Ishiyoshi Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 MZ-E900The MZ-E900 is one of the lightest MD portable and its brushed magnesium body truly sets it apart from other MD portable of its time. Anyhow, here's the E900. Please feel free to discuss your experience about this unit in this thread. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny mac Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Is that blue?? It looks silver/grey. I've put in bids on quite a few of these on E-Bay in the past but never secured one. The slimmer form and MDLP makes it quite a bit nicer than my E90. With my EH1 the yearning for a super-slim player-only unit has been staisfied, for now... Another good pictorial, Ishi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted June 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Is that blue?? It looks silver/grey. I've put in bids on quite a few of these on E-Bay in the past but never secured one. The slimmer form and MDLP makes it quite a bit nicer than my E90. With my EH1 the yearning for a super-slim player-only unit has been staisfied, for now... Another good pictorial, Ishi←Thanks for the comment Jonny. Yes, dark blue if you will. The surrounding area around the brushed faceplate is dark blue; as is the back and the lettering on the unit --> thus this E900 is known as the blue unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-EJ915 Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 (edited) Yeah, the silver keeps the nice face, but puts a hideous surrounding silver color on it. It just does not mesh well at all.I did love my E900, but I had no use for it as I loved my E700 more so I sold it...much lighter than the E700 in fact, by a long shot.Ishi, dude, you've got some nice light in your place man...I only get artificial light here since my room's in the back of my house with like 500 000 000 000 trees and so it's dark in here even if the blinds are up When I was selling it I took a million pics right before then so I'd remember it (the only piece of electronics I've ever sold to somebody)...I happen to like these wallpaper-sized ones -> Edited June 18, 2005 by D-EJ915 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted June 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 @ D-EJ915: Glad to see another mint condition E900. I hope it will crawl back to you one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananatree Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 I loved my e900.. maybe I should look for a new one.Sadly mine was kinda broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDX-400 Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 I loved my e900.. maybe I should look for a new one.Sadly mine was kinda broken.←Meh, don't bother. I have a partially working E900, blue model, that I paid like $10 US for because the seller couldn't get it working at all. (I did a simple fix and so it became partially working meaning it still reads discs okay but the laser is weak and it sometimes will skip or fail to read or take a long time to load the TOC or skip tracks). Great looking little unit though! One of my favourite designs for sure. As EJ915 mentioned it is a lot lighter than the E700 because of its magnesium construction. For that reason the E700 gives the feel of being more sturdy (and I guess Al alloys are usually harder than Mg, though heavier). The reason I say don't bother [getting another one] is simply because all of the E900, E909, E700, and E500/E501 use the garbage LCX-4E pickup assembly. (I beleive the E707 and E505 would also use the same though I haven't checked to be certain). This pickup is pretty unreliable, without a doubt. Just look at all the failures of these units--the numbers are quite high. Sony even had a ton of E900 (silver) refurbs available a couple years back for pretty cheap (I'm willing to bet pretty much everyone of them had the pickup replaced). In my experience I've had the E900 (granted was not functional when I bought it but that is the point/pattern you'll find with the LCX-4E), then the first E700 I bought which I recently learned had also stopped working (it was bought as a gift for someone), then I just bought a used E700 on eBay and guess what? Same pickup problems. (Seller has just offered a refund though.) My E500 still works but only because I've never really used it, LOL. I've even read about a few E707 failures...Then we have EJ915s broken E700 and Bananatree's mention of a broken E900. Does anyone see a pattern here? I'd say it is just as bad as the 2nd gen MD units unreliability rates (for those who recall *way* back when, units like the MDX-40/400/C150 and the MZ-R2 were all pretty bad for pickup failures) and, more recently, the MZ-N1. The E900 is certainly nicely designed and a great looking lightweight little player, but unless you're buying one to look at it, I'd recommend against it and any other units which utilise the LCX-4E pickup--it's terrible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-EJ915 Posted August 8, 2005 Report Share Posted August 8, 2005 Wow, I didn't realize the problem spread to the newer x0x models too, that's pretty bad. It's very unfortunate that it's so long after the fact...and mines from Japan, hahaha. Do you know how much the laser is perchance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDX-400 Posted August 8, 2005 Report Share Posted August 8, 2005 Wow, I didn't realize the problem spread to the newer x0x models too, that's pretty bad. It's very unfortunate that it's so long after the fact...and mines from Japan, hahaha. Do you know how much the laser is perchance?←Well from my relatively small sample I can't be 100% sure how problematic the LCX-4E is but it seems way too much for coincidence to me. Furthermore how does one explain the strangely high number of E900 refurbs Sony was selling on eBay and likely in their outlet stores as well?As for the pickup, as with most MD units the price is ridiculous! From Sony DAPC USA it is $124.21 USD! Part number is X33798691 in case you were interested. And then you have to actually calibrate it when you install it which isn't the easiest thing to do, and you definitely require a prerecorded (PIT/CD) MD (non-MO I mean).Edit: If Sony is still offering their flat rate repair in the US, units within 5 or 7 years (can't remember which) of their last sale date by Sony qualify. The cost varies for the type of electronics (portable, home, car, etc.) but it covers parts and labour and return shipping all for one price. The range is something like $75-$150 US depending on what it is. However, even $75 is a waste of time, IMO. Too much to fix something like this when you might as well just buy a newer Hi-MD capable unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 I just picked up one of the blue E900 units from eBay mint condition, boxed with all accessories. Looks very nice, will post a few more impressions when it arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted October 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 I just picked up one of the blue E900 units from eBay mint condition, boxed with all accessories. Looks very nice, will post a few more impressions when it arrives.Brilliant. The brushed magnesium face plate is really something; truly sets it like.no.other unit of its time. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Brilliant. The brushed magnesium face plate is really something; truly sets it like.no.other unit of its time. Enjoy. I agree it really does stand out design-wise amongst the units from that period and certainly holds it's own against some later models too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 My blue E900 arrived today (as new!) - intial impressions are good. I won't bother to post any pictures as Ishii has already done a fantastic job. The one thing that didn't come across from these photos is just how small this unit really is - very similar to the EH1 (dimensions) and about half the height of an NH-900! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joesnow Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 I love the MZ-E900, BUT... my control stick has just given up the ghost .I've had no other problems at all, it fits in my pocket almost un-noticably, and the battery life is fantastic.I really don't want to replace it, and apparently it'll cost about £50 ($85) [according to Sony] to get a new control stick. In my opinion, thats far too steep-a-price.Does anyone know a decent replacement stick that would work with my E900, because all the sound/volume/playback/playmode functions are controlled by it, and aren't on the actual player!My bass is too loud for my Hi-Fi, and I can't turn it down! Please, HELP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted October 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Does anyone know a decent replacement stick that would work with my E900, because all the sound/volume/playback/playmode functions are controlled by it, and aren't on the actual player!My bass is too loud for my Hi-Fi, and I can't turn it down! Please, HELP!I would recommend the RM-MC35ELK as a replacement remote for the MZ-E900. Nowadays, you can acquire the RM-MC35ELK for less than USD$30.00 at eBay. For further information regarding the remote, please review MDCF's Sony LCD Remote Guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Update: Pictorial updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatsleftofj Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 I bought this unit a bit over a month ago off ebay and I absolutely love it. I've been using it the last few days, and today I was just sitting at work admiring it. I suppose it would be a waste now to get an E-10, but I'd still love one of those as well.I tend to divide my discs up by artists (and then there's a handful of mixes as well), and for all but a few bands (David Bowie, Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins) I can fit almost everything I have for the band on an MDLP, so I haven't been using my RH-10 as much lately. It's very nice to have such a small player.Ishiyoshi, would you say the E-10 is significantly smaller than the E-900? The only thing I semi-miss on this unit is the group skip, but it's not so bad.Oh, and amazing pictures as always (they were pretty much my reason for buying this unit!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted September 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 Ishiyoshi, would you say the E-10 is significantly smaller than the E-900? The only thing I semi-miss on this unit is the group skip, but it's not so bad.Oh, and amazing pictures as always (they were pretty much my reason for buying this unit!)Thanks for the comments. The E900 is indeed a beauty isn't she? As for size comparison between the E10 and the E900, I would say that the E10 is slimmer by approx. 2.8mm. As a whole, the E10 is not significantly smaller; because the E10’s design is so refined, it appears significantly trimmer. In addition, it’s significantly lighter – taking battery into consideration, the E10 weighs just 55g whereas the E900 weighs about 83g.In any case, the E10 is definitely one piece of marvel that is worth keeping. If you are interested, check back this thread for updated "Size Comparison" pictures between both units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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