[atici]

Guys how do you like ATRAC LP2 ? Is it tolerable in quality. I was looking into the portable players and am really tempted into new Sony NW-MS70D. It is so good looking.

Maybe an ATRAC decoder is easier and costs less to make (as encoding is faster) and that could explain why Sony is this much into ATRAC.

I am planning to transcode my MPC archive into ATRAC if I buy NS-MS70D via SoundStage v1.5 (it can handle WAV) keeping the originals in separate directory.

How would you compare the stereo separation in MP3 128 vs. ATRAC LP2? I am sure LP2 could not come close to 320kbps MP3 quality as some proponents claim. And I actually think that ATRAC is inferior for my choice because it is proprietary, and there're no choices in encoders, tagging system is unknown...

I guess maybe I'll get the Sony D-NE1 which decodes MP3 and looks quite cool and cheaper but bulkier. I-River imp-550 is very cool as well, but as I said Sony is much better engineeringwise and the dial of D-NE1 seems much cooler and the battery life and skip protection will be much better with a Sony. However future upgradability chances are better in an I-River though they never included an additional format so far. One thing I can't understand is even though DVD player is not costly to include except for Sony MPD-AP20U, no portable player has it.
And MPD-AP20U has a CD writer feature which is unneccesary for me and I wouldn't want to carry that extra circuitry. Don't you think an optical player is too bulky for 700MB offer? Even though DVD writers are becoming popular I can't understand why none still has DVD+RW support. Maybe the competition will bring them soon and even the BluRay ones are soon ahead.

I guess I am giving up on AAC/MP4/Ogg/MPC expectations on a portable for a little while. I believe the future is in the optical media because of its cost advantage. I hope 80GB 8cm media comes soon and solves our problems...

 

[atici]

I forgot to ask. Can you explain me or show me a thread (I did a search and read all the info I could find) comparing ATRAC LP2 (not a MP3 transcode) to a LAME MP3? ATRAC SP is not supported in NW-MS70D unfortunately.

Also how do you tag the ATRAC files? Is there a way to keep the information in APE 2 tags in MPC files apart from transcoding to MP3 in between ? Does the ATRAC files use ID3 tagging system? If so I can automatize the conversion somehow...

 

[D-EJ915]

DON'T use MP3's they suck, download WMP9, and use LOSSLESS mode, WMA's sound much better...anyway LP2 sounds fine.

 

[atici]

Quote:

Originally posted by D-EJ915 DON'T use MP3's they suck, download WMP9, and use LOSSLESS mode, WMA's sound much better...anyway LP2 sounds fine.

If I were to use lossless I'd use Monkey's Audio. Anyway, I use MPC=Musepack, the best lossy codec. But for my portables I can keep a stripped down versions of these files either into MP3 or ATRAC. Now my question is does ATRAC LP2 sound as good as LAME MP3 128?

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally posted by D-EJ915 DON'T use MP3's they suck, download WMP9, and use LOSSLESS mode, WMA's sound much better...anyway LP2 sounds fine.

Wma's do not sound better than mp3's. This is wrong, and well... ignorant ("mp3's suck"). They sound better than mp3's at lower bitrate for sure. That's what wma (and mp3pro and a lesser extent aac) were made for (though I wouldn't listen to music at low bitrates). Lossless may sound great (though that should be compared to lossless compressions). But for the vast majority of bitrates people use- say 160-320kps , I'd take lame mp3's over wma's anyday.

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally posted by atici Now my question is does ATRAC LP2 sound as good as LAME MP3 128?

Do you think 128 kps mp3's are tolerable?

 

[atici]

Quote:

Originally posted by blessingx Do you think 128 kps mp3's are tolerable?

On a portable with decent earbuds LAME --alt-preset 128 sounds fine to me.

I use MPC --insane on my home system (Stereo-Link + AudioSource Amp Two + pair of Infinity Alpha 40)

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally posted by atici On a portable with decent earbuds LAME --alt preset 128 sounds fine to me.

I agree with you, except for the decent earbuds part. For members of this site, most have replaced the stock earbuds with something better (even if it's only $15 Koss 50's). That's when 128 mp3's become unlistenable. Just wanted to put out the warning.

To see what some of the settings people liken to transparency (though that may not be your goal) go here.

 

[atici]

Quote:

Originally posted by blessingx [snip]That's when 128 mp3's become unlistenable. Just wanted to put out the warning.

Ok, but I'd like to compromise. If I get the NW-MS70D I'd be forced to use LP2 otherwise if I get a MP3 player I'd probably use LAME --alt-preset standard -Y. But I'd get excellent Sony construction, awesome dial, etc. If ATRAC3 LP2 sounds as good as LAME --alt-preset 128, I can tolerate the inferior sound quality.

 

[blessingx]

Check this site. I think there's some good info there. Some converted wav sound samples too.

 

[D-EJ915]

Well, for my use (Hardcore, Thrash Metal) WMAs sound much better, and I ripped WMA 192, and MP3 320, so you can't tell me that MP3's are better for that.

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

Quote:

Originally posted by atici Now my question is does ATRAC LP2 sound as good as LAME MP3 128?

no contest, ATRAC LP2 kills 128kbps mp3 anyday

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally posted by D-EJ915 Well, for my use (Hardcore, Thrash Metal) WMAs sound much better, and I ripped WMA 192, and MP3 320, so you can't tell me that MP3's are better for that.

Well there are an awful lot of people that disagree with you (just browse Hydrogen Audio forums), but if you've found wma's work better for your needs. Great. I just wouldn't go around saying "mp3's suck" unless you want to qualify it somehow (encoder, bitrate, select music styles, etc.).

 

[atici]

Re: ProFingerSk8er

But you also said on some other thread ATRAC beats MP3 hands down, which can't simply be true. Read Hydrogen Audio and see what they said.

Re: Blessingx

I agree with you.

Re: D-EJ915

I'd fortunately never be forced to use WMA because there're always better alternatives. MPC for high bitrate >160kbps and Ogg/MP3 for low bitrate...

 

[xantus]

atrac3's(lp2) artifacts are far more listenable than 128mp3, and much more transparent(though it all depends on the complexity of the music). for portable use, i would chose atrac3 over 128mp3