thanks to everybody who responded. sorry for the delayed response. internet is a verry expensive thing in macedonia. although i'm sure that it would have come to me that there are no blips when the remote is disconnected, i'm so happy that you all are resoursefull persons and i hope you will help me in the future. anything i can do for you... p.s. i've been reading about the service hacks, especially the volume hack. my model is MZ-NHF800, purchased in canada. the volume is constantly rising all the way through to 30 (especially from 25 to 30). does that mean that i have the louder output everybody is hoping to get by hacking the unit? i have plugged it with SONY MDR-V300 monitor headphones, i think the impedance is max. 24 ohms, and on level 30 they're bumping, of course not as loud as the original earplugs (~16 ohms). it allways depends on the music level. any perticular hack that i shouldn't miss out? thanks from a verry happy 26 year young boy from the belly of the world (the balkans)! please expect delayed responses in the future, until i get adsl or cable (god help us!). i allmost forgot. will the same thing happpen with the Sony RM-MC40ELK and RM-MC38EL remotes? i am about to purchase one of them and i wanted to know. i suppose they are compatible with the MZ-NHF800.?