Sparda Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 It really makes you appreciate the sound quality of what Hi-MD offers when you go back and compare it to mp3 players. Today I really didn't want to bring my RH1 to the exams, so instead I brought my throw-it-around Creative MuVo Slim. And just hours before the exam studying in the library I was simultaneously listening to it. What I had noticed was this distinct hiss that it had, and no way was it subtle, it was very noticeable. I guess they incorporate a noisy analogue amp into it. And funny thing is that it was encoded at 320kbps mp3 which isn't that bad IMO, but I couldn't hear the upper range that I could with the RH1, it sounded very flat and dull, there was no life in the music. Where as for the RH1 it takes the 320kbps mp3 source and encodes it once more to Hi-SP which obviously would have degradation, but yet it sounds superior to my Creative. With the RH1 I could hear both the lower and upper range of the music, and it would sound very lively. Just goes to show how much better Hi-MDs sound vs mp3 player/iPods etc. Anyways thats my report of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Low Volta Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 and even better... the RH1 will play those 320kbps MP3's without any conversion as well... so why the extra SQ-hurting step of conversion? (gapless playback is the only reason I can think of right now, but I even don't know if that is possible with converted MP3's) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted January 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 I guess it is because I now encode everything to Hi-SP. Lets me put more music on one disc. And when it comes down to SQ I just think to myself that even at lower bitrates the RH1 will sound better then anything else (at least portable). I notice the difference between various bitrates, but it is barely noticeable unless you look for it. I think for that small SQ gain the trade off is quite big (256kbps vs 352kbps). When I really want to enjoy an album I have, I either encode it at 352kbps or transfer at PCM and dedicate a MD for that single album. All in all I'm very glad with my purchase of the RH1, worth every single penny. I hope everyone else enjoys their MD unit as much as I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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