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I bought this to replace the 6gb version of the same model, and have as yet experienced no problem with either. I feel in love with the design and consider it well worth the hassle of the much maligned SonicStage software to be allowed the privilege of using such a beautiful creation. The screen is hidden behind the inlay and seems a part of the whole in a way that cannot be said of most other modern mp3 players. Further, while this machine IS capable of mp3 playback, it seems a waste given Sony's proprietary ATRAC format allows compression down to 66kbps without loss compared to 192kbps mp3. In essence, this is a 60gb player. A thing of beauty, style and functionality.
Works perfectly provided you've already got the necessary software (which I have).
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Great sounding MP3 player. Superb battery life. Putting music on is a bit of a hassle but once you get used to it it's fine.
Stunning sound and easy to use software, long battery life. Absolutely brilliant. Bought this for my brother but I gave him my iPod Touch after I listened to this.
The Sony software that is 'required' to load audio files into this player is a nightmare. When it works, it's great, but it will refuse to load and run if it detects any system changes with your PC. Many years ago, there was a Sony service that the program could access to refresh your database and get it running again. Although I've recently read on a forum that the service is still available sporadically, I've never been able to get anything but an error code while trying to. It's such a shame. Sony's paranoid copyrite policies have ruined a lot of good hardware during the years between 1993 and 2010. They seem to be getting over it a bit nowadays. Minidisc was nobbled by it. Network Walkmans like these were nobbled by it too. When they decided to abandon the online "Connect" service, which was a kind of itunes store+ concept, they absolutely killed these players dead. However, there is hope. Several years ago someone wrote a JAVA program called JSymphonic that can be downloaded for free from Sourceforge. It requires that JAVA is installed on your PC. The best way to use JSymphonic is to copy it onto the root of the player's hard drive. From there, it can be run in any situation with any PC ( that has JAVA installed, that is ). It has a basic set of functions that can be customised to suit the layout of the sources of audio files on your computer. Just copying files onto the player will not work, because the player uses it's internal database to manage files. JSymphonic writes to and reads that database, enabling the player to know what's what. Once you have audio files loaded, the player is a sweety. Not the most detailed sound profile around, by a long way, but warm punchy and smooth. My old ipod mini sounds anemic by comparison. Make sure you get a sync/charging lead with it because they are unique to this series and 3rd party manufacturers never bothered with making them so they are rare. The NW-A3000 is quite a heavy player. I think the black ones and the silver ones look great. The final V3 firmware is still available from sony sites and is very easy to install, if you need to. You can try using the sony software if you like but sooner or later it will refuse to work so you might as well get used to using JSymphonic from the get go. I've used it so many times by now that it's dead simple and very fast for me. Unlike with old ipods, no one has succeeded in replacing the hard drive with a larger capacity CF card. The smaller NW-A1000 which has a 6gig HD inside it CAN be expanded up to 8gig, but I tried a 16gig and a 32gig and failed with both. A nice bit of retro, if you chuck the sony software.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned