ATRAC3+ 64kbps isn't bad

Foregone-Reality 14 Feb 2005 01:43:54 2,216 posts
Seen 11 years ago
Registered 18 years ago

I'm a stickler for quality.

I've always found that when ripping my CDs to MP3 that it would always be at least 192kbps VBR.

Now, the thing is that I've upgraded my very old Minidisc player to an NH900. Very nice piece of kit (Got it at half price too

). I know how people are turned off by an MD player due to a lack of native Mp3 playback though after a lot of consideration I decided to stick to the format that I've always found reliable.

Hi-MD minidiscs hold 1GB of information, and when encoded at ATRAC3plus 64kbps I was extremly surprised with the quality that was on offer.

Have my ears gone whack? I have my current collection (30 albums) recorded onto one HiMD disc..and I'm loving it. There's an option to record at 256kbps but the difference is negligable to my ears.

My question is whether anyone has been surprised by the quality of some low-bitrate products before..Or do you insist on lossless codecs all of the time?

Deleted user 14 February 2005 08:07:08

Low bitrate (64-128kbps) WMA sounds very good too. For that reason I transfered all my CDs to the Creative Zen Touch in 128kbps WMA and I can't distinguish them from the originals. There could - and should - be a difference on a high end system, but on my mid-end KOSS earphones it sounds great.

unwashed 14 Feb 2005 09:16:55 1,857 posts
Seen 14 years ago
Registered 18 years ago

I have an NH600 and transferred my collection to several non-Hi MD's using the lowest transcoding rate (I thought it was 48kbps?) and was pleasantly surprised with the sound quality.

I would definately recommend that you upgrade the POS software that comes with your player to the latest available, as I had all sorts of problems with the software crashing mid-transfer.

And when Sony finally get around to making the 1GB discs generally available I'll be even happier!!!

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