They opened up a Sony Style store here in Boston last fall, so usually stroll by there during lunchtime.
Two weeks ago I noticed that Sony came out with a native MP3 player called the NW-HD3.
They had the older NW-HD1's on clearance and decided to purchase it.
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/pro...58NWHD1-o.jpeg
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/pro...D1-o_hand.jpeg
[ALL inline images must be no wider than 480 pixels. --tooki]
NW-HD1:
Sony's first forray into HD based portable music players is not as bad as it seems. While many of the press scorned the non-Native MP3 compatiblity, Sony's ATRAC propietary codec's, and SonicStage/Connect software, few reviewers looked at the actual piece of hardware and build quality.
the NW-HD1 has a 20GB HD with around 30 hour battery life. Smaller and lighter than my 15GB iPod.
The casing was designed by Toshiba Metals divison out of Magnesium alloy, giving the HD1 a solid and truly "Walkman" feel, while suprisingly light. The controls are about as simple to use as the iPod, intuitive and responsive. It took some time to set it up via Virtual PC with Windows 2000 Pro. The SonicStage software takes some getting used to, and while I won't be using it to store my music library, it's decent enough app for transferring songs to and from the HD1.
The NW-HD1 does not play MP3's natively. Meaning that if you have MP3s, you will need to convert the MP3s to ATRAC in order to play on the device. It does it as it transfers the songs to the HD1. Albeit, slowly, and converting the songs yet again makes me cringe.
Oddly enough, just as Sony has stopped producing the HD1 (in order to replace it with the HD3), they have released a firmware upgrade to allow the HD1 to play MP3s natively. You do have to ship it to Texas and pay $20, but with the clearance discount I got, it was still cheaper than buying the new HD3. Not to mention the fact that this is the exact opposite of what Jobs is doing with older iPods in regards to firmware upgrades...
After now finally getting used to the SonicStage software, I've managed to transfer most of my CD collection over to the HD1 using the ATRAC3Plus 256kbps codec. I am also finding that I enjoy the sound of ATRAC3Plus 256kbps better than my standard AAC 192kbps transfers that I listen to on my iPod.
*Sidenote* Important lesson that I've learned: Don't be cornered into one propietary format.
I learned this lession last winter when I re-ripped my entire collection into AAC, only to realize months later that nearly no other player besides the iPod would play them. I had simply thought that by this time all players would be able to play AAC files; that it was the logical progression from MP3s. Alas, I've learned my lesson the hard way.
I now have my most favored albums on Audio CDs in storage for backup. I have also imported all the others in AIFF format onto a second 300GB SATA HD that I installed in my PowerMac G5. I've simply come to the conclusion that having original Audio CD's of fav music and others in uncompressed AIFFs, is the only way to ensure that when the next "big format" comes around, I'll be ready.
So, to segway back to the ATRAC issue, I don't mind re-encoding into ATRAC, it gives my PC at work something to do during the day anyways, and once it's there on the HD1, that's it.
Pros:
-It really does last up to about 30 hours. I got 25 hours of play, and that was with a lot of shuffling, backlighting and back/forward action.
-It is smaller than the iPod, lighter, and feels more rugged.
-This is subjective, but I believe that it has a more natural musical timber to the sound than the iPod. The iPod sounds sterile now after listening to both devices with my Shure E3c canalphones. Whether it's the ATRAC3Plus codec or the player itself, I don't know. But it has a rich tone in midrange vocals, more spatial soundstage, more defined bass and less hiss in the treble than my iPod had. For instance, Michael Nyman's "The Piano" soundtrack just sounds warmer, more musical and rich.
-It has a 5 band equalizer if you do need to adjust the sound.
-The display has a negative mode that make it easier to read and looks cool.
-I like the green backlight. (reminds me of the computer from the movie "Wargames").
-It just plays music, and that's the way I like it. (I don't need pics or contacts info).
-It has a real OFF button that disconnects the battery so there is no slow drain. With my iPod, I found if I didn't use it for a week or two, I would have to charge it up again, that really was no fun.
-I can authorize up to 5 computers to connect to the HD1. Meaning, no more Monogomy. I can freely sync on my Home and Work computer. What's more, music on my computer does not need to reflect what's on the HD1 at all times, as it is with the iPod. I can copy MP3s from iTunes to SonicStage at home, then load. Same at work, I can borrow a co-workers CD, import it to the HD1 using Sonic Stage, then erase it from Sonic Stage after, no problem.
-It's not an iPod. Lord, it's like "Shaun of the Dead" here in Boston with all the subway iPod zombies. (sorry for this rant, I'm listening to Dead Kennedys "Give Me Convenience, or Give Me Death" album right now...).
-I especially liked the part of having separate volume controls so that I can adjust it at any time while in the menu or mode functions. Whereas, on the iPod you can ony adjust it while in the "Now Playing" screen.
-The basic case from Sony is only $15 and is more functional than most iPod cases.
-Can use the wide range of Sony CD and MD remotes.
Cons-
-It doesn't work natively on a Mac..... LOL.. Okay, that's a BIG con.
-SonicStage 2.3. While not nearly as bad as some make it out to be, I would only use it transfer music, not as a library/organizer. It would be useless for that. iTunes is by the far the best music library app available.
-Connect music store looks and feels like a 4th graders MP3 collection (though not the ones from Maine, they know how to organize their iBooks). For example: I downloaded Brian Eno's "Music for Airports" album two weeks ago. Still can't get it to download all the way, stops before the end, because the DRM "wrapper" can't authorize it or some derivative. Also, downloaded "Peace Train" by 10,000 Maniacs, only to find that it is in fact the song "Gun Shy". Yikes. Luckily I got these songs with the free 50 Sony Connect points that came with the player, or I woulda been pissed off.
-No Scroll Wheel.
-It's not an ipod. (the iPod does have the best UI of any MP3)
-It has to be connected to the dock (which I really do like though...) in order to transfer music.
-Cases limited to about, well, two good ones. The Sony case and
Vaja Cases
-Supplied headphones suck, but most do.
Well I hope people enjoyed this review. Tried to be somewhat balanced. But you can tell where I leaned to. Yup, sold my iPod on eBay and gave my girlfriend an iPod Shuffle, as I'm keeping this MP3 player all to myself. Also, I just don't think she could figure out all the unintuitive dance steps needed to get music onto the HD1. With the Shuffle, it truly is "drag and drop" in iTunes. But, I'm a geek, and I love useless challenges at times. And while getting there is a challenge akin to the
Road to Hana the arrival is sweet, sweet music!
~Echo
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