matt Posted August 12, 2003 Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 I had this problem with my E500 after less than 6 months (see post here). I've had my E909 for just over a year now (goodbye warrantee) and now the problem is happening again. I bought by E909 when my E500 was away at Sony for repair. If the unit is in my pocket and I'm just walking down the street it just stops playing with a short static noise burst in the headphones. It happens with various types of minidiscs. I've checked that it's not the battery (plenty of power, making connection in the unit). I've wondered if this can be a fault with the shock recovery mechanism? Could it be that the head needs cleaning? Any other ideas? I'll check with the friend who uses my old E500 as to whether this has happened since he took over that unit from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted August 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 Have just sent this to Sony support: Hi, I would appreciate it if this message was passed to the repairs and long standing customer satisfacction departments. Thank you. I have been a Sony MiniDisc user since 1996, orginally owning a MZR50 and later buying a MDT515 bookshelf unit. I also run my own website dedicated to my MD hobby http://www.ewtoo.org/~matt/minidisc/ . After my R50 became faulty after over 4 years of use (the main Hold button stopped working rather than any mechanical fault) I bought a play only walkman MZE500 which was an average unit that developed a problem after 6 months. The unit would stop playing the disc for no reason. It would do so and emit a short static type sound at the same time. Typically, though not always, after deactivating the hold function I could resume play - but this would not be from the location the disc stopped at - it would be a random place on the disc! I sent that for repair at Sony heathrow and it took three months for the repair to be carried out. I use my walkman every day and so this was unacceptable so I bought a new MZE909 whilst I was waiting, even though I could not really afford to do so. I have had this unit 10 or 11 months now and it has recently developed the same problem as the MZE500. Obviously I am unhappy that this seems to be a recurring problem, and wonder what options I have in terms of addressing it. Will repair take three months once again? should I buy Sony again if I need to replace it? Will this happen if i buy another Sony unit? Does this happen regularly with other units? I look forward to some answers from a repair manager or customer satisfaction officer. Your sincerely, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAjEsTiC Posted August 12, 2003 Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 i think it's a general fault with the shock mechanism on those units...my cousin bought a e500 and just a few weeks after he bought it, it started to skip...even on a stable flat surface such a table...the e900 & e909 i haven't encountered any problems related to skipping and the sudden burst of sound...but see what sony says about the unit...i'm interested to hear their reply because we're thinking of fixing my cuz's unit as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted August 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 I'd bet it was a general fault too, the last few generations of Sony products have all been of very low build quality. Goodness knows what the E10 is like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAjEsTiC Posted August 12, 2003 Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 hehe...yeh i do wonder as well...though i'd be interested in the build quality of an E10 since this may be where my next investment lies...tho i'm having no problems with my N1 or N10 units atm...N1 i've had for about a year now and it's still good...tho in terms of build quality i can't say that the N1/N10's builds r better than my old MZ-R2...that thing was a classic unit and it still continues to function after the countless times i've dropped it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted August 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 It seems Sony are concentrating on form over function. Compared to my trusty old R50 current units are apalling, though lovely and small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAjEsTiC Posted August 12, 2003 Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 yep v true...older units can sustain many knocks...i mean my friend's E2 managed to survive a fall out of a window on the 2nd storey of his house...i doubt i can say that my N1/N10 can manage to live through that...though i must admit that the build quality isn't what you'd consider as "cheap"...even though it may have declined these few year at least they haven't gotten to the stage where the unit falls apart if you squeeze it too hard or something like that... :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted August 13, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 No news from Sony, but I don;t really expect it. Checked my receipts last night and it appears my unti is in fact 13 months old! I bought a MD head cleaner today and have used that so we'll see where we go from here. The MD head cleaner "recommends" cleaning after every 8 (!?!) hours of playing, I must have used it for over 400 hours! over 10 times a week for 45 minutes per session for 13 months ~= 400 hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted August 18, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 Here we are more than a week later, and still no reply from Sony Customer Services. :roll: All I have to add is that I bought a TDK MD head cleaner and used it once and since then (not wanting to count my chickens) everyuthing has been fine! :oops: matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted August 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 Date: Tue, 19 Aug 103 11:33:56 +0100 From: SUK.generalCIC Subject: Sony Enquiry Dear Mr Sephton Thank you for your recent enquiry. I apologise for the delay in my reply. I am sorry to learn of the problem you have encountered with your MZE909. It is very unusual to encounter the same fault in two separate units so your experience is quite exceptional. I can advise that the repair will be free of charge under the standard terms and conditions of the supplied warranty. However, it is not possible for me to advise of the expected timescale for the repair in question. For further assistance with this request you will fist need to submit the unit for repair. With regard to your previous unit and the length of the repair time, I can only advise that the delay was caused by a combination of factors such as parts availablility and staff shortages. please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this has caused. If you submit your current faulty unit for repair then we would expect to have this resolved in a much shorter time. I hope this helps. Finally, if you need to reply to this e-mail, please quote reference XXXXXXXX in the subject field of your e-mail. With Regards For and on behalf of Sony United Kingdom Limited Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAjEsTiC Posted August 20, 2003 Report Share Posted August 20, 2003 hehe...so they did reply... jk jk...um yeh i agree with that part about the time taken for the repair...my friends have gotten their digital camera repaired by minolta and it took them ages to get the units back soo i would'n be too surprised if they take their time fixing your unit...but i wish u the best of luck...and it's nice to see that they'll fix it free of charge... :? my cuz got hit with a massive fee and it was STILL under warranty!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted August 20, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2003 it's nice to see that they'll fix it free of charge... :? my cuz got hit with a massive fee and it was STILL under warranty!!!Unfortuntaely mine is now no longer under warrantee. Thank goodness the head cleaning did the trick! matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAjEsTiC Posted August 20, 2003 Report Share Posted August 20, 2003 hehe...that's good 2 hear... 2 bad i can't say the same about my cuz's unit...would'v been good if we could fix it that way...other than go to sony and get the unit repaired... :? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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