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Anyone have a Minidisc player?? (pg. 7)
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| DigiNut |
| quote: | Originally posted by dEsidEL
i'll send ya a pic of a nice looking Panasonic one ..
in the meantime .. some of you microdrive based players will like this news:
New iPod design with dock, 30GB model due by month's end
http://www.thinksecret.com/news/aprilipods.html |
Now THAT looks cool.
As soon as they manage to hit 40, I'm gettin' one. :) |
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| dEsidEL |
| quote: | Originally posted by DiS
True.
I havn't seen a really nice looking Mp3/Cd player. Probobly wasn't looking hard enough tho. If they could only fit a gig or two on an inch size Flash card. Till then, lets wait for DvD/Cd/mp3 Players. |
this is basically Panasonic's answer to the iRiver iMP-350 and iMP-400 series players ..
here ya go:
http://www.panasonic.ca/English/aud...ble/slct700.asp
SL-CT700
Portable CD and MP3 Player
MP3 playback1 (supports ID3 tag)
CD round form design; ultra thin and lightweight
Up to 80-hour2 playback with two Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries (included) and two AA alkaline batteries using the supplied external battery case
Remote control ready for ID3 tag display on dot matrix LCD
No-skip anti-skip system3 [backup memory: 45-sec for CD-DA and 100-sec (at 128kbps) for MP3 playback]
4-preset equalizer [normal, S-XBS® (extra bass system), train (high cut), live]
CD-R/RW playback4
AC adaptor included
MSRP: $179.95 CDN
SL-CT790
Portable CD Player
CD Round Form Design: Ultra Thin, Compact & Lightweight with Aluminum Top Cover
No-Skip System1 (48-Sec Backup Memory)
LCD Remote Control with Detachable Plug
Two Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries Included
Up to a Long 100-Hour2 Playback with Two Ni-MH Rechargeable & Two "AA" Alkaline Batteries Using the Supplied External Battery Case
Two Ni-MH Batteries Provide Power for About 35 Hours, while Two "AA" Alkaline Batteries Provide Power for about 60 Hours
Heat-Resistant3 Polycarbonate Body
Slide-Lock Full Open Top Cover
MASH4 1-Bit D/A Conversion System
Digital Servo System
CD-R/RW Playback5
4-Preset Equalizer [Normal, S-XBS® (Extra Bass System), Live, Train (High Cut)]
24-Track Random Access Programming
Repeat (1/all/Random/ Random Repeat), Skip/Search, Memory/Mode
Resume Play and Random Play
Electronic Volume Control
Power-Saving Auto-Power Off
Key-Hold Switch
Flexible 4-Way Power Supply
MSRP: $219.95
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| dEsidEL |
this one is a little bit funkier ..
http://www.panasonic.ca/English/aud...able/slj900.asp
SL-J900
Portable CD/MP3 Player
Recharging dock with built-in stereo speakers
Ultra thin square design with aluminum top cover
MP31 playback (supports ID3 tag)
Up to 52-hours2 of playback (MP3) with two Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries and AA alkaline batteries using supplied external battery case
Digital amplifier for clean and clear sound
High performance speaker system with titanium dome speaker and neodymium magnet
Remote control ready for ID3 Tag display on dot matrix LCD
No-skip anti skip system3 [backup memory: 45 sec. for CD-DA and 100 sec. (at 128kbps) for MP3 playback]
4-preset equalizer (normal, S-XBS® (Extra Bass System), train (high cut), live
Rechargeable batteries and AC adaptor included
MSRP: $349.95
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| DiS |
| quote: | SL-CT700
Portable CD and MP3 Player |
Ah crap! When did these came out??? I have the SL-CT790
Portable CD Player one. Ah crap! I've checked everywhere(except the Panasonic website) for players. AH CRAP! |
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| NightCreature |
This is wicked. I own an iRiver CD mp3 player and I must say I want to get the panasinic SL-CT790 because it has a very long battery life! 80 Hours! WOW!
However, the iRiver cd mp3 player provides hardware upgrades and has a better anti skip system too. iRiver also plays WMA files. and if you consider the fact that a 160MB WMA file is equivalent to 7 hours of music you can have over 30 hours of music if you burn WMAs on a cd. I usually can burn about 9 hours of mp3s on a single 700 MB cd, and iRiver IMP350 plays for about 7-10 hours depending on how old the the NimH batteries are. Which is excellent :), in my opinion iRiver owns anything out there when it comes to cd mp3 players.
Also iRiver IMP350 has a built in radio tuner.
Judge for yourself...
| quote: | Originally posted by dEsidEL
this is basically Panasonic's answer to the iRiver iMP-350 and iMP-400 series players ..
SL-CT700
Portable CD and MP3 Player
MP3 playback1 (supports ID3 tag)
CD round form design; ultra thin and lightweight
Up to 80-hour2 playback with two Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries (included) and two AA alkaline batteries using the supplied external battery case
Remote control ready for ID3 tag display on dot matrix LCD
No-skip anti-skip system3 [backup memory: 45-sec for CD-DA and 100-sec (at 128kbps) for MP3 playback]
4-preset equalizer [normal, S-XBS® (extra bass system), train (high cut), live]
CD-R/RW playback4
AC adaptor included
MSRP: $179.95 CDN
SL-CT790
Portable CD Player
CD Round Form Design: Ultra Thin, Compact & Lightweight with Aluminum Top Cover
No-Skip System1 (48-Sec Backup Memory)
LCD Remote Control with Detachable Plug
Two Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries Included
Up to a Long 100-Hour2 Playback with Two Ni-MH Rechargeable & Two "AA" Alkaline Batteries Using the Supplied External Battery Case
Two Ni-MH Batteries Provide Power for About 35 Hours, while Two "AA" Alkaline Batteries Provide Power for about 60 Hours
Heat-Resistant3 Polycarbonate Body
Slide-Lock Full Open Top Cover
MASH4 1-Bit D/A Conversion System
Digital Servo System
CD-R/RW Playback5
4-Preset Equalizer [Normal, S-XBS® (Extra Bass System), Live, Train (High Cut)]
24-Track Random Access Programming
Repeat (1/all/Random/ Random Repeat), Skip/Search, Memory/Mode
Resume Play and Random Play
Electronic Volume Control
Power-Saving Auto-Power Off
Key-Hold Switch
Flexible 4-Way Power Supply
MSRP: $219.95
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| dEsidEL |
| quote: | Originally posted by NightCreature
This is wicked. I own an iRiver CD mp3 player and I must say I want to get the panasinic SL-CT790 because it has a very long battery life! 80 Hours! WOW!
However, the iRiver cd mp3 player provides hardware upgrades and has a better anti skip system too. iRiver also plays WMA files. and if you consider the fact that a 160MB WMA file is equivalent to 7 hours of music you can have over 30 hours of music if you burn WMAs on a cd. I usually can burn about 9 hours of mp3s on a single 700 MB cd, and iRiver IMP350 plays for about 7-10 hours depending on how old the the NimH batteries are. Which is excellent :), in my opinion iRiver owns anything out there when it comes to cd mp3 players.
Also iRiver IMP350 has a built in radio tuner.
Judge for yourself... |
yup .. i'm a proud owner of an iRiver iMP-350 myself. and since having it, i've had no complaints whatsoever. the player is excellent is almost every aspect. with regards to the SL-CT790, it's about the same price as the iRiver iMP-350 which is quite interesting. I guess it's only main advantage over the SlimX would be it's battery life like you said. I wonder if it's firmware upgradeable too like the iMP-350 (I'm running version 2.02 right now on it). Altho it does look like an impressive player.. i can't wait to check some out in the live.. i'll keep my eye open for reviews..
And regarding WMA files.. do you actually have those?? everytime i get a WMA file i convert it into mp3 right away. I'm not really too well informed about the bit-rate equivalencies with WMA, but i've never been a huge fan of them before. |
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| NightCreature |
| quote: | Originally posted by dEsidEL
yup .. i'm a proud owner of an iRiver iMP-350 myself. and since having it, i've had no complaints whatsoever. the player is excellent is almost every aspect. with regards to the SL-CT790, it's about the same price as the iRiver iMP-350 which is quite interesting. I guess it's only main advantage over the SlimX would be it's battery life like you said. I wonder if it's firmware upgradeable too like the iMP-350 (I'm running version 2.02 right now on it). Altho it does look like an impressive player.. i can't wait to check some out in the live.. i'll keep my eye open for reviews..
And regarding WMA files.. do you actually have those?? everytime i get a WMA file i convert it into mp3 right away. I'm not really too well informed about the bit-rate equivalencies with WMA, but i've never been a huge fan of them before. |
I have mixed (i.e. mp3s and wmas) cd with a 7 hour wma file and about 6 hours of mp3s. So it comes down to around around 13 hours of trance :). I find that wma quality is great! From what I've read a wma file encoded at 48-64Kbps is equivalent to an mp3 file encoded at 128Kbps. Not sure whether this is true or not but I still find wma quality files very good to listen to. But then again I don't have the greatest ear phones nor the most sensitive ears in the world to notice the difference between wmas and mp3s.
The only issue that I have right now with the IMP350 is that it doesn't resume long files (usually files greater than 4 hours) correctly. It also has a great deal of software bugs, but they are virtually unnoticeable :). Nonetheless, because the guys @ iRiver always provide upgrades I figure in a year all the bugs will be fixed. |
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| dEsidEL |
| quote: | Originally posted by NightCreature
The only issue that I have right now with the IMP350 is that it doesn't resume long files (usually files greater than 4 hours) correctly. It also has a great deal of software bugs, but they are virtually unnoticeable :). Nonetheless, because the guys @ iRiver always provide upgrades I figure in a year all the bugs will be fixed. |
really ? hmm .. i haven't had that problem yet. Flash ur player to v2.02 , the upgrade is posted on their site for download. one of the great bug fixes they managed to implement was removing time gaps between tracks, it seems like the player auto buffers the next track now or something to that extent for a smoother transition.. |
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| NightCreature |
| quote: | Originally posted by dEsidEL
really ? hmm .. i haven't had that problem yet. Flash ur player to v2.02 , the upgrade is posted on their site for download. one of the great bug fixes they managed to implement was removing time gaps between tracks, it seems like the player auto buffers the next track now or something to that extent for a smoother transition.. |
Actually, I have the latest upgrade, which is v2.20. The bugs that I had before still seem to persist. I've posted a couple of reports on their message board. So hopefully so guy in their software department is working on one of my tickets ;). |
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| Durafei |
| Damn... All of these look so sweet!! Hence the dilemma - should I invest into good high-end headphones($150+) or get a MP3-CD Player like this? |
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| NightCreature |
| quote: | Originally posted by Durafei
Damn... All of these look so sweet!! Hence the dilemma - should I invest into good high-end headphones($150+) or get a MP3-CD Player like this? |
I find it hard to distinguish amazing headphones and good headphones, since I find it very hard to notice the difference in the music quality. I've tried out Denis's $500-600 US Headphones, the headphones with the adapter :) you know which once I'm talking about Ilyia, and I could not tell the difference in quality when I connected these to my imp 350. I guess I either don't have sensitive ears or I haven't wore the his headphones long enough to actually notice the difference.
So just buy what you think is worth your money and brings you the most happiness :) |
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| Alccode |
Durafei,
I would say headphones before mp3. :D Why? Because if you get good headphones (say, Sony MDR-V6 or Sennheiser HD-280 Pro), you'll be awed as to how they sound awesome. Then you can listen to trance in a much better way.
But if you get an mp3 player, the novelty will wear off quickly because you'll be thinking, "Damn, if only I had awesome headphones to listen to!" And then you'll just buy headphones anyway, and double your expense. :D
Anyway, as to the MD/MP3 debate, it's really pointless because someone will like one and another person the other. However there have been some good points addressed here. I would like to address some more.
For one thing, don't pay too much attention to the LP2/LP4 concerns in regards to minidiscs. Recording in SP gives the best quality, sure, but LP2 is very close. Actually, I would say that it's near indistinguishable. The listening source is important, of course, but with, say,
Sony MDR-7506,
You will hear very little difference between SP and LP2. Unless you compare the two side by side, and go into annoying-nitpicking-mode, which is pointless and stupid. Anyway I can guarantee you that LP2 sounds (much) better than any MP3. (I don't have a player, but I'm comparing MP3's off my computer, at 192 kbps, here). I can't talk about LP4 as I've never tried it (never had the need).
In fact, there are a LOT more issues that are more important than measly LP2 vs. SP sound differences. Like, say, your headphones. If you don't have good headphones, arguing about LP2 sound will do you nothing because you won't hear any difference! It's like trying to pick up a needle with two huge logs. I.e. impossible and ridiculous. If anyone tells me that they can tell the difference between SP and LP2 using crappy earbuds or most other headphones (not many people have good headphones anyway) I will confidently say that you're lying your face off. Or the recording source you used was so crappy, that it just sounds like anyway.
Yeah, I'm all for MD's, but I have to say again that it really depends on your preferences. To anyone that will not buy MD's because they think 80 minutes is too small for space, I can guarantee you that if you use LP2, 160 minutes will give you 2 hours, which is plenty for a day out in the subway etc. And if you need more you can always take another disc or two with you. They're quite small and portable.
The difference in sound between MD and mp3 is, IMO, worth it and more.
(But then again I'm an analog buff and against mp3 anyway, so YMMV).
Another important thing regarding MD's - if you're going to buy one, beware of Sony's evil, evil money-making schemes.
>>>warning: entering rant mode!
This is a long story but I will [try to] make it short here. Essentially, in Japan, MD is all the craze, so naturally there are gazillions of models, each with extra little features, whirling gizmos, and flashy trinkets of every nature. That's because the Japanese are crazy for that kind of stuff.
In regards to the BASIC FUNCTIONALITY, though, they're all pretty much the same. However, the Japanese love their crazy shiny toys so much, that they are willing to pay A LOT more for the newest and shiniest models, even if they perform just as well as models that are much cheaper, but have the same basic functionality.
The point is that Sony capitalizes on this by making several MD's off of one basic hardware/software architecture, then make boatloads of money selling the more expensive ones.
I will use the N505/N707/N1 example, because they are some of the only models available here in Toronto. All 3 of these MD's share the basic hardware/software. But as you get higher up the tree (and more expensive), you will be getting "more features". But what this really means is that the features are unlocked. The proof is if you hack into an N505, say, you can unlock all of the software features of the MZ-N1. That includes mic and line-out. However, the N505 doesn't have a physical mic port, so you obviously can't use a mic. For that, you have to get the N707.
Basically, what this means is that Sony uses the MZ-N1 architecture, dumbs it down, changes the casing (to make the MD's thicker and not as shiny-pretty), then sells them as lower models.
But here's the key point - the basic functionality is the same!
So if you want to get a Sony MD (not much choice here in Canada anyway, unless you want to import some Sharp's - but I prefer Sony's ATRAC encoding anyway, so it depends), think twice before shelling out $600 (or whatever the price is) for a MZ-N1, because if you can live without the microphone and fancy looks, you can get a MZ-N505 for 1/3rd the price (about $200 in some stores on Yonge), but with the exact same functionality. Oh, you won't get a recharging cradle or car adapter, but those "features" are really useless luxuries that you can live without (and that are NOT worth the extra $400).
Plus, the N505 casing is a lot more sturdier than the N1's. If you really need a mic too, then go with the N707, which is more expensive but not as bad as the N1.
(end rant mode)
Hopefully this has helped, if you're interested in MD.
EDIT: if an MP3 enthusiast is going to argue with me, I must note that sure, MP3 can sound ok and it's good enough for most anyone, but if you listen to MD, you will be converted. :toothless (IMO!) Why? Because, well, MD's just sound...fuller. More real, more satisfying. :D This is something that goes beyond mere numbers and frequency ratings and blah-blah textbook stuff like that. What counts is the sound, not whether one number is bigger than another. :toothless (I'm not trying to make enemies here lol) |
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