Sony NW-HD3 MP3 Walkman

[JulianHJ]

Anyone got one? I was about to take the ipod plunge but got put off after hearing about usability niggles from my mates. I'm a complete whore for Sony products (must owned 30-40 different things over the years), so am contemplating the above. Richer Sounds wil price-beat by a tenner, and Amazon have it for £220.

Your thoughts please!

TIA

[RickApple]

Please, PLEASE don't buy an ipod. I know over 10 people who own them, not one of us has had one work properly without constant repairs or wot not. In my opinion they are completely overrated by everyone but the fashion press, and frankly, given their taste in music, they are not to be trusted!

[thebluemonkey]

I'm very suprised by this, but don't doubt it for a minute. I've had an ipod since they were very first out and basically mistreated it. I've never had a problem with it and didn't see many people having problems with them around that time or up until recently. Has the build quality gone down on the more current models or is it just a greater number of faults because everyone seems to have one ?

[RickApple]

That must be partly it; theyve sold millions of the fourth gen models. Its just the fact that you pay an incredible amount of money for it and it still decides to only play when you want it to in some cases!

[tycho]

thebluemonkey said:

I'm very suprised by this, but don't doubt it for a minute. I've had an ipod since they were very first out and basically mistreated it. I've never had a problem with it and didn't see many people having problems with them around that time or up until recently. Has the build quality gone down on the more current models or is it just a greater number of faults because everyone seems to have one ?

Me too, I have the 1st gen version and it is still going strong.

[Dibble]

I'm not sure, but think you may have to load songs in ATRAC3 - you do get Sonic Stage with it though, but if you've already got all your CDs on the pC in another format, this could be a bit of a ball acher.

I'm with you on the Sony stuff though.

[billb]

nearly went for the sony befor christmas as the battery life is soooo much better its just i prefer all the funky options u get with the ipod like being able to transmit fm + still think the ipod look sbetter - the sony still looks like a tape walkman. but is tech v good so if u like sony product then would be a good buy

[julianhj]

Cheers Dibble - the latest version support MP3/WMA etc, but still uses SonicStage (an updated version). After posting last night I read a couple of iffy reviews, so would love the opinion of a PH-er who owns one.

Until I get a thumbs up, I'll be sticking with MDs. A mate is going travelling in April and has offered me his 4th Gen 40GB Ipod for £150 - I'll probably plump for that if all else fails.

[billb]

julianhj said:

Cheers Dibble - the latest version support MP3/WMA etc, but still uses SonicStage (an updated version). After posting last night I read a couple of iffy reviews, so would love the opinion of a PH-er who owns one. Until I get a thumbs up, I'll be sticking with MDs. A mate is going travelling in April and has offered me his 4th Gen 40GB Ipod for £150 - I'll probably plump for that if all else fails.

if he's going travelling surley he'll want an ipod thats why i bought mine!!

[julianhj]

billb said:

julianhj said: Cheers Dibble - the latest version support MP3/WMA etc, but still uses SonicStage (an updated version). After posting last night I read a couple of iffy reviews, so would love the opinion of a PH-er who owns one. Until I get a thumbs up, I'll be sticking with MDs. A mate is going travelling in April and has offered me his 4th Gen 40GB Ipod for £150 - I'll probably plump for that if all else fails. if he's going travelling surley he'll want an ipod thats why i bought mine!!

That's what I thought, but then he's not your average chap. He doesn't want to take anything with him, but rather find new music n his travels. I thought he'd been back on the specialist fumes, but he promises me he hasn't. His GF is actually selling all her possessions and planning on being away for several years. Madness in my eyes, but then variety is the spice of life

[tubbystu]

julianhj said:

After posting last night I read a couple of iffy reviews, so would love the opinion of a PH-er who owns one.

I have one - its absolutely stunning. Currently has 6500 tracks on it (thats more than 22 days continuos play) and its under half full. Battery life is good at 30 hours.

Since I bought it in October I've had it on shuffle and hardly ever listen to the radio anymore (and the radio used to be on constantly) - its like having your own radio station. You can play the entire contents in order of loading, in random order, or eb=ven by genre and/or artist.

Its design is nice and slim and slips into a jacket pocket without problem.

And you don't get all the Apple "we-should-rule-the-world" tosh with it either.

If you can get a Rimax FM transmitter you can use it in the car too.

I cannot recommend it strongly enough, though I too am a Sony-phile - I even work with their kit.

[julianhj]

Cheers Stuart, that's just the kind of response I'm after. Will get myself down Richer Sounds for a proper look I think.

[paddy27]

Hi,

I have one as well, i cna safely say they are brilliant, sounds good and holds a stupid number of tracks. As for the battery been using it for ages and i still haven't had to re-charge the battery.
I have had no trouble with the sonicstage software either, works well.
I can well recommend one.

[julianhj]

Thanks Paddy

[john_p]

I looked at all of them and was going to get a Creative Zen 60GB instead for similar money .. ok not as bling but 60GB is useful and apparently the HD3 has a background hiss which could get annoying?

[paddy27]

Backgroud hiss???

Got mine with just put it in now, sounds good to me, but i did buy a good quality set of headphones for it as well!!

Sonicstage alsoconverts stuff from mp3 onto the player as well automatically.

[Teppic]

I've got the (ATRAC3 only) NW-HD1 and have no complaints about it. The sound quality, build quality and battery life are all fantastic.

The only thing that lets it down is the rather clunky SonicStage software, but eventually you get used to it.

I'm only annoyed that the NW-HD3 was announced only one month after I'd bought mine. I was aware of the NW-HD2, but the only difference between that and mine was the docking cradle, but the NW-HD3 took me completely by surprise.

NW-HD3 plays MP3, WAV and non-encrypted WMA files without the need to convert them to ATRAC3. NW-HD1 can apparently be upgraded to do this, but initial reports suggest that the unit has to be sent back to Sony for conversion rather than it being a downloadable software update.

[JulianHJ]

Well, I went into Richer Sounds an hour ago. Yes, they had them in stock. Yes, they'd price beat anyone who had them available. Yes, that even included online retailers such as Amazon.

Me: 'Great, I'll take it!'
Them: 'We'll just check the price'
Me: 'No probs'

3 minutes later...

Them: 'Sorry, the Amazon deal is too good, my manager says we're not gonna match it.'
Me:

[Dibble]

I bought a camcorder (Sony, of course) for Mrs Dibble's birthday, from Amazon. I was a bit wary of doing this...

...but it arrivedm some £200 less than anywhere else, and in perfect new, unopened nick.

I've been impressed with them for everything else too.

[JulianHJ]

Amazon it is, I think.