[jok]

Anyone know of any PCDP or hard drive players which can seemlessly play 'mixed' albums (where each track merges into the next)?

i can't find any info on the web about this yet i think it's an important feature - nothing worse than a second or so of silence while the player changes track!!!

(i could encode the whole album as an mp3 but you'd lose useful track marks plus many players won't allow you to fast forward at a good enough speed).

links on any info much appreciated, TIA.

 

[abeautifulife]

Check out iriver players (slimX etc..) You might still hear a "click" when the player changes tracks though if the tracks don't have fade in/out. Could always bring your cd down to the shops to try it out though.

 

[mtillman]

They don't exist.

Virtually every mp3 will have a momentary silence at the end of the file due to the encoding process (except those encoded using the unfinished 'nogap' option in LAME - and they will be as rare as hens teeth), so even if the player is capable of playing the files without a gap itself (very important point - and the SlimX, at least, can't do this), there will still be the gao which is present in the file.

What is needed is a player that will fudge the issue by slightly overlapping the playback of mp3s and doing a quick crossfade (200milliseconds is enough). If any manufacturer is going to implement this, it will be iRiver. They are aware of the demand, and their machines are firmware upgradeable - but don't hold your breath.

 

[mtillman]

Oh, and by the way, the gap (on the SlimX, anyway) is not one second, but more like a twentieth of a second.

 

[skagen]

I had the same problem withthe track gap on MP3 players - I only use my portable for jogging and I listen almost exclusively to mixes. That gap is an annoyance and it spoils the music experience.

I didn't want the size of the CD/MP3 players so I didn't consider the SLim-X and I don't kow if it is indeep gapless. But none of the flash memony-based MP3 players are gapless. I was told its a weakness in the MP3 coding itself, rather than anything due to the player.

I couldn't find a solution and i ended up ditching MP3's and buying a cheap used minidisc player(Sony MZ-R900) instead. Personally, I think minidiscs have their own issues eg upload/download capability is a discrage considering you are dealing with a digital medium. BUT sound quality is most important for me and MP3 was not cutting it as a whole - not just sole becuase of the gap.

You may want to conider getting a lowcost minidisc until that whole MP3/WMA/Ogg Vorbis thing get worked out. As it is I felt like I was spending too much money on MP3 and I was basically beingused a guinea pig for technology that is clearly NOT consumer-ready at this point.

 

[Taphil]

The Creative NJB3 has gapless playback, but there's still a 0.1sec silence like mtillman said due to the acutal mp3 file. I think if you encode with Creative's Play Center, it will play gaplessly on the NJB3 when you transfer it over. I don't know if LAME -nogap plays gaplessly though.

 

[Watchdog]

I've got a Creative Nomad and the gap bothered me, I thought I was the only one! Glad to hear there are others.

I also have an MD and use that far more than I ever used my mp3 player, and yes it solves the gap problem. However, a CD player should suffice as well.

One musical genre I like is trance and if you copy the CD by making an exact copy you retain the track marks and you won't have a gap in playback. Of course this only works for full albums, but it might solve your problem a bit.

I would also recommend a cheap used MD to see if you like the new format. Sony just announced their new product line for 2003 so you might find other Head-Fi'ers selling their MD portables to get a new 2003. I know I plan on picking up a 2nd MD portable when the new units are available, but I'll also keep my other portable.

 

[jok]

Quote:

Originally posted by Taphil The Creative NJB3 has gapless playback, but there's still a 0.1sec silence like mtillman said due to the acutal mp3 file. I think if you encode with Creative's Play Center, it will play gaplessly on the NJB3 when you transfer it over. I don't know if LAME -nogap plays gaplessly though.

thanks for replying all, good to know of other peeved users! let's hope the manufacturers are taking note.

bit odd that, i encode with lame and it doesn't put a gap at the start or end of the track - the tracks play gaplessly on a suitable PC player (example '1by1'. ps: anyone recommend a pc player too?)

I can't see why encoders would add a gap... maybe only old encoders do it?

can't seem to find the NJB3 anywhere in the UK and i would like to try-before i buy as gapless is a major requirement.

...hmm, thinking about sticking with minidisc for a while.

 

[minya]

The gap in MP3 files when going from one to the next is innate. It can't be fixed, unless you do a bit of crossfading, and even that isn't perfect.

Solutions:

1) Exact Audio Copy: can create one-file MP3s of your favorite mix cds. So you no longer have to worry about gaps. This is my favorite solution. You can't skip tracks, though, because no portable MP3 players support .cue files yet.

2) Ogg. OK, this isn't really a solution, because no portable I know of plays oggs, but oggs can be played seamlessly without that incredibly irritating millisecond gap.

- Chris

 

[Watchdog]

So it doesn't matter if you have a flash based or hard drive based mp3 player, both have gaps in playback?

I hope more manufacturers start supporting Ogg. I love the bit rate peeling feature and the fact that it's royalty free. It will be easier for up and coming artists to distribute free tracks with Ogg. If an artist wanted to distribute free mp3's of their own music, they'd have to pay a royalty to Fraunhofer every time they gave away a song so it would actually cost them money.

 

[minya]

Quote:

Originally posted by Watchdog So it doesn't matter if you have a flash based or hard drive based mp3 player, both have gaps in playback?

Yes, unless you do what I suggested above (rip your mix CDs as one-file mp3s).

Quote:

I hope more manufacturers start supporting Ogg. I love the bit rate peeling feature and the fact that it's royalty free. It will be easier for up and coming artists to distribute free tracks with Ogg. If an artist wanted to distribute free mp3's of their own music, they'd have to pay a royalty to Fraunhofer every time they gave away a song so it would actually cost them money.

Ummm... in theory, perhaps. I don't think anyone who gives away free MP3s actually pays royalties, though.

- Chris

 

[Taphil]

Quote:

Originally posted by jok bit odd that, i encode with lame and it doesn't put a gap at the start or end of the track - the tracks play gaplessly on a suitable PC player (example '1by1'. ps: anyone recommend a pc player too?)

This will be the case if the program has crossfade. Crossfade is really the only suitable way to eliminate the gaps.