Neffi

Aha, thanks! It's trial-and-error for me since it has a Japanese manual; often I'm blundering around between the Yes/No/Enter buttons to see which works - none in this case!

I've just tried this on an XB-8; it all seemed to work fine. More precisely: - I dubbed a CD to Hi-MD on the XB-8 using Hi-SP (realtime, couldn't figure out how to do it high speed). - Put the Hi-MD in an NH1 and attached it to the PC. - Edited some track names on the disc in SS. - Deleted a track in SS. - Put the disc back in the XB-8, renamed a track and deleted a track using the XB-8. - Put the disc back in the NH1, and uploaded the disc to the SS library (in Hi-SP and PCM). No apparent restrictions. The catch was when I then tried to edit track names using the NH1's own edit facilities, it wouldn't let me. On further investigation I could edit the track names that I'd left untitled, but not the ones I'd edited in SS, nor the one I'd edited on the XB-8. So the only restriction seems to be editing names on a portable - editing a track name on the XB-8 seems to have the same effect as editing one in SS.

Somewhere called OutletPlaza, via Kakaku.com, via PriceJapan.com! They actually mentioned in the email that it was the last one. Still, searching on Rakuten and Kakaku did yield a few other results, but it's not always easy to tell which colour they're actually selling (without being able to read Japanese anyway). Searching for the colour as model number eg X-B8( B ) tends to be less productive than just searching for X-B8.

Thanks for the tips Wizard. I've decided to leave the mysteries of the X-N series for another time and ordered an X-B8. I've opted for the white version for a change of scene, and since there's a black pictorial on the forums already! No chance of me developing an interest in white headphones though.

I'm looking into importing an Onkyo Hi-MD bookshelf unit; but struggling to decide which one! The more reviews and mech translations of Japanese pages I look at the more confused I get. The specs for the X-B7/8 and X-n7/9 look very similar although there's an obvious cosmetic difference between the two. I gather the B8 and N9 have an optical output (for cd only) which distinguishes them from the B7/N7. The X-N series also have a much higher price tag - what am I missing? I've also come across the FR-N9 (with a review on these forums) - is this the same thing as the X-N9 with a different model number? Then there's the newer generation X-N7TX and X-N9TX in various colours, but I'm not sure what the difference between these and the older ones is! These newer ones apparently don't have world band FM (this doesn't greatly bother me). Any tips from owners of these systems, or just clarifications from those in the know would be much appreciated!

Actually kids, don't be like Neffi. It turns out there's a much easier way to get into DH10P service mode, and it was posted on these very forums back in 2006. I don't know how on earth I managed to stumble on this now and yet miss it when I was spending ages googling for a solution to the equaliser issue. I think it's the universe laughing at me! All you have to do is put the unit on 'Hold', hold down the VOL- button, and then press the following sequence on the main unit: >>| >>| |<< |<< >>| |<< >>| |<< >|| >|| aka FF FF RW RW FF RW FF RW PLAY PLAY Voila, service mode. You still need a remote as the unit's own screen doesn't display anything. Unlike the surgical method above it launches you straight into the display check mode, so you can start from step 7 above. PS Avrin I think you're right about regional settings - checking my Japanese RH10 it's set to 23. Although, when I set the DH10P to 23 I still can't title - I suspect this unit just doesn't title period as it's not a recorder - there's no 'Edit' Menu there. All your predictions about the languages ring true though. PPS Apologies if anyone needlessly butchered their DH10P because I can't Google properly! For my next surgery I'll stick to transplanting Hi-MD discs into prettier MD cases.

You're quite right Avrin! Having no confidence in my soldering skills, I substituted a jeweller's screwdriver with aluminium foil wrapped around the tip - crude but effective. I've tried to make a pictorial of the process - apologies for my dodgy photography and lack of macro lens. Note all button presses described here were performed on the remote, although I'd guess they would work just as well on the main unit. 1. First I'd recommend downloading the DH10P service manual from this site for reference. 2. Open the battery door, and remove the six screws from the back (camera lens side) of the unit as pictured below: 3. Open the unit (and remove disc). Gently remove the back cover - take care as there are two cables soldered onto the back cover. I'd suggest using the side with the headphone/remote jack as the 'hinge' as this is where you'll meet most resistance. 4. Lie the unit screen-side down and locate SL801 on the main board. Most of the main board is obscured by the camera sitting on top of it, but SL801 is peeking out from underneath at the corner of the unit where the volume and shutter buttons are. It may be obscured by a piece of adhesive tape attached to a flexible board. You might have to gently peel back one corner of the tape as pictured below. SL801 is circled in the picture. 5. Reinsert the battery and close the battery door. You have to short (connect) the two sides of SL801; I used a flat screwdriver head with aluminium foil wrapped around it (pic below), but anything conductive should work. It doesn't seem to matter whether 'Hold' is on or off, just short SL801 and then press a button on the remote to power up. Once it's powered up you can remove whatever you used to short SL801. 6. The remote will say something like " 000 POOrOO " (pictured below). Press the STOP key on the remote and it should change to a display with all pixels flashing (shown below). 7. Press the VOL+ key to switch to manual mode. The remote will display " 000 Manual ": 8. Press the >>| key until you reach item 113; the remote will display " 113 DistFL A0 " - the A0 may vary depending on which region your unit is set to. 9. Press VOL- repeatedly until the final two digits of the display read " 24 ". The display will change (pic below) to show some constantly incrementing numbers after "113". Don't worry about these, you are only changing the final two digits. 10. When the final two digits display " 24 " press the GROUP+ and then the GROUP- key to save your change. The disc indicator on the remote will light up briefly. 11. Press STOP a few times until the remote shows the display check mode with all pixels flashing on/off, then remove the battery. 12. Gently turn the unit over (careful with the two cables attached to the back cover). Turn the unit on normally and check you have the full custom equaliser, extra languages etc (hooray)! If not remove the battery and start again from step five. 13. Remove the battery again and reassemble the unit. Be patient attaching the back cover; it's stubborn around the headphone jack. The side panel containing the battery door has probably worked it's way a little loose by now and will need pressing gently inwards while you reattach the back panel. Don't force anything as a slight bend could cause problems with the disc door opening and shutting. I hope this helps. ^_^

Well, I got brave and opened up the DH10P; managed to get it into service mode and now have a proper equaliser! This required only a little disassembly (removing the back cover) and no soldering (thankfully). The catch is that the unit's own screen doesn't seem to work in service mode so I had to use an LCD remote to navigate through it. The procedure is roughly the same as listed above for the RH10/910; a few buttons are different since the DH10P has a different button setup to the RH10 - although I did all the button pressing on the remote. I'll try to take some pics and post a how-to if other Euro-DH10P owners are interested.

Has anyone successfully entered service mode on a DH10P? I've just picked up a European one from E-bay, and it frustratingly has no custom EQ. The volume cap I can live with, but lack of a proper equalizer is too much! I've managed to get into service mode on my (Japanese) RH10 by following the steps above, but nothing happens when I try the same procedure on the DH10P. Might it be because the RH10 has a separate pause button whereas on the DH10P it's combined with the play button? The DH10P service manual seems to suggest I'd have to open it up and solder things to enter service mode, which I'm too scared to attempt. If anyone knows the trick for the DH10P I'd be grateful.

Sorry for the slow reply - having looked into shipping costs and voltage converters, I think I'd be better off getting a Japanese RH1 (have no real need for the extra mic anyway). Thanks for the offer though

Would you consider shipping to the UK? On a related note, is the AC charger a 110V only model or a tourist 110-240V model?

Thanks, I had my suspicions that might be the case! I guess if I take the plunge and buy a US model I can just plug my (orange) mc35ELK into it - don't imagine the red DH10Ps are easy to get now.

This is likely a silly question, but for the life of me I can't find the answer - which remote does the DH10P Amazon is selling come with? I assume it's a MC35ELK but the site only lists "a remote". Does the remote you get with it vary from country to country like the RH10/910?