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Mobile audio MP3/iPod/RioRiot, etc.

OK, maybe this is retreading ground (I couldn't find any relevant threads), maybe its not apropos for a high end forum, etc. etc. BUT, the convenience factor of some of the new hard disk based MP3 players is pretty hard to beat. 500 CDs in a small box that has 10-12 hrs of battery life that I can carry on an airplane? That gets my attention.

Here's the questions. All the stuff I see about these never discusses the audio quality of these puppies. Anyone care to comment on who has better audio quality? Anyone use these things? Any way of getting better audio quality out of them?
edesilva
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
4,163 posts
 
I remember when a 20Mb hard disk was considered enormous. If I've only learned one thing about computer hardware, it's never skimp on storage capacity. In other words, go with the 20Gb.
swampwalker's avatar
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swampwalker
5,132 posts
 
I've been pretty happy with my Sony MD recorder/player. Can get nearly 5 hours on one minidisc with compression and even then sounds pretty good. With the ambient noise levels on airplanes its more than adequate. Battery life is extraordinary- I would guess 10-20 hrs on a single AA, and you don't even need to use a computer. I record direct from the analog outs on my DAC, or you can get a digital cable and record straight from your CDPs digital out. I use Grado SR-60s when I travel. The MD player is smaller than a deck of cards, and the discs are about 1/4 the size of a CD.
edesilva OP
768 posts
 
I bought a 20 GB RioRiot, and left it on an airplane. I ended up replacing it with a 10 GB Windows iPod. If I did it all again, I'd skip the RioRiot. The user interface on the iPod is sooooo much better. The RioRiot took me several days of consulting with their thick manual to get sound. The iPod took 5 min. Also, in terms of music management, the RioRiot didn't let you download playlists! While you could define them once the data was downloaded, its a stupid omission. Also the firewire on the iPod is significantly faster--a real consideration when downloading GBs of data.

The size of your mp3s is variable--I think 128 kbps mp3s average about a megabyte/min. While people using mp3s for home audio seem to prefer 320 kbps encoding, that seems to make your mp3s 2.5x larger. There are also various other options for encoding--high/middle/low quality and various permutations on mono/stereo/true stereo. Based on the compromise between data size and quality for an iPod, I encoded my mp3s at 192 kbps, high quality, true stereo.

I just posted another thread looking for advice on creating mp3s. Its a consideration in buying these things--it takes a looooong time to rip your CDs to mp3s. I'm also having a huge problem getting clean rips--I get stutters and background nastiness. Looking for help there...

Good luck.
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