[neb]

Hi,

I was looking at getting a Sony NE900 CD player for playing my own MP3 cds. I've got an old Sony EJ925 and I'm not expecting the sound to be any better than that unit - what I'm more interested in is it's ability to play mp3 files.

Are there any restrictions in what type of mp3 files can be played in these NE models? i.e. can I burn my own mp3 cds using Cdex and then just play them in the 900 or is the mp3 playback similar to the NetMD 'feature' where you first have to convert the mp3 files to atrac3?

Are there any other 'features' I should be aware of before buying one of these units?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[D-EJ915]

The review of the D-NE10 (I think) over at AudioCubes said that the MP3 option skips erratically (SP??)...anyway, I'd personally go with the Panasonic version (CT810) which the person reviewed there gave it a good rating...it's more, but I'd pay more to get more.

 

[Damage]

No, my D-NE1 can play all my MP3s that I throw at it, CBR and VBR. However, like most Sony's MP3 product, it may be finicky about any MP3s that's not encoded in 44.1kHz. At least, that is the case with my rather aging Clie. The Experimental Side of I says to try it, but I won't bother...

It does, however, seeming have issues with burning CDs (SonicStage SimpleBurner to be exact). Takes up a lot more resources than your average burner, crash prone, etc. One of the more annoying side effects is that unless its left alone during the burning process (of ATRAC3 files), it will skip... Seems to affect the high bitrate (256kbps ATRAC) most.

However, if you're intent on getting a MP3CD player, go with iRivers.