shintoenail

Hiya all. I bought this mp3 player a few weeks ago... And all I can say is - AVOID THIS PLAYER IF YOU'RE IN THE EU! Well, any Sony player in the EU now has a 100db limit. I emailed Sony directly and got a stock response, they've obviously had to send a few out recently. Quote: European standards imposed recently mean that personal audio products now have volume limits set to these products. Since this standard has been introduced all Sony Walkmans have a maximum 100db. The regulation code for this European standard is "EN50332-1*". It doesn’t just "cap" the volume. It actually affects the way the sound is delivered. If you put the volume on max and adjust the graphic EQ, you'll see what I mean. If you turn the bass up, it actually goes DOWN in volume. It changes the shape of the sound. I asked them why the 100db limit wasn’t advertised, and they said: Sony UK Limited does not advertise this limitation as it is part of a European legislation that Sony UK Limited must abide by when releasing a product. This does not require advertising as it is a portable audio standard within Europe. Which I think is absolutely deplorable, if I’d have known this, I wouldn’t have got one!!! The fact that the sound is altered, not just volume capped is an issue for trading standards. I’ve passed on the details and have asked why Sony don’t tell their customers that they actually change the way the content sounds. Sony will not get any of my hard earned cash anymore…Consider yourselves boycotted! The unit has been returned. I bought an mp3 player from Tesco’s for £5 that sounds phenomenally better. Thought you’d like to know, Cheers, Shintoenail.