Sony have nobody to blame but themselves. The clowns have a superior product, that should have cleaned up, and they've thrown it all away. So tired of their shit, and this XCP debacle feels like the final straw.....
My MZ-S1 has just failed with the same problem ( and completely fucked up a couple of valuable discs for good measure). Not sure how to open it, and check the ribbon either. Now in the process of deciding whether to move to the (still stupidly restricted Hi-MD) or go with an MP3 player with decent recording capability. I would rather stick with MD, but Sony are trying their hardest to lose customers it seems....
Two years of heavy use, and the record function on mine has just died. Player still works though. I've tried cleaning the recording heads, but no joy...any suggestions?