Sony VGFAP1L

[nealb]

Right guys.

Is this 40gb MP3 Atrac player any good??

Currys seem to be selling them off for £199 at the minute.. £150 off RRP. Not a bad saving, I know its getting an old model but even though....

Is the MP3 compatability like on the HD1 where you have to convert into Atrac or can it play them out of the box???

Tempted by this litte sod but then again I haven't seen it in the flesh yet - might be a little too big.

As to Atrac. Brilliant sound quality, been a minidisc fan for years. Was wondering though - doesn't real player use Atrac as it's ripping format?? If so couldn't this be used to get stuff onto the plater??? Just a thought....

Cheers for any advise.

[watchinthewheel]

Sony VGFAP1L - £199 in Dixons - worth looking at?

[nealb]

Thanks for that.

Think I'm going to take the plunge as seems everything I need, not that big either.....

Off to have a look.

Cheers,

Neal.

[watchinthewheel]

can you post back when you get it with what you think, im seriously thinking of selling my hd3 to get one it looks great!

Originally Posted by watchinthewheel

can you post back when you get it with what you think, im seriously thinking of selling my hd3 to get one it looks great!

Self-confessed Vaio nut

I think the offer ends monday so you better be quick.


I got 3 on friday ( will sell 2 once the offer is over)

Though ive yet to get used to the display and controls,it appears to win against the 40gb ipod i also have.As a vaio nut it will be very useful to use with cybershot digicam.Which i was recently gonna to spend 80 odd pound on 1gb memory stick,Until i saw the offer

[nealb]

Well it's charged up, new drivers to support native MP3 and sonic stage 3.1 on the 'puta.

Sound quality is excellent, ATRAC sounds better than MP3 but being a Sony it's probably configured to have preferance over this format... Having said that ATRAC on my Minidisc player always blew my friends iPods out of the water and they admitted it.

Controls. Strange at first but soon get used to them all. The Gpad thing is a good idea but think they went the right way using normal controls on the HD5 etc.

Size. Not the smallest beast but only slightly bigger than the 40gb ipod in Dixons where I ended up getting it from. Doesnt seem heavy either.

Sonic stage. 3.1 is loads better than the other versions but... why o why o why do Sony not let you save the tracks into your 'My Music' folder and when searching for them in the software to move they are hidden?? Or have I just not looked hard enough???

The in line zapper. A little fiddly and hit and miss but generally useful. Bit bulky though for what it is. Surely this could have been half the depth?

Earplugs are good for give aways. I always have hassle with these things fitting in my ears. End up inverting them upside down into my ear if you know what I mean. Sound good though. May end up upgrading at some point though but not sure if the extra cost is worth it for something that sounds so much better than the majority out there already.

Vaio music transfer utility us a brilliant idea. Drag your music file onto it and it dumps it onto the player instantly. No need for Sonic Stage unless you want to use the higher quality ATRAC codec (best bet if you care about music!).. And also to delete stuff off it - not that it's much of an issue with 40gb on tap.

Docking station. Typical Sony. Very good idea but always a shame you have to use one of these things. Pain in the ass for charging on the move as you can't charge without it! Maybe there are some aftermarket cables I can get..... Again you can't transfer music to it unless you have the station... Pain in the.....

Cybershot camera transfer.. Again you need the docking station... Pain... But no use for the anyway as my T1 doesn't have built in USB - again another Sony docking station!!!! Ahhhhhh Sony why not give the option to people??

Screen. Very clear high quality colour jobby. Not got any pictures or album covers on there yet but sure it'll do them proud. Seems as good as the ones on the T, V and W series cameras.

Build quality. Solid as a rock. Old Sony standards.

Verdict. Defo worth every penny. So it may not be as small as the newer ones but it isn't huge anyway. Not far off the size of some MD players about 5 years ago or so.

Get one while the stocks last at this price point.