Mini Disc or MP3 player?

Bubba

I have money to spend and I am deciding between a MD or MP3 player. Can anyone recommend or give any advice.
Much appreciated

Creamy Goodness

if you buy a mp3 like the creative jukebox zen 20gb all your music needs are set.


but i don't know if ya have enough money? they are about 400 eurons

Fabritzo

MP3 all the way, minidisc might have worked if the internet didn't kick the music industry in the balls, I've heard good things about the i-pod, or do a search for those i-river thing, they're noice, www.mp3cola.com if I recall is a good link

MrPinK

The ipod is pretty damn nice alright, much nicer than creative zen imo, but I suspect it will cost a fair bit more.

kaisersose77

check this new 30gb zen mp3 player one out for 324 euro. , http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?action=info&p=39215&t=1901&l=2&AvdID=1&CatID=47&GrpID=1&s=pl
would be great if komplett get the 20 gb version as filling 30 gb is near impossible. heres a link about it http://asia.creative.com/products/portaudio/jukebox_zen_nx/welcome.asp
might get one myself if they launch a 20 gb version.

Pmc

For music quality go for minidisc.

radiospan

Originally posted by Pmc
For music quality go for minidisc.

The quality on an MP3 player is better than on MiniDisc. When you record an MP3 to MiniDisc, you are transcoding the MP3 into the MiniDisc compression format (ATRAC3).

This will always be lower quality than the original MP3. Get an MP3 player so you can play the MP3s without converting them to another format.

With MiniDisc, you can only hold 20 odd songs without using the low quality LP modes. I sold my MiniDisc player for a Creative Zen and I'll never regret it. I have over 2,000 songs on it and it still isn't half full.

If you have a large amount of MP3s, it's great being able to view them arranged by artist, album or whatever and create your own playlists with an MP3 player.

The one redemming quality of MiniDisc, IMHO, is the excellent battery life. I have to recharge my Zen every few days.

jesus_thats_gre

i agree, I have had 2 Minidisc protables and still have a unit for my stereo. I am not impressed by it, the MP3 player I have has had far more use and it is so much easier to copy music onto it. Smaller as well in most cases.

Drazhar

personally i have an MP3 CD player. I think its the absolute dogs boll0x. Slap 178 or so tunes onto a cd, throw it into the player, plus with rechargeable batteries, and its inbuilt recharge function, it bloody rules. I get about four hours continuous (sp?) out of the thing, handy for the bus from Limerick to Waterford

handy for college too. Slap the CD into the drive, the phones into the back of the pc, and bobs your mothers sister, entertainment while learning the ins and outs of Software Engineering

the only drawback, where a dedicated MP3 player would be nice, is the fact that you cant really chop and change the songs you have on the CD's. I usually make a new favourites CD every two months, plus i have my MP3 backups (8CD's) to listen to aswell

dr_funkenstein

call into compustore and get a second generation 10gb iPod for €299... its such a sweet machine.

i'd go for it over the 20gb zen.. saw the zen today, its bigger, chunkier, uglier and a less intuitive interface

RicardoSmith

If you need to record an audio a MD is better. For a HD based MP3 player nothing beats a iPod. But its still a bit big. When a flash memory sized mp3 player has the capacity of a HD player and it can record. Then it will be perfect. MD's are a lot cheaper too if thats an issues.

cormie

dont even think about a minidisc player. What you need to think about is what type of MP3 player you need. CD/Flash or HD. Everyone talks about the ipod. It's good but Iriver is better. IHP-100. It's great, Its a bit pricey for a 10gb storage compared to others but with the storage issue set aside it is definitely the best out there. Mp3 CD players are great too, and four hours is extremely low, the poster above must have an old model, once again, the Iriver Imp-550 has 55 hours battery life and many more features. go to www.iriver.com to find out more, nobody has heard of them over here really however, they have won many awards on famous sites such as cnet etc. Great company.
Regards

Lukin Black

I have a Net MD, the MiniDisc that connects to your computer, and can stick mp3s etc on it. As much as I love it, I'd go for an mp3 player the next time. It's less hassle than having to convert everything to Atrac.

As for MD always been worse quality than MP3, that's bull. MP3s can be utter ****e, but if you download a ****e mp3, it's gonna be ****e on an MD too.

RicardoSmith

That iriver looks cool...

The point about the mp3 being better than MD is misleading alright. Both mp3 and MD(ATRAC3) are heavily compressed stripping out data and compressing the rest. So so neer are as good as CD. MP3s can vary enormously in quality from very good to very bad. ATRAC3 can also vary too depending on how you record onto the MD. Long play etc.

But if you atrac a mp3 you are compressing and stripping it twice which can really degrade the sound quality a lot more. This is what you are doing when you record from Mp3 to Atrac (MD) . Or from MD to mp3. If you are making mp3's or recording onto MD you should do it direct from the CD. In which case MD and MP3 are rougly the same with MD being slightly better if you are using broadly the same compression.

Thats said walking around a city with all the other noise going on its doubtful you would hear the difference. But in back to back comparision you would definately hear it and in quiter places you might also notice odd noises from the recording.

Kavs

Guys just had a hands on look at nokia's new 3300,
'http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,5819,00.html'

its pretty sweet, Its got 4.5mb user memory for mms pics n'stuff
+ its got 64mb MMC memory card for mp3/AAC music files.
The screen is Sh*t cool really nifty interface!(rich colour LCD)
Also got an on screen graphic equailiser(nice!)

It has a built in loudspeaker and fm radio aswell so u can use it to provide sound for the whole room(minus any bass)U can record from any source line in and also from the radio(sweet) and use that recording as ur ringtone!Loads of other phone related features too.Its not bulky either ,fits nicely in the palm of ur hand.

I know the storage is'nt nothing compared to 20gb but u can get bigger mmc cards up to about 512mb I think ,bit pricey though.
Must say though I'm impressed ,I think nokia are on to a winner wit this one provided its not too expensive.Nice alternative to Md or HD units.

RicardoSmith

In the reviews I've read they say the radio is poor and the screen while ok is not as good as the latest colour phones. It can look washed out and can blur in fast games. Personally I like the idea of it though.

PPC

I've a Archos Multimedia Jukebox and its the best MP3 player i've used.
I had a Creative Zen for a while and the lack of plug and play on it was its big downfall and the firmware wasnt great.
I got my 10Gb archos for 369 and put a 40Gb in it for another 170.
I can also play divx's on it aswell as view pictures, and i can get a video recorder module for recording straight to divx for it.
I can plug it into a 2K/XP machine and it picks up no bother, same with most linux distro's i've tried aswell.
It is a little big and bulkie but it does play music/video
The firmware could be a little better but its a dawdle to use at the moment. Some vis's would be nice on it. Its usb/2/firewire.
I had a Sony Minidisc rz-500 (i think) before this and tbh i'd never go back to minidisc again with all the hassle of getting songs on. Same with the zen, too much hassle getting songs on.

maxheadroom

How about the Philips HDD100 (linkage) or the new rio karma when it comes out? (linkage)


The new Rio in particular looks good. There's a nice video over on cnet from tech tv about them (cant link, I'm afraid... but if you go to www.news.com its in the black strip down the right side of the page)

radiospan

The Rio Karma looks very nice. So does the new Toshiba Gigabeat G20. (Details / Pictures)

sci0x

MP3 player! A best ones on offer at the moment are the Creative Jukebox Zen and the Apple iPod player.

The Creative Jukebox Zen is more like an external hard disk, as it is bulky weighing 268g. It is no way as beautiful as the Apple iPod player with its hard metallic case and grey rubber band.

At 20Gbytes its storage is impressive which is about 5000 songs in MP3 format and 8000 in Windows Media Format. Controls on the zen is tricky and the LCD is quite small and backlighting is poor compared to the bright orange of the iPod.

It connects via USB 2.0 connection and can transfer songs and audio files at over 600Kbit/s between the player and the computer.

The Zen comes with PlayCenter software for ripping or recording music in MP3 format from a music CD to a folder on the Hard disk.

Another cool feature on the Zen is EAX enhancements which controls that allow you to reduce sudden changes in volme in musical pieces.

So in my opinion you should either wait for the Zen 2 or buy an iPod instead and use it with Musicmatch software on your PC.

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by kaisersose77
[B..filling 30 gb is near impossible,. [/B]

I beg to differ. You're not trying hard enough...

Creamy Goodness

can u use like hard drive mp3 players to transfer other files to another pc cos if you can that's another bonus to them

radiospan

Yes you can, but usually you'll need to install software on the other PC first.

The Zen doesn't appear as a hard drive in My Computer, you access files on it thorugh Creative software.

Creamy Goodness

/me put the ipod on the wish list

Catsmokinpot

i loves me ZEN

The Zen doesn't appear as a hard drive in My Computer

download the creative file manager that will sort it out NB. you cant put mp3s on that way you have to use the playcentre

with the eax features and the 14 hr battery life i think its the most value for money, i like the iPod because its easier to use but its waaaaaaaaaay too expensive. it costs the same for a 10 gig iPod as it does for a 20gig ZEN and the battery doesnt last as long either.

edit: minidiscs are ok but in the long run mp3 players are way way better

Catsmokinpot

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
I beg to differ. You're not trying hard enough...

true... true....

my buddy has a 75gig mp3 collection

RicardoSmith

Mine pushing 30gb and I haven't half my CD's and cassettes on it yet. It needs clearing out and cleaning up though.

alexbrowne40

Ive just bought a net MD and its great. The software is very easy to use. 40 songs on 1 disc is good especially since the discs are so cheap....... ive had many mp3 players but the sound/storage is crap compared 2 MD

sci0x

Originally posted by alexbrowne40
ive had many mp3 players but the sound/storage is crap compared 2 MD

I disagree with that statement. With the Apple iPod sound is good and at its highest capacity, 30Gbytes, you can store upto 7,500 songs which is a phenonemal amount of music for anyone to get through. Which is better then having to carry around loads of discs whenever you are going anywhere.

radiospan

Originally posted by alexbrowne40
Ive just bought a net MD and its great. The software is very easy to use. 40 songs on 1 disc is good especially since the discs are so cheap....... ive had many mp3 players but the sound/storage is crap compared 2 MD

If you have 40 songs on 1 disc, then you must be using the LP2 recording mode. IMHO, the sound quality here sounds very "flat", and high frequencies aren't as well defined as they are on a good MP3.

Storage is THE advtantage of having a hard-drive MP3 player. You would need hundreds of MiniDiscs to hold what a 30GB Ipod or Zen can hold.

Price and physical size, IMHO, are the two main disadvantages of an MP3 player, but those hundreds of mini-discs would cost almost as much, and take up much more space.

RicardoSmith

A MP3 player is useless without a computer. Thats another disadvantage.

sci0x

Yeah, but these days thats not a problem. Everyone has a computer and if they dont their neighbour has one.

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by denis_o_leary
Yeah, but these days thats not a problem. Everyone has a computer and if they dont their neighbour has one.

Knock knock, excuse mr smith can I rip a copy of my entire CD collection on your PC? Will only take a few days....can't really see that somehow. I know lots of people who work in IT who don't have PC's at home. Those that don't work in IT are even less likely to have a PC. Of those theres only a minority that could be bothered with MP3's.

Personally my move from cassette/CD to MP3/MD has meant its a lot LESS easy to quickly grab an album or track to bring with me if its not already on my portable player. I end up with the same albums all the time because I never get around to changing them. I think a CD/MP3 portable would be much hander. Bit big to carry though. Which is why I never replaced my old one when it died 5 years ago. Been considering another one lately though.

jesus_thats_gre

The whole process of recording an album to Minidisc is a pain in the ring, even with the new NetMD yokes.

The ability to treat most MP3 playes like hard disks is their best feature. I have 3 different mini disc machines and an MP3 player with 64 mb of memory, and I use the MP3 player. So much handier.

Lukin Black

Originally posted by jesus_thats_gre
The whole process of recording an album to Minidisc is a pain in the ring, even with the new NetMD yokes.

Have to agree - converting everything to ATRAC is a bit of a pain. It means that you can't do a disc quickly. In fact, I'd say my 8x CD-RW from 2000 can record a CD faster than recording a CD/buncha mp3s to a MiniDisc.

RicardoSmith

Converting a CD to MP3 or a CD to MD should take the same time. Unless you are using PC to go to MP3 first then on to the MD. I could understand why you'd think it was a pain if you were doing that. The Sony MD software is pants. Incidentally if you have an Audio unit that can copy from CD to MD thats a lot handier. Don't even need a PC then.

jesus_thats_gre ..you selling those 3 MD units then?:D

Nietzschean

Originally posted by Catsmokinpot
i loves me ZEN

download the creative file manager that will sort it out NB. you cant put mp3s on that way you have to use the playcentre

Firstly, thats still a pain in the hole , espically for college users as you can't add the zen to the machine because its not a usb/firewire drive like the ipod

with the eax features and the 14 hr battery life i think its the most value for money, i like the iPod because its easier to use but its waaaaaaaaaay too expensive. it costs the same for a 10 gig iPod as it does for a 20gig ZEN and the battery doesnt last as long either.

the batt life is lovely on mine i must say, but the price difference ain't that huge, if you get the fm wired remote and such and if u can pick up an ipod off a good place came down roughly the same price for a 20gb ipod and a 20gb zen when meself an a m8 compared(i've a zen he's an ipod...)

I've the zen firewire and usb combo because suits my needs really i've firewire pcmcia cards and all pc's have usb. So really it depends on what interfaces mostly imo.

edit: minidiscs are ok but in the long run mp3 players are way way better

Well personally i prefer mp3 players due to the media management on them, but it depends on your collection size and how often you would wanting to be changing the tracks and so on.




And someone said about mp3 player size, last i saw ya can pick up 80gb zen's which equates to god knows how many MD's And incase anyone asks it'd be easily filled imo, my 20gb ain't big enough at all....

I like the way creative give ye lotsa good ole classical on the device when ye get it too... nice thing

Converting a CD to MP3 or a CD to MD should take the same time.

Wouldn't that depend on the compression and such? Fast comp with a firewire/usb2.0 connection to an mp3 player i would recon would be faster from a cd than writing onto a MD player....all depends on the setup tho....

RicardoSmith

To get the CD's on the MP3 player you have to get them on the PC first. So you can add that to the time too.

You don't HAVE to do that with a MD if your stereo can record from CD to MD directly without a PC.

So if you've no PC you can use a MD. You NEED a pc with a MP3 player.

Imagine you walk in from HMV with a new CD. How quick is each to get from the CD onto you portable player MD or MP3.

Ryo Hazuki

Bah, I recommend getting a CD (Philips) Walkman that can Play MP3-CD's

Will do the job just fine, presuming you have a PC with a CDRW Drive.

RicardoSmith

I'm coming around to that way of thinking too. Though I think I'll keep the MD to record any analog sources that I want. (tis handy for that). I Backup all my MP3's on CD anyway.

Ryo Hazuki

I tried to work it out one day, how much you can store on 1 CD-R

4 mins for an adverage song, at High Quality is 4mb, so around 175 songs on one 70cent CD-R.

Not bad at all If you ask me!

The Beer Baron

I apoligise but I really couldn't be arsed reading thru all this...

Mines a Panasonic- MP3/CD jobbie.
Kept me sane for months on end- nothing like having your 1st Aid CD with all your fav albums on one CD.

I bought a Sony MD player aaages ago when CDR's were these new freaky things that I'd never afford. Of course the stupid bastards never gave me the SPDIF cable meaning I couldn't copy things digitally.

It was handy for a while, but like all Sony products they go the way of the Walkman and just break down forever.
MD was a great format but CDR killed it. Editing I found really easy, you could snip here, snip there- great.

Only problem it's a lossier format than CD because of the compression it uses. It tends to flatten out some sounds, flatter others and make some harmonics dissappear completly.
Usually only anal audio geeks like myself would notice this sorta thing- although there is a noticible difference if you listen to live performances on CD v MD.

MD is dead, pity, you might as well buy a DCC cassette. (Phillips' rival to the digital recordable standard) or a shaggin' reel to reel player.