Flyhigh

I've sold my European 507 and bought a Japanese one instead. The Japanese model plays louder, very subjectively, as I do not have an SPL meter, I would say about 20 % louder. For me that makes a huge difference. I now only occasionally max out the volume whereas before, I always played on max. If Sony (or the EU) does not change its policy I'll never buy a flash player in Europe again. Please be aware though, that if you buy a Japanese model you’ll have trouble with the tuner, as covered in the forums here. It seems that the only way to get a decent Sony flash player in Europe is to import it from the States.

Thanks for your reply Ishiyoshi. I'm in Sweden and I wonder if there are any Japanese retailers with English websites that accept credit card payments and ship to Europe? Or is that not possible according to Japanese law or something?

akula: My bad, I've forgot to mention that you have to do it in Hold state. Please let me know if you succeed. Kurisu, thanks for your help! I've tried fiddling with the buttons but there has to be a zillion possible combinations. I find it hard to believe, however, that Sony would produce two different versions, one for Europe and one for the rest of the world. Seems to me it would be much easier and cheaper to do the required adjustment in software. Any of you Japanese speaking guys know a Sony engineer by any chance, who might have some info? If it turns out that it is not possible to adjust the max sound pressure in the European models I would strongly recommend that any European costumers buy their players outside of Europe. Since Audio cubes lowered their prices the premium isn't that much although it will cost you more than buying in Europe when factoring in taxes (sigh).

Please post their websites. Thanx in advance

I live in Sweden and have the same problem, my E507 is great but the maximum sound level is way too low here in Europe. (My hearing is just fine, thank you). I’m curious, though, if we really have lower max output in Europe. Are you guys who have purchased the E507 outside of Europe satisfied with the maximum sound pressure? The way to enter test mode is to press play at the same time as the reset button, according to service manual ver. 1.2 for the NW-50X series. The manual also includes additional info about test mode. But, as far as I can tell, there is no way to adjust the sound level through test mode. I'd love to be proven wrong however and any help with how to increase maximum volume would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for a great site btw!