Sony X-Series Reviews,....

[The DarkSide]

Here's 1 so far, from cnet.co.uk, and it's not looking good ATM: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/digitalmusic...9302248,00.htm

Please link to any you find, as we all have to wait till EnzoTen gets to review 1 here on ABI>>>.

[CrowdAds]

[ksh9394]

Pls note cnet uk review did mention review of sound quality is excluded and wil be done in lab.
So for al ABI member, tis is the most important factor if not we al shud hav purchase
I poo touch where features wise is plenty and sound quality is a no no.

I am not a touch interface fans so i wil sit out til the SQ review com out.
Almost al review does not mention how the Sony pairin with higher end phones would fair.

[JohnJHippo]

There is a good review at jon's weblog: http://jonchoo.blogspot.com/2009/05/...es-review.html

[The DarkSide]

@ksh9394: The SQ was never in question, the price is. As a whole the device is good, but it's priced against the iPod Touch, and that's a no-no. If Sony wishes to really put a dent into the market share of Apple, they really need to price thier products accordingly.

FWIW, if I didn't have the S9, and the X1000 series @32gb was priced @$300usd, I'd have bought 1 myself. Between the 3 players that have been release (S9, P3, X1000) only the P3 and S9 are a good value.

You get what you pay for, yes. But that doesn't mean price this out of the competitions range and it's a better product. It just means it's been released at an unrealistic price point. Make it $300usd for a base price and it'd sell like crazy!!!

[ajai_dev]

The sad part is the video support... MPEG-4@ 2500kbps up to QVGA what the hell
AVC is the real weakness up to QVGA@ 768 kbps **

The only real format is WMV9 @ 1700kbps up to 480 x 270, this is based on VC1 SP so it is no where near AVC quality.



BTW For people who are not aware 320x240 on a 480x270 screen suc*ks even if there is no zoom evolved there are black bars that crop up on the screen sides same as my S9.


In some ways this is rivals the A72x/A82x series and not the S9/P3 class.

[$ony$tyle]

Originally Posted by ajai_dev

The sad part is the video support... MPEG-4@ 2500kbps up to QVGA what the hell
AVC is the real weakness up to QVGA@ 768 kbps **

The only real format is WMV9 @ 1700kbps up to 480 x 270, this is based on VC1 SP so it is no where near AVC quality.



BTW For people who are not aware 320x240 on a 480x270 screen suc*ks even if there is no zoom evolved there are black bars that crop up on the screen sides same as my S9.


In some ways this is rivals the A72x/A82x series and not the S9/P3 class.

nice summary on the video performance, there were people even refusing to believe the reality of x video performance after they read sony hongkong's x specs, i mean let's be realistic even nowdays mobile phone can better than that. by the time it improves with the next model, then other companies would do something better, this has been the pattern for many years

[J-D]

It's been on for a while, but Journal du Geek seems to have a Youtube review up. Over 17 minutes long too!

You Tube

You Tube

Sorry that the video is in French, but the video seems intuitive enough to watch.

[The DarkSide]

Seems the Sony is just as slow to render, even slower actually, pictures than the Cowon S9. This player was so hyped, too bad it's not what was expected. The only thing it really has better than the P3 or S9 is the "Matrix" and "Cover Flow" menus. Otherwise, the Cowon & Samsung players are ahead of the game. Sony X1000 series=MEH!!!!

[jjrosaria]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Seems the Sony is just as slow to render, even slower actually, pictures than the Cowon S9. This player was so hyped, too bad it's not what was expected. The only thing it really has better than the P3 or S9 is the "Matrix" and "Cover Flow" menus. Otherwise, the Cowon & Samsung players are ahead of the game. Sony X1000 series=MEH!!!!

I still have my hopes but.. The s9 would be mine in 1 - 2 months time frame

[The DarkSide]

Personally, I think it's time for you to try the S9 jjr, I think you'll really like it.

[jjrosaria]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Personally, I think it's time for you to try the S9 jjr, I think you'll really like it.

I'm actually getting it ASAP just need a few more bucks.. XD (Good gadgets takes time to earn money for)

[The DarkSide]

Kool,.... keep me posted!!!

[h1a8]

So here is the equation of $300 sony player = $280 ipod touch player at 16gb:

100 free music downloads + tactile buttons + better SQ (including custom eq) + noise cancellation + better headphones + radio + drag and drop + audio input =apple apps +$20 + larger/res screen + better wifi + speaker + video out ability.

Does this seem equal? If not then which side (right or left) has higher value?

Here is my breakdown:
Personally, with great headphones (like se530) the better sq of sony over the touch and noise cancellation for sony becomes miniscule. The se530 isolates great to nearly equal any active noise cancellation features. On the bus or train I can't hear a thing outside of my music.

The app feature for ipod is so strong that makes the touch easily able to replace a $200-$400 pocket pc. My axim x50v pocket pc has been collecting dust for quite a while now. I mean it has from books, to games, to very useful utilities, to etc. The gaming is not too far off of a psp (that's saying a lot). I know I have stopped playing my psp in place of the ipod games (I can't speak for everyone though).

I should have considered both screens for video to be equal in the equation since sony has the good oled feature and ipod has a larger screen with better resolution.

I don't use the radio (useless to me) since I would use a Sony player to hear top quality sounding music and not horrible radio quality (64kbps). To me this defeats the purpose. To some a radio may be worth a little extra, I don't know.

Sony coming with better headphones and having a noise cancellation feature (only for the included headphones) is totally worthless to me since I already have (as do any audiophile) some premium headphones that not only sound better than the included phones but have great passive noise cancellation. The active noise cancellation feature seriously drains the battery which also makes it value go down for long plane trips. As far as the non audiophile, most think the ipod sounds great (trust me I asked many people who own ipods).

The only features I feel that indeed have worth for the sony is the drag and drop feature, the added play, pause, skip tactile buttons, and the 100 free music downloads (although there are many who download illegally for free). But to me the app ability of ipod along with the better wifi, speaker, and the extra saved $20 clearly blows those Sony advantages away (especially the extra saved $20, lol).

If sony offered a model with no wifi capability but was about a $100 cheaper then I would be all on it. I don't need another device with wi-fi (a bad one at that). I have 3 already, not counting my computers. If Sony plan to make money by introducing an app feature of their own then it is to their benefit to knock a significant amount off the price just to get it in more peoples hands (like what apple did to the iphone) in order to make a better profit on apps. I think this is why the PSP is relatively cheap.

[Elandal]

Originally Posted by ajai_dev

The sad part is the video support... MPEG-4@ 2500kbps up to QVGA what the hell
AVC is the real weakness up to QVGA@ 768 kbps **

The only real format is WMV9 @ 1700kbps up to 480 x 270, this is based on VC1 SP so it is no where near AVC quality.

BTW For people who are not aware 320x240 on a 480x270 screen suc*ks even if there is no zoom evolved there are black bars that crop up on the screen sides same as my S9.

Hi all,
Considering that I use it primary as a sound device and for his sound quality I must say that like ajai_dev post and even another post by The Dark Side the video on the X series is not so horrible as written or readed... Forgot MPEG-4 and WMV because the player perfectly support AVC at 480 x 270 resolution (tested with audio encoded by NeroAAC q0.65 (256 vbr)). Sure is not like a 720 x 576 (max resolution support of the itouch) and the max profile level is still 1.3 so 768 kbps but for the small screen which has i think is more than sufficient, and considering that is also OLED is very good to see...

[h1a8]

Enlandal, you would be a fool to pay $400 just for a primary sound device when there are other fantastic sounding players that cost far less (cowon s9 for example with better screen too). If you have premium phones then several players besides Sony will sound like a dream.

Why are you charging so much Sony? The sound quality isn't that much better (if at all better).

[Elandal]

Hi h1a8,
I'm not charging Sony (i hate them for the lack of firmware updates on their players and other things) even if i have some of their big and small gadgets and i perfectly agree that the price of the X series is a bit expensive respect to S9 or the P3, infact i only bought the 16GB version, but since some people have marked the video quality and for someone seems to be important, i thinked that was right to tell that in reality the quality is not so bad and the support not so worst (i always do every possible audio/video test on every gadget i have in my hands).
Anyway, regarding others players, i have also a Zen Xtra (retired now ), an iTouch and an iAudio 7 with i think decent phones (Philips SHE9850), so a sort of small collection, but i always prefer to hear music on the Sony (on a A818 too), sound better for me.
The really strong critic i do to Sony for the X is the lack of lossless support, indefensible as a flagship player nowday.

[h1a8]

Originally Posted by Elandal

Hi h1a8,
I'm not charging Sony (i hate them for the lack of firmware updates on their players and other things) even if i have some of their big and small gadgets and i perfectly agree that the price of the X series is a bit expensive respect to S9 or the P3, infact i only bought the 16GB version, but since some people have marked the video quality and for someone seems to be important, i thinked that was right to tell that in reality the quality is not so bad and the support not so worst (i always do every possible audio/video test on every gadget i have in my hands).
Anyway, regarding others players, i have also a Zen Xtra (retired now ), an iTouch and an iAudio 7 with i think decent phones (Philips SHE9850), so a sort of small collection, but i always prefer to hear music on the Sony (on a A818 too), sound better for me.
The really strong critic i do to Sony for the X is the lack of lossless support, indefensible as a flagship player nowday.

They use wav as lossless. But this is still horrible since wav files are huge and have no id3 tag support and album art support.

[jjrosaria]

Originally Posted by h1a8

They use wav as lossless. But this is still horrible since wav files are huge and have no id3 tag support and album art support.

I have some WAV songs on my walkman A728, it supports Id3 and album art, what are you talking about??

[Coolvibes]

Is Sony they are known for Overpricing just about anything
they sell just because they sony
But with competitors like Ipod sony realy has to reconsider their price policy.

Also First the X1050 apealed to me but after a closer look not that much
I suspect the volume in europe is low as with all sony players

With P3 i atleast know that i problay get loud volume
i dunno about Cowon s9 but i guess they about the same loud volume.
The screen player buttons on x1050 (round vista like) are just Ugly sorry but is true

Good thing with X1050 is bright screen and stable firmware
Sony is still stuck in the 90s the design look very 90s

But Sony is not bad is just that i think P3 and S9 beat it

Also X1050 has Themes ? i doubt so atleast i haven't seen it have theme
Cowon s9 and P3 has themes and widgets a cool feature in a player

[Ascariss]

Originally Posted by Coolvibes

Also First the X1050 apealed to me but after a closer look not that much
I suspect the volume in europe is low as with all sony players

there is no volume issue as far as I know, since none of the reviews from websites have even mentioned it. the buttons on the screen are the same ones as in the previous walkmansm 80x, 81x, 82x, and 700 series.