Minidisc or CD Player?? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Wingo
01-15-2004, 05:17 PM
Hello, my knowledge about portable music players isn't enough to decide... I need a portable player with mp3. I was almost ready to buy an iRiver Slimx IMP 550 but today a friend of mine started to talk about all the good thing of his Minidisc. I really don't mind much about the format (cd,md, etc), I just want to buy something really good. Soemthing that makes me say "i'm happy with this" not "I should have gone the other way".
My budget is about $150.00 and I care a lot more about sound quality, max. volume, bass control, good software, etc., over size and looks. I know that a MD is more comfortable to carry, and that the discs are re-writable, and that it doesen't skip, etc.. but i really don't know. I live in Chile and electronics here are expensive; I have the chance to buy it in the US and I want to make a smart buy. A list of pros and cons would be very useful :) Please help me to get decided.
All comments and advices are welcome. Thanks in advance.

wingo.

kexodusc
01-16-2004, 10:38 AM
There's also a third option of going with an MP3 Player. It's smaller than the other two, has built in computer memory, and no disc of any type...Just connect it to your computer and load songs onto the player. You may have to buy extra memory if you desire to hold more songs on it though, and it can be expensive.
Having owned all 3 formats, I would strongly recommend a portable MiniDisc player over the other two based on cost, functionality, convenience, and sound quality.
You can get MiniDiscs to sound as good as CD's, you can't get MP3's to, even if you burn them back onto CD's.
And the compressed MiniDisc format (ATRAC3) sounds better than any compressed MP3's I've heard, with a few exceptions of classical music at 320Kb/sec on MP3's sounding better than MiniDiscs at 132Kb/sec.
Most software for MiniDiscs players aren't quite as good as they are for MP3 players, but you can download a free RealOne program that will transfer songs to MiniDisc and isn't too bad.
The biggest pros of MiniDisc over CD and MP3 are the following:
No skip compared to CD players (even anti-skip ones)
Easier to load and change songs than MP3 player
better sound than MP3 (for the most part)
Better compression format than MP3
Easy to bring a few MiniDiscs with you (and therefore more music)
very cool looking gadgets (alright not a good reason, but still)

The bad:
MiniDisc is owned by Sony, and most equipment is Sony brand. They've had quality issues in the past. I've been very lucky with mine.
I still hate Sony, but I grudgingly accept the value of their MiniDisc players.

Hope this helps.

sulloj
02-04-2004, 02:53 PM
Go with Minidisc. I have used all formats mentioned and Minidisc has the superior sound quality.
Sharp makes several portables and if you do some research on the web you can find Japanese imports that are not readily available. Minidisc is big all over the world and is a very popular format in the US (although not advertised) I have two home decks (Denon and JVC) no problems with either and I also had a Yamaha minidisc deck (also a fine unit) My portable is a basic Sony which has been a good unit. Just have to watch certain Sony models. (some have loading problems)
Research the web and get a feel for what's out there.
Have fun!!!!

joel2762
02-06-2004, 06:52 PM
I own a MiniDisc player and it's great. I manage to pack about 50-60 songs on an 80 min disc. Not as many as some Mp3 players, but i'd rather change between 3 discs with 60 songs each than have 180 on one player..too confusing. You mentioned sound quality, I find that when you rip directly from cd (even burning from computer then ripping same song) gives me better sound quality. Software I have is great. volume from 1-30, I find around 25 bass starts to drop out..Can't go extremely loud, but there's got to be limits somewhere right! I have a Sony player, I once hopped out of my van, player flew from my pocket onto the concrete sidewalk. Still works great! I love it! Very easy to use, never EVER skips, it's awsome. I'd reccomend MiniDisc definetly!

kexodusc
02-07-2004, 06:32 AM
I've got that topped Joel...I dropped my Mini-Disc player on the road while going full speed on my bike...there's a huge dent in the plastic casing, and some scratches, but I picked it up and it was still playing. Works fine, doesn't look as good now though.
Man, I wish Sony made all their gear like that.
What software program do you use for Mini-Discs?

joel2762
02-09-2004, 01:21 PM
That's nice to see the real Sony stuff...I use the included software, Open MG Jukebox Ver.2.2. It's great. Very Very easy to use, works great. It's the best program i've seen, what do you use?

Arch
02-09-2004, 01:36 PM
Another reason for getting the Sony Minidisc portable: the battery seems to last forever! I usually take mine to work, listerning to it during my long commute (1.5 hrs), listern to it during work (I mostly sit in front of my computer all day, so lets say 6 - 7 hours on average), and by the time I get back home ( and more often than not I don't go directly home) it's still going strong. If I remember correctly Sony rated the battery life in the 15 hour range. From experience that's pretty close to the truth.

starb
02-09-2004, 08:45 PM
I own a Sony D-NE1 mp3/atrac3plus cd walkman, best portable audio device I've seen so far (except for the ipod but it doesn't have a battery life good enough for me).

the d-ne1 is a little expensive (I paid mine $300 can) but seriously I was surprised at how it's almost impossible to make the cd skip, in fact I haven't been able to make it skip, and it went through hell and back. There's an 8mb buffer so when you play mp3/atrac cds it loads the memory every 4-5 minutes, so the cd actually spins only 3-4 secondes to load the data. While playing audio format the cd constantly spins but I'd say that it's almost skip proof aswell.

About battery life I've yet have to hear a mp3 player that can last as long, with the two lithium battery I'm usually good for 60ish hours on mp3 reading. Add ~10-15 hours for audio cds, if you need more battery life you can plug the little double AA battery pack which extends the play time to 100-150 hours depending on the format played.

The whole unit is very stylish and a tad bigger than a cd.

The unit sounds really well, I used to own a pair of Sony MDR-V500 which was passable, but I've since switch it to the MDR-V700, and all I can say is WOW!!!!!

I don't know what you are using but I do recommend a good pair of headphones to enjoy that cd player.

Ok bad stuff, I find that the device is a little slow when it comes to start playing a mp3 track, seems like it fills the buffer before playing, so there's always a 1-2 seconds in between tracks, I don't mind it too much personnaly since I mostly listen to complete DJs sets (60-80minutes long) in one continuous track.

I don't really like the remote either, got used to it in a few weeks but I still believe it could've been better.

I don't know about you, but personnaly all my tracks (from cds that I own) are encoded in 192kbps and burning cds is just a matter of 4-5minutes max. So starting to convert my songs in atrac format for the minidisc player is just a no go for me, therefore why I didn't buy one, and apparently (never tried one) they are a little underpowered.

joel2762
02-10-2004, 02:50 AM
My MD PLayer is rated at 48 hour battery life. It's the lowest model they make, the battery life on other players is up from there. I belive one of them has 110 h life.