[Eagle_Driver]

Yesterday afternoon I bought a Sony MZ-E10 MD Walkman player (I know, I paid full MSRP because I didn't trust myself being home during the day, because I had so many errands to do). So I opened the box (Sony uses a box for its extremely high-end portable units, even in the USA, instead of that crappy cut-to-open-and-destroy plastic packaging used in the lower-end units) - and first thing I noticed is, the unit is TINY! Barely larger than the plastic case that single MDs are stored in. And it looks cool in "brushed aluminum"-looking magnesium alloy.

So much for size and looks, now on to the accessories. First, the remote is no longer the one with that angled-jack-blocking-access-to-Grado-plug type of setup, but a newer one whose jack is at the very end of the remote stick, with no obstructions. This means that even Grado mini-plugs will have no trouble whatsoever fitting into the new Sony remote. There's also a headphone plug adapter cable, in case you want to use the MZ-E10 without a remote. Also included is an AC adapter, which is meant to be used only with the charging cradle bundled with the MZ-E10 - and the cradle is the only way that you can run the MZ-E10 on household AC current, since the MZ-E10 itself lacks a DC-in jack. The included carrying bag is of little use for my uses, however. And I had expected a pair of MDR-027SP "Light Style" headphones

or a pair of MDR-W034SP or MDR-A34SP "In Style" VITEs

- but I was pleasantly surprised that what was included with my US-market MZ-E10 is a set of MDR-E838SP "Bud Style" 'phones. Those E838's sound pretty good, as stock headphones or earbuds go (better than my old E848's

, in fact, and much better than the E828's and E818's) - but you will want a pair of Koss KSC-35's, Koss Porta Pros, Sennheiser PX#00's or Grado SR-60's or Sony MDR-7506's with this MD player for better sound quality.

Speaking of the player's sound quality, I am currently burning in the player for a few hours. But I can tell that using MDs that I recorded on my MZ-N707 in SP mode, the output from the MZ-E10 sounds fuller and a bit less grainy than the output from my MZ-N707 (which, by the way, I will continue using as a recorder).

So far, I like the MZ-E10. It will be my primary portable player without an auxillary amp - at least until either Sharp or Sony can come up with a better-sounding unit that's easily available locally.

Oh, did I say that the MZ-E10 and MZ-N10 are made in Japan, rather than Malaysia like the lower-end MD Walkman models?

 

[Duncan]

Hey... glad you like your new toy Eagle

Is the US remote single or dual line display?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

The remote that comes with the US model has a single-line display.

 

[PodMan]

How effective is the equalizer and all the various virtual surround settings?

 

[leon]

My $0.02 while we wait for eagle_driver:

The virtual surround settings are neither better nor worse than comparable effects (such as Sharp's implementation of Dolby Headphone). If you didn't like the others, the E10 will not make you feel better

I'm glad someone finally gave us 6 bands on an equalizer, each individually adjustable, on an MDP. There's a bit of a rumble-type/boom noise whenever the EQ or virtual surround is turned on, and it's very noticeable with bass-heavy presets. A lot of people don't mind this (and thus think I suck), but by Head-fi standards it's definitely undesirable.

I don't mind it as long as I'm listening to talk radio.

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

Quote:

on an MDP. There's a bit of a rumble-type/boom noise whenever the EQ or virtual surround is turned on

that problem had been confirmed by people at minidisc-t and i only happens on e10's equalizer for some reason. n10 has no such problem...

im also thinking of selling my MZ-R909 and get a japanese E10, but the more offers i get the more i want to keep my r909

i cant make up my mind!!...r909 or e10??? [size=xx-small]or both

[/size]

 

[mclaren20]

Quote:

Originally posted by ProFingerSk8er im also thinking of selling my MZ-R909 and get a japanese E10, but the more offers i get the more i want to keep my r909 i cant make up my mind!!...r909 or e10??? [size=xx-small]or both [/size]

DS8

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

DS8 is a nice player with nice sound, but itz just not my cup of tea

 

[einolu]

as much as i would love to hate sony, i just cant, lol.

the e10 is still the sexiest portable audio device yet, so have fun with that.

~EO

 

[leon]

My E10 isn't that sexy anymore now that it's dented on both sides in a few places, and well-scratched from sitting in my pocket for a couple months.

My DS8 had gone through the same abuse for double, or maybe triple the time of my E10, but it has absolutely no scratches on the top surface, only a few that can be counted with your fingers on the corners in the back. The E10 has never been dropped and the DS8 was dropped 3-5 times.

I don't know if this speaks for magnesium as a material, the thickness of the enclosure, or the surface treatment Sony chose

 

[Superbaldguy]

Question - does the digital amplifier in the E10 make it all worthwhile over, say, my 'older' E707 which sounds excellent?

 

[bangraman]

I would say no, superbaldguy. It allows you to do more with the sound, but I found the DSP effects quite bad. The multi-band EQ is quite a handy feature. I definitely did not like how you could hear the motors spinning up and down though.

 

[Superbaldguy]

I think that I'll use my E707 until it dies and replace it with the E710. By that time, probably all MD units will have DSP, anyway.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Well, I found the DSP effects unlistenable, in their current implementation. The six-band EQ, on the other hand, is nice to have, particularly when used with headphones that are somewhat deficient at some frequencies, although I personally listen to music with all EQ settings at 'flat'.

 

[Superbaldguy]

Hmmm.....Sounds like my E707 will be serving me for awhile.