Time for Sony to Lower Prices.

[h1a8]

Originally Posted by Ascariss

well I need a new mp3 player since my current 8GB one is not enough but I am awaiting for the A series but I have no idea when it is debuting.

To be honest the X series sounds the same as all the other walkmans (A,S,E They all sound the same). I had it for a week or two and couldn't really tell the difference between it and my s618, s739, and a728 except that older ones were much louder than the X. I used hfi-780, FX-500, and SE530 in my tests. So what are you really paying $150 extra for when it isn't as loud?


Sony thinks their name and sound quality gives them the right to charge an arm and a leg and offer us shitty features (wi-fi, lack of video and audio support, no gapless for lossless, inferior processor, etc.). Well they messed up by offering much cheaper alternatives with the same (or better) sound quality and with noise cancellation (S series).

[CrowdAds]

[Ascariss]

Originally Posted by h1a8

To be honest the X series sounds the same as all the other walkmans (A,S,E They all sound the same). I had it for a week or two and couldn't really tell the difference between it and my s618, s739, and a728 except that older ones were much louder than the X. I used hfi-780, FX-500, and SE530 in my tests. So what are you really paying $150 extra for when it isn't as loud?


Sony thinks their name and sound quality gives them the right to charge an arm and a leg and offer us shitty features (wi-fi, lack of video and audio support, no gapless for lossless, inferior processor, etc.). Well they messed up by offering much cheaper alternatives with the same (or better) sound quality and with noise cancellation (S series).

I never mentioned anything about loudness and I rarely go above 12 on my current walkmans volume, so volume is not the issue, capacity is and good EQ.

I don't use any walkman for video or wifi, just music, which is in mp3 format, so I have no use for other codecs.

[Chocolate Truffle]

Do you think X1050 will be around $200 by the time Zune HD and Touch 3G comes out? I just have a feel for X1050 sound and design... I would love to buy ZuneHD but I can't seem to resist X1050.

[Olley]

The Zune Pre-order prices are already causing a ripple effect in prices. Sony may deny the pressure, but Cowon has just lowered prices on it's flagship S9 through Amazon.com. The 16gb model dropped $40 to get under Zune HD's $219.99 price. The 32gb model dropped $32 for the same reason.

[Dreamnine]

The X Series is too dear. Sony has reduced prices on its older S Series, though, at least here in Europe. A 16GB can be had for £84.99.

[copeys]

Sony is extremely overpriced. For what they make, it is too expensive. I mean the PS3 when it was released for the basic model was $829AU. No wonder now-one buys their stuff.... seriously sony, wake up!!

The newest player was something like (off memory) $650AU for the 32GB.

[Ascariss]

Originally Posted by Dreamnine

The X Series is too dear. Sony has reduced prices on its older S Series, though, at least here in Europe. A 16GB can be had for £84.99.

Interesting, this could signal the new S series is just around the corner probably september or early october

[BlindBandit]

Originally Posted by Olley

Now that the retail prices for the Zune HD are known, I have to say Sony needs to take a serious look at the competition. At $290 for the 32gb Zune HD and $399 for the 32gb X I'll be shocked if anyone else buys an X unless the prices come down. I've got the 16gb X and can tell you now, even without seeing a Zune HD that Sony's price is out-of-whack. Compare:

ZuneHD 3.3" OLED screen 480 x 272
Sony X 3" OLED screen 432 x 240
ZuneHD Multitouch
Sony X single touch
ZuneHD Web Browser to compete with Safari on iPod Touch
Sony should be embarassed about the X's web browser.

Does anyone here think Sony's prices are reasonable?

Sony X build in Digital NC
Zune HD HD Radio
Sony X build in Digital AMP with great SQ
Zune HD ?

I say the X Series should low the price to $250 but since it has NC, it's not gonna happen anytime soon. i may sell my X Series for $150 soon or next week, don't know yet but i want to see how good the Zune HD really is & hope the SQ is at least good because if it's like the iTouch then no way jose.

X Series > Zune HD in SQ btw.

[Ascariss]

I have not seen any reviews comparing the X series to the zuneHD but then I really have not been looking at the zuneHD as a mp3 player myself since I really personally do not need video or internet capability on the device.

One thing that worries me is that Sony may lower the price of the X series not now or in october but just before christmas :/

[Olley]

My X1051 doesn't sound any better than my old Zunes (80 and 8), so if the new Zune HD is at least that good then it'll be good enough. As for NC, you can get that on any device with several available headphones. While I enjoy having it built into my X, it's not a $100 feature. It also insists on the included earbuds which aren't my favorite to wear. I'd gladly give it up for a price lowered by $100.

[Chocolate Truffle]

Originally Posted by Olley

My X1051 doesn't sound any better than my old Zunes (80 and 8), so if the new Zune HD is at least that good then it'll be good enough. As for NC, you can get that on any device with several available headphones. While I enjoy having it built into my X, it's not a $100 feature. It also insists on the included earbuds which aren't my favorite to wear. I'd gladly give it up for a price lowered by $100.

Definitely, looking forward to below $200 MSRP, otherwise gotta go with Zune HD.

[Ascariss]

the X will not sell for below 200, even the 32 gig zune hd is not below 200 dollars, nor is the 16 gig model.

[Chocolate Truffle]

Originally Posted by Ascariss

the X will not sell for below 200, even the 32 gig zune hd is not below 200 dollars, nor is the 16 gig model.

Isn't $200 for X1050 fair when Zune HD 16GB is going to be $219 and iTouch 16GB (rumor) will be $199?

[h1a8]

Quite fair. Actually it should be a touch cheaper (get the joke) since the wi-fi is nearly useless, no gapless playback for mp3, no bluetooth, has no apps, and sounds worst or at most equal to the much much cheaper Sony A/S series.

[Ascariss]

Originally Posted by h1a8

Quite fair. Actually it should be a touch cheaper (get the joke) since the wi-fi is nearly useless, no gapless playback for mp3, no bluetooth, has no apps, and sounds worst or at most equal to the much much cheaper Sony A/S series.

lol no apps, the X series was never meant to have apps and it prob can't support that many apps due to its old CPU which is the same as in the Nokia 5220 xpressmusic. the ipod touch has a much better cpu.

gapless would have been added if people wanted gapless, and sure many do want it including me, but apparently during market research people did not want it, so it was not included.

the x does not sound worse tha current A and S series models. I have heard some funny remarks regarding the X, but that takes the cake.

bluetooth can be added using the adapter from sony, the WLANWB1 but at 79 bucks this is not worth it and sony opted to not include bluetooth since when doing market research people did not want it. I don't want to use bluetooth for music and have it re-encoded on the fly and listen to re-encoded music lol.

I am not sure how much a noise cancelling set of headphones cost but checking on a local stores site, they seem to range a 149-500 canadian bucks depending on their site and brand. So is the NC feature worth a 100 bucks? I would say yes it is, you would have to fork out easily 140 for a set to add to a player that does not have it. Plus it has to have batties which add more bulk and weight, hurray.

so oled screen, noise cancelling built in and custom EQ which the ZuneHD does not have. should it cost more than the zune? yes it should but not 80 bucks more, maybe 40-50 more, same for the 32 gig model.

It is simple to decide what one wants or needs. If you want apps good browsing and video get a ipod touch or zune HD (and oled) and of course being locked into windows for the zuneHD I believe. :P

I checked and noticed the ZuneHD has no bluetooth either.

if you want superior sound, easy drag and drop, noise cancelling worth easily 140-500 bucks canadian, wifi which is limit but its there and a custom EQ, get the X.

There is no perfect player, the zune with all its glory has no custom EQ and only presets, with firmware update changing that in the future if it happens. ipod sure it has its benefits but this is after all ABI. X series crappy wifi and no gapless.

I only bought the A1000 at market value from sonystyle, all my other sony walkmans including cd and md were bought during sales and at much lower cost than original price. So easiest way to get sony to lower prices, let your wallet do the talking, don't buy it at all or buy it when it is cheaper in price.

[Dreamnine]

Originally Posted by h1a8

Quite fair. Actually it should be a touch cheaper (get the joke) since the wi-fi is nearly useless, no gapless playback for mp3, no bluetooth, has no apps, and sounds worst or at most equal to the much much cheaper Sony A/S series.

Listening to an X Series for just half an hour with the same files, I'd say it sounded pretty good, not worse than my P3 or S639F. Kind of a weird statement there.

[BlindBandit]

Originally Posted by h1a8

and sounds worst or at most equal to the much much cheaper Sony A/S series.

All i can say is wow after i saw this part

this sound worst or equal to a cheap Sony A or S series

X series is the first Sony mp3 player to have S-Master digital amplifier build in, which make your music sound clean & clear. i don't know about you but listing to Don Omar- Pobre Diabla in AAC 256kb VBR encode in iTunes, all i can say is damm. the bass, treble sound so clear & clean that my ear was crying in joy that how damm good it sound.

[h1a8]

Originally Posted by Ascariss

lol no apps, the X series was never meant to have apps and it prob can't support that many apps due to its old CPU which is the same as in the Nokia 5220 xpressmusic. the ipod touch has a much better cpu.

The point is that pricing it against the touch is stupid since with the touch you get a lot of apps, useful wi-fi, and gapless playback.

gapless would have been added if people wanted gapless, and sure many do want it including me, but apparently during market research people did not want it, so it was not included.

Yes many would buy it if it didn't have gapless. But since other players have gapless then paying more for non gapless and less and worst features is stupid.

the x does not sound worse tha current A and S series models. I have heard some funny remarks regarding the X, but that takes the cake.

I've tested the X against the s618, a728, and s739 with se530, HFI-780, and JVC FX-500. All players sound the nearly same except that the X is much lower on the volume, the bass is very slightly rolled off in comparison to the others, and bumping up the clear bass it sounded somewhat worst in comparison to bumping up the clear bass of the others. Hence, it sounds worst. The volume issue is so bad on the X that I had to bump the volume to the max just to get my 30ohm HFI-780s to have decent listening volume. I can get the same level of listening volume with the others with 5 notches less on the volume level.

I will not lie to you and swear if you offered me a choice between a free sony X 16gb and a free sony s739 16gb then I would choose the sony s739 in a heartbeat. The same goes for the 16gb ipod touch and 16gb cowon s9. The sony X is worth less than a s9 and ipod touch. And that is a very popular opinion (not a fact but should be).

bluetooth can be added using the adapter from sony, the WLANWB1 but at 79 bucks this is not worth it and sony opted to not include bluetooth since when doing market research people did not want it. I don't want to use bluetooth for music and have it re-encoded on the fly and listen to re-encoded music lol.

What you must understand that it is understandible to not include a feature if research supports it. But the price must reflect the absence of that feature to compete with other players that have the feature.
[quote]
I am not sure how much a noise cancelling set of headphones cost but checking on a local stores site, they seem to range a 149-500 canadian bucks depending on their site and brand. So is the NC feature worth a 100 bucks? I would say yes it is, you would have to fork out easily 140 for a set to add to a player that does not have it. Plus it has to have batties which add more bulk and weight, hurray.[quote] The noise canceling feature on the Sony is worth far less than you are saying by the simply fact you can't use the noise canceling headphones on other players. Or if you lose or damage the headphones then the feature is void unless you fork out more money for more headphones. And that it drains the battery off something terrible (slang). Also, the same argument you have with gapless and the research the same argument can be applied to people not so much caring about noise cancelling. Meaning, most people buying the X can do without the noise cancelling feature. It is not a deal breaker for them. I rather have a good isolating iem for passive noise cancellation. It sounds much better than the muddy veiled noise cancelling headphones that come with the X. Lastly, Sony has other players with the same noise cancelling feature (s739) that are more than $100 cheaper and sound the same or better for the same storage size.

so oled screen, noise cancelling built in and custom EQ which the ZuneHD does not have. should it cost more than the zune? yes it should but not 80 bucks more, maybe 40-50 more, same for the 32 gig model.

ZuneHD does have oled screen with other features which Sony does not have that does more to offset the value of Sony's extra custom EQ feature and noise cancelling feature. Plus Dave hinted that features can and will be added with future firmware updates. Sony never adds anything to its firmware updates if it even has any.

Noise canceling is worth $20 extra on average to the value of the player. And that is being generous. And cowon s9 has amoled screen, custom EQ, voice/radio recording, gapless playback, better codec support, better battery life, on the fly playlists, etc. so why spend $130 extra for the X? If one needs the Sony SQ then cheaper Sony's are available (with noise canceling).

It is simple to decide what one wants or needs. If you want apps good browsing and video get a ipod touch or zune HD (and oled) and of course being locked into windows for the zuneHD I believe. :P

I agree.

if you want superior sound, easy drag and drop, noise cancelling worth easily 140-500 bucks canadian, wifi which is limit but its there and a custom EQ, get the X.

No! If you want superior sound, easy drag and drop, noise cancelling worth $20 on average then a Sony s739, s718 are better. They will save you over $100 (get you some much better iems with passive noise cancellation that doesn't drain the battery) plus they sound better and have better volume.

There is no perfect player, the zune with all its glory has no custom EQ and only presets, with firmware update changing that in the future if it happens. ipod sure it has its benefits but this is after all ABI. X series crappy wifi and no gapless.

Agreed. There is no perfect player but correct pricing is essential to survival. Sony tore it's ass when pricing the X.

Also, the Zune is not the only player out there. I say the cowon s9 or the ipod touch is the better buy than the X. The cowon sounds nearly as good with far more features and far cheaper.

[h1a8]

Originally Posted by Dreamnine

Listening to an X Series for just half an hour with the same files, I'd say it sounded pretty good, not worse than my P3 or S639F. Kind of a weird statement there.

Worst comes from mostly lower volume on the X. My ears aren't the best but I guarantee that the X has slightly rolled off bass than the other Sonys. The clear bass feature sounds slightly better on the previous Sonys than on the X.

[h1a8]

Originally Posted by BlindBandit

All i can say is wow after i saw this part

X series is the first Sony mp3 player to have S-Master digital amplifier build in, which make your music sound clean & clear. i don't know about you but listing to Don Omar- Pobre Diabla in AAC 256kb VBR encode in iTunes, all i can say is damm. the bass, treble sound so clear & clean that my ear was crying in joy that how damm good it sound.

S-Master digital amplifier is just a marketing gimmick to get you to buy the player. The bass is slightly rolled off and that is where the illusion of clear and clean is coming from. The s739 was just as clear and clean to my ears but louder and ever so slightly more bass. Do a blind test with a previous Sony player and the X. See which one sounds better. I tested it against 3 other Sony. So I'm not talking outta my arse.