MP3 players that skip

SteveDallas · 07-16-2002, 11:35 AM

Being a hip, with-it kind of guy... umm... OK... well maybe not.. be that as it may, the last two portable CD players I purchased will play MP3 discs, a feature that has become more important for me in the past year or so. There's just one problem: When these players play a traditional audio CD, there is a skip between each track. This is aggravating when I listen to something where the tracks are programmed to flow into each other with no pause. (I am listening to Britten's Albert Herring as I type this, and practically every transition is like this because there are few pauses in the music.) Are all MP3 players like this? Or did I just get cheap ones?

(Note, I'm talking about audio CDs here. I understand there is nothing on a disc of MP3 files to suggest how long a pause there should or should not be between two of the files, but the audio CD standard does encode this information.)

juju · 07-16-2002, 01:24 PM

You just got a cheap one. There are good ones on the market and there are bad ones. Take it back and get a good one.

Here's the one i've settled on. I got it at Best Buy for $120. It works well and it looks cool to boot.

http://www.sonystyle.com/home/item.j...=&itemid=36611

Tobiasly · 07-16-2002, 02:41 PM

Using CD's to store files is a purpose that was "tacked on" after the original audio CD standard was in use. Basically, a player can either read the data as continuous audio data, or discrete files.

Most home audio CD players do the former. Most computer CD-ROM drives do the latter. That's why these new copy-protection schemes they're trying to implement can prevent CD's from being played in computers but not in regular audio players.

It sounds like, to cut corners, the players you got read them only as data, in which case they would decide how much space to put between tracks, just as they do with MP3's. If a player read audio CD's as audio and MP3 CD's as data, that skip wouldn't be there.

I'm not sure where to find out which ones might do which. Or maybe they all read the tracks as data, and "good" ones like juju suggested simply know how much space to put there.

jaguar · 07-16-2002, 11:37 PM

I know with audio cds i burn with nero you can reduce this by killing the inbetween tracks wait time.....

Tobiasly · 07-16-2002, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jaguar
I know with audio cds i burn with nero you can reduce this by killing the inbetween tracks wait time.....

He's asking about store-bought, prerecorded audio CD's.

perth · 07-16-2002, 11:52 PM

i have this mp3/cd player and havent had any problems with it. it wasnt bad pricewise either. paid 90 bucks for it with a 20 dollar rebate at best buy a few months back.

~james

SteveDallas · 07-17-2002, 03:03 PM

Yep, that's the one I have, though I've had it about a year so I paid slightly more for it! I like it too, except with certain audio CDs this skipping issue I described. The only other minor complaint I have is the lack of a backlight.

So, juju, your Sony looks nice.. have you tried any audio CDs that have zero time between tracks? There's nothing in the specs that suggests that the player does or does not do this. True of all of them, I'm sure.

juju · 07-18-2002, 01:39 PM

Affirmative. I just double-checked with my Queensryche - Operation:Mindcrime CD and there is no pause between tracks where there's not supposed to be one.

SteveDallas · 07-19-2002, 09:29 AM

Hmmm.. good job.. I'll keep that in mind for my next purchase.

07-16-2002, 11:35 AM	#1
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	MP3 players that skip Being a hip, with-it kind of guy... umm... OK... well maybe not.. be that as it may, the last two portable CD players I purchased will play MP3 discs, a feature that has become more important for me in the past year or so. There's just one problem: When these players play a traditional audio CD, there is a skip between each track. This is aggravating when I listen to something where the tracks are programmed to flow into each other with no pause. (I am listening to Britten's Albert Herring as I type this, and practically every transition is like this because there are few pauses in the music.) Are all MP3 players like this? Or did I just get cheap ones? (Note, I'm talking about audio CDs here. I understand there is nothing on a disc of MP3 files to suggest how long a pause there should or should not be between two of the files, but the audio CD standard does encode this information.)

07-16-2002, 11:37 PM	#4
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	I know with audio cds i burn with nero you can reduce this by killing the inbetween tracks wait time..... __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

07-16-2002, 01:24 PM	#2
juju no one of consequence Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,839	You just got a cheap one. There are good ones on the market and there are bad ones. Take it back and get a good one. Here's the one i've settled on. I got it at Best Buy for $120. It works well and it looks cool to boot. http://www.sonystyle.com/home/item.j...=&itemid=36611

07-16-2002, 02:41 PM	#3
Tobiasly hot Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Jeffersonville, IN (near Louisville) Posts: 892	Using CD's to store files is a purpose that was "tacked on" after the original audio CD standard was in use. Basically, a player can either read the data as continuous audio data, or discrete files. Most home audio CD players do the former. Most computer CD-ROM drives do the latter. That's why these new copy-protection schemes they're trying to implement can prevent CD's from being played in computers but not in regular audio players. It sounds like, to cut corners, the players you got read them only as data, in which case they would decide how much space to put between tracks, just as they do with MP3's. If a player read audio CD's as audio and MP3 CD's as data, that skip wouldn't be there. I'm not sure where to find out which ones might do which. Or maybe they all read the tracks as data, and "good" ones like juju suggested simply know how much space to put there.

07-16-2002, 11:52 PM	#6
perth Strong Silent Type Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 1,949	i have this mp3/cd player and havent had any problems with it. it wasnt bad pricewise either. paid 90 bucks for it with a 20 dollar rebate at best buy a few months back. ~james

07-17-2002, 03:03 PM	#7
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Yep, that's the one I have, though I've had it about a year so I paid slightly more for it! I like it too, except with certain audio CDs this skipping issue I described. The only other minor complaint I have is the lack of a backlight. So, juju, your Sony looks nice.. have you tried any audio CDs that have zero time between tracks? There's nothing in the specs that suggests that the player does or does not do this. True of all of them, I'm sure.

07-18-2002, 01:39 PM	#8
juju no one of consequence Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,839	Affirmative. I just double-checked with my Queensryche - Operation:Mindcrime CD and there is no pause between tracks where there's not supposed to be one.

07-19-2002, 09:29 AM	#9
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Hmmm.. good job.. I'll keep that in mind for my next purchase.

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