Sony MZ-RH1 in my hands (first quick impressions)

[The Low Volta]

I simply prefer long cords, even with remotes. I keep the RH1 in a caselogic pouch on my belt with the remote clipped to the pouch and this only works with long corded phones

with the RP-JE50's (short cord + optional extension) I'm always irritated because it is always pulling on my ears (either the remote or the bump where the extension is attached)

heck, I even used to use my Senn HD497 (with 3m cord ) portably... then I'd use a simple binder for freezerbags to keep the excess cord together and store it in the pouch as well

[Sparky191]

And then you'll have people whining at the customer service reps that their laptop won't charge. They'll return the laptop.. and the "charge enable" switch will be in the "Off" position.

Generally, with Li-ions, you can't leave them on charge all the time (unless you like the idea of the battery ejecting flaming electrolyte and other crap through the safety vent). All Li-ion chargers detect end-of-charge and stop charging the battery when that point is reached. Well, there are the cheap "import" and "non-OEM" chargers that are cheap for a reason, but given that Sony actually makes Li-ion batteries themselves (via their Sony Energytec division), you'd expect them to know what they're doing

I'm a bit distracted at the momement but I don't understand your point. If you plug one a device with a Li-ions into AC, like my Sony Laptop, or My Panasonic PCDP the device will use the battery constantly and constantly recharge it. Which will quickly kill the battery. Of course if you make batteries it makes perfect sense to have the device configured this way. But You'll have just as many returns with people saying the battery died after two months. The RH1 might not use the battery when on AC. I dunno. With my devices I don't use them on AC, only charge them on AC. The only problem with this is that when you have grab the device and go its generally not fully charged, unless you remembered to charge it earlier. So you often need to bring a charger with you.

I find the short earphones too short, and the long earphones with the remote too long. While you can use a wrap or elastic band to wind up the excess, its quite ungainly looking. Though I do use an band on my own remotes cable. Since the devices themselves are quite small, I prefer one with out a remote myself. But everyones different and we've had that "debate" on this forum before.

RP-JE50's - I find they come out too easily too. I don't use them when I'm moving any more. I thing a Y cable might be better for these type of ear phones, like the Senn CX300's or Creative 630's.

[himmyjimmy]

Any good advice after I unpack it?. Should I do anything before using it for the first time regarding battery charge and so on?

Thanks for the advice about the battery. I've done so, 3 hours and a half

Impressions (quick because I've hardly use it for 1 hour)

PROS

· Impressive sound

· Quick download from sonicstage at 256 kbs (the only bitrate I've tried up to now)

· Nice construction and display in the unit

CONS

· Volume output is a bit low in semi noisy places. Shame on you European Community . Although, 0.5 mw more doesn't solve this problems either . I think output should be like my old minidisc MZ-E20, 9 mw.

· Battery could last longer

I don't know if the machine can be use without the battery from the AC plug. It would be nice since this way, you could remove it and use it anyway. If I remember right, the rh-1 charges the battery on being connected for uploads/downloads; I'm not sure if this is good for the battery to be charging continously when it shouldn't be necessary. ¿opinions?.

regards

Had my new RH1 (MZ-200) a few days now and am very impressed. I think the limited volume might have more to due with the volume settings the MD was recorded at. No problems with volume. Given the extensive features on the unit, it might be wise to read the instructions before operating to become familiarized with the controls, latches and buttons. The battery door had me fooled, and with the black color and flush crevices, its difficult to see where to insert the battery. Secondly, you have to know which direction and side is up on the battery before inserting. In my mind, this is the TPS-L2 of modern times. If only Sony came out with the RH1 before the IPOD, the RH1 would BE the Ipod! I've already uploaded a few old Net MDs without any problems. The Sonic Stage seems slower than the RH10 uploads, but its acceptable. Primarily I'm amazed at the minitaturization of the VU meters and the various displays available by pressing the display button on the unit. The display is just like my CTF-900 Pioneer Cassette deck shrunk to the size of a paper clip. Very impressive machine, that with unlimited upload abilities might be around for quite a while. I'm not sure how Sony can improve on this! Just saw the Macintosh (MZ-200) is selling for $100 more than the RH1 when released in August. I assume these are basically the same units?