Buying MP3? READ THIS FIRST!!!
Jul 11 '00
It seems that nowadays MP3 players are the hot thing. Small, light, skiproof, and very handy. Plus new models are being introduced everyday with features that allow you to record short voice messages and other neat things. And these are great ideas for anyone with an extensive MP3 library on their computer, all you have to do is "Drag and drop" in the software to get your music to the player.
But I feel that many potential MP3 buyers are uninformed about their buying decisions. It seems that more and more people these days accept MP3 players to be better than tape ans cd players. While MP3 does have its advantages, so does one other portable digital medium that is more versatile, better sounding, and -- the big one -- less expensive.
This is the tried and true format that Sony introduced in 1990 and has been slowly gaining market size since then, and has expanded quite rapidly in the past three years.
This is MiniDisc. And here's how it stacks up against MP3:
Size:
Winner:MP3 (in general)
Altough, many md players (not recorders) are both smaller and lighter and have a better battery life than most MP3 players
Weight:
Winner: MP3 (in general)
Same as above goes.
Battery Life:
Winner: MD
MD's battery life for a portable recorder avgs 6-18 hours, and a portable player avgs 16-72 hours (with both the rechargeable battery and external AA)
Sound Quality:
Winner: MD
While you can't necessarily compare the MD to an MP3 for the category, if you compare Digital (or even Analog) CD recordings on a MD vs the MP3's on the MP3 player, the MD will surely beat the MP3's
Durability -- Of Player:
Winner: Tie (MD & MP3)
Both of these machines have their own strengths and weaknesses. MD players, though, are made of metal (aluminum or magnesium) and MP3 players are made of plastic, so its no doubt the md unit itself will last longer.
Durability -- Of Media:
Winner: MD (by a long shot)
Perhaps the most solidly constructed digital audio media ever, MDs are in plastic cases with lens covers. These keep dirt and dust out, make it impossible to sratch or even touch the disc's surface. The MD's have even been known to survive (and by survive, I mean that a md player will still read and play them) being covered in wine, going the the wash, being rolled over by a car, and the usual, falling off of a table top. Now anybody familliar with the flash memory used in MP3 players KNOWS that if you did any of that to a flash card, even just drop it from a table top, you would most likely lose all the data (i.e., music) on the card. Also, seeing as the cards themselves cost in excess on $80, I don't think anyone would enjoy seing it be rolled over by a car. But with the MD's being about $3 each, even if it did break, it would be no biggie.
Cost --Of players:
Winner: Tie
MD and MP3 player's price ranges vary widely and are almost the same. Although its not to hard to find a $400 MD player
Cost -- Of Media:
Winner:MD
MD's blank cost between $2 and $6, depending on brand and how many are bought. MP3's solid state memory cards are, at best, $50 for about 32 megs, an generally run around the $120 mark.
Versatility -- Of Format:
Winner: MD
There is no competition here. I mean, how hard is it to determine a winner between the two when MD can record MP3, and when MP3's are limited to use of a computer and must be in the MP3 format. Sure, MP3's players can now do some limited voice recordings, but MD can record ANYWHERE (with a portable recorder), plus MD's can record for up to 160 min on one disc. (in mono mode-- stereo mode, which most recordings are made, is 80min max)
*Plus, MD's can be taken with you. Each md holds 74 min of music, and they are so small, that you can put about 4 of them in your pocket. Now thats over 280 min of music, where, MP3 players--at their lowest sound quality--are currently limited to about 2 hours, 3 max. Plus, that low sound quality on th MP3 player is terrible compared to MD. To get equivalent sound, you could probably only store about 1 to 1.5 hours, versus the 6-7 hours on the 4 mds!!
Least in Danger of Becoming Obsolete:
Winner: MD
MD has been around for 10 years now, and it is a backwards compatible technology, all mds recorded on previous technology can be read by all future md players.
Overall Winner:
YOUR CHOICE,
but i stongly recommend you look into MD's and the world of wonder they offer compared to MP3. Now ths is not true for everybody. MP3 is a great solution for many people--better than MD would be. But, esp, if you are looking for a replacement to your portable CD player or you old Cassette walkman, MD is most likely the best bet for you.
Keep checking this review frequently, as their are items not yet mentioned above, and since these formats are very "technologically sensitive" many updates will be coming here due to new or changed features/specs on these types of formats.
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Epinions.com ID:
killerinstinct
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Reviews written: 33
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