Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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102 of 105 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sony HD-5...My new HD player, June 22, 2005
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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44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Good, the Bad, and the UGLY, January 11, 2006
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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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sony NW-HD5 Review, June 25, 2005
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.
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