MD or MP3?

[Zoson]

How can MD's sound better than MP3... Even at 320kbps? Is it just a different compression?
-Zoson

 

[SSP]

Its 320bits.. kbps is a lot.

I was talking about 128bit MP3's. People with 32Mb players have to watch out for file size.

320bit MP3 would take a lot of space.

 

[Zoson]

How many songs would fit in a 32MB MP3 player at 320kbit? What bitrate would an MP3 have to be to sound comparable to an MD?
-Zoson

 

[SSP]

My friend can store less then 9 MP3's on a 32MB player with 128/192bit MP3's. I don't know about others, but I can notice a big difference between 128 and 256bit Mp3's. You might not notice anything with those small ear phones they give you.

I think 320 is an overkill. But depending on how long the song is.. I'd say you can store ~5 or less.

 

[randomlinh]

i don't think you can notice much w/ mp3 players (kbps wise), depending on the quality of the player itself anyway.

and dcdomain touched on something i missed too, the feel of the nomad/mp3 players.. nothing like the MD's i had. The MD's felt "there" and rugged. I regret letting go of a sony player i bought from someone.

 

[xtreme2k]

32MB will last 13.6minutes on 320kbps

 

[aceO07]

MD all the way!!
I have a sony mz-r90 md player/recorder. It's a beauty!! Barely bigger than the disc itself. It is nearly impossible to make skip. The discs are cheap too! I also bought some imported sony md discs, looks cool! Definite tech/coolness factor! Also definitely expensive!

I'm not that much into Mp3 players. They might be smaller than MD players, but their media/memory is currently expensive. I personally don't think MP3 players look as nice as MD players, well, most of them. Also, what happens when the MP3 format changes? Copyright protection? Though, I know most people don't care about that far in the future or what might happen..

MP3 CD players are too big for me. I already have a CD player, which I barely use since it's big(normal cd player size). I like to rollerblade in the spring/summer/fall and it's great how my MD player will FIT in any of my pockets so I don't need to use a backpack. Thank goodness I never fall!!

Zoson: The Sony E900 looks great! Might be the new smallest and lightest..

Anybody know where I can buy nice (sony) earbuds that have short cords so I can use it with my remote. I don't use my headphones that came included. The earbuds I use have a long cord, so it's annoying to use with a remote..

 

[Zoson]

IMHO MD's look better than all the MP3 players... What kind of battery life do MD's get on average???
Both recording and playing
just recording
and just playing???
-Zoson

 

[SenorBiggles]

Size of the player is the main issue for me. I need something unobtrusive that can fit in my pocket. I bought the Rio when it first came out, and a couple months ago I bought the Iomega HipZip. I really like the HipZip. Clik disks are cheap and can hold about 60 min of decent quality VBR mp3's per disk. I also move around a lot when I'm listening to these players so I don't want something that will skip.

The only thing I don't like about the HipZip is there's no bookmark feature.

 

[Zoson]

So size does matter? hehe... I'm lookin' for somethin' tiny... very very tiny... sony clip walkman mp3 thingy looked intriguing...

 

[Zoson]

So which MD should I get? I want long battery life, it should record, and should sound good.
-Zoson

 

[xtreme2k]

The Recordable MD arent that tiny (but should be tiny enough). Their battery (internal NIMH/L-ion) should last about 15-20hrs usually. It is the Playback-only models that sports kick arse playback time, size and look. My Kenwood DMC-L5 last about 30hrs on a bubble-gum size battery and with another AA size battery it last close to 60. As far as I know, the newer ones actually last upto about 80hrs.

 

[Zoson]

Suggestions on players??? Anyone?
-Zoson

 

[dcdomain]

Depending on how deep you want to jump into this MD community, there are two or three routes you can take.

You can buy a player/recorder. All you need is another cd player with optical out and you'll be set. The player/recorder also comes in handy when you want to go record something, bring a mic with you and hook it up to the line in.

You can get a player/recorder and a player. That way, you can use the player/recorder to record from the cd, and then pop it into your player if you really want the smallest size possible.

You could get a table system and just a player. That way, you can listen to md's at home without having to connect your player/recorder to the speakers. Of course, you lose the ability to record on the road...

I started with a player/recorder and cd. MZ-R50. That thing was one of the best player/recorders made. But rather large. As they started to cram the players/recorders into smaller packages, some small problems have popped up (read it in an article written by some MD repair man at www.minidisc.org). I still have that thing, but rarely used. I'm currently using a small stylish JVC table system and an Onkyo portable player... by the way, I forgot to mention that you could also get the Live!Drive IR with the Platinum 5.1. That thing has optical output, so you could forget all about buying a separate cd player with optical out. I haven't really used it much, but make sure you turn off all other sounds when recording from Winamp. I forgot about my buddylist and when someone imed me you could hear the chime during the music.

 

[xtreme2k]

I personally got the

Sony MD Hifi(to record) + Kenwood Playback-only model

man, look at these designs, MP3 players are in NO MaTCH.
this Recordable model looks good
Kenwood playback only lasting 100hrs
Kenwood another playback only 63hours

 

[xtreme2k]

Sony E700 playback only
Sony E500 playback only


actually download the catalogue

 

[xtreme2k]

man look at this Sony Mp3 player

kicks ALL Creative/Diamond's ass
http://www.walkman.sony.co.jp/prod/network/e5.html

 

[aceO07]

Zoson: it depends on if you're looking for a player or a recorder.. I'm also not sure if you're referring to MD or MP3. If you're asking about MD equipment you can check out minidisc.org for detailed information. I believe the Sony mz-r900 is the newest recorder/player from sony. Very small, lightweight. The small rechargeable battery is supposed to last 21hrs, attach an AA battery it's supposed to last 53hrs. This model also have the new Long Play feature, which I wish I had on my mz-r90.. What is your price range anyways...?

 

[pillage2001]

MZ-R900 would be your best bet. Give us a price range.

 

[Zoson]

I'm looking to spend 300-370 on a recorder/player...
Gotta be small, gotta last long, gotta sound good.
-Zoson

 

[Killbat]

I'm telling you, MD sounds better than perfect, and contrary to what people keep thinking, it's not because of encoding, it's because the DACs that Sony and other companies put in their MD players are capable of rendering a better quality audio signal. It's in the hardware, not the media.

 

[xtreme2k]

yah the newer MD players use 24Bit ATRAC, and only a compression ratio of 5:1

128kbit Mp3 is more like 10:1

 

[hpkeeper]

hey unxpurg8d, why go out of your way to buy a $150 3 cd to Minidisc player when you could get an MP3 player (portable) and Minidisc player (portable) for the price it would cost you to get a portable minidisc player and the player you are talking about?

 

[unxpurg8d]

Hpkeeper, the reasons for picking up the Aiwa Stereo rather than a portable player and a portable player/recorder are:

1) It's not just a "3 cd to Minidisc player" it's a really nice home stereo system with optical in and out so if you're looking for a decent little inexpensive stereo you're covered, plus you can record directly from the radio onto minidisc
2) it records three CDs to three MDs at a time so you don't have to goof around changing out the MDs in your recorder
3)why would you really wanna buy both portable MD devices when the stereo is multipurpose and the combination of stereo and player is cheaper than a new player/recorder
4) because you don't have to mess around with the optical cable and hooking up the recorder to your current stereo...IF it has optical out in the first place. Many don't right now.
5) because I said so, and I'm a woman, and that makes me automatically right.


Was that helpful? LOL


There are reviews on the stereo at:

Aiwa XR-H66MD Stereo Review

This was originally a $700 stereo when it first came on the market. Yeah, it's a couple years old, but it sounds great and so far I haven't come across another MD capable stereo that can do three at a time. When you read the shortcomings list, I suggest you remember that the guy writing it is a real technogeek and for the ordinary user what he considers drawbacks just won't matter.

 

[Redwingsguy]

Zoson! get the Sharp MT-77!! I used to be all about the R900 until this thing came out, the R900 is about 20mm thick, the MT-77 is only 16.8! big difference when you accually look at it! Both have MDLP, the MT-77 also has a cool imac looking docking USB cradle, which is ready to transfer sound and labels! And plus it has the 3 different colored LED lights each representing a different activity the unit is doing! Very cool! And if you look on the FS/FT forums, Shearer has one of these for sale for only $355!