You can organise tracks and playlists using the Connect Player software, but its main function is to transfer songs to the player. It's not entirely clear what Connect Player is doing to your music as it transfers it -- judging by the speed it may not be a straight transfer. SonicStage would convert music to Sony's proprietary ATRAC format and then transfer it onto the player but, as we understand it, the Connect Player converts anything that is not MP3 format to ATRAC, but leaves MP3s in their original codec.
The Connect Player also deals with DRM (Digital Rights Management). Sony has had a lot of bad press recently over its copyright protection methods, but Connect Player seems to be fairly liberal in what it will let you transfer. We were able to fill the player with regular MP3s with no problem whatsoever. Though the Connect Player is still not as polished or usable as Apple's iTunes, in comparison to SonicStage it's a revelation.
Performance
Two things struck us instantly about
the NW-A1000. The first is that the maximum playback volume is much
lower than what we've heard from other MP3 players. This is no bad thing
and we suspect the player has been intentionally limited to prevent
hearing damage. There is likely to be a patch available at some point
to remove this restriction -- but do so at your own risk. There is
plenty of evidence to suggest that listening to headphones at high
volume causes loss of hearing.
This may pose a problem for commuters who travel on noisy trains. If you're determined to hear your music loud and clear and don't mind running the risk of damaging your ears, most other MP3 players can generate a much louder volume.
Sound quality on the player is very good. Listening to I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor by Arctic Monkeys revealed excellent definition and control to the sound. Although we're not volume junkies, we couldn't help but feel that the NW-A1000 wasn't delivering the punch of other players. Within the bounds of the volume available to it, the sound was well balanced and unstrained, but some listeners may find it frustrating that ambient noise begins to drown out some of the detail in songs quite quickly.
Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Kate Macefield
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lurk _a_lot 3 December 2006
Good: Design & sound - top notch, what I'd expect from a Sony Walkman product
Bad: The supplied Connect software - riddled with bugs & not user friendly
Comment: I wanted to give this product a 8 or 9 out of 10 - the player is beautifully designed, sleek & solid feeling, the interface is very easy to use too & the sound quality is superb, just what I expect from a Sony Walkman product. Unfortunately, I will only give this MP3 player a 5, because the supplied Connect software used to download tracks on & off the player is utterly user-unfriendly. I have a Vaio laptap that's a couple of years old, but due to the resource-hungry software, the software would not run on it all. I had to use my husband's PC that he uses to run servers & code software on; why does a piece of music transfer software NEED such a high-spec PC to run on?! Shoddy, poor programming by the Sony technicians has destroyed any chance of this hardware being Sony's so-called iPod killer.
On a side note, the player works just fine using either Sonic Sound Stage or the latest version of Windows Media Player (so far), so if you get one of these players & it has the Connect software disk enclosed, ditch it & use it as a coaster, because that is all it's good for.
Anonymous 20 October 2006
Good: Nothing
Bad: Self-deleting software
Linda Parsons 3 May 2006
Good: Easy to use and good volume range, no need for extra bass
Bad: I could not get on with the Connect system so used Sonic Stage, which I find very efficient
Comment: I am an older person who still loves her heavy metal but also like to listen to stories and this player does the job with ease. I am 61 and if I can handle this little beauty anyone can. Definitely a five star product. Well done Sony
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