MP3 Jukeboxes V Net MD

alx

Hi All,

I am going abroad soon for a while and I want some way to take my music collection with me.
The options I have uncovered so far are :

1. Buy a Sony Net MiniDisc which enables me to put MP3s on the Discs and each disc can hold 320 mins.

2. Buy an MP3 jukebox which ( depending on the model I buy ) will enable me to bring my whole collection.

They are roughly the same price.
My big concern about the MP3 jukebox is that if there is a problem and I lose my MP3's there probably gone for the whole time I'm away whereas problem with the MD should just mean getting it fixed but I still have my music.


Any opinions would be greatly appreciated especially from anyone who has used either of them.

Thanks.

Ro-76

Firstly, NetMD just converts Mp3 to the standard MD format and transfers it to the player. It does not actually store Mp3 on the disc. You could do the very same with an optical output on a PC, or stereo to a standard MD recorder/player (without the titling feature). The NetMD software is buggy, troublesome and has cumbersome copyright protection measures built in, which can be overcome, but with a bit of hassle.

I've had both a Sony NetMD and an Apple Ipod. I think the ipod is far superior. It is certainly more expensive, but will hold an enormous amount of music, and is very small (especially if you consider the amount of minidiscs needed to carry the same amount of music). It's also a bit of a design classic. (this is my first apple product)

Some of the other jukeboxes are a lot bigger, and more complicated to use. If you're concerned about losing your music collection, why not back it up to a few CDRs, and you could then restore it from any computer with a firewire port.

If I was going to buy one of the larger jukeboxes, I think I would just buy an Mp3 discman instead. It's about the same size, and will do the same function for a lot less.

Ro

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alx

Ok so you don't seem too hot on the Net MD.
The problem with an MP3 walkman is that I don't have access to a CD burner and its not so much that I'm worried about losing my collection, its that I'm worried that something will happen while I'm away and I'll have to wait to get back to put everything back on therefore leaving me for ( potentially ) a year without music.

I've seen the Creative Jukebox 2 10 GB offered for around 235 euro. Seems reasonable enough and has got some good reviews.

sirlinux

mp3 cd player and a burner will cost you less than an ipod, burn a few copies of the cd's, and if the mp3 cd player busts you can get another, you still have your mp3's, if the hard drive breaks in the creative your done for.

Repli

alx
that 320 minutes on 1 minidisc is recording in LP4 mode which isn't the best quality tbh.. and it's only 320 mins on 80 min minidiscs (4x)

The only reason i'd choose a net md over an ipod is the size/weight of the thing..
A net md is nice and light and small.. an ipod is like a feckin brick :P

Ro-76

Originally posted by Repli

that 320 minutes on 1 minidisc is recording in LP4 mode which isn't the best quality tbh.. and it's only 320 mins on 80 min minidiscs (4x)

I've also read (here , I think) that even LP2 only sounds OK with headphones, and if it is connected to a good amp and speakers that it sounds pretty poor.

Originally posted by Repli

A net md is nice and light and small.. an ipod is like a feckin brick :P

I have had both, and I really think the Ipod is not all that big. It's basically a bit bigger than a 20 pack of cigarettes, although it is quite a bit heavier. If you compare carrying an ipod to an MD player, with even a few extra MDs, the ipod is better, because all the music is on the unit, and you need to carry nothing else except the unit itself.

In actual fact to carry the same amount of music on MDs stored as LP2, as a 10GB Ipod, stored at 160kbps (better quality than LP2), one would need 66 80 minute MDs! (Hope my calculation is correct)

Ro

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alx

So how much could I get a CD burner for if I wanted to go the Mp3 CD player route ?

sirlinux

peats do a 48x lite-on burner for €70 which aint bad. it will write a whole cd in about 4 or 5 minutes. otherwise komplett.ie do a good few about the same price when you add shipping. And ive seen panasonic mp3 players claiming 40 hours playback for €130.