Customer Reviews

Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman 20 GB Digital Music Player (Red)

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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.

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.
(...)

This is a very good MP3 Player from the ATRAC3 specialists, Sony. This is a very sleek looking device and it's a good competitor with the Apple iPod. They're three colors: black, red, and silver which all look good to me. Another impressive thing about this player is that it has a estimated forty hour battery life! Apple iPod's have only 12 hours so this player beats it big time! It has a 1.5" monochrome display which is smaller than the Apple iPod's 2" monochrome display. Also, if you drop this MP3 player the hard drive disengages so it doesn't ruin the player. The reason why the screen is smaller than the iPod is that the player is almost the size of a mini iPod, 3.5 in x 0.6 in x 2.2 in. It might be a little bit thick but still, it's pretty small. Sony has made a very simple player with the NW-HD5 as well. There are a few tactile buttons which you maneuver around to play the songs. This MP3 player supports MP3, WAV, WMA, ATRAC3, a big step from the ATRAC3 only players. All togther this a wonderful device from Sony and it's probably going to do very well.

I purchased my HD5 on Saturday, August 27th and am truly pleased with all of its features. The feel of the HD5 in your hand is very solid and gives you a sense that there's something more than plastic involved in its construction. I was able to figure out the navigation within two or three pushes, everything is very intuitive if you've ever had a player before. The size is fantastic, smaller that I thought I would be able to get away with.

This is my first big plunge into the big player arena, moving from a half Gig Flash MP3 to this HDD MP3. I spent the first night ripping about 50 CDs in my collection onto my computer since I have so much room now and don't have to be so critical about what can go on! The `on the fly' book marking is very simple and is more likely in my case vs. setting up play lists in advance on my computer. Searching for music on the player is very much like using the MS Media Player, so everything feels that much more familiar.

While researching whether to purchase the HD5, an iPod, the Samsung YH-J70 or the Cowan X5, it was a bit tough to figure out which of the products had the best compromise of features that fit my needs. I usually wind up creating an actual list of features that I really want in order to get through selection process and not get hung up on emotional response to things.

My need for this player is travel; I have been a professional traveler for a few years now, but usually keep it within the US, no more than about five hours of fly time per day. With relatively short flights, I have been able to get away with a small MP3 player and my laptop HDD. I am now moving to trips between the US and APAC, and am in the need for ten to fifteen hours of music play time capability.

A primary feature that I was interested in was battery life and this definitely drove me to the HD5 which has at least twice the `real world' battery life of the iPod. Good quality playback is of course a requirement, layout of controls and connectors are key as well. Since I'm on the road a lot, I am always trying to reduce the amount of stuff that I haul, so charging via USB was important too. The HD5 seems to have faster charge via USB times than other players as an additional perk (came with AC cable too...not sure if this is true of the iPod). I saw on the Cowan X5 that there was a little adapter required to get all of the cables hooked up to it, this one item totally scared me off of this player regardless of all the high praise from user.

In terms of special features, i.e. FM tuner, pictures, video, etc, I wanted an MP3 player, not something pretending to be a small computer. I am not sure why I would want picture and video capability on my MP3 with a screen similar in size to my picture phone...is this really seen as a usable and sexy feature to people?

I was pretty sold on the HD5 but very concerned about all of the dissenting comments concerning SonicStage that I read online. In the end, I figured that every MP3 player that I had ever purchased in the last five years had come with quirky but functional software applications. I decided that I would just close my eyes and take the plunge and not get hung up on this one issue. In the end, the SonicStage software is just fine, it works very smoothly, imports and transfers tracks effortlessly and doesn't seem as cluttered with odd entities that I have seen in other applications. With that said, let me reemphasize a warning that I have read and have now experienced. If 95%+ of your computer based music comes from ripped CDs you will not be unhappy with SonicStage and the HD5. If by chance you are a music downloader and this music did not come from the Connect Music Store, your music is completely unusable on the HD5. Let me say it again, you have music from Napster, MSN Music, etc...this is all completely unusable on the HD5 because of SonicStage's self impose license verification management protocols. Sure it would also me cool to have this player work on a drag and drop format, but I am not a sharer of music, I put it on, prefer for it to me cataloged for me so that I can logically search for it and delete it if I am done with it.

I have already ordered the aluminum hard case from [...] since I will be throwing this into my computer bag and don't want to crush the screen now have a button depressed that entire time running down the battery. Other than this, I don't think I'll need anything else since it's such a complete and clean gizmo!

Rational for dispatching the competition:

Apple iPod:
Battery life too low, lots of reviewer complaints about scratching of case and screen, too much junk on player...I think this degrades it's usability and drains battery life, the shear number of accessories available allows Apple to give you nothing since you can be forced to purchase them from third party.

Cowan X5:
Since Cowan offers a high battery life version (the `L' ?) I didn't hold battery life against it, the proprietary loose adapter required for connection of cables at the base was my sole reason for taking this off the list.

Samsung YH-J70:
Not really available yet, but I like Samsung and there companies leadership so I always give them a look. Usability doesn't look to be quite a simple as the iPod and HD5 and I had some concerns on its robustness and cosmetic vulnerability as commented on by a reviewer or two. Truthfully, I needed my player now and couldn't wait for availability and additional information on this devise.

Others:
cNet had enough to discourage me from doing much investigation of the others as well as a general impression of cheapness I have for the Creative players and a boycott of all Rio players (really bad experience with a player from Rio where they had a bad, defective player, they knew it but were not interested in recalling it...did I mention that I HATE Rio?)

Away from fiddling with its settings and transferring music from Sonic Stage, I absolutely adore the Sony NW-HD5. Not only does it look great(Red only), it sounds fantastic, and is easy to use. The lack of color screen, the reputation of having some of the best sound out of any MP3 player, and the inclusion of a 40hr-rated battery life make the Sony very worthy of the Walkman model name.

Typical Usage: 12HR workdays, with the MP3 Player spending half the time hooked up to speakers, and half the time in my pocket. Dedicated Line-Out setting used etensively.

Complaints: What's with the dust under the screen? Wish this player were drag and drop capable.

Raves: The red player is gorgeous. The others are ugly. The weight of the mp3 player is perfect. The size is perfect. The display is wonderfully gorgeous and simple. Color? We don't need no color. We need longer battery life! On a 13HR roadtrip, I never thought once about running out of batteries. Unlike some players, the NW-HD5 HAS a removeable battery, and can be recharged while having songs transferred to it via USB 2.0. Transfer speeds are unrivalled.

Sonic Stage: I like it because I can set it so that everytime I plug in my NW-HD5, and initialize Sonic Stage, the program syncs my music, and never puts on duplicate files. I dislike having to import music into SonicStage, but realize you have to do this with iTunes, and WinAmp. I like atrac3, but I also like having mp3s. My NW-HD5 has a combination of both formats. If I don't care about audio quality, I convert CDs to 128kbps MP3s. If I care about sound quality, I use 320kbps ATRAC3plus. You *can* use both formats. I do wish there were more formats I could convert from (AAC, anyone?)

If you use Napster, it's a bit of work. You need to take your DRM .wmv files, burn them onto a CD, and import the CD into SonicStage.

Conclusion: The player is amazing when it's being used, it's very easy to use. I have owned an original 5gb iPod, and Creative Zen Micro, and would say the Sony falls in the middle of the two in terms of ease of use.

If I could use the Sony with Napster, i'd say it would best MP3 Player on the market. As it is however, the software used to set it up leaves somethings to be desired: namely lack of drag and drop capability, and the inability to convert more formats.

It has to be stressed again: This is an amazing piece of hardware, that is *slightly* hindered by Sonic Stage. If you have your own CD collection, you will love the NW-HD5. If you have a large collection of MP3s as your sole source of music, you might be a little disappointed with how much effort it takes to transfer music to the NW-HD5.

This is my favorite MP3 player on the market, and my disappointsments are greatly outweighed by how happy this player makes me. It flat out works. Too bad about the dust. It's very aggravating.

Dumped ipod, got this one today. I found the software is straight forward. It is easier and much faster to start up than itune. Sound quality is great. If you are comparing ipod with sony's, get this. If you have a sony camera, the USB interface is the same. One less wire to deal with. ipod is a piece of garbage (dead battery all the time) along with bad service from Apple.

The battery seems last forever!!! Just love it.

Sony 20GB Digital Music Player (released 2005.)

The recently released Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman 20GB Digital Music Player is an awesome piece of technology and a great effort from Sony. This player completely stops the overrated i-pod in its tracks - it is a far superior and underrated device. I bought the Sony player two weeks ago and haven't looked back since. Below are the positives and negatives about the player:

PROS:

- Size. The Sony Digital Music Player is a nice small and discrete size. It fits into your pocket easily and is not at all cumbersome.
- Durability. The player itself is quite sturdily built and is designed to be very resilient to damage from dropping. The electronics in the player get very few reports of malfunction and the only reports of mechanical damage come from people who are foolish or clumsy enough to sit on the player!
- Operability. The player is much easier to operate than an ipod. Rather than messing with a central wheel to flick though lists, the Sony Player has just buttons to do the job. It keeps it simple and less fiddly.
- Battery Life. This ones a killer. The battery within the player when at full charge can play 40 HOURS music. Thats 25 hours more than an i-pod battery capability.
- Battery Charge Time. This is a positive. Only three hours to gain a full charge using the AC adaptor lead provided.
- Song Storage and Memory Capacity. This is another big plus that the Sony player has. The player supports a new format for songs called the 'Atrac3-plus'. With this, set at 64kbs, you can add way more songs onto the player. For example, a 4MB size song file in MP3 format is about 1.5MB in size for the atrac3-plus format. The sound quality for the format is brilliant also. Therefore, with the 20GB Sony Player you can store up to 13000 songs using the new format. Contrast this with a 20GB i-pod which can hold up to 5000 songs. Case Closed!
- Great Sound Depth. The bass and treble is excellent on the player. Apprarently this is another aspect that makes it superior to the i-pod. I can't certify this but apprarently the bass is supposed to be better on the Sony Player.
- Affordability. The Sony Digital Music Player is cheaper than its i-pod counterparts. This is certainly true in a song capacity to price ratio.
- Connectibility. The Sony Player is easily adaptable to speakers or other external sound systems, using the 'line-out' setting. It can connect to practically any music device.
- Usability. The menus on the player are easy to locate and use. Music can be found via an artist, album, genre or single track search (there is a letter search facility also). The player will also switch itself off when not playing after a few minutes or so automatically, so theres no battery waste to worry about (although its not as if you have a small amount of battery life to play with!).
- Software. Comes with the SonicStage music transfer facility. I've noticed some reviewers have had problems with the software. I personally find it fine. As soon as I got the hang of the way to transfer the stuff using the program, it was easy and is great to use.
- .... And the final positive, lets face it, the Sony Music Player just looks so much cooler than the i-pod!

CONS (Not Many):

- AC Adaptor Cover. This is the only frail part of the model and care should be taken not to drop it when it is open as it could easily sustain damage.
- Colour. The screen is just black and white, whereas there are many i-pods which come in colour BUT, c'mon WHO CARES AS YOU BUY THE PLAYER FOR LISTENING TO MUSIC! Okay it doesn't store pictures and things like an i-pod can but then, you have PC's, Camera Phones and Memory Sticks to do that for you anyway.
- Screen. The screen is a nice size but can easily scratch so it is best to store the player in the pouch provided at times of non-usage.

So, overall this Sony Player is simply an awesome buy and for anyone who just wants something to play music pure and simple and lots of it too should get this! The Sony NW-HD5 Player comes in black, silver and a funky red colour (i've got the latter) and takes ordinary sony earphones. Its a great piece of technology which can store a mammoth amount of songs .... not bad for its small size. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I recently purchased the Walkman NW-HD5, and I love it.

I have read alot of reviews, and I have one opinion that differs. Sonic Stage is not as bad as mentioned. If you have a little patience and read through the menus and options, it is rather simple. About it being slow, I have been copying my CD collection at the highest quality possible and the quality is flawless. I do not mind the system taking a little time to make sure there is quality sound. This is why you BUY SONY. It takes approx 15 min to burn a full CD at 256 kbps ATTRAC3.

I do find the door that covers the USB port is very cheap and am very surprised that more attention was not paid to this area of the device.

Another draw back is that since Sony is not as mainstream as another device, there are not as many accessories. But if you are looking for quality and price you can find it here.

After resisting the Apple iPod for months I finally got tired of toting a laptop along just to play music on flights while travelling and following a favorable review of the new Sony NW-HD5, I took the plunge and got one. To be brief....it is a great device. I have found that even the in-the-ear headphones that come with it are more than adequate and have stopped lugging Bose noise cancelling headphones around as well. The Sony was easy to set up and the battery life really is one of its strong selling points as it easily lasts for long international flights with time to spare. Navigation among playlists or songs by genre or artist is a snap. The controls are large enough that they do not accidentally get pushed yet the entire device fits into a shirt pocket with room to spare. I think anyone who wants an MP3 player and who does not want to follow the herd with Apple will like this Sony product.