Topic: Sony PCM-M10 (Part 3)

[Ziggz]

Can I ask Australian members where you purchased your M10?

Slightly across the way in NZ, I got mine from B&H. I didn't get stung for import duty or GST (which I had to pay on my R-09). I've thrown the shipping box out but I'm pretty sure they didn't declare its full value on the customs form, so that would explain the lack of taxes.

The warranty sheet says the Limited Warranty is only valid in the United States.

[Ozpeter]

Got mine here -

http://www.videoguys.com.au/Shop/p/21382/sony-pcm-m10-linear-pcm-portable-audio-recorder-black-pcm-m10-black.html

There are slightly different versions available.  Mine came with a dead kitten, and I think that makes it the pro version...  The Videoguys page seems not to mention that.  I've made a number of purchases from them over several years and they seem ok.  It's always good to visit their showroom and mentally caress all that tasty video gear!  And that "you must get out your wallet" smell in the air from the warm equipment...

[visibility]

Got mine here -

http://www.videoguys.com.au/Shop/p/21382/sony-pcm-m10-linear-pcm-portable-audio-recorder-black-pcm-m10-black.html

There are slightly different versions available.  Mine came with a dead kitten, and I think that makes it the pro version...  The Videoguys page seems not to mention that.  I've made a number of purchases from them over several years and they seem ok.  It's always good to visit their showroom and mentally caress all that tasty video gear!  And that "you must get out your wallet" smell in the air from the warm equipment...

Videoguys have it for AU$499.95 - that's $50 above Sony Australia's RRP. If I import, I can also buy some Church Pro Binaural mics, pay for shipping, and still have $100 in my pocket. This is insane.

I think I read some pages back that someone from Europe was complaining about the price there also. Maybe it's just not us.

[trekkie]

Can I ask Australian members where you purchased your M10?

It is tempting to purchase from the US at a current price of AU$269.40 delivered (B&H). The cheapest delivered price I can find locally seems to be AU$421.05 at TechBuy.com.au or AU$449.00 at Minidisc.com.au

The Sony Australia RRP is AU$449.00 so there is little to no competitive pricing here. In fact, some businesses are advertising the M10 way above the RRP. For instance, you can pick one up at proaudio.com.au for the outrageous price of AU$634.00 delivered!!

My concerns about buying it from the US are the warranty issue and possible import duty. Even if the import duty was on par with the GST I'd still be saving a huge amount. To date I have never had to pay duty on items purchased from the US so I could be lucky.

Can anyone clarify whether the warranty would be transferrable? If it isn't it should be in this day where we effectively live in a global village with various trade agreements in place. Of course I would rather buy locally but the prices here are absolutely absurd and bordering on offensive.

I live in Melbourne and am a long time customer of B&H having bought a Blu-ray player, video camera, projector, camera case, netbook, Eneloop rechargeable batteries etc.  I bought my PCM-M10 in February for USD274 in February from B&H.
You will not be taxed if the value of your shipment is under AUD1000 based on the exchange rate on the day it clears customs. B&H is a large store in NYC and all the invoices I have from them are accurate.
One of the deterents of overseas purchases for me is shippping cost so I combine my purchases but keeping it  under the Australian Custom's threshold.
Warranty is generally a non-issue as most popular-brand electronic items do not fail within the warranty period. I've been lucky so far and my PCM-M10 is fine.


Tips for shopping at B&H:
I always select UPS Worldwide Saver. It is secure, quick and is usually the cheapest option. Orders placed on Thursdays generally do most of their air travel on the weekend and arrive on my door step Monday AM.
When combining orders, always add the new items one at a time and monitor the shipping cost. Once you cross a weight/volume threshold, the shipping charge increases by a larger step.

[Ozpeter]

That's some handy advice, 'trekkie' - welcome to the forum!

[visibility]

Thanks Trekkie. Very comforting news.

[Artstar]

Can I ask Australian members where you purchased your M10?

It is tempting to purchase from the US at a current price of AU$269.40 delivered (B&H). The cheapest delivered price I can find locally seems to be AU$421.05 at TechBuy.com.au or AU$449.00 at Minidisc.com.au

The Sony Australia RRP is AU$449.00 so there is little to no competitive pricing here. In fact, some businesses are advertising the M10 way above the RRP. For instance, you can pick one up at proaudio.com.au for the outrageous price of AU$634.00 delivered!!

Wow. I was lucky as I was working in Canada at the time of the unit's release and bought it from Musician's Friend (US) so I got the toy in time to record a couple gigs up in Vancouver. I wonder if I should put my PCM-D50 up on eBay for sale then? Hmmmmm!

My concerns about buying it from the US are the warranty issue and possible import duty. Even if the import duty was on par with the GST I'd still be saving a huge amount. To date I have never had to pay duty on items purchased from the US so I could be lucky.

Can anyone clarify whether the warranty would be transferrable? If it isn't it should be in this day where we effectively live in a global village with various trade agreements in place. Of course I would rather buy locally but the prices here are absolutely absurd and bordering on offensive.

Nope. The warranty is strictly domestic. Unless the manufacturer explicitly states that it's an international warranty, you'll have no choice but to send it back to the US for a warranty repair. It's a calculated risk that only you can decide if you take it or not. I took it just as I took the risk with the PCM-D50 when I bought it in Japan back in July 2008 and neither unit has failed me. I'm approaching 10 months now with my PCM-M10 so the warranty will be a moot point in 2 months and while there is always the sh*t happens factor with anything you buy, I've had a lot of faith with such products from Sony. Hell, I even buy my expensive digital SLR cameras and lenses from China and Hong Kong without international warranties.

Anyway, only you can be sure if the risk is worth it for you. I only know the risks are minimal and worthwhile for me. If you do decide to buy, B&H Photo and Video are the benchmark for cheap prices (who deal with people overseas). Musician's Friend were the cheapest at the time but they don't deal with anyone outside of the US and Canada.

Good luck with the purchase mate. You can't go wrong. I love this little beast and haven't touched my PCM-D50 since.

[Artstar]

Sound Forge is a fine piece of audio editing software though I prefer to use the full version 10 myself as it has the Izotope Ozone mastering plugin as well. I'm a very big fan of this plugin when recording live rock shows as it makes the post-processing so much easier with mid/side processing for extra flexibility.

[Napo]

It all goes down to the choice of plugins. I love the Voxengo ones all of of which work with Sound Forge Audio Studio 9LE software.

[Artstar]

So this 9LE isn't a "Light edition" so to speak?  I should check it out?  I'm into my 5th year with Audition 1.0 and am pretty happy w/it.

Oh no, it's definitely a light edition, hence the LE. Basically, it doesn't have the wonderful plugins. I use many other features in the full Sound Forge package so the light edition may still be suitable for you, just definitely not for me.

That said, you can still install the LE version and find VST plugins to install yourself.

In the end, you won't lose a large chunk of your life if you just install it and try it out to be your own judge so just whack that CD in and give it a go.

[Crumbo]

haven't seen this mentioned, so I'm guessing this isn't an option

can you set the recording file splits either by time (1 hour) or file size (1GB) or is the default 2GB?

thanks

[OFOTD]

There are two major differences between SoundForge 9/10 and Sound Forge Audio Studio 9LE related to our hobby.

The first is with 9LE you are limited to two channel.  SF 9 and 10 both support multichannel and the second is lack of included plugins (i.e. Izotope Ozone suite). 

My advice is that if don't want to upgrade you audio software and you know how to use Audition then stick with it.   SFAS 9LE is a lateral move to Audition 1.0.    If you consider upgrading know that SoundForge 10 can be found for a few bucks cheaper than Audition 3.0 and in that case you might as well start with 9LE to learn the interface.

[Artstar]

can you set the recording file splits either by time (1 hour) or file size (1GB) or is the default 2GB?

thanks

There's no adjustable automatic splitting on this so you're stuck with the 2GB file limit splits. The only thing you could do is to manually insert track marks however often you desire - be it on the unit or via the remote - and then you can divide the track based on all the track marks after the recording is completed.

[Crumbo]

can you set the recording file splits either by time (1 hour) or file size (1GB) or is the default 2GB?

thanks

There's no adjustable automatic splitting on this so you're stuck with the 2GB file limit splits. The only thing you could do is to manually insert track marks however often you desire - be it on the unit or via the remote - and then you can divide the track based on all the track marks after the recording is completed.

:thumbsup

thanks!

[M-chen]

I was able to discover some "secrets" of M10: 

#1: The AD/DA-converter, the headphone amp and the mic amp is all together combined in just one chip: the Cirrus Logic CS42L52. I don't know if this can be interpreted as good ore bad, because the specs are not that stunning. Nevertheless the sq says: good.

#2: The M10 contains a lithium battery for memory backup purposes, type MS614SE. When emptied one day, good luck replacing it. 

#3: The mic capsules have the marking H9804, diameter 10mm, thickness 4.7mm. Unfortunately I could not find out the manufacturer or any technical specification until now.

Cheers,

Martin