lossy formats to minidisc, that bad? or equally obscure mixtape format.
January 7, 2016 5:29 PM Subscribe
Like alot of people over a certain age, I have a real fondness and nostalgia for making mixtapes (for myself at this point, since so few people have anything to play them on). Of course, I've used iTunes and Spotify and put tracks on memory cards etc etc but it's not the same thing at all. I'm looking to get something tangible that I can record and archive mixes to pull out and play whenever. I'm looking at Minidisc stuff on ebay, since I always liked them, but would be recording much of the material to MDs (lossy) from mp3s, AAC etc as well as higher rez formats. Would that sound ultra terrible? Should I just go back to cassettes?
I've actually tried to go back to cassette a couple times now and I get real excited about it and then never use it. So while the idea of having something to make mixes with has lingered, the actual hardware hasn't. Since owning a tape deck though, I've gone 100% digital/PC with music, no CDs, LPs or anything. I don't intend to go back to physical media, though do miss it a bit. Minidiscs certainly have some very vocal supporters, even now. I had one in the 90s, thought it was really cool but didn't use it that much, did tapes and CDRs more often. Minidisc machines and discs (though not the 1GB Hi-MDs) can be had pretty affordably, and always offered decent sound. I'm not worried about total 1:1 fidelity, or I would just make playlists and listen to them on my Oppo. I guess my one specific concern is how bad a 190-320k MP3 would sound played back with another layer of lossy compression. If it makes it worse than a 128k mp3 I don't think I'd be able to stand it.
I've actually tried to go back to cassette a couple times now and I get real excited about it and then never use it. So while the idea of having something to make mixes with has lingered, the actual hardware hasn't. Since owning a tape deck though, I've gone 100% digital/PC with music, no CDs, LPs or anything. I don't intend to go back to physical media, though do miss it a bit. Minidiscs certainly have some very vocal supporters, even now. I had one in the 90s, thought it was really cool but didn't use it that much, did tapes and CDRs more often. Minidisc machines and discs (though not the 1GB Hi-MDs) can be had pretty affordably, and always offered decent sound. I'm not worried about total 1:1 fidelity, or I would just make playlists and listen to them on my Oppo. I guess my one specific concern is how bad a 190-320k MP3 would sound played back with another layer of lossy compression. If it makes it worse than a 128k mp3 I don't think I'd be able to stand it.
Best answer: I recorded MP3s to MiniDisc all the time in the early '00s. They sounded totally fine. Maybe I could have told a difference with intensive ABX testing but I doubt it. Go for it.
posted by zsazsa at 6:49 PM on January 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by zsazsa at 6:49 PM on January 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
One thing you could try is to just make a really large MP3 file, using something like MP3 joiner- it would bring back the forced order of a mixtape but without the hardware restriction. Don't know if that would be useful but thought I'd mention it.
posted by thewumpusisdead at 6:56 PM on January 7, 2016
posted by thewumpusisdead at 6:56 PM on January 7, 2016
Best answer: I had a Minidisc player in the late 90's - early 00's and recorded a whole lot of MP3s onto the format. I don't have any technical details, but it sounded great. I preferred it, even. On my specific model the bass was really rich and present in the mix and it just sounded good. Also, this could be the nostalgia speaking, but that model, with the stick-style remote that you wear outside of your jacket? I think it's still really striking and cool! You could be a trendsetter.
posted by naju at 7:27 PM on January 7, 2016
posted by naju at 7:27 PM on January 7, 2016
The last minidisc recorder I bought around 2005 was uncompressed PCM .wav format.
posted by umbú at 7:41 PM on January 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by umbú at 7:41 PM on January 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
The environmentalist in me hesitates to point this out, but there are now MP3 players that are small enough and cheap enough that the mixtape could be the mp3 player. Use mp3 players instead of discs or cassettes. You give each mp3 player a set of tracks and never change them, and each player is then appropriately decorated with labels / skinz / stickers / paint.
Caveat: You probably don't want to use players that use non-replaceable Li-ion batteries if you do this, because they don't last the years and are a hassle to replace.
posted by anonymisc at 10:39 AM on January 8, 2016
Caveat: You probably don't want to use players that use non-replaceable Li-ion batteries if you do this, because they don't last the years and are a hassle to replace.
posted by anonymisc at 10:39 AM on January 8, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks for a bunch of answers. Going to give MD a shot. Cheap thrills these days!
One thing you could try is to just make a really large MP3 file, using something like MP3 joiner- it would bring back the forced order of a mixtape but without the hardware restriction. Don't know if that would be useful but thought I'd mention it.
Yeah, I've done this, and I was considering it. I used to do it so I could put a compressor on the entire mix and get consistent volume- as well as do crossfades and such. The issue with this and then using a smartphone (etc) is that a good amount of the time my place in the giant file won't be kept. That element of it is pretty important to me. Not really a problem in the cassette or even car cd deck days...
The last minidisc recorder I bought around 2005 was uncompressed PCM .wav format.
Yeah, but with a standard disc you get like 20-some minutes this way. Too short. With the Hi-MD discs you get 74/80 minutes but those blanks are going for like $20 each if you can believe it.
The environmentalist in me hesitates to point this out, but there are now MP3 players that are small enough and cheap enough that the mixtape could be the mp3 player. Use mp3 players instead of discs or cassettes. You give each mp3 player a set of tracks and never change them, and each player is then appropriately decorated with labels / skinz / stickers / paint.
That's a good idea, but I'm trying to slim down my stuff situation. Part of the reason I gave up compulsive record/CD collecting. I could probably do this with all of the old iPods and iPhones I have lying around, though.
posted by tremspeed at 4:51 PM on January 8, 2016
One thing you could try is to just make a really large MP3 file, using something like MP3 joiner- it would bring back the forced order of a mixtape but without the hardware restriction. Don't know if that would be useful but thought I'd mention it.
Yeah, I've done this, and I was considering it. I used to do it so I could put a compressor on the entire mix and get consistent volume- as well as do crossfades and such. The issue with this and then using a smartphone (etc) is that a good amount of the time my place in the giant file won't be kept. That element of it is pretty important to me. Not really a problem in the cassette or even car cd deck days...
The last minidisc recorder I bought around 2005 was uncompressed PCM .wav format.
Yeah, but with a standard disc you get like 20-some minutes this way. Too short. With the Hi-MD discs you get 74/80 minutes but those blanks are going for like $20 each if you can believe it.
The environmentalist in me hesitates to point this out, but there are now MP3 players that are small enough and cheap enough that the mixtape could be the mp3 player. Use mp3 players instead of discs or cassettes. You give each mp3 player a set of tracks and never change them, and each player is then appropriately decorated with labels / skinz / stickers / paint.
That's a good idea, but I'm trying to slim down my stuff situation. Part of the reason I gave up compulsive record/CD collecting. I could probably do this with all of the old iPods and iPhones I have lying around, though.
posted by tremspeed at 4:51 PM on January 8, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
Newer MiniDisc devices support ATRAC3plus at 256 Kbps in Hi-SP mode. This is roughly equivalent to AAC Plus in terms of its efficiency. 64 Kbps ATRAC3plus is said to be roughly equivalent to 128 Kbps MP3, so at 256 Kbps should quite good, probably audibly lossless. If you have one of those I'd feel very confident indeed.
posted by kindall at 5:53 PM on January 7, 2016 [1 favorite]