Transfer of ATRAC3+ to Hi-MD

[Azureal]

So I have been playing lately with creating Hi-MD formatted standard MD blanks and transferring, via CP 4.3 Ultimate, various music at differing ATRAC3 and ATRAC3+ bit rates.

I am trying to find a nice balance between sound quality and file size to fit several hours of music onto a single standard MD formatted as Hi-MD.

256k ATRAC3+ sounds fantastic but I want more music per disc.

192k ATRAC3+ sounds great but I still want more music per disc.

132k ATRAC3 sounds pretty good, but to my ears the ATRAC3+ codec sounds smoother, less interference with high frequency reproduction.

64K ATRAC3+ sounds okay, but it is a bit like 132k ATRAC3 to my ears, not good to me for more than low volume background music.

128k ATRAC3+ would be nearly perfect! Too bad I cannot get CP to transfer this bit rate onto a minidisc on my RH1. Why is this bit rate even available if it cannot be used on a minidisc?

Using 128k ATRAC3+ would be the perfect SQ/space fit for me personally, I am disappointed that I can't get it to work ...

Any ideas?

Thanks,

[NickyJay]

Record in Mono (44.1 khtz, uncompressed PCM) so that you are only using one layer instead of two layers of stereo. This will fit the music in half the space required. Most people can't distinguish mono from stereo files anyway. Then transfer the files at an Atrac3+ bit rate onto Sonicstage.

Bingo, you've just doubled the space on the MD.

[Avrin]

Try ATRAC3 @ 105 kbit/s.

[Azureal]

Record in Mono (44.1 khtz, uncompressed PCM) so that you are only using one layer instead of two layers of stereo. This will fit the music in half the space required. Most people can't distinguish mono from stereo files anyway. Then transfer the files at an Atrac3+ bit rate onto Sonicstage.

Bingo, you've just doubled the space on the MD.

Thanks NickJay,

An interesting solution worthy of consideration, although, much of the music I enjoy is excessively mixed to enhance the stereo effect. I also listen almost exclusively through headphones and I am certain I would notice the monophonic recording.

Try ATRAC3 @ 105 kbit/s.

Thanks Arvin,

I'll give the 105k ATRAC3 codec a try and see how is sounds. Playback is via Type-S Hi-MD unit, so it should enhance decoding for the best possible sound.

I am still curious if anyone knows why the 128k ATRAC3+ bit rate is not transferable to a minidisc, especially the most recent incarnation, the RH1.

I wonder about trying to transfer these encoded files onto one of my DAP HD units, hmmm, that's an idea. I hardly use them, but it would be interesting to know if the units could decode that bit rate.

Regards,