Posted on 08/13/2005 9:16:39 PM PDT by GB
She who must be obeyed :) has given me permission to purchase a portable MP3/digital audio player for my upcoming birthday. And I don't want to touch off a debate over the quality of lossy audio codecs like MP3 and WMA or AAC compared to CD audio. MP3s and WMA's serve their purpose, IMHO, which is to let you listen to a bunch of music on a portable player when you're out and about and don't want to haul around a stack of CDs and aren't really interested in whether what you're listening to is CD audio quality or not. When I'm listening at home on my main stereo, in a setting more conducive to being able to distinguish and appreciate good sound quality, I of course have different expectations.
Anyway, I currently have a little item I picked up for $50 on eBay called a Nex iA that uses CF cards and plays MP3 and WMA files, and while it isn't the finest piece of electronic equipment I've ever held in my hands, it has GREAT sound for a cheapo unit playing compressed audio files, it has an equalizer that actually works and even lets you bypass the presets and set the bands yourself.
However, I'd kind of like to upgrade, although I'm not sure yet whether I'd like an upgraded flash player with a gig or so of internal memory instead of the CF cards (that's appealing because my first inclination is not toward something that I could store an entire music collection on, I'm more of a "toss a few hours of music on the thing, push the power button and forget about it and go work in the yard" kind of fellow) or a hard-drive player (the more I think about it, though, it WOULD be intriguing to have that much music at your fingertips).
I've researched the idea backward and forward for the past few weeks, have spent too much time looking at digital audio player forums, review sites, etc., and really can't make a decision because it seems like all of these things, including the ubiquitous iPod, have their strengths and weaknesses.
So, do any of my brother or sister Freepers have any experience with these things, and if so could you give me a little input as to what you're using and how they've done for you?
Right now, if I were to get a hard-drive player, I'm leaning toward the iPod because I actually like the iTunes software and because of the circumstantial evidence at least that Apple's AAC codec gives better sound quality at lower bit rates than MP3s or WMA (FYI, when I make MP3s, I use the LAME encoder set at alt.preset.standard; I've not done much with WMA), or the Dell DJ. The Creative players are interesting, but they seem to be notorious for the headphone jack tearing up about every 48 hours because of a soldering defect that appears to be the rule rather than the exception.
If I were to get a flash player, I'm leaning toward a couple of 1 gig possibilities, a Samsung Yepp and a couple of models by Cowon/iAudio, because they support another compressed audio codec called Ogg Vorbis which supposedly gives even better fidelity, compared to MP3, at lower bit rates than AAC.
If anyone has any experience with these particular units, or can suggest some others, I'd appreciate the help.
It sounds like you'd be happy with the 1GB iPod Shuffle.
iPod doesn't have full compatibility with some windows music formats, I believe, but you can get a player like the Rio Carbon and use a free program called JHymn to put iTunes music files on your player and get to use every music file you run across in your player.
Also, I prefer the font of the Rio Carbon and other windows-based players.
And you get a lot more music space for the price with a windows player.
You miss out on podcasts, perhaps, though. I don't know a lot about those, so maybe not.
I like the silver look and the shape of my Carbon, too.
The only issue I have is that they haven't come out with the software, yet, for the Carbon so you can't use those subscription services to download an unlimited number of songs to your player for a flat monthly fee (like at Napster). But, I think that will be resolved in the next few months, if not sooner.
Oh, and you'll want to get MusicMatch (the registered version). You can have it convert every single music file into a low-bitrate (like 112 or 96) mp3 file effortlessly (just choose your music folder, choose the output folder if you don't want it to overwrite, and then wait for it to be done), so you can fit as many songs on your player as you could imagine. Lowering the bitrate of your files makes a huge difference.
I've looked at a Rio Carbon ... Overstock.com has refurb models dirt cheap right now, and you can buy an extended warranty on them pretty cheap as well ... but I don't know if you've heard, Rio just went kaput, which means there aren't likely to be any more firmware updates or anything.
I'm a bit fussy with my MP3s, I'm willing to trade off file size for audio quality. I use a freeware program called CD-ex to convert which is really easy to use, basically almost drop and drag. The alt.preset.standard setting on LAME, which is CD-ex's MP3 encoder, gives you a variable bit rate between 128 and 192, usually a lot closer to 128 so the files aren't that much bigger. The thing is, I've only done a little bit with WMA files, but I encoded one album of those at a very low bit rate, like in the 80s, and was impressed with the sound. I'd heard that it does better than MP3 at low bit rates, I just haven't messed with it that much because I figure that MP3 is still the standard and will remain that way for a while, even the iPod plays MP3s.
It's tempting, but I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a screen or equalization controls.
Shop around for features that best fit your wants and needs, as well as your pocketbook.
Then, buy a unit with a Seagate HD in it.
;-)
That's the point of the Shuffle name: it plays all your music randomly.
FYI, "The Grateful Dead Movie" is on PBS right now in my neck of the woods.
I've actually heard, I think CNET is who said it, that the Shuffle has better sound than the regular iPods, so maybe the equalization thing isn't that big a deal. :)
Scott, have you heard that the Dead are now letting people share downloaded MP3s of old shows on the Internet now, as long as no money changes hands? If the MP3s have been done right, I don't think they'd sound any better or worse than the many-generations-from-the-master cassettes that we both know and love from years past. :)
Seriously consider the iPod. Support for other formats is not necessary if you're encoding your own music from your CD collection, or purchasing music via the iTunes Music Store. Plus, all your MP3's will work automatically with the iPod, no changes necessary.
The only case you will have problems with is if you have only a digital copy of a song in an unsupported format, and no original CD with which to rerip the song. But if that's the case... purchasing a replacement via the iTunes Music Store should be a cinch, and you get the cover art with it.
You can start off light with the iPod Shuffles, or go for an iPod mini. You could even go for a full size iPod, which would give you more than enough space for music, files, and your favorite photos of your family (which you can view at any time on the color screen).
Odd how the Dead's business model - open source live recordings, money made from touringto a loyal fanbase - looks like the only viable one in the future.
An interesting model, and a fascinating business story...but *whispers*...never really liked their music... Even when I used to smoke a little, the Dead, and reggae, never did it for me.
Hi,
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Good luck!
The one on the right. When in doubt, always pick the one on the right.
Can you load both AAC and MP3 files on the iPod simultaneously and it play them, or can you only have one codec on there at one time?
As I said, I've heard that when you encode into AAC with iTunes you get really good results, but I've also heard that their MP3 encoder, for when you want to use iTunes to make an MP3, isn't very good at all.
sony d-fs601..the only portable unit I found that would give me a satisfactory "mobile" experience, I think it was about $ 140, maybe less, it met my very high standards....not ipod, but a very good mobile audio unit IMNSHO
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