[redshifter]

i look at it this way--mp3's and mp3 players are fine, but just an extension of an existing technology: computers. with a portable md recorder, the entire technology sits in your hand. md was created to do one thing and one thing well, record and reproduce music and sound, and atrac is a codec that has been refined for over 10 years, and it shows. on top of this, so has the md hardware side. so, better software (atrac) and better hardware, i'll go with md. i do have a sony d777 pcdp and yes it does sound better out of the line out an headphone jack, but it IS a d777. most other pcdp's i've auditioned sounded worse than the r70.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by NotoriousBIG_PJ Sony d-515. First player with skip protection and it has an amazing lineout (sounds much better then all new sonys and panasonic 570 and Ive read it sounds better then sony 777). Bass boost also effects the lineout. Runs on 2 AA batteries for like 4 hours hehe. Biggie.

I haven't heard the D-515 or D-555 (or even Optimus 3400). However, I do have the D-303 and the D-777. It's not close. The D-303 has a far more convincing line out. I've got a D-35 (just today, actually) that's close to the D-303, but the D-303 is still my best sounding portable player. No skip protection, and short battery life (but I just cooked up a rechargeable external battery pack to hook up through the 9V input that should fix that). So, I'd have to vote for the D-303, but on incomplete data. I'd love to hear a D-515 or D-555 to compare to the D-303.

 

[imdisturbedbyyou]

SLIMX 350 EOM

 

[Duncan]

I'm going to go against the grain... and say Sony D345...

Even though I haven't had the player for about 5 years now, I remember it to be slightly warmer than the E905, which would suit ETY ER4Ps down to the ground

 

[stymie miasma]

Quote:

Originally posted by redshifter i look at it this way--mp3's and mp3 players are fine, but just an extension of an existing technology: computers. with a portable md recorder, the entire technology sits in your hand. md was created to do one thing and one thing well, record and reproduce music and sound, and atrac is a codec that has been refined for over 10 years, and it shows. on top of this, so has the md hardware side. so, better software (atrac) and better hardware, i'll go with md. i do have a sony d777 pcdp and yes it does sound better out of the line out an headphone jack, but it IS a d777. most other pcdp's i've auditioned sounded worse than the r70.

I'm with redshifter on this one. I can't really comment on sound quality, but for on-the-go, who cares? The shock protection is so much better than any PCDPs that I have used, as is the battery life. Plus they are so small, as is the media. The 2x compression is fine for portable use - 160 minutes of pretty good quality music on one wittle MD - yes please!

The only drag is having to copy onto MD in the first place. One of these days I will buy an MD deck that should make life a little easier. I actually would not complain if MDs took over from CDs.

Call me an fudy-dudy, but I find MP3s offensive - at least with regard the whole napster/winMX thingy. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people making MP3s out of music that they own themselves. I think MP3s are a great idea for downloadable music samples and out-of-print or otherwise unavailable material, including live performances and bootlegs. My good friend runs a record label and he said things are looking pretty grim - no-one is buying CDs any more. Maybe my head is screwed up, but I LOVE buying CDs - am I perverted, is there something wrong with me?

 

[Mystyler]

Judging by specs alone, I'd say the Sharp MD-DR7 is up there.
Other than that, the MT831. It blew me away.

 

[DLP]

Quote:

Originally posted by Brad Harper Are you guys telling me you prefer the sound of minidisc and MP3 to CD. I can't believe that the same guys who are into headphone preamps and tweeked out high end headphones would be willing to listen to these highly compressed formats.

I think that for MD, you can't get any better than its sound unamped, especially comparing it to any portable CD player made in the past 2 or 3 years.
For MP3, well, that's what LAME at 320kb is for, because with portable use, you'd have trouble telling the difference between them

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch I haven't heard the D-515 or D-555 (or even Optimus 3400). However, I do have the D-303 and the D-777. It's not close. The D-303 has a far more convincing line out. So, I'd have to vote for the D-303, but on incomplete data. I'd love to hear a D-515 or D-555 to compare to the D-303.

On Purks word, the d-515 and d-303 lineouts are very similar but the d-515 works with bassboost. I would really like to see the lineout of these players compared to optimus 3400 and denon 150...

Biggie.

 

[Kubernetes]

I have to agree that the 515 has a wonderful line-out. I think it's cleaner sounding than the 777, and the ability to use bass-boost (which doesn't sound bad at all!) through the line-out is awesome.

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by stymie miasma Call me an fudy-dudy, but I find MP3s offensive - at least with regard the whole napster/winMX thingy. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people making MP3s out of music that they own themselves. I think MP3s are a great idea for downloadable music samples and out-of-print or otherwise unavailable material, including live performances and bootlegs. My good friend runs a record label and he said things are looking pretty grim - no-one is buying CDs any more. Maybe my head is screwed up, but I LOVE buying CDs - am I perverted, is there something wrong with me?

*sound of inhaling breath before starting a rant*

You're not screwed up, I want CDs too...and yet if I never had been able to download MP3s, I would have never found all the music that I love, and I doubt I would be at this board today.

I don't really know what the record companies can do about MP3s as far as stopping the technology...I don't think it can be done. I'd like to see them, though, instead of spending time and resources trying to stop it and pointing the finger at it for declining sales, try and DO something to increase sales. You know, create new incentives and reasons for people to go out and buy a CD rather than download it off the net, or even incorporate the two technologies. If they're not willing to adapt or change, maybe they will go extinct.

Hmm...okay, try this. Let's say there are three types of people here to look at. The first is a person who never buys CDs. If they download MP3s, and still don't buy CDs, that's not hurting sales now is it? The second type of person is one who never buys CDs, starts to download MP3s and get into music, then later decides to buy CDs for whatever reason. I fall into this category. Hmm, a good thing for the record industry happening because of MP3s? The third type of person is one that DOES buy CDs, and like you, loves to. Now, are they going to STOP buying CDs, just because of MP3s? Just shove their CD collection and players and everything into a corner and buy an MP3 player and start downloading music instead? I doubt it. The only way I see then that MP3s would be hurting sales is that more people can hear the music before they buy it and see if they like it, so they take less chances and buy less CDs than before. But there have been other ways to sample music before MP3s...

People who burn CDs and then turn around and sell them for cheap to people as if they were as good as the real thing piss me off though...THAT is the kind of thing that hurts sales. Are there that many people doing this though?

If there's a flaw in my logic please point it out, because I just don't see where this reputed plummet in sales due to MP3 technology is coming from.

 

[00940]

There is a good point to underline :

The sells of the music companies follow a curve better than the average of the economy. Come on, the sells dropped a bit, what do you expect in a time of crisis ?

The only strong link is in the real drop of the singles. Why would you pay 4$ for one song ? I never bought these btw.

 

[marcopolo]

The portablility and 'line out' with my Sony MZ-N1 makes it a very nice unit. Unless your a Sony hater; then I would say, the Sharp MT77 I dropped and rendered useless has (louder) volume output than the Sony, but it is close. The Sony's line out I think almost matches the Sharp.

The Nomads get very high marks especially the (3)and we all know about the iPods. I own neither though.

When I burn a CD to Mini Disc I do not compress. I only burn one CD to a disc. Thus, I think I get great sound. They are small and not inconvienent for me to carry a few with me. Plus, I too like buying CD's and playing in the stereo when company is over and I like to burn'em.

The best unit to me is like the best amp, the best headphone, et cetera; there are commonalities that make the best - 'the best.' However, the choosing boils down to your requirments, your wallet and yes, it has to look cool.


A top list

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally posted by marcopolo ...When I burn a CD to Mini Disc I do not compress. I only burn one CD to a disc. Thus, I think I get great sound. They are small and not inconvienent for me to carry a few with me. Plus, I too like buying CD's and playing in the stereo when company is over and I like to burn'em....

actually, even when recording normal, atrac r 74 minute discs, there is still some data compression.

hi stymie!
i got the sony jb930 md deck and it did make it a lot easier to make md's. i have it hooked up to a sony changer, and they can synch record--push one button and off you go.

are you perverted? by any normal person's standards, yes probably. but this is head-fi, so you fit right in.

 

[marcopolo]

I stand corrected... however, the end result is my point. Audio quality is still very good. Good point though.

Quote:

ATRAC compresses compact disc audio to approximately 1/5 of the original data rate with virtually no loss in sound quality.

 

[skippy]

the cd3400, is probably the best portable thing i've heard. it's just that it has absolutely no skip protection, which makes it pretty useless for my purposes. although, it would be my choice if i was travelling.