Sony's NW-S700/600 series: the best sounding Walkmans, ever

Sony Japan just spilled the deets on their new Walkman S series of digital audio players. The NW-S700 players deliver pretty much exactly what we've already seen: 4/2/1GB of flash memory, 3-line OLED display capable of dishin' albumn art, FM tuner, playback for MP3/ATRAC/ATRAC Advanced Lossless/Linear PCM and AAC/WMA sans DRM files, and the ability to record from external audio sources direct to PCM or ATRAC3Plus. The player features a quick 3-minute charge for 3-hours of playback or a 2-hour full-charge for up to 50-hours playback of all those 132kbps ATRAC files you probably don't have. Finally, Sony claims that the NW-S700 series delivers the highest sound quality in Walkman history due to the integrated noise cancelation and bundled 13.5mmEX earbuds with integrated in-line Mic. Nice, if indeed their claims of 75% less ambient noise are true. Also announced are the NW-S600 players offered in 2/1GB flavas but without the FM tuner and built-in noise cancelation. The NW-S700 players will hit October 21st in Japan in your choice of black, violet, gold, and pink while the NW-S600 DAPs are set to roll on November 18th in black, blue and pink. And of course, there's the limited edition NW-S706F/T in brown which, as you know, is the new white of consumer electronics. Expect to fork over up to ¥29,000 (about $242) for the 4GB NW-S706F or as little as ¥15,000 (about $125) for the 1GB NS-S603 model.

[Via Impress]

[Paule @ Oct 12th 2006 6:32AM]

If the software is only half as crappy as it is the case with that awful "connect player" that is the only way to fill the NWA-3000 I own, you should steer clear of these walkmen. Just google around searching for said connect player and the sheer amount of complaints about it will reduce any desire to actually own one of these things to zero...

[joel @ Oct 12th 2006 10:53AM]

Worst...Program...Ever

[Peter @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:05AM]

better than Itune, if ppl dont know how to use and take advantage of the better looking and cooler SOnic Stage don't blame SONY, blame u r being stupid!!!

[George @ Oct 12th 2006 6:38AM]

Nice bit of kit.

The album art feature makes this really appealing - but I'm worried about the software it's going to be packaged with.

Why can't they just have Mass-storage compliance and drag/drop transfer? On-device indexing is possible, so why not do it?

I don't want to be forced to use anything like Connect or iTunes.

[chunson @ Oct 12th 2006 6:42AM]

sony walkman, sonic stage... is CRAP... and that's an understatement. it is such a pity for SONY.. their batteries beat the hell out of other mp3 players.. ipod included... but their software is a weak attempt at replacing cult status itunes... there are 3rd party software for usb mp3 players that allow other mp3 players sync with itunes playlist with such ease.. but they do not work with sony... sony is isolating so many users.. while it's almost tempting to get one i wld spend any money on them after trying out my sister's e-series. thank God for the new ipod 5G and Nano which now has 20hours play back. Crap software Sonic Stage. Crap format. Shame on you Sony...

[KimJongIl @ Jun 15th 2007 8:00PM]

SonicStage software designed by prison labor in North Korea. Very successful. --Kim Jong Il

[Leon @ Oct 12th 2006 7:50AM]

What a non sense will say my friend Ralf...

[tinkafoo @ Oct 12th 2006 7:59AM]

The name: "NWS"?! You gotta be kiddin'.

It already comes in colors, just make it vibrate and be done with it.

[Andir3.0 @ Oct 12th 2006 9:22AM]

National Weather Service
Netware Web Server
Not Work Safe
Nuclear Weapons State

That's all I can find...maybe I'm getting old, but I can't think of anything lude to put with NWS except naughty wife stick or some really stupid stuff like that (as the "vibration" comment would lead me to believe.)

[Finished Law School @ Oct 12th 2006 9:56AM]

It's from Sony so something is likely very wrong with it either quality wise or the specs are a lie or something dangerous like it will start fires...

[Zeke @ Oct 12th 2006 10:05AM]

It's so beautiful.... why does it have to be Sony?

Sony is good at making things sound good. As for set-top boxes (stereos, recievers, etc.) I insist on them, despite some Bose-esque price inflation. Heck, their old OS4 Cli�s had a Yamaha chip that sounded better than most new PDAs. If it weren't for evil SonicStage and ATRAC3, I would ditch my iPod.

[Andir3.0 @ Oct 12th 2006 10:26AM]

Damn, I must be in the wrong boat because this sounds like an awesome thing, but it's apparently the "cool" thing today to hate on Sony.

If I took that same look at every company, I would not own anything and would live in a cardboard house. Not any of that Hammermill paper cardboard though, I hear that catches on fire!

[Tausif @ Oct 12th 2006 10:46AM]

As a piece of hardware, it seems pretty good and innovative, as most of the network walkmans have been.

To all those bitching about Sonicstage and Connect Player: yes it used to be absolutely awful. It would lock up, lose parts of your library, not start up, force a restart etc. etc. I have used both since v1, so I think I am in a decent position to judge how far it has come. The current version, SS CP4, is much improved, not quite itunes yet, but it is perfectly useable and getting towards Apple's brilliant offering. One or two more updates (due soon as the last update was May) and I could see this player, if marketed properly and PS3/PSP integrated, doing pretty well (ie a solid second place).

[Arno @ Oct 12th 2006 10:54AM]

ATRAC FTW!


Why is Sony so clueless?

[Tausif @ Oct 12th 2006 11:15AM]

MP3 WMA LPCM are also supported you know!

[Tausif @ Oct 12th 2006 11:17AM]

Add AAC to that list as well^^

[TheGuyNextDoor @ Oct 12th 2006 11:46AM]

I think Sony have finally turned the corner on mp3 players. These actually look worth getting, and I'd take them over their equivalent from other brands.

It still remains to be seen if the software is up to the job, but then you only use the software for a short period of time. From what I've seen, newer Sonicstage editions are leagues ahead of the older ones, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.

[Maksee @ Oct 12th 2006 1:23PM]

It would be great if this model is actually is about what the news claims. But from what I know I doubt. I own Sony EX90 earbuds, they are very good, but.. I also owned Sony NC5 noise cancelling headphones that implemented the same concept (buds + mics + noise concellation scheme). The worst thing about them was that in passive mode they sounded worse than well-known Sony EX71 despite the fact that visually NC5 looks like EX71 + nc. So they probably use 3 methods not 2 for noise cancellation, passive, active and a little bass exagerating probably since the lower band suffers most from the ambient noise. Be aware if you don't like increased bass.
.... SonicStage is a weird piece of software, never used it until bought RH1. I'm sure that SoundForge team they bought would come out with a greater replacement in 3-4 months.

[Unlogic @ Oct 12th 2006 1:33PM]

I wonder if the included software comes with a rootkit =)

[Bob @ Oct 12th 2006 9:09PM]

But will this new release be enough for Sony to regain market share (especially considering Apple's hold and Microsoft's entrance)?

http://www.computers.net/2006/10/sony_releases_n.html

[Bob-o @ Oct 13th 2006 12:17AM]

It looks like they "cancel noise" through the use of IEM's (in ear monitors) or a hybrid system that seals the ear canal. While these are great (I love my set of Sennheiser CX300's) and can produce a ton of bass from a tiny driver, they're definitely not for everybody.

i.e. I took these running once, and it was pretty dangerous because I couldn't hear any ambient noise, and almost got hit by a car. And if you do take them running, anytime you touch the cord, you can hear the vibrations created through the earbud. All I heard the whole time was the *thump thump thump* of my feet.

These earbuds definitely shouldn't be included in a product named "Walkman".

[NeoteriX @ Oct 12th 2006 9:34AM]

It's a hybrid. It combines the "passive" in-ear canal sound isolation design of the EX-51/71/81 headphones with "active" sound cancellation--as you can see from the mics built into the earphones. This is so it can record the ambient noise, and generate a signal out of phase to cancel out the noise.

[jonathan @ Oct 13th 2006 2:07AM]

Anyone knows whether there is any chance that direct input from source could mean the possibility to plug a mic in?? (probably very very wishful thunking tho)

Thanks, Jonathan

[Screamager @ Oct 13th 2006 3:45AM]

I though it was going to have superior DACs and a decent headphone amplifier integrated, but their whole claim on "the best sounding walkman ever" is just due to their ear buds?

This is a joke played on all of us. I�ll stick to my H120 and Westone UM1/Senn PX100 IEMs/Headphones. Thanks. Call me when they come out with a HD based player/recorder with some 80GB capacity and high quality audio electronics. And don't paint it white. Sony had a really cool purple 20GB player that aesthetically was tempting.

[tekdroid @ Oct 13th 2006 12:21PM]

As long as Sony is still bundling SonicStage with their Walkmans, they will never reclaim their number one position in portable audio.

SonicStage CP 4.0 = more buggy than SonicStage 3.4, in my experience. So much so that I've downgraded to 3.4.

But compared to far earlier SonicStage versions, things have generally improved in the last year - but that's not saying much, seeing as SonicStage in its earlier DRM-heavy incarnations should have never been released to the unsuspecting population.

Sony management have no clue what the invasive, complex, buggy, unintuitive & unnecessarily copmlex SonicStage application has done (and continues to do) to sales of their hardware. You'd think by now they would have been clued in. Oh well, another few years with this app while Korean and Chinese upstarts offer native drag-n-drop & broad codec support (FLAC and Ogg Vorbis) may just wake them up to the way the wind is blowing...

[lizz @ Aug 2nd 2007 8:01AM]

could someone please tell me how to reinstall DAT files into my NS200 series? i accidentally deleted them now i cant enjoy my music!

[dita @ Oct 13th 2006 7:56PM]

Sony kills any music player out there today...great looks and great sounds...that's all that matters...everyone here complaining about SS and Connect please get off your lazy behinds and get your hearing checked...Sony is top notch in quality...I have every nw series since the hd-3 and they have yet to dissappointent..you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll buy this as soon as I can...much love sony...keep em' comin.

[Justin @ Oct 14th 2006 11:30AM]

There's more to sound quality than just noise reduction. I get some annoying distortions when playing some of my Beethoven piano sonatas on my iPod. I'm not exactly sure what's causing it, but it's not noticable in iTunes and it's not because it's too loud. Noise cancelation isn't going to fix whatever is causing this, or the many other problems that can effect sound quality.

[irdepesca @ Oct 14th 2006 3:19PM]

Do you have a 4G?

[NineTailedFox @ Oct 15th 2006 11:03AM]

"If the software is only half as crappy as it is the case with that awful "connect player" that is the only way to fill the NWA-3000 I own..."

Funny, there are two other ways to fill the NW-HD5 that I own, both preferable to SS4 (which itself is far better than earlier versions); Sony's own MP3 Manager and their VAIO Music Transfer app. I like the latter, in particular, for its neat floating drag-and-drop box and "Send To" context menu integration.

Neither of these is ideal, and true drag-and-drop would obviously be preferable, but it always amazes me that people can be so dissatisfied with SonicStage and yet make no apparent effort to find the alternatives.

[tekdroid @ Nov 11th 2006 6:03AM]

sure, if you can tell me how it can support a Sony Hi-MD unit without using or installing SonicStage at all, I'll be first in line to try it.

[Andy O'Meara @ Nov 16th 2006 3:06PM]

I bought one of these because of this article only to discover that (a) you can't copy audio files via the OS, making my Mac useless, and (b) you're forced to use Sony's SoundStage to transfer music onto it! Thank for a lousy, half-assed article, engadget. This is the last time I'll consider you to be any kind of authority on personal electronics.

[rico @ Dec 20th 2006 5:26AM]

I have a NW-S703FB.

about the soundquality. it really is awsome! NC is very good and it has VPT, some sort of 3D effect, it really rocks!

sonicstage is not the best SW out there, but just lay around with it and you´ll get used to it. not erverything comes easy you know. if you want great soundquality or the awsome design then you´ll have to take a minute or two to look at the software. If you don´t want that, buy some cheap drag n drop player and have it your way.

greetz

[avneet @ Mar 17th 2007 8:28PM]

there's a program i downloaded that makes transfering music much easier - look on download.com, there's quite a few actually. - if you want it - email me.

[baljinder @ Nov 27th 2007 11:08AM]

i think sony is the ever best ,no one can beat sony i am always a great fan of sony nw walkmans