Sony VAIO VGF-WA1/W Wireless Digital Music Streamer

I bought this a little over 4 months ago. The WA1 was very simple to set up with the configuratiobn tool Sony provided. It was a breeze to get it to work with my wireless LAN and security settings. Getting your music library in shape is the more daunting task.

The player is easy and the streamlined, buttonless control panel is cool. The music that comes out of this box is amazing, but that will depend heavily on the quality of the particular music file it is playing. There is good bass, and as with all sony products, the spatial effects are amazing.

I have used the player all over my two story townhouse and it works well. It works well outside, also. My neighborhood is loaded with wireless LANs and I have used it at a friend's house two doors away. This is through two concrete blocks walls!

No wireless LAN available where you want to use it? Easy, Use the internal memory to store songs and take the WA1 anywhere.

Sony almost got this one right. Using Sony's included server, or the one that comes with Windows Media Player may be adequate for most music libraries. However, if you have a large library, trying to find one or two songs with this player may be difficult.

A better UPnP server to use with this device is Twonky. Twonky allows customization of the menus and "plays well" with this device.

This is an amazing device. Buy Twonky and make your music library selections with quality files and this becomes a 5 star product for your home!

Be forewarned-I was too excited about this gift until I realized its LIMITED functions:

1) Web Radio streaming capability ONLY if you are a SONY 365 subscriber and want to listen to 365 provided radio stations!!! That is correct; this radio will not access/play/stream ANY OTHER radio off the web, ie Sirius, XM, etc...Period. No Can Do.

2) PC Music Files-Ready for this one? It will ONLY access Windows Media Player versions 10.0 and 11.0..it WILL NOT play iTunes nor any other stored music files on your computer...Period. Nada.

After several hours of working with Sony reps to download software required for setup and installation, I came to the very disappointing realization that this is not the product for anyone unless they meet the above 2 specifications; additionally, as this product is brand new to the market, the Sony reps knew virtually nothing more about the product nor its limited functions than I could infer from reading the small fine print in the manual.

Back to the drawing board for the perfect wireless pc/web quality radio speakers...

Got this thing today and will return tomorrow. What is the point of selling a product and promoting its internet radio feature if you don't tell people that you are limited to Live365 radio stations. This makes no sense and is a waste of time when i can find my own radio stations.

Also you can't just put in a cd and play the music wirelessly, you have to first download the cd.

A) Three great features that make it worth it - I'm satisfied
- The setup is very easy with the USB Cable. Found the networks without any problem
- Good design overall : battery, look and feel, ease of use
- GREAT sound

B) Two big misses ( disappointed , but forgiving given A!):
- NO CLICK-WHEEL nor ANY way of picking music in a long list ( unless you call pushing the "down arrow" 499 timesa way of selecting a track, which seemingly Sony does). They should upgrade the Firmware and allow a new remote to do it. THIS IS SURPRISING. So I use it with playlists made on the computer.
- Limited radio access... so it cannot be called fully an Internet Radio

C) Recommendations for Sony for next version
- Check the compatibility with many UPnP servers... works fine with Windows Media Player, but not with a Linux UPnP server that is on my NAS. Cannot read playlists then.
- Add a website for the device to configure remotely, change the name, etc. See Roku's Soundbridge as an example
- Think of a large display on the front... so you CAN use the remote and see the titles
- Display should show title + artist, not filename!
- Selection by Notation (x star and above )would be g

Good quality music streamer out of the box, but with limitations. Excellent device when updated to firmware version 1.2 that allows connection to networks with no SSID broadcast (with the original firmware I had to change my access point settings to SSID broadcast each time I wanted to use the WA1, even with the SSID entered manually in the device settings), and also allows to create your own list of web radios using the companion software WA1 Enhanced Settings tool(installed on a computer on the network and transmitting infos to the WA1 thru wifi). You're no longer limited to built-in services.
Strangely, Sony does not offer the firmware revision on the US site. You have to download it from the Japanese site. Look for a file named SOFOTH-01589600-UN.exe and follow instructions.