New Portable System...

[Flumpus]

Well, after I just sold my portable system (Sony MZ-R900 w/ E888's) I got my schedule for this fall, and I'm gonna be having some free time in between classes, but not enough time to go home. This means I'll be bored, and also means that I'll probably want to listen to music. This is exactly what happened last year, and that's when I bought my first real portable system, a Sony MZ-R70 with E888's... I quickly upgraded, but I think I need a new system now for when school starts

First, my budget

I've been workin' quite a bit of overtime, so I'm going to spend a little more this time... Between $500 and $600 is my target, a little more is ok, a little less is always better

There are two systems I'm looking at... The first is the new and oh so amazing Sony MZ-R909 w/ E888's (they were my intro into hifi headphones and I love their sound). The 909 looks amazing, and with this combo I would be around $550 with a good supply of MD blanks to start out. I know this system would sound good and I would enjoy it, but I just priced another system tonight that has me curious.

The second systm I'm considering is a portable cd player system. I was lookin' around at MD stuff and decided to check out headroom's website, just to see what I could get for a little under $600. Panasonic 580+TA+Airbag+ety's is what I could get for that price

Now, I know this will probably sound alot better than the md solution, but here are my issues: First, portability. I'd be carrying around a backpack anyway, and then the airbag. I know the TA and 580 are relatively small, but still (the ety's are small, not an issue). Now, I've always thought of MD players as the only true portable system... The 909 and 888 combo would be tiny, and IMO would sound pretty good (especially with the type r atrac...mmmmm).

Why did I just type all this? I want some opinions

Maybe there are some things I haven't thought about yet that are important to yall in a portable system. Again, my main issue here is portability, but packing as much good sound as I can into that small package.

Oh ya, one other thing... the isolation of the ety's. That would kinda freak me out around campus. I'm used to hearing a little background noise, but does this bother anyone? It may be a blessing to just hear the music, but it also may be kinda weird. Oh, and walking around, would there be any cord noise with the ety's?

Well, those are my thoughts for the night... I value your opinions, so let me know what yall think! Thanks.

 

[Tim D]

You won't hear ambient noise with an Ety...as in none when music is playing. There will be some cable noise during movement, depending on the person. Ety's are ideal portables in the sense of stationary use that you can carry ie. plane travel, public commuting, library, etc. As far as safety...school campuses typically are very safe...unfortunately that trend seems to be changing.

They also are good enough in the sound department IMO to compare extremely well with many home headphones, just not as convenient. Definitely sound good enough to totally ignore parts of boring lectures...but maybe thats a bad thing.

I don't think the 909/888 combo is going to be a huge difference in sound over the setup you sold, but if you really miss it...

Personally the 4P setup is very viable alternative, and you can get the 4S conversion cable later. Your TA otherwise will actually be 2x as big as your MD.

 

[Flumpus]

Ya, I don't think the 909/888 combo will be that much better than what I sold (maybe a little)...

But I probably would have sold the 900 to get the 909 anyway Good thing I did it before the 909 was out... probably got more for it.

Anyhow, ignoring lectures is a good thing IMO, and the ety's would definitely help

 

[MacDEF]

Flumpus, any particular reason you want the 909 instead of the 900 again? (Or even a Sharp model?) I mean, other than it's the latest and greatest?

I only ask because there's been a lot of talk on the MD list about how the 909 really isn't worth the extra money. Type R is great, but unless you are listening with *very* good equipment at home, you probably won't hear much difference. Plus the fact that with the 909 you get an even smaller headphone output (3.5mW vs. 5mW).

Something to think about

 

[Neruda]

are you against a hard drive based system? Because the personaly jukebox has gotten quite cheap, and the treo is supposed to come out pretty soon as well. Right now though you can get a 20 gig personal Jukebox for around $550 at www.mp3factorydirect.com , and that includes a backlit display. Personally I think that's the ideal portable; the headphone amp has 50mW per channel, and the amount of music you can take with you is simply tremendous. Sure the sound quality isn't quite as good, but chances are you'd never notice it. besides, the electronics inside the PJB might be better than those in MD units (I'm really guessing on that, but I have heard that it is).

 

[Vertigo-1]

Here's my rant...

Personally, I'd worry about that dip in the headphone amp on the 909...that alone would make me stay away from it, despite Type R. You have to realize ultimately that this is a PORTABLE, so when I go portable, I'm not going to expect the sound of my Sony MDR-R10s to come out of it. Type R is quite the gimmick ultimately when it's being put on a portable...in a deck, and staying within a home, it has more uses. But on the road, you have to ask yourself truthfully...could you possibly hear the difference? The only way you could hear the difference is to plug in the Etymotic 4S, which that 3mw amp can't handle...using a portable amp + the Etymotics is already adding the external amp's distortion to what Type R should should like originally. And we all know how true to the source the 888s stay with their beautiful, blooming midrange, now don't we?

I think I would rather have a decent amp that can power earphones, or just good default equalization (Sharp) than the Type R. 3mw is seriously pushing it.

So in the end, I have a question of my own. Is it absolutely true that Type R encoded MDs can be decoded anywhere else with the Type R quality retained? Because if it were true, and if I REALLY had to have Type R, I'd go with a deck that had it (I'm eyeing the Sony JB-940), and then use the portable player of my choice which still has at least a 5mw amp (like my current Sony E900). The 909 is a really good concept, but I'd forget about it if it has a 3mw amp.

 

[Flumpus]

The E909 has a 3.5mw amp, the R909 has a 5...

http://www.japan-direct.com/cartitem.asp?prodid=293

Go down the the bottom. 5mw amp.

macdef, I really do like the looks and everything about the 909 over the 900, and I loved my 900. Just didn't seem like I was using it enough. I think I'll use a portable much more now, and am torn between true portability and the sound quality of the ta+ety combo...

 

[Flumpus]

Oh, uh, neruda, yes, I'm totally against a HD based mp3 player

I know you're in love with the treo (vaporware?), and I guess I can see why. It does look really amazing, but there's no way I'll ever be needing that much music with me. If I do, it'll be on a trip, and I might as well take a bunch of md's or cd's with me anyway, not that much more to pack. I did consider it for a little while, but just don't think I'd like it...

Vertigo, I'm not really sure if I could hear the differences or not, especially with 888's... but it can't be worse

And I've just gotta have the latest greatest if I go md...

So where are all the ety people? I know how the md+888 combo sounds, so someone try and talk me into goin' the ety+ta route

 

[coolvij]

Flumpus...the 909 with Ety 4P sounds good to me....and pick up MX500s for open-air portable cans.....

 

[jude]

Flumpus,

As I'm sure you'd expect, I recommend a portable CD player. I know it can be more burdensome (I know because I carry around 100 CD's with me almost everywhere I go), it'll give you the best sound at this time.

 

[Neruda]

flumpus, I'm still confused. I mean, certainly it's no big deal as this is your portable system, but I'm too stubborn to let it go

. What's worng with having a whole bunch of music with you, whether you need it or not? What could be the downside? I suppose you might not like it because the battery life is shorter than with MD's (and that is a huge difference), but to me, that's the only downside (I think the size issue is pointless because I'd be carrying around quite a few MD's and that would be way bigger than even a PJB). You'd also have that 50mW amp!

 

[jude]

Neruda, three characters is the short answer: M.....P.....3

 

[Neruda]

argh! here we go with that lossy format discussion again

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by Neruda argh! here we go with that lossy format discussion again

That's because it is lossy.

And if you bring up that site at http://www.r3mix.net/, please realize that you'd be doing the MP3 cause a disservice, unless, of course, that's the best site the MP3 movement has going for it.

Allow me to point you to a thread about that site that I posted to on HeadWize just last night:

r3mix.net rocks the house!

I have a Rio 500. It's used for audio books.

I also use MP3's to audition albums before I buy them -- I'll admit that they're good for that.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

So in the end, I have a question of my own. Is it absolutely true that Type R encoded MDs can be decoded anywhere else with the Type R quality retained?

Vert: yes, it's true. ATRAC is completely backward-compatible. Although I basically said the same thing as you -- in a portable, you probably won't hear the difference, especially given the environment in which portables are usually used.

Flumpus: thanks for the note about the amps. It's good that you still get 5mW. (Although it irks me that recorders, which tend to have line-out, have a bigger amp -- it means you can't use an external headphone amp with the players, which are the ones that *really* need it.) As for a recommendation, if you're going for something as tiny andn portable as the 909, it seems funny to then carry around an amp. I would get the ER4P -- that's what I'm planning on doing when funding allows.




Quote:

As I'm sure you'd expect, I recommend a portable CD player. I know it can be more burdensome (I know because I carry around 100 CD's with me almost everywhere I go), it'll give you the best sound at this time.

Jude, while that's true, I think Flumpus and I are in the same boat: the size, battery life, and fragility of a CD portable just aren't worth the tiny improvement in sound you would get in a portable environment.

Quote:

What's worng with having a whole bunch of music with you, whether you need it or not? What could be the downside?... (I think the size issue is pointless because I'd be carrying around quite a few MD's

Neruda, I think Flumpus and I really seem to have the same mindset on this issue

As for the downside, you mentioned battery life. But the size issue is also important. As Flumpus said, there's no way he'll ever need that much music -- if that's true, a HD-based MP3 player is adding a lot of size and weight for no added benefit. I'm in the same boat. The most music I have ever carried with me (and this was for a two-week trip) was 15 MDs, and those fit into a tiny case. But a more likely scenario is that I bring my E900 and two or three MDs: that's enough for 240 minutes of very high quality, 480 minutes of 192 or 256k-quality, or 960 minutes of 96 or 128k joint stereo.

I rather enjoy our regular debates on HD vs MD, Neruda

I think what it comes down to is priorities. If you want to have a huge library of music on-hand, then a HD-based MP3 player is perfect -- I have to admit almost buying an Archos last month when I found it for $200. I was tempted to get it to keep it at work so I wouldn't have to lug CDs back and forth. However, if your main concern is portability (size, battery life, ruggedness) or even a bit higher sound quality, then MD is a better format. Can't we all just get along?