Sony E900 MD

[Loud_TIGER]

looking for another MD to get, this time a player. i already have an N1 for recording, and i'd like to get a smaller machine to take out. How is the sound quality on these? They're not the newest and i'm not sure where to buy one. Anyone have any experiences? Thanks

 

[purk]

Hi,
What is your budget? Why not go all the way for the newer models with digital amp, and dolby headphone? Here's the link!

Good luck

 

[Loud_TIGER]

i dont want to spend past $200... $250 is really pushing it. the E900 i like for its design and size. It's mainly for portable use - something tiny i could carry around when i dont need to record anything.

 

[myself, aka me]

Sharp ST770 -> US$189 from Hyperjack.net
Sharp ST880 -> US$219 from " "
Panasonic MJ90
Aiwa HX400

Those prices exclude shipping. I'm considering the ST770 myself to complement my MDS-PC1 which is arriving on Saturday I hope..

 

[leon]

Yeah, that's a point I would've made myself

Thanks me!

Many of the recent "hi-end/expensive" MDPs are meant to have a street price in the lower-20000 yen range, which means that they'll also be $200 something for us mail order buyers. Some models are initially more expensive, and become cheaper later, but others are priced within this range from the get go. It's definitely true for Panasonic and Sharp (in the case of the ST770).

I have no opinion on the E900 myself, but wanted say that you've got a lot of choices, if you feel like looking at them

 

[myself, aka me]

From my (almost year) of browsing www.bicbic.com, i've noticed that Panasonic high end portables disappear from the site quicker than Sharp, Aiwa, or Sony. Sony are the most expensive, and Sharp tend to be the cheapest (that ST70 for 9800 yen is still there).

I'll be getting an ST770 no doubt though. Browse around hyperjack.net some more, I think they might have some cheap HX150s left, at US$179, that's pretty close to your budget.

Hyperjacks prices are good, and excluding shipping, are almost the same as buying from bicbic (a Japanese electronics department store), assuming the normal Japanese time price decrease (I really suck at explaining, okay!) hasn't occurred.

 

[Loud_TIGER]

the sharp ds-8 has piqued my interest; too bad it's $50 more than the E900. Does anyone know if the 4 conductor headphone plug and the 1 bit digital amplifier help the sound any? the aiwa HX400 seems nice too. im hoping all these prices will drop after the E10 is released : )

 

[myself, aka me]

From what I have heard of the unit, it has extremely good channel seperation.
The 4 conductor headphone jack isn't as much of an improvement with the included clip ons or buds, but I have heard that Sharp is releasing a new line of 4 conductor headphones next year that may be worth considering..

The DS8 price may drop, but i'm not sure how likely this is, considering the E10 is already available for pre-order at US$269.

 

[leon]

Sharp executives have come said that the ds8 would be 10-20% more expensive than comparable, non-digital-amp products from the past (the ST880?).

I like the sound of my ds8 more than all other portables (except one) I've had in the past 4 years. Quality-wise it's very nice, to my ears there's less inherent noise, even quieter than what we'd usually consider as "not hissing". It's not something you can do by just tweaking bass/treble. You can hear it even with 3-conductor headphones.
(do a search for the review I wrote earlier on here)

I think it's very comparable to Sharp's own 831, a favorite of mine and the one exception I just brought up. They've got different strengths too, the ds8 wins on detail but isn't as punchy.

The ds8's advantage is more substantial than the typical difference between two generations (e.g. E900 - E909, MT77 - MT770), but not everyone hears it. When they hear it, they don't always llike it, because the ds8 is not very punchy. But I think it's an excellent job, given its battery life, and how many MDPs waste away the advantages of ATRAC these days.

 

[MacDEF]

The E900 is still one of the best, if not the best, player-only MD portables around. I bought mine when it was first released in Japan over two years ago (had a friend buy it for me and ship it here). It's built like a tank, sounds great, and has incredible battery life (longer than Sony claims, I've found). Since I got mine, I've compared it to some of the subsequent player-only models that have been released, and I haven't yet found one I like better.

 

[myself, aka me]

What portables did you compare the E900 to? I'm probably still getting the ST770 sometime...

Pity I bought a PC1, won't be getting a portable for a few months now. O well, the PC1 smokes the R37, and gives me something nice for home listenin' (it should. It's a deck.

(and one helluva nice deck)

MacDEF: E900 is no tank compared to an R37.. (but the R37 isn't a play only

)

 

[x0mbi]

i actually own both a ds8 and a e900, both are nice units.

e900 sounds decent and is super tiny.

ds8 sounds decent +1

and is a bit heavier. i actually like the weight, makes it feel like i actually bought something

easily worth the $50 in my mind, although i bought my e900 slightly used and for about $100

either one will make you happy.

x0m

 

[andrzejpw]

I have to second macdef's opinion here. I had some friends bring one back for me from Japan around January. Its really quite stunning. Beautiful, and it sounds great. I've compared it to quite a few newer MD players, and I've found it's still better. Even Sony's replacement for it, the e909, can't hold a candle to its older brother. Get one if you can!

 

[myself, aka me]

Check out the MZ-E710 now, it's price (new) is 22800 yen, so hyperjack should sell them fairly cheap