View Full Version : mp3 or minidisc?
For those that like to listen to music while thru-hiking on the trail, would you prefer a mini-disc player or an mp3 player? I am looking for something that can store lots of music and is not crazy expensive.
The Weasel
11-18-2003, 20:45
For those that like to listen to music while thru-hiking on the trail, would you prefer a mini-disc player or an mp3 player? I am looking for something that can store lots of music and is not crazy expensive.
Since I don't have an MP3 player, I can't speak to it. But I got a Sony mini-disk player because it was easily loaded, disks were long playing, and I can carry 2-3 plus the one in the machine at negligible weight. It also doesn't have any problems with skipping, is compact, and works forever one on AA battery.
Nothing makes me run up hills (check out the pictures of me and you'll realize what an accomplishment THAT is) faster than a couple of hours of The Boss.
The Weasel
smokymtnsteve
11-18-2003, 21:10
run up hills...LOL
NO SHAME in stopping to catch your breath....april 2000
I thruhiked with a sony minidisc player. The thing is awesome. Only a couple ounces (use with light headphones) and only 129 bucks. Just make a bunch of discs at home and drop them into maildrops and send home when you grow tired of them. It comes with a program which allows you to copy off each cds or mp3s from your computer. Runs on one AA battery. Good stuff!
The program allows you to burn music onto mini discs from the computer? I suppose I would need a cd burner for that?
I thruhiked with a sony minidisc player. The thing is awesome. Only a couple ounces (use with light headphones) and only 129 bucks. Just make a bunch of discs at home and drop them into maildrops and send home when you grow tired of them. It comes with a program which allows you to copy off each cds or mp3s from your computer. Runs on one AA battery. Good stuff!
Matt Pincham
11-19-2003, 10:09
The program allows you to burn music onto mini discs from the computer? I suppose I would need a cd burner for that?
You wont need a CD burner but you will need a Minidisc burner which I think is now part of the Minidisc player anyway (some of the time...I might be wrong). If you want to record your CD's onto your PC (and then convert them into MP3's etc) a good site would be www.musicmatch.com (http://)
I find this Tool very useful. I'd also suggest an MP3 player over a Minidisc. You can store enough music on it to keep you occupied for months and the weight of the MP3 player itself will be the only weight to worry about (no extra Discs etc). Saying that, the more storage space you want, the heavier the MP3 player.
The Weasel
11-19-2003, 19:31
You wont need a CD burner but you will need a Minidisc burner which I think is now part of the Minidisc player anyway (some of the time...I might be wrong).
My Sony MiniDisk burns direct from my PC with an included FireWire USB cable. Easy, fast.
The Weasel
mntman777
11-19-2003, 22:25
Although I'm not very well liked right about now, I would like to say I have a mini disc as well. Sony. I like it a lot. However with an mp3 player you don't have to carry discs with you, and you can store a lot more music.
deeddawg
11-19-2003, 23:25
For those that like to listen to music while thru-hiking on the trail, would you prefer a mini-disc player or an mp3 player? I am looking for something that can store lots of music and is not crazy expensive.
Another angle... check out the MP3/CD players where you can burn a CD full of MP3 or WMA files giving you TONS of music on a CD; at least 7 to 10 albums on one CD, 20 to 30 albums to a CD if you sacrifice some quality.
Matt Pincham
11-20-2003, 05:35
Another angle... check out the MP3/CD players where you can burn a CD full of MP3 or WMA files giving you TONS of music on a CD; at least 7 to 10 albums on one CD, 20 to 30 albums to a CD if you sacrifice some quality.
Yeah I've got one of those. Cheap but pretty big compared to Minidisc.
Very good value though. I was listening to my 14 albums on one CD this morning :)
gravityman
11-20-2003, 15:18
I vote for the mp3. I'm surprised to hear that minidiscs don't have a problem skipping. They also have more of a reliability issue, since they rely on optics and moving parts. The MP3 play is all solid-state. That's what I like most about it. The lyra RD1080 is the mp3 player that I own. Very light (3 oz), takes external SD cards which really weigh next to nothing (they are the size of a postage stamp and about twice as thick) and has an FM tuner. And it uses mp3pro technology, which gives you half the file size for the same quality
Gravity Man