bangraman

I see you removed the inaccurate reference to the treble. The sound of a PX200 fitted without a full 'seal' is that of a reduced bass, emphasised midrange combined with the treble roll-off of both the PX100/200. The E3c, properly fitted, has in absolute terms a reduced bass, an emphaised midrange and a rolled-off treble. I have/had every C-model Shure on the market. In fact I was one of the prototype triallers for the E3c. I have/had multiple PX100/200.. .and it doesn't end there. I've given all of them to a number of people and got their feedback. My statements don't apply universally, but simply by dint of the catchment area I have, it's likely to be a more universal opinion than yours unless you review phones in a similar way. I rather think I am in a position to make such a judgement, jrhughes. No icon?

Funnily, if the E3c's do sound similar to the PX200 then your PX200 are fitted wrong. My experience with the PX100's is that they have a high-end roll-off. A mild, unfatiguing treble. The PX200's do sound worse than the PX100 on many levels, not just tonal. There's the 'honk' that's a byproduct of the closed-back construction of the PX200, and I would say both phones are pretty bassy... with the PX200 delivering more wool in the bass. However, as has been pointed out the PX200's offer isolation, which is a real plus for portable use. Generally speaking I think the PX100's are very good phones for the money but they're just too leaky for out and about use. I like the PX200 because it's a much more usable miniphone as a result of that isolation... but I realise there are compromises as a result. test edit

You paid £100 for a pair of HD25-SP's? I assumed you bought the HD25-1. The 25-1 is pretty much one of the most robust phones you can get.

First of all, de-limit the European limit... the instructions are on this board. It ups the output from utterly pathetic to slightly pathetic, for use with decent phones. The HD25-1 work for me, even with the A-series... the best general purpose portable headphones I have, and believe me that is saying a lot. The key is to wear the headband as snugly as possible as this applies least pressure to your head.

The case must be out soon. The only problem would be that it adds further bulk but it's got to be the no-brainer choice for keeping your A scratch-free while enjoying the looks. You could pick up the silicone case for now perhaps... if you're the type to put your player in the same pocket as keys and what have you, it's probably better to be safe than sorry. My A1/3000 are hardly ever used but they already have a couple of nicks, some hairline scratches and extensive pockmarking on the control buttons. The black is probably the least noticeable for hairline scratches.

I'd like to know how they conducted those tests. In my case, it was by matching the players to the same volume (not by ear but machine-assisted), hooking them up to an audio switch with some of the best phones you can buy, as well as regular listening tests. I look mainly for quality as opposed to colour, which can be changed. The yardstick of that may vary from person to person.

This is because non-purchased songs on the iPod have always had no DRM on them. With Sony finally ditching their ludicrous method of loading you might start to get alternative loaders... but it'll probably be a while.

Roughly speaking... Placing the HD5 user interface as 100%: iAudio: 100% (assuming you don't like sorting by ID3 tags, which is cited as one of the main reasons of buying an X5. If you do like sorting by ID3 tags, 50%. Interface structure is similar and speed of operation is practically identical) iPod 5G: 150% Toshiba F: 90% Unequalised sound quality, placing HD5 as 100%: iPod 5G: 105% X5: 105% Toshiba F: Haven't heard long enough to comment before I slammed it in a drawer in error

Aside from the fragmented software suite of questionable usability, the Creative Zen Vision M seems to be the player to have right now. It's got some elements of the things which makes the iPod good to use, plus some of the non-audio features that some people might want. Although it's probably worth saying that the radio signal-pulling facility of the iPod remote might be better, and that voice recording is at best 'serviceable' on the Vision M... CD quality it ain't. There probably won't be 'driverless drag & drop' programs available for it (unless you count MTP functionality, which I don't) like Yamipod or Sharepod for the iPod, or MP3 File Manager for Sony. Nevertheless, I don't mind using Mediasource for example these days... it's better than any Sony software. I had one of these on pre-order but I just cancelled it. I'm curious, but I decided I'm not that curious... I'm just going to stick with the iPod for now. I fancy just listening to music for a while, instead of learning my way around the inadequacies on yet another player. The X5 is the machine to have for people who do a lot with USB-OTG and also those who can't bear the thought of using software to load music. I feel that's a retrograde step myself, but most geeks seem to disagree. Perhaps I am only a pseudo geek.

I think the OLED display is a retrograde step in everything that matters as far as the user is concerned, apart from battery life and in-shop/geek wow factor. The entire crop of the current Sony OLED-based portables (E-series flash, RH MD, NW-A series HD) are invisible under daylight. Add to that the ghosting effect, very visible on the NW-A series, caused by the reflecting of the OLED light off inner surfaces of the screen assembly and the slow refresh rate leading to flickering of the display, and you get probably the most compromised display in the entire market. Taking as an opposite example the iPod’s displays (both Nano and 5G), both displays can be clearly seen in broad daylight without the backlight needing to be on. Both Nano and 5G displays are razor-sharp in comparison to looking at the NW-A displays in anywhere other than the perfect position (one eye closed, unit perfectly in front of one eye), and suffer no flickering.

Batteries: You can do your product / cost search on Lik-Sang. They're based in Hong Kong. Some of the stuff you'll be able to buy cheaper in the States, some you won't be able to buy at all. http://www.lik-sang.com/list.php?nav=left_sub&category=307&

Just like the iPod, you can buy battery packs for extended endurance... although it might last through a whole movie on the lowest brightness setting. The thing is of course do you have storage for a whole movie if 1Gb memory card is too costly? A 2-hour movie takes up approx 5~600MB of memory stick.

The best alternative I can suggest is this: http://smartwrap.net/

Ah... THOSE types. Totally forgot about that. I even have one like that (truly heinous). Sorry, can't help with any of those... although I'm reasonably confident most of them will be terrible.

Yes there is a fairly major difference. I figured you were pretty determined about it going by the way you wrote your post, but I thought I'd drop in the considered opinion as an occasional in-car user. The HD3 is not a recommended purchase in any case with it's slow UI and awkward controls (notably improved in the HD5). If you're set on going with an inferior solution though, I'd suggest preamping the headphone out with a cheap headphone amp rather than going with a ghetto mod which may or may not work.

By the nature of your requirement, it's not really possible to design an in-ear phone which has internal cable management facilities. It's either the EQ77 or the Sony equivalent, or sometimes twisty cables for the moment I'm afraid.

That is the entire bit of Sony Corp. There are other affiliated but independent enterprises.

The difference between the Line Out mode and the headphone mode will be pretty profound. If you're set on using a Sony with Line signal, then it's a choice of either SQ or control. If frequent use in the car is a prerequisite, then the iPod is IMO the best choice of DAP to get. Unparalleled car support.

You can downgrade from 2.0. However this gets rid of some of the features such as the web browser. Depends on how important the 2.0 features are to you I suppose.

I think that if you took a flash picture of your uncased A3000 in the same way, you'd see a similar pattern of micro-scratches. Neither are an impediment to daily operation. Damage, generally speaking I use the Sennheiser HD25-1 with the Nano. A mostly open big-ass headphone is not always practical of course Soundwise the only major annoyance is that unlike the 5G, they left the EQ of the Nano hanging at the 4G level... i.e. very noticeable distortion if you kick in one of the major bass-boosting presets with high-gain files. Since I very rarely use EQ, that's not a problem in my case but I can see how it might be an issue for some.

Googling too tough for you? I've read through your posts... I understand. Lucky I am here to hold your hand, eh? http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl (Apple market cap = $64bn) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=6758:JP (Sony market cap is in JPY/mil = roughly $45bn) "Sony, Samsung’s arch-rival whose market capitalisation reached $107bn in 2000, is now valued at less than half that of Samsung." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/f596262a-7ced-11da...00779e2340.html Ten years ago, the rot truly set in. They ran out of vision. They're only just attempting to climb out of the hole they've dug themselves in. The sad truth is that Samsung and to a lesser extent LG are becoming the Sony of the 00's. If the PS3 isn't a roaring success, Sony will be further marginalised into an also-ran... and who knows, may even become a takeover target because their market cap will tank further.

Audio-Technica ATH-EQ77 Audiocubes.com link. These are Japan-only and you'll need to import. Look up Singapore-based (and apparently an authorised Audio-Technica dealer) Bluetin.com as well... they allow a UK cheque/cash paying-in facility. Detailed specs (in Japanese) http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/products/hp/ath-eq77.html

I wonder if they'll have it in stock tomorrow Actually, the E507 material for example is not any less scratch-proof as such. However the black Nano (like the 5G) has a very flat, gloss-black substrate that really shows off the scratches really well. In my case, in my first week of ownership of the Nano I managed to drop it onto a train floor face down, then involuntarily give it a little kick so that it grittily slid across the floor. The results are below... I doubt any other player would have fared any better. Polycarbonate is easy to get hairline scratches in which don't impede actual operation, but it is harder to deeply scratch. Anyway, you can buy any number of cases for it these days... including my rather belated acquisition, the Agent 18 Nanoshield... a very cool case.

I feel like the teacher being berated by a student: "1+1=2? Don't be stupid, it's 11 you dumbass"

I suppose it depends on what you mean by within reason.