I've found that a lot of the MP3 vs. MD decision depends on how you use
your player.
I have a Sharp 702MK MD (a recorder/player). It has a 10 sec
skip protection, sounds great, has a bunch of great options and
I've loved using it. It worked really well for me for quite a while.
One thing I really liked was that MD blanks are so cheap ($10 for
a 5 pack).
However, after using it over the course of 9 months of marathon training,
it began to show some wear. I began to find it difficult to position
so it wouldn't skip. What I used to do was put it in a belt pack
and move it so it was up against my hip. It provided enough stability
so that it wouldn't skip for most, if not all of my runs.
The real problem with this was that I couldn't get it to fit in
my water pack. I would end up having to carry it to keep it from
skipping. This is fine for short runs of 6 to 7 miles but for the
longer runs of 18 miles or so, it would get tiresome to carry.
The other limitation I found was that while it was great to carry
2 or 3 MDs with me, I found it a bit limiting to have to stop,
take the player out of the plastic bag (to protect it from moisture)
pop out the MD, swap and put it all back together. Strangely,
I never used it during the marathon (I either never needed to
or I was just being stubborn). After the marathon, I started
to get a UTOC Error (which means it can't read the disk) and
had to send it back for repairs. I think all the jostling finally
began to affect it.
Last week I got a Nomad II MG for about $180. The great price
was, in part, due to a Hot Deal I found here last year: Egghead
was selling IBM ViaVoice for $25 and Best Buy had it for $129.
I bought a copy, returned it to Best Buy for a credit and used
that to get the Nomad II MG.
So far, I love the thing. It's tiny, unskippable, easy to use
and has FM radio reception. I used it in a 7 mile race this
weekend and it was small enough to fit in my water pack (although
I didn't use my water pack after all and just stuffed it in
my pocket). It sounds great and, by changing my MP3s to 128kbs
WMAs, I was able to get 19 songs (about 1 hour 10 minutes) of
music on to the thing. About the same as the MD however,
if I got bored of the music on there, I could always switch
over to FM radio.
I've since turned my MD player over to my wife who runs shorter
distances.
So MD vs MP3 depends on your application, IMHO. That being
said, here's some notes:
1. MD players don't come with FM radios built in. They most likely
never will. Some MP3 players do.
2. MP3 players can use USB to transfer files. MD players do it in
real time. I didn't mind this but did find that, depending on the
playing software I was using, it sometimes wouldn't put enough of
a delay in to make seperate tracks and I would end up with 19 tracks
melded into one big track on the MD.
3. MD players can fit 74 minutes of music at any bit rate. MP3 players
can fit less music at higher bit rates. I actually downgrade my
MP3 files to 96kb WMA files to fit more. I can't hear the difference
in sound and it makes a difference in size. Sound fidelity isn't that
important to me when I'm huffing and puffing down the road with cars
whipping by me.
4. The Nomad II MG doesn't come with a remote control. Somewhat
of a detriment but not too bad. The Nomad II does. All MD players
do.
5. There is a new format, MDLP, that promises longer play times
on a single disc. Battery life is also getting really good with
40+ hours of playback on single charges for MD. More than enough
for most people, I would think.
6. Depending on the model, you have to use a base for transferring
songs to the MP3 player (as is the case with the Nomad II MG). MDs
you can use a mini-mini plug from any output source.
As far as the Rio 600: the price was attractive. The 32MB was not.
Diamond keeps saying that 64MB and 372 MB upgrades are coming soon
but when and how much has never been announced. They also say they
will have a remote with an FM radio built in but that is also "coming
soon".
So, for sound fidelty, cheap media and ease of use, I'd go MD.
For a cross country flight, I'd rather have my MD with some extra
batteries and 8 or 9 MDs.
For size (dimensions), guaranteed anti-skipping, and also, ease
of use, I'd go MP3. For heavy physical activity, I'd rather
have my MP3. (Also, I regularly burn my MP3s to CDs. That way
I can easily carry the MP3s with me to refresh my playlist
on the MG).
It all depends on your application.
Sorry for the long winded response.