Anyone in the knows please?

Also, how does this DAP behave whe connected via USB cable: removable storage or does it need its Sony software for fiel transfers?

Finally, is the battery replaceable by the end-user?

Thanks.

Dc

let me guess: sonicstage + non-removable battery + aac lc support (no he) + gapless only for atrac

now prove me wrong, sony

From experience, several of these Sony devices that claim MP3 and AAC support actually support only ATRAC, and SonicStage transcodes on-the-fly while the file is being uploaded to the player.

I wonder if that's the case with this model...

Google??? http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/12/sonys-n...-walkmans-ever/

If that's so it's pretty bad, can anyone confirm please?

Same basic info I got from the Sony site, no answers to my q's.

Older models with "mp3 support" transcoded to atrac (NW-HD 1/3, several minidisk players), but since the Sony NW-HD5 was introduced all the newer models have real native mp3 support. AAC was introduced in the A1000/3000 series and was reported to be real native support as well (heard about tag incompabilities though, only Sonicstage tagged files showed infos).

No, that isn't the case, and hasn't been for about two years. Native AAC/WMA/MP3 support and apparently support now for HE-AAC as well - and also ATRAC Lossless if you're interested in that.

-Nav

Thanks for all the replies.

What about the DAP's behavior when connected to the PC via USB cable please? I mean, can it work simply as removable storage without the need for Sony's software?

Gapless (HE-)AAC playback?

I had an NW-HD5. It is simply USB Mass Storage, but music files have to be copied with the Sony software, otherwise they are not recognized by the device for playback. (They get encrypted and are put into a cryptic folder structure)

Gapless AAC? I really doubt it. Atrac is traditionally gapless, but mp3 was not - so I guess AAC isn't either.

I don't know that model, but I can speak for my W850i:

Yes HEv2-AAC (surprisingly!)
Gapless - No

You got to make a distinction here:

The Sony-Ericsson Walkman phones are fantastic, USB Mass Storage compliant, AAC+ v1 & v2, no SonicStage, expandable memory, cheap replacement batteries you can buy on every street corner, A2DP (on the recent models) - for music these things beat everything else on the market and easily outsell the iPods everywhere outside the US.

The Sony non-phone Walkman players on the other hand have few redeeming features: no UMS, no AAC+, SonicStage and high prices compared to most competitors to boot.

NW-S600/700 test (french)