[R3SET]

Today I compared my mp3 player, the Sony NWZ-A828, to my MZ-R700 minidisc player. The same songs with the same quality were used, no compression on the MD, listening mainly with Sennheiser IE8 iem's. I just think the minidisc player just sounded better.

Do md-players sound better than mp3-players? I'm sure there are more MD owners here. Did you ever compare them to you're best sounding mp3-player?
Are there still guys here that prefer listening to MD to any mp3 player?
I'm very curious about you're opinions regarding this...

 

[dazzer1975]

i sold my 5.5g 80gb imod and vcap dock after spending time with my sony mz rh1 and iqube.

just a pita swapping discs out.

 

[shigzeo]

don't open up this can of worms please. this is almost as bad as bose versus sennheiser debate

 

[dazzer1975]

sorry shigzeo, how's this:

Apple rock and the ipod gives people a guaranteed eargasm each and every time.

 

[R3SET]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dazzer1975 /img/forum/go_quote.gif i sold my 5.5g 80gb imod and vcap dock after spending time with my sony mz rh1 and iqube. just a pita swapping discs out.

With adding the iqube, you can't use the remote control any more? The remote is one of the things i like

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif don't open up this can of worms please. this is almost as bad as bose versus sennheiser debate

The more discussion, the better

 

[fredman22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by R3SET /img/forum/go_quote.gif Today I compared my mp3 player, the Sony NWZ-A828, to my MZ-R700 minidisc player. The same songs with the same quality were used, no compression on the MD, listening mainly with Sennheiser IE8 iem's. I just think the minidisc player just sounded better. Do md-players sound better than mp3-players? I'm sure there are more MD owners here. Did you ever compare them to you're best sounding mp3-player? Are there still guys here that prefer listening to MD to any mp3 player? I'm very curious about you're opinions regarding this...

Your R700 is an MDLP player, the best sounding MDs are the HiMDs - NH600 and up. Atrac3+ rates of 256kbps and 352kbps respectively are much more comparable to todays AAC and other codecs as opposed to the old MDLP (Atrac3) codec your player employs. Having said that, I owned & loved an R700 and only gave it up when its h/p jack became intermittent - I upgraded to my now reverent NH-900. Along with the R700, I gave away an MD-DX400 CD/MD deck when I made the move to HiMD.

As for comparisons, I've attempted it on several occasions, always coming to the conclusion of apples vs. oranges. I still really like all my HiMD/Atrac3+ stuff, and will continue using it until it dies. I do have an A829 w/AAC350 that gets a lot of airplay (particularly since upgrading to W3s in January), but still prefer the slightly 'richer' sound of HiMD (plus the gapless playback of all my classic rock stuff) and just like messing with my discs as opposed to only having the A829 and its ~115 albums (I'm always wanting something not on there...). But that's personal preference - anyone used to keeping a library of compressed files on a hard drive would have little reason to adopt anything so archaic. HiMD/Atrac3+ sounds best ripping from WAV (as does pretty much everything else) and re-ripping or attempting to convert is really too much effort for little or no gain - stick with your favorite, most convenient format and just enjoy it.

 

[dharma]

You wrote:...'same quality were used, no compression on the MD'...

do you mean, that you used lossless (non-compressed) recordings on both devices or only on MD? Or you mean, that MD is not sounding compressed and A828 is sounding like compressed?

If you used lossy format of music (a'la mp3) on both, then maybe you try to compare with lossless format: on A828 (WAV or PCM-WAV) and on MD lossless format too (i do'nt know does it recognizes WAV or ATRAC-lossless)

 

[R3SET]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dharma /img/forum/go_quote.gif You wrote:...'same quality were used, no compression on the MD'... do you mean, that you used lossless (non-compressed) recordings on both devices or only on MD? Or you mean, that MD is not sounding compressed and A828 is sounding like compressed? If you used lossy format of music (a'la mp3) on both, then maybe you try to compare with lossless format: on A828 (WAV or PCM-WAV) and on MD lossless format too (i do'nt know does it recognizes WAV or ATRAC-lossless)

The music used was indeed PCM-WAV, the same file i recorded to my minidisc using optical cable, without using LP2 or LP4 (I never use them).

Quote:

Originally Posted by fredman22 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your R700 is an MDLP player, the best sounding MDs are the HiMDs - NH600 and up. Atrac3+ rates of 256kbps and 352kbps respectively are much more comparable to todays AAC and other codecs as opposed to the old MDLP (Atrac3) codec your player employs. Having said that, I owned & loved an R700 and only gave it up when its h/p jack became intermittent - I upgraded to my now reverent NH-900. Along with the R700, I gave away an MD-DX400 CD/MD deck when I made the move to HiMD. As for comparisons, I've attempted it on several occasions, always coming to the conclusion of apples vs. oranges. I still really like all my HiMD/Atrac3+ stuff, and will continue using it until it dies. I do have an A829 w/AAC350 that gets a lot of airplay (particularly since upgrading to W3s in January), but still prefer the slightly 'richer' sound of HiMD (plus the gapless playback of all my classic rock stuff) and just like messing with my discs as opposed to only having the A829 and its ~115 albums (I'm always wanting something not on there...). But that's personal preference - anyone used to keeping a library of compressed files on a hard drive would have little reason to adopt anything so archaic. HiMD/Atrac3+ sounds best ripping from WAV (as does pretty much everything else) and re-ripping or attempting to convert is really too much effort for little or no gain - stick with your favorite, most convenient format and just enjoy it.

When i don't record using the LP2 or LP4 mode, the minidisc still compresses the file to ATRAC?

 

[dharma]

I think you can find information about recording formats for your MD in Sony support site

 

[shigzeo]

it is not discussion though. it is always just fanboys against fanboys with no quality comparison.

i could care less if anyone likes ipod or not, but MD fanboys (i got over it after sony's latest offering) are much more rabid now than they were even when sony really put effort into the MD units ~1994 and 1995 when they made true quality MD units with great sounding headphone outputs. the new one even the lovely one that does all uploading and supports all atrac formats does not hold a candle to their golden age MD units.

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

My favorite portable player currently is the Sharp minidisc MD MS702. Discman sound in a smaller but fatter size. I prefer this player over some of my discmans. I like the fuller sound of my discman and minidisc especially with 70s and 80s music.

 

[fredman22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by R3SET /img/forum/go_quote.gif The music used was indeed PCM-WAV, the same file i recorded to my minidisc using optical cable, without using LP2 or LP4 (I never use them). When i don't record using the LP2 or LP4 mode, the minidisc still compresses the file to ATRAC?

No, I believe all iterations of MD/HiMD could record in WAV, albeit it used considerable juice & space to do so but, the best quality & theoretically consistant regardless the model (I only recorded WAV on a couple of rare occasions for comparisons only). But then why compare with flash players playing compressed files? Live recordings, perhaps. My MDs/HiMDs were ever only music players converting CDs to the most acceptable compression at the time (first LP2, then HiSP, eventually A352), so I never messed with live recording at all. Excuse my dismissal of WAV recording...

In my 'rough' comparisons I went CD>A3+ or CD>AAC350 and left it at that. The sound engines are close, but the A829 is a little more 'clinical' than the classic walkman engines employed in HiMDs; it's a newer generation - but for the most part it's splitting hairs and they're close enough, esp. when going straight through to IEMs. The slight differences can be attributed to everything from differing compression schemes to the sound engines and I don't care enough to take it any further. Ballpark figures. As Shig suggests, the comparison of Sony devices is not that significant when compared to other brands, engines for major sound differences/philosophies.

 

[shigzeo]

one place we forget to analyse when regarding MD compression is that for the most part they are taken from CD players with optical outs. though that method can be very good, it is not as safe as EAC rips from computers for errors.

md was my choice for many many years but for portable use, eventually, you begin to pick up on the overamped amps in those things that top out at 8mw*8mw in sharp's newest models. no matter how clean their signal was (and it was good), it was overamped and without external amplification, created often a non-neutral sound that was quite different from source.

 

[Sparky191]

Personally I prefer my A818 over my NH700. Ok theres a bit of hiss but I enjoy the 818 better.

 

[pata2001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by R3SET /img/forum/go_quote.gif Today I compared my mp3 player, the Sony NWZ-A828, to my MZ-R700 minidisc player. The same songs with the same quality were used, no compression on the MD,

That is impossible. NWZ series don't support Atrac, while the R700 only supports Atrac SP (via optical realtime recording)/LP2/LP4. It is impossible for the R700 to play uncompressed music.