Gonz

drp, I just went back and looked... That high bidder paying $317 has zero feedback. That seller, with 41 feedbacks, has in his history, three other NOS Sony D-25S sales recently. Combined with what ALO has... how is it these things are rare or so valuable? Seems to be quite a number of em "NOS" in the box floating around. These are from the late 80s? Something seems a little fishy here.

Thanks for the PPC idea, but with 3hr battery life, thats not so hot. I'll still mention it to him nonetheless. Like I say, PDF reading is no longer a requirement. As for headphones, I suggested the Sony EX90s, because they sound good, and don't completely isolate. They are sort of open. If I was in Iraq, I would in no way want sound isolation. Their hybrid design is a in-ear/ear bud mix, which is comfortable to wear. I'm not big on canal types nor ear buds, but the EX90s fit great. Cord is long enough, durable storage case, no headband to interfere with helmet, at $80 don't break the bank. And finally, their very low impedance (16 Ohms IIRC) makes em easy to drive.

Well, I've had a number of emails with the guy yesterday, and basically heres where we're at... PDFs will go on USB drives, no worries. His main need is the ability to hold pics of his family, and add short video clips they send from home. Along with music. He's not going to go with a big HDD based player yet, till he checks out his living arrangements. So portable, meaning small and lightweight, good battery life, drag and drop, durable, are the requirements. So I've come up with the following recommendations: Creative Zen 8Gb Sony 8GB Cowon D2 We're now going back and forth on these three. It would seem the Zen is MTP, so not seen as "external storage"... I'm thinking it would be a bad idea to rely on any software at all. That would rule out Creative. Any thoughts?

Lots of auctions lately seem like shilling... since ebay changed the system, so you can't check out who is bidding and their history, it would appear that made it easier on the scumbags. More and more I want nothing to do with that place.

Ok, well we've now discussed the issue of thumb drives so he could access PDFs. He has a laptop, but its not going with him. But with some thumb drives we might eliminate the need. I don't want anyone to bow out of the thread How about some headphone suggestions? I'm a full size can guy, likely not what he's needing.

I know iPod will do PDFs... Is nothing else capable? http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-to-view-adobe-pdf-files-on-your.html

Maybe you guys could offer some input... For his requirements, this is what I know so far: He cares about audio and build quality. He wants PDF reading capability. And photo capability. I'm probably going to suggest a media player, hard drive based, rechargeable... and a separate mp3 player, flash based, 4-8Gb, with AA or AAA batteries, as being more compact/rugged, and in case he's away from electricity for awhile. I will talk to the guy about portable amps. But ability to sound good without one is important. I could definitely use some suggestions for headphones too. So if you were going to Iraq, what would you want to take with ya? Thank you for any input

Hello folks! I'm new here, found the place while the other site was down. I like the atmosphere, been reading a few days now. Anyways, interesting thread, so it seems as good a place as any to jump in I'm not going to make any claims about this CDP, one way or another... truth is, I have no idea what it is really worth or how good it is. I'll admit, I do love vintage gear... but I'm also pretty sensible with my funds lol So I saw the ALO offer, this thread, and then I went looking... and I found one (NOS even) on ebay for $317.50 w/ 29 bids I think that either... A.) We here, may be underestimating the demand for this unit. B.) eBay buyer stupidity yet again rears its head. I'm not really sure which. Honestly, with 29 bids I do have to wonder. I'd kinda like an old Sony Discman, but no way in hell would I pay more than $100 for one. Even if it was the best Discman EVAR! I can't see how $275-$300 is really justifiable for something like this. Anyways, heres the link for anyone interested.