it uses.

- The HD5 sounds better than the iPod when playing MP3s because it has a 6 band equalizer and digital sound settings. Atrac3 at 132kps to me is no different to a CD.

In the end, I love my new HD5 for it's size and it's capacity for it's size. I love the battery life and the security that in 2 years I can get another to replace it myself. I hope the software will improve but it doesn't really bother me that much.

5 stars for my new toy.

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50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Good, the Bad, and the UGLY, January 11, 2006

Snuggly "The Magical Nya Nya of Power" (The Isle of Lack a Knookie) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman 20 GB Digital Music Player (Red) (Electronics)

So, I'm now on my fifth MP3 player. I've had the following:

1. Archos 20 Gig-Awful, simply AWFUL. Sound was substandard. The manual was rife w/ errors and inconsistencies and the device was prone to 'freezing up'. Took 3 days to figure out how to use it as it was my first MP3 and as already stated, the manual was filled w/ errors. Promptly ditched ASAP.

2. Rio Karma 20 Gig-Sound was adequate, was intuitive to use, software was user-friendly, great little reliable gadget. Still works, only passed it on because I thought I'd 'upgrade' to...

3.iRiver H340 40 gig-Sound was slightly better, far bigger capacity, durable, reliable, had lots of bells and whistles such as picture and text file options, HOWEVER, the firmware that was supposed to upgrade never did(US version), as newer devices came along from iRiver. Met an untimely demise due to a collision w/ a wall that ended its too brief 'life'. That is not to say this device is not durable, this collison was at fairly high speed, and would have damaged just about any device.

4. Creative Zen Touch 20 Gig-Superb sound quality, ridiculous and quite frankly ugly 'blue light' thingy that was totally wasteful of battery(could be switched off however) AND the touch controls could become irksome to someone until used to them. Unfortunately, not a terribly reliable device, prone to freezing, 'died' shortly after purchase. Replaced by...

5. Sony NW-HD5

The Good: Exceptional sound, 40 hours of battery life, replacable battery. Thus far totally reliable, and consistent.

The Bad and Ugly: SonicStage Software which is exceptionally easy to use, at least the later versions 3.1 or 3.3(I've heard earlier versions are far less so), and endlessly entertaining if you've got nothing but hours of time to burn cds(it takes upwards of 30 minutes to burn one cd, regardless of the speed the CD drive). Here's the big, BIG problem, as other reviewers have pointed out, and I cannot state this enough...Once the software is installed and you convert files and load songs from your pc to your NW-HD5, Sony essentially takes hostage your virtual music collection.

You can NOT use another pc to add songs to the player. AT ALL. Apparently, in an effort to curb piracy Sony has added some features to their software making it impossible to use any other computer then the first you connect your device to transfer files. The problem w/ this, as others have pointed out is that if you lose your present computer, upgrade, etc. You can't use the new pc to add files UNLESS you delete everything that is currently on the device and reload the files. Now if something happens to the pc you originally used and you failed to back up all your music files, and you have a substantial collection, (you CANNOT use the device to re-load files on to your pc btw), and as already mentioned, you cannot use another pc to load files onto the device your only choice will be to re-burn ALL your collection, delete the files on your device and replace them w/ the 'new' files from your pc. At least, that is what Sony wants you to believe...NOT TRUE.

There is a way around SonicStage. I'm no computer geek but having faith in computer geeks the world over, who love just such a challenge, I was able to locate on the web the 'holy grail' of software for Sony owners such as myself who don't want to whittle away the rest of their lives mucking about w/ re-burning cd's, etc. (God bless computer geeks/audiophiles) DID I MENTION ITS DRAG AND DROP SOFTWARE??? I was able to add my entire collection on to my new player w/out any 'scary' warnings or 'restrictions' or interference' from Sony, even added songs I had on my old pc and songs from my newer pc w/out any issue. Ironically w/ a software they provide on their website. Take that corporate weenies!

Simply search google for SonicStage Alternatives and you too will find the answer(HINT: on the Sony site it doesn't list the NW-HD5 as compatible device, HOWEVER, the software works JUST FINE). Takes seconds to download and its easy to use. Just keep in mind that the files can only be added if they are in ALTRAC or MP3 format. You can continue to use whatever software you want to burn and catalog your cds.

Sorry Sony, but you've got no business taking people's pc's hostage, or monitoring individuals activity w/ your intrustive softwares. Not all of us pirate music, and I'll be damned if the music I'VE already paid for will be controlled by a third party. Get over it, or get out of the MP3 player business. Had I been aware of Sony's 'actions' I'd never have purchased the device, and if I had had the option of returning it for another device I would have. While I'm satisfied w/ the overall product, I'm disgusted by what Sony has done and will NEVER purchase anything from them until this type of nonsense changes.

Sorry for the xtra long review. Hope it helps.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best-kept secret of the portable music world, October 6, 2005

Wil Guzon (Cali) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman 20 GB Digital Music Player (Black) (Electronics)

This piece of hardware is incredible. I've owned an ipod 4g, an ipod mini 6gb, an archos gmini xs200, a few of creative's flash players, and have seen and held most of the popular 20gb players out there. Nothing else can quite compare.

Hardware Quality:
It feels durable. I feel confident about its safety whenever I carry it around, except for the usb cover which does seem a bit flimsy. I made it a priority to buy a case for my ipods in the past, but it feels like this thing doesn't even need one. It is well constructed, and the screen is easy on the eyes. The buttons on mine haven't begun to crack. (yet) We will see though, it's only been a week or so.
Rating: 4.5/5 (unless the buttons crack)

Size/Weight:
The hd5 has got everything beat hands down except the xs200 which seems a bit bigger, but it's lighter (4.2 oz). Honestly, the hd5 is pretty heavy for its tiny size. I've seen some sites say it weighs 4.1 oz, 4.4 oz, and 4.8 oz. Realistically, it's probably 4.8 (135 grams), but that's still really light for a 20gb player. (the new color ipod is 5.9 oz) The hd5's only competition in the size department is its own previous hd players and Archos. To clarify, it is bigger than the hd1 (3.9 oz), smaller than the hd3 (4.4 oz), but a bit heavier than both. But as you have probably already heard, the pictures don't do it justice.
Rating: 5/5

Battery life:
Amazing, not even comparable to the ipods or the xs200. Honestly, I'm not sure about 40 hrs. though. I use mp3 lame vbr at around 180 kbps, and I'd say the battery lasts between 20-30 hrs. Plus, the battery is replaceable, and it's not huge or heavy either. Not only does the battery last way longer, but it charges quicker too. You could probably get another spare for around 50 bucks.
Rating: 5/5

Navigation:
The click wheel is unrivaled. I haven't seen anything as easy to use, but the controls on the hd5 are sufficient, even for large music libraries. It does take getting used to though. The longer you hold down a direction button, the faster it will scroll down. (it doesn't speed up forever though, after a few seconds the speed is consistent) Fast-forwarding within a song isn't as easy as it is with the clickwheel again, but it's not bad at all, about 2 seconds to scroll through 10 seconds of music. Also, the designated buttons for volume come in handy too, unlike the ipod.
A little tip: if you tap a directional button twice and then hold it down, it will start scrolling down faster a bit sooner as opposed to holding down the button right away. This is convenient if you know you have to get to a song that starts with an o or something.
Rating: 4.5/5

Sound Quality:
Great, better than any other mp3 player I have ever heard. I hooked it up to my speakers at home and I was amazed. I compared the same mp3 files that were loaded in both the hd5 and my ipod mini, and the ipod isn't up to par with the hd5. Atrac3plus is a great format too, though I probably won't use it because I don't want to marry sonic stage and sony just yet. At 160 kbps I can only tell a slight difference between the cd and the compressed format. Even 48 is listenable. (I know to many of you, it's not) But those of you who listen to mp3 (not lame) at 128 kbps, you won't notice the difference. I personally think that atrac3plus is superior to aac and maybe even wma, but don't hunt me down and kill me just because I think so. It's just my opinion.
Just to let you know, I listen to a variety of music (alternative, punk, rap, hip hop, a little jazz, slow jams, etc.) and the hd5 plays all these back extraordinarily.
Rating: 5/5

Software:
Sonicstage isn't horrible, but it's not as good as itunes. It gets the job done, even if it does take a few times longer to transfer music to the player. It takes about a minute per gb to transfer music to the ipod, but probably around 5 minutes a gb for the hd5. And great news! If you hate Sonic Stage, you don't have to use it!

SONY VAIO MUSIC TRANSFER
and the
MP3 FILE MANAGER

are two drag-and-drop alternatives that both work, though it's not lightning fast either. This does get rid of all the protection crap on Sonic Stage tho with mp3s. With mp3 file manager, you can transfer music onto your hd5 from ANY computer without having to install software, since it is saved on the hd of the hd5. What sucks to his uploading music to another computer. Haven't figured this out yet, but I'm sure it's possible. Also, if you use vbr to encode your music, they are compatible with both programs (even though vmt says it doesn't support vbr, it actually does.) The problem with these programs though, is that it will be hard to update your music library; you'll have to find the songs that you recently added, or if you change info on some of your songs then you'll have to find those and delete the old ones to add the new ones, etc. Getting the music on the hardware is a bit of a drag, not nearly as luxurious as with the ipod, but the hardware is truly worth it.
Rating: 3/5

Annoying quirks:
It doesn't turn on nearly as fast as the ipod, about 4 seconds.
Sometimes going back and forth from the playback screen to the menu takes a few seconds (about two) unlike the ipod which is almost instant.
Shuffling songs gets annoying too when you have to press a few buttons. You also have to press a few buttons to get to the playback screen, but no biggie.
The only options you have fot the backlight are keep it off, or 10 and 30 seconds. The battery is so killer though, you shouldn't even have to worry about the backlight draining the battery.
Playback on mp3 isn't completely gapless in-between songs, but neither is the ipod. It does come close, though. I believe atrac3plus is gapless though.

Cool Features:
The initial search (works only for individual tracks) comes in handy.
The various screen orientations is kinda useless in my opinion, but i guess it could be of some use. It doesn't actually work the way most people think. The screen only changes if you turn it off in one position and turn it on in another.
The screen is big enough to display everything you'd ever want to know about the track listening to, including the track name, the artist, the album, its genre, the bitrate, the track number, the time elapsed, and battery life. What more could you want? Lyrics? The screen isn't colored, but who cares? This thing does what it's supposed to (play music) and it does it well. Do you really look at pictures or marvel at the screen when you're listening to music?
The hd5 has a line-out option included (instead of just headphones), which comes in handy if you intend to hooking it up to your sound system.

Accessories:
Don't ever expect decent headphones to come with any type of player, including these. Get another pair.
I heard the RM-MC35ELK remote works with the hd5, but I don't have one so I'm not sure. This would be really convenient though.
Get a case! The hd5 comes with a lousy felt bag that you should probably use to put coins in or something, anything but the hd5. Proporta (www.proporta.com) and JAVOskin (you can get one here on amazon) and some other brand on ebay provide cases. If you want any case other than a silicon one, you'll have to look to proporta. The best deal is the ebay case though, it came out to be $10.50 after s&h.

Conclusion:
This piece of hardware is great. Yes, the software that comes with it is close to crap. Use vaio music transfer or mp3 file manager instead. Buy it if you have a little spare time on your hands, own a decently fast pc (and not a mac), actually care about sound quality, battery life, portability, durability, and still want to look good while you're at it. If you own a plain white shirt that has a tiny picture of an alligator on the front pocket and you paid over 50 bucks for it, get an iPod. (better yet, a nano) It'll be a nice addition to your outfit. Also, if you own a mac or have a large library that isn't encoded in mp3, this might not be worth it. Buy decent headphones and a case while you're at it. I can't say anything at 259 is a steal, but this is definitely a good eal.
(...)

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