Posted by jeff on 04/27/07 18:45

Thanks for the response. My minidisc player is MZ-N505 Type R and
the bit rate for recording using Simple Burner is LP2, allowing me to
copy about 3-4 CDs onto a minidisc. Sounds fine.

I've not copied MP3 files onto minidisc, I'm just not interested,
except possibly for rare archival type recordings, etc. I have a
large CD collection and my interest is to simply purchase a portable
audio system where I can copy about 100 CDs onto either a hard drive
or flash drive recorder and get the best possible, least compressed
sound.

Some friends of mine, and my daughter, have Ipods, and they're into
the standard approach of downloading files and to me it just doesn't
sound as good as straight CDs or CDs copied to minidisc. It's
acceptable but it's a far cry to what the actual recordings sound
like. It's like comparing a boom box to a real audio system, good
headphones or not.

I'd love to buy an MP3 recorder type unit but I don't want to do it
blindly and I'm interested in specific recommendations with sound
quality as the ultimate criteria.

Thanks again, Jeff





On Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:16:03 -0400, NRen2k5 <nomore@email.com> wrote:

>jeff wrote:
>> Hi, I'm considering buying something along the lines of an Ipod for
>> outdoor use but I'm not sure because to me the sound quality leaves
>> something to be desired. To my ears at least, a cassette walkman
>> actually sounds better. Right now I'm using and enjoying a Sony
>> NetMD minidisc player [...]
>
>Well what settings had you been using for MP3s and what settings had you
>been using for Minidiscs?
>
>I'm surprised that to your ears NetMD and especially cassette sounds
>better than MP3. I'm wondering what MP3 and MiniDisc settings you've
>been using. I'm also wondering what model of NetMD you were using,
>because the lower-end models don't even allow you to use high-quality
>settings.
>
>> I don't need anything more than the ability to store about 100 CDs
>> worth of music at any given time. That should pretty much cover it,
>> for my needs.
>
>To choose the appropriate size of MP3 player you will need to choose
>what quality you want the MP3s encoded at - higher quality requires more
>capacity.
>
>> I doubt that I'll use it for downloading MP3 files, I'm more
>> interested in copying my CDs to it directly.
>
>Which whether you see it or not will almost certainly be using the MP3
>format.
>
>> On the other hand, I would like the ability to download podcasts, and
>> I'm unsure if that requires an Ipod specifically or not.
>
>Nope. A podcast is just a special delivery method for MP3s. It actually
>has nothing to do with the iPod.
>
>> Older technology is fine, as long as its proprietary battery is long
>> lasting and easily replaceable.
>
>That's the tough part. The proprietary batteries used are almost always
>lithium-ion, which are only good for about 500 charges. But maybe that's
>enough for you if you won't be using it often.

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