WaywardTraveller

Well, an update on the EX90s: I had to take my first pair back because the left-ear wire was beginning to come out of the three-wire junction holder (aw, you know what I mean!). It WAS *my* fault, though, as I had put them in at night and fallen asleep and probably given them a little too much wear and tear. Got them exchanged for a brand new pair no problem though. It IS real metal (aluminum), and I hope the pics will give you a better idea. You got 'em . I don't wear them when eating (my 71s used to slowly slip out of my ears so I ditched the habit), so I can't say about that - but the 90s DO have discernibly less cable-handling noise. It could also be because they don't move around in my ears as much as the 71s did. Believe me, I looked! I was hoping China would come through for me, but China can have some really strange pricing ideas. While units were average or a bit cheaper, Hi-MD discs (or ANY MDs for that matter) and other stuff can even be more expensive. Unfortunately, the one place in Beijing where I saw the 90s they were CAD200 (in RMB) - slightly MORE expensive than Oz! I was also driven to frustration/desperation by deteriorating 'phones and couldn't wait for sweet, sweet digital headcandy . peace WaywardTraveller

Thanks for the kind words ppl . Once I have a bit of spare time I will add some pics of the buds and their case. I'd normally love to wait to get something cheaper, but I was desparate for a good set of buds to instantly kill my ongoing curse with the 71s. Having listened to a wide variety of music with the EX90s so far (including transcoded MP3s), I'd add that they really can bring out lots of detail in music you thought you knew so well before...including the odd artifact. However, all in all I'd say that my faith in transcoding (higher-end) MP3s to ATRAC has improved greatly, hearing the way they sound on these buds. peace WaywardTraveller

I'm not sure where you are in Oz, but the JB Hi-Fi stores in Melbourne's CBD have carried them as long as I can recall (black and white)...not very helpful for my wallet, as the scuttlebutt here has made me start "circling" them lol.... I've never tried them, but the PX100s seem so....so..cheap looking? Can anyone say anything about how good they are at blocking out external noise? peace WaywardTraveller

Nothing personal, but I can't begin to tell you how off you are on this. With every inevitable "(Hi-)MD is dying! Run for the hills!" thread (I'm convinced they occur regularly in accordance with some esoteric natural law) there are far, far more realistic attempts to think/speculate through the situation. IMHO the admins and hardcores here, with their collective breadth of knowledge and IMHO, are particularly vigilant at contributing to a neutral field of inquiry and communication about this. And besides....it's portable audio; it's not Armageddon. peace WaywardTraveller

Mine are the EX90LPs. What's the difference between the two? peace WaywardTraveller

Well, that does it. The other day my last pair of el-neato refurb CAD15 Mongolian EX71s went the way that so many of my other Sony earbuds have gone...down the toilet. Yep...left-channel decides to go on permanent vacation: over listening to it briefly over a couple of days I could actually hear the left channel dwindling, fading...not with a bang but with a whimper. So screw it...as much as I like the EX71s (aware of their flaws as I am), I decided to take the next step up (well, okay - two or three) and get my hands on Sony's EX90 stereo monitor earbuds at Melbourne's Galleria Sony Store. It was either this or a pair of the XD400s (same price - AUD199 - yeahyeah, I know ). This is what happens when music/sound becomes an important part of your life! I was a bit hesitant, but once I made sure the EX90s use the same size ear-gaskets as the EX71s (they do, and I have truckloads of old 71 gaskets) I threw off my emergency MDR-E31s and grabbed 'em. First impressions: opening the box, I got a dim sense that Sony was almost willing to treat its customer right! Even the packaging is very aesthetically attractive (it better be!)...frosted cardboard box, spare gaskets, and FINALLY a half-decent carrying case that seems to actually protect the buds - you put the buds in a rectangular plastic holder and wrap the cord around a robust plastic frame that fits snugly into a small rectangular Sony leather case. Sweet! Sony has also returned to the scientifically-determined headphone cord-length: no extension cords needed! Now the buds themselves: Sony seems to have learned from the EX71s - holding the buds as if to put them on, the actual buds are tilted forward (i.e. in the direction you look) to a 45-deg angle (or something), which allows you to fit them into your ear much easier. The EX90s feel solid but not too heavy in your fingers (and your ears), and the headphone cord is sturdy - IMHO a vast, vast improvement over my other buds (maybe it's cos the EX71s were refurb, but in the middle of the night on a train in northern China the cord casing started peeling off with the consistency of melted cheese!). I find walking in the city much, much easier with the EX90s than the 71s as the buds slipped less in my ears (the old EX71s would never fit perfectly in my left ear). Finally, the sound quality. Someone on these forums once remarked that the EX90s sound like E888s stuck in to earbuds. Owning a pair of E888s and actually not liking them (not enough isolation/they don't fit very well), I can't speak to that; but at risk of stating the obvious, the EX90s blow the EX71s out of the water. The EX90s' frequency response is 5-25K, and although this might sound close to the 71s' overstated bass, Sony has truly balanced the deep bass response (which is still there!) with very clear highs and crisp middles. Maybe it's just me coming off the EX71s, but the EX90s' high response is truly impressive. Sound in general isn't as muddy as the EX71s, and although the 90s don't seem to block out external noise quite as well as the 71s, once I got into listening to my music it wasn't discernible enough to be a big deal. All in all: I got really sick of shit build quality on the 71s and wanted, "once and for all," to get good buds that I felt would last. Although I paid a little more than I would have otherwise (Oz can be pretty expensive sometimes!), I am quite happy with the EX90s and would definitely recommend them to anyone (depending on the price!). Hope this helps some people out there looking for good buds. Anyone else have these? EDIT: (Feb16) Sorry for the delay, but I finally found some spare time and took some photos of the EX90s. Sorry for the quality, but I don't have enough time to take the pics I'd like to ...I have included a CF card and mouse in the shots to ensure a sense of perspective. I'll just make some comments that you can see for yourselves in the pics. The EX90 earpieces are made of sturdy aluminum, and as you can see the gaskets are at an angle to allow easy insertion into your ears. For those of us with EX71s, the 90s use the same ear gaskets, which definitely helped sell me on these as I have fistfuls of old EX71 gaskets. Inside the gaskets the EX71s had a little paper layer(?) which some pricked open with a pen or something for better sound - but the 90s have what looks to be a fine wire mesh similar to what you put in the bottom of a smoking pipe. You will also see the leather carrying case supplied by Sony - it contains a plastic frame used to secure the buds when not in use (the L-shape plug tucks in under the case's bottom). At first I was skeptical (especially after dealing with that hapless E888 carrying case!) but the frame really DOES secure the buds (as you can see from the last pic) and slides easily into the case. The only reason I don't use the case as often is because I use the EX90s outdoors, so the buds are usually hanging around my neck - but it's ideal for when you want to put them away for a little while. Hope these pictures help give people an idea of what the 90s are like. The sound on these babys is GREAT; havnig tried the 90s for a while I'd say I've gotten used to giving up the emphasized bass of the 71s for a full bass on the 90s, but with a solid and detailed overall sound. peace WaywardTraveller

atrain: right now I'm in Moonee Ponds (previously Ascot Vale) - it's only 15-20min. into the city (Flinders St. Stn). Whereabouts are you? peace WaywardTraveller

For those of you who own an NH900...I own a China-bought unit and was wondering if hacking it to a North American/Aus model has any specific advantages? The volume isn't capped, and I can't find any Asian-NA differences/discrepancies in the user manual (like there are with the NH1). Am I missing something? peace WaywardTraveller

Really? I've heard others say that but still wonder how one might need to record for 4+ hours at a time. Guess your best option would be the buy another LIP-4WM on EBay or something. And hey - on the NH1 at least you get an idea of how much juice you have left so you can time a battery-swap. peace WaywardTraveller

In addition to what the other poster said (i.e. that USB is for file-transfer only), keep in mind that the NH1 is DC-IN 6V - 5V could damage your unit. peace WaywardTraveller

I'm definitely a late bloomer. A friend of my brother's worked in Japan for a couple of years, and when he brought over his ancient Sony MD player it was so that I could rip a Muslimgauze album (which was released only on MD) to my computer as WAV. I thought the format was interesting, but since he told me to be very, very careful with it in case it should break (sitting on a table?) I remember thinking it was "fragile" technology. FF a couple of years to my travelling...starting in Syria, meeting my then-girlfriend in Damascus (who is German) and hiking through a bit of Germany/Switzerland and circling around to Morocco...Tunisia....sitting in minivans where the first thing they ask is "what country you from?" AND, when you tell them, having the Arabic music taken off and one of two things being played: Bryan Adams or Celine Dion, both of whom I despise! ("nono, good Canadian music, yes?")... After those six months and I went back to Canada I vowed not to travel anymore without a reserve of Western tunes at hand! Portable CD players weren't gonna cut it, and since I had seen a couple of people with MD (even saw someone with an NH900 in Singapore!) I thought I'd check it out. Bought my first unit (Sharp IM-MT880), remembering how worried I was that - oh no! - everything needs the remote to work properly! After testing it, recording with it, etc. I've never looked back. My Sharp sat around for a little while the next time I returned to Canada, though, until I heard of Hi-MD...what's this? NOW I can store LOTS more music on discs as WELL as data (which is very useful for me) AND play my old MDs....but once I get back some of the old guard here have convinced me to go back to my Sharp and do some listening comparisons. As for my travels.....my MDs have fared fairly well: lost one MD in Gansbaai, ZA, had an RH10 stolen in Mongolia (had to buy a replacement - an NH700 for CAD400!!!!), dropped a remote into a Moroccan toilet (no....you......DON'T....want....to...know - suffice it to say it still works! ) and bought more mics than I can shake a stick at. I use Hi-MD for recording street/ambient sounds, spoken-word journals, archiving computer files and for listening to music/spoken-word albums. There's more I could say, but blablabla...that's basically my story. peace WaywardTraveller

IIRC, there were a couple of posts requesting information about NH1 hacks...just wanted to say that I've tried the methods in these forums to hack a Chinese NH1 to an American model definitely works. I did this to unlock the limitations on unit track-titling: the extended character sets are limited to American/Australian models and cannot be used on the Asian model. One change others might notice concerns the way mic/line-in recordings display on the MC40ELK remote: the Asian model presents disc/track titles in a unique widened Times New Roman font, but this seems to be gone if you hack the region. peace WaywardTraveller

Wow...I didn't think such a thing was really possible. However, the service-mode codes for the RH1 would be a welcome bit of information indeed! peace WaywardTraveller

Right now I'm in Melbourne before I return to Canada...was wondering if anyone here (ideally in/around Melbourne or in Australia?) would like to trade. I have lots of music at home in Canada, but while I'm in Oz my collection is more limited. Right now I'm primarily looking for dark ambient/abstract/minimalist techno along the lines of Richie Hawtin/Plastikman, Stewart Walker, Aphex Twin, Bass Communion (very hard to find), some Muslimgauze, Dead Voices On Air, Basic Channel, etc. but am open to other artists. Not looking for anything under 256kbps bitrate. Although this is top on my list, I'd also be open to trading other stuff - PM/email me if interested. peace WaywardTraveller

Currently listening to minimalist techno: Richie Hawtin/Plastikman: Sheet One / Musik / Artifakts / Recycled Plastik / Consumed at ATRAC 3plus 352kbps on my gold MZ-NH1 w/EX71s Dre PlasticityGakOkxHelikopterGlobPlasticine KomaVokxSmakOvokxpeace WaywardTraveller

So...uhh...umm...can I borrow them? I have a long overseas flight happening in a couple of months and would like to try them out........ No, really...I'll send 'em RIGHT BACK when I'm finished.... peace WaywardTraveller

Excellent news...and is anyone even seriously counting the lurkers, i.e. people like me who trawl for info. without always logging in? NOW...if we could only get it more into people's heads to use the Search function instead of posting the most basic of questions over and over again... Still, excellent news for the Forums indeed! peace WaywardTraveller

You'd be really, really lucky to find any in North America or Europe at this point, I'd guess. I bought mine in Bangkok (Panthip Plaza) for about CAD85 though. Unfortunately, I don't know where you might be able to order one online. peace WaywardTraveller

This might be a newbie question, but I'm one of those lucky few who don't usually have any problems with SS 4.2. I'm ripping a whole bunch of Metallica B-sides, singles, etc. to an MD...they're all A3+256, but I need to bump down the bitrate on a couple of tracks to, say, 192kbps to fit them all on one disc. If I convert on-the-fly from 256 to 192 during transfer, would the sound quality be the same as re-ripping the original CD source as 192? Just wondering, since if they're the same it would save me re-ripping tracks I already have as 256kbps on my computer. Has anyone compared? peace WaywardTraveller

True enough....I don't know much about the history of prerecorded MDs, but they didn't last that long. This used to be the case, but thankfully no longer. Music you transfer to MD CAN be uploaded to any computer as long as it's running a recent version of SS (music ripped with older versions CANNOT be transferred from MD) and the "Add Copy Protection" box in the Import CD dialogue window is UNCHECKED. In case you didn't know, the M200 is nothing more than the MZ-RH1 with a mic thrown in to the deal. they are exactly the same unit. Moreover, we (as in somebody on these forums) have reliable information stating that Sony plans to release a low-end version of the RH1 at some point - same unit but cheaper, with LCD and not backlit display, gumstick battery, etc. There's a thread on this somewhere here but I don't have the time to look for it... peace WaywardTraveller

Gordon Baker Rd. is a 5min. walk from where I am in Toronto. Woohoo! Time to replace Hi-MD disc cases with 74min discs and "return" them as "defective" Eeehh....too bad I'm too lazy to be naughty like this. peace WaywardTraveller

While I'm not sure I'd call it a "revival," I'd swear that JB Hi-Fi here in Melbourne started carrying MD blanks again after not stocking ANY MD stuff for a while (although I could be wrong on this). As to why MD never caught on, Sony needs to take the blame for shitty marketing (read: NO marketing to speak of?) for a product that would have done (and be doing) much better had the word gotten out further. This also includes, IMHO, pushing Hi-MD not only as a data-storage option, but as an option that lets you keep both music AND data on any given disc. My own personal reasons for adopting and continuing to use MD are admittedly "non-21st century" - I will always prefer to have my music (as well as data) volumized and never in one place or on one stealable/breakable unit; and with MD I can keep a player at home, in my uni office, etc. etc. and not worry about forgetting to bring a player on which to listen to my music. MDs are very, very sturdy (both in terms of media integrity and their plastic shell) and IMHO too much is made of the portability issue - I don't have any problems keeping a few discs in my pocket while I bop around town. Moreover, I find the audio quality better than other portables I've heard (see, jaylen? I'm resisting using that I-word ). But all these points have been made many times before. I guess the point is that the vast majority of people just want bop-tunes and don't care too much about bitrate or audio quality when it comes to portability. peace WaywardTraveller

Robin: Thanks for a great review...I'm currently considering either the 105 or 133FX as well as (dare to dream?) the Onkyo X-B8 system. I've shown the unit pics VERY briefly to an audiophile friend of mine, but he's wondering about speaker connections. Don't think he had time to take a closer look, but I guess this just plugs into the receiver on your system anyways? Either way, sounds like you don't have any complaints.. I'm also particularly interested in any warranty/repair options you might/might not have, since like myself you live in Canada. If something happens to it, what would you do? Would Onkyo in NA help you? peace WaywardTraveller

The LIP-4WMs I bought in Beijing have been working just fine...right now I only use two of the five I own (one to use and one for backup), but haven't had a single problem. peace WaywardTraveller

If this helps, although the Hi-MD units don't have the buttons you're talking about, there are a couple of different ways to search. You can plod through a track by holding down the |<< and >>| buttons on the unit or remote OR, if you pause first, you can zoom through a track at lightning speed and then un-pause. It's not quite the same I know, but that's about the closest it gets. peace WaywardTraveller