I was wondering if there was anyone who has or used an MP3 player. Is it better than a cd player?

 

I had a Kenwood Z828 in my 2001 Integra LS, but when I traded it in for the Type-R, I left it with the car.

I've reverted back to a normal CD player and I hate it. You only get up to 80 mins on a disc, as opposed to the 10+ hours I got before.

People are going to mention that quality is lacking on the MP3 deck, but that's only if you use low quality files to fit more on a disc.

I had the first generation Kenwood model, so there was like a 1 second pause between tracks, but that was eliminated with this year's models, so go MP3!

 

Define better?

Better SQ: CD Player

I don't care how high a bitrate that you rip your MP3's at, there is still compression going on, so there is a loss of SQ. Now your system or ears ability to discern this loss of SQ is what you have to ask yourself. An even better question is if you care or not.

The benefit of the MP3 deck is that you have the option. You can always run regular media in there instead of MP3 discs. One drawback is that most of the MP3 capable units out there are not that great of SQ units. That's a pretty general statement, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that you won't find MP3 capabilities on most of the "SQ" decks out there - we'll see what CES brings....

If this is for your daily driver, and you can't tell/don't care about SQ loss....go MP3. IT's far more convenient. I would also consider what your internet connection/computer is like. If you have the capability to download or rip lots of MP3's (only of the CD's that you have purchased of course ) then the MP3 head is a good option. If you are on a slow dialup like me and are a SQ freak...well...it's not that great of an option.

 

My friend has an alpine 7894 in his integra and we tried to figure out if regular cds sounded better or mp3 format. We burned one of his metallica cds onto a regular cd-r, then onto a mp3 cd-r. We listened to both a bunch of times and they sounded EXACTLY the same. I couldn't tell ANY difference and my doctor says i have exceptional hearing these days. Maybe alpine Media Expander thing really does work but all i know is if they both sound like that, we're going with mp3.

 

The high-end Alpine plays MP3 and I think WMA, it's a VERY nice piece of hardware/

 

i have a kenwood and it does cds and mp3 cds and is mp3 accesible if you purchase the "music keg" along with it. i use the mp3 function on long trips. its nice to have almost 6 hours of music on one disc.

 

i have the mp70 for my 92 , i love it . and im getting the alpine 7894 for my 90

 

I totally agree with this. If you have a fast connection(like me ) and are into downloading a whole lot of MP3s, then get an MP3 player. But if you're more into buying, then just get a regular CD player with a CD changer if you have a lot of regular CDs.

As for me though, I have an MP3 player since I download a lot but I am also getting a CD changer with it since I also have a lot of regular CDs too.:thumbup:

 

I just got pioneers new DEH-P8400MP which plays mp3s/cds/wma and is xm ready. Its awesome. I love the design, and its got all kinds of great features... http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pi...,28914,00.html

thats the link to it. You can find it for 300 on the net.. thats how much I got mine for.. don't know where though, my girlfriend bought it..

 

Well at least do the test right numb-nuts! If you're gonna see if the sound quality is different between CD and MP3, do it with a REGULAR CD then MP3... When you even burn a CD onto a CD-R, you lose a lot of sound quality right there. The only way around this is if you're using a Professional Audio cd burner. No computer or home based recorder will give you an EXACT duplicate. Therefore, SQ will be lost. Do THAT comparison with your incredible ears and then let us know.
Now what kind of test did a doctor do to find out if your ears are tuned for quality audio or not? They can tell how good your hearing is when it comes to different frequencies, but not how tuned it is when it comes to audio. Guess I'm just realistic....back to my cave LOL!