by Gunner5
Appearance
It doens't look like anything else Sony produced, the Sony MZ-EH70. It's lines unique and distinctive. Nice hand feel.
Functionality
Here is where it shines. It plays everything but MP3. In my company vehicle's console bottom cubby hole, there is a blue light that is always on when the vehicle is running. Lay this device on it's face, and the belly exposes it design exclusivity. 5 Buttons. Not little finicky things, but big and 'mashable.' Find one edge of the device and quickly locate the Start/Stop button (double the size of the others) or move to the one you need from there. My volume as Technical Initiative will attest to is always "Gunner Volume" Maxed out. Let the car stereo manage the volume in the vehicle's control nobs or steering wheel volume control. Mine was hooked up in the rapidly disappearing "Aux-In" 3.5mm port in vehicles.
The thing is, that when taking a call when your phone is hooked up as well through USB port to communicate over the built in Hand's-Free, you have to remember to reach down and hit stop since the car audio system as it will not pause the device. The other feature I always am sure to turn on is the beep for button presses. This let's you know which of the three transport buttons you have mashed by delivering three different sounds, one for each button. It's nice not to lose your place.
I don't operate mobile devices while driving normally with co-workers to their irritation. DFW is a hostile driving environment. Fastest and most congested I've ever driven in, and I suffer it 80% of my workday driving site to site. It's just me and my music, and the hands free. They resent me for having to call me in today's society. The GPS interrupts as well, but it just diminishes the volume of the music. Leave the iPhone on the messaging screen with someone and invariably the record on the phone is activated to send a voice text or transcription and the whole sound system becomes unresponsive. I would never try to operate a standard remote with this device and drive, I find that worse with my eyes than trying to text.
Playback
Upon inserting a disc, it is painfully slow for it to recognize what the format of the disc is. But once it has it, Start/Stop is lightning fast. The buffer as near as I can tell is maintained for a given period of time. Disc spin up is fast.
Personal experiences
The first one purchased was for the Blue Crew on that mission. The second was a hail mary on the rattiest looking EH70 I had ever seen. But, upon arrival, it worked without servicing the unit. I got over two years out of that device and drove it until the wheels feel off.
NOW THE GLARING DRAWBACK!
It consumes batteries like a Sony MZ-R55 with dirty contacts and needs the sidecar just the same to be a proper portable. I drove 80% of my workday, 5 days per week. One AA per week without a Gumstick (That would be almost pointless given the quality available).
There was a special sidecar that came with this device with extra supports. It has extra support that are meant to make contact I believe with the curves side of the device allowing for a secure fit. I have found its use inconsequential in my use case. If you do not make a habit of tightening the sidecar periodically, eventually it will become loose and your music will stop abruptly. Any standard Sony sidecar will work. I have not found that the special one that comes with it makes it immune to the slowly becoming loose over time.
Special Sidecar on the left with extensions to reach the curved sides of the player to theoretically enable a more secure fit.
It was difficult to get an image of using my mobile device's camera, but you can see that the extension does not make contact in the photo. There may have been a rubber grommet on it originally. The original sidecars are very rare and hard to find. I only have one in my collection if what I have is even the right one. In my experience, the special sidecar is inconsequential in use compared to a standard one, assuming that I have the correct sidecar at all.
And yes, LP4 was used to get this battery life from a single AA. I had one Hi-LP (Max Compression Available) disc of Groove Armada that was over 10 hours that was just fine for me... I am the LP4 Warrior. I couldn't tell any difference on the ATRAC test between any of the formats - Zero difference. My ears are scar tissue with tubes. My hearing drops off a cliff after 4kz. I'm just thankful I can still even enjoy music.
Sound
See above, I am not qualified to make any sound quality judgement. I will let my latest hearing test immediately after tube insertion into my ears speak to why I am unqualified. I am told music starts right after my hearing falls off a cliff at around 4k, at 8k. Pre-tube insertion, I loved the bass of my Subaru at the volume I listened to. Post tube insertion, I can't get to the bass as the higher frequencies now hurt my ears long before I get there.
Long Live The LP4Warrior! - I leverage my handicap into greater storage capacity and battery life. Make the best of your situation, always!
Long Live The MDLife!
Gunner5