pata2001 Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 Now that new iPods are gapless (5G with firmware 1.2) with MP3 and AAC (no propietary codec), what do you think of Atrac? In the past, the only thing that hold me from ditching Atrac is gapless. I have been painfully patient with sony's incompetence in making software (openMG jukebox - SS4.0), making them non-unicode, forcing me to use MSApplocale and registry edits, all just for the sake of gapless. Now, an iPod can play MP3 gaplessly. Sony devices cannot even play MP3 gaplessly. In my mind, Atrac is dead. The advantage is gone.Currently, I'm listening to a gapless album on my 5G iPod, MP3 format, all tracks are played gaplessly. Perfect.It's been great enjoying gapless music with Atrac. MD, HiMD, AtracCD, Network walkman, I have all those. However, Sony just does not move forward. Time to move on.Bye-bye Atrac. Bye-bye Sony.This is still a great forum! I'll still hang around, but there will be no more Atrac/Sony recommendation from me. If you want a DAP, get an iPod, period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerfuffle Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 ATRAC still matters to me. It's the only format my NW-HD1 will accept for playback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borat Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 Well, according to some on head-fi the ipod still plays MP3's with a gap, so I don't think I'll be buying one just yet, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willykyu Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 I was gonna say Gapless too, but you say that it's no longer an issue on Ipods??? wow. I'm close to chage too!Well, why would I stock to atrac? because I still believe that the combo sony walkman and atrac deliver an excellent sound quality I'm used with. Then the battery lasts very lon on atrac devices. But the main issues of atrac devices even the most recent ones are becoming such a hell, that when I see what apple does avey 6 months, when I see how cool is Itunes and Itunes music store etc. I'm starting to feel really really bad.UNICODE as you is my 1rst problem. Connect player who has been horrible for me, with its huge lack of option, bad design, bad use etc. still had unicode. But couldn't be used as Itunes nor Sonicstage. Then Sonicstage CP, still no Unicode, impossible to import the >1000 japanese titles, nor import jap CDs (even with applocale, it simply crashes the program when sending to atrac device, and mess up everythinh... even after a clean PC format).Sony still doesn't offer a nice store. Their DRM managment is shit. Still no movies for PSP, still no Ereader book, most astonishing: no gapless atrac titles sold on connect music store.Well, all of this makes me sick I have 2 atrac walkmans I kind of like, but now my love is slightly desapearing because of the lack of reactivity, creativity, and competitivity from sony (probably too busy with their PS3 hard birth push).I'm waiting for the new generation of service and Walmans from SONY, but really, Ipods start to be a must these days, they go foward like nobody else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascariss Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 Atrac? what is this atrac you speak of? Not used it once since I got my HDD walkmans, all my music is in mp3, ripped to mp3 and bought in mp3. in the end I never liked atrac to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stuge Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 To be honest ,I still use Atrac on my network walkman for longer battery life . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weaves_ Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 Now that new iPods are gapless (5G with firmware 1.2) with MP3 and AAC (no propietary codec)I too am seriously thinking about switching to the dark side Pata. However, I am not a "I need it on Day One" type of person. When my HD5 goes, there will be even better units out at that time. No need for me to buy something when what I have does me fine. Hopefully by then, it will incorporate Samsung flash drive (32gb now, higher with each year).1) I think this fall/winter will make or break Sony's portable electronic division. They better start "Wowing" people, or they will be even less than they are now.2) I still think Sony's newest 2GB sport unit is better and more functional than the newest Shuffle.3) AAC is not a proprietary codec. Apple's DRM'd AAC is very much proprietary. It still amazes me how many people think they are "Buying" their music from iTunes. They are renting it.4) Most Ipods (older ones) I ever heard sounded bad. However, I would like to get one of these newer ones to run some sound tests for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pata2001 Posted September 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 Well, according to some on head-fi the ipod still plays MP3's with a gap, so I don't think I'll be buying one just yet, thanks.The OP of that thread is using Nero AAC, which has some compatibility problems with iPod+iTunes in the past (they ARE gapless with foobar). I use Lame MP3, perfect gapless. I know it is hard to believe, I even let myself listen to the whole album, just in case there is 1 blip somewhere. Nope, no blip whatsoever. Also important note is firmware has to be updated to 1.2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinko Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 4) Most Ipods (older ones) I ever heard sounded bad. However, I would like to get one of these newer ones to run some sound tests for myself.Don't. They still suck. I can't imagine how bad older iPods sounded - I've never heard one. Almost everyone seems to be raving about how good the Nano sounds, and it makes no sense to me. The only way the Nano can sound good is if your standards of quality sound are loudness and loudness. In that case, there's no question that the Nano is loud, therefore good.But does it deliver the type of envelopping, blooming sound you get from Sony? No. The Nano reduces the soundstage. It destroys instrumental transparancy. Bass is there, but it doesn't have the same deep boom. Highs are there, but they sound compressed. iPod = poor sound.As for ATRAC... it no longer matters to me. I still think it is the best format out there. It has the most open, most accurate and most faithful reproduction of the original sources. Unfortunately, it only works on Sony devices, and after years of painfully experiencing Sony's cluelessness I abandonned most Sony devices until that faithful day when they figure out how make a Walkman that will blow away the competition (I'm sure it will happen some day). By abandoning Sony devices, ATRAC was an automatic victim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingsamurai Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 I really don't care about formats, to me it doesn't matter, only what's suitable.I use ATRAC, because it seems to give my NWA better battery life. Personally i didnt really care about gapless playback, in fact i didn't know it was a ATRAC "exclusive" until a few minutes ago.So I don't know what the fuss is about. At the end of the day, Sony , one of the largest coperations in the world, will still be standing, and I predict that they will still sell walkmans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSP Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 hell yeah, I love atrac!!!!true gapless playback is a gift of heaven, I'm listening Thin Lizzy 'live and dangerous', it's a live album, and it rocks. Gapless all the way.also sound quality is very good. like Dinko said.so to answer the question: yes, atrac really matters to me!greetz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pata2001 Posted December 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 true gapless playback is a gift of heaven,... and not being restricted to a propietary format and a crappy software/firmware are priceless. (5G/5.5G iPods, and 2G nano are gapless with MP3 and AAC). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyB37 Posted December 2, 2006 Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 (edited) In my mind, atrac is dead.I am using vorbis (as a standard) now anyway (on my iAudio U2) If I ever did make the jump to a iPod I would be putting rock box on it in no time, I wouldn't even question that unless apple suddenly decide to add vorbis to be played back on the iPod! I still use Atrac (my MZ-NH1) that I don't plan on getting rid of anytime soon. Edited December 2, 2006 by DannyB37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stuge Posted December 2, 2006 Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 In my mind, atrac is dead.For me *NO* .I always rip my cd's in Atrac only .Atrac is dead for those who don't use Sony players ,but Exceptions are also their . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxthrusters Posted December 2, 2006 Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 I do see a distinct personal advantage with ATRAC.Since I have quite a large music collection (over 23,000 songs) I am constantly asked by friends, relatives, and even neighbours for access to my files for use with their iPods."I am so sorry, all my music is in Sony's proprietary format which only plays in Sony Walkman's" is my response, which saves me countless hours of having to entertain guests wanting to raid my music collection! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navsimpson Posted December 2, 2006 Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 maxthrusters - I never thought of that! That's brilliant...But seriously - it's getting harder and harder to care. ATRAC at 352kbs sounds about as good as it gets for lossy files, but I think that has more to do with the high bitrate than with anything else. With LAME and AAC providing on-par, if not better sound quality at most bitrates, the reasons to use ATRAC are pretty limited right now. If ATRAC was an open format - i.e. supported by multiple software players and devices - it'd be great and would warrant development, particularly a VBR format. But my guess is that even Sony will start to move to AAC soon - see the 'default codec' on the PS3 and inclusion of AAC *and* HE-AAC into Sonicstage. The main reason I use ATRAC now is the battery life - my 18 month old HD3 gets me about 12 hours with ATRAC (mostly 256 and up) and only 6 or 7 with MP3 (mostly at 320kbs). Otherwise, I think I'd just use LAME.At the end of the day, what one wants is efficiency, and a great balance between file size and sound quality. Given that I really like Sony DAPs - their SQ and their quirky aesthetic - I guess I don't really care what format they use... as long as they fix their software!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyB37 Posted December 2, 2006 Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 If sony made atrac a open format (like aac and mp3) I think it would take off, it is high compression format.There isn't that many formats that sould good at 64kbps.As far as I know its just he-aac ogg and atrac, I haven't come across any others, if there are more, please tell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobA Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 I only use ATRAC3plus for all my music. What else sounds good at 64kbps? And it really boosts the battery life. All my mp3's get converted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pata2001 Posted December 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 I only use ATRAC3plus for all my music. What else sounds good at 64kbps? And it really boosts the battery life. All my mp3's get converted.Have you used HE-AAC? Even Sony starts supporting AAC/HE-AAC. Sony may still use Atrac for its own internal stuff (UMD movies/music, Playstation games, etc), but Atrac is dead/dying as a consumer format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerfuffle Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Bit hard to use HE-ACC when your device doesn't support it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDX-400 Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 However, Sony just does not move forward. Time to move on.Bye-bye Atrac. Bye-bye Sony.So how much will you be selling that E720 for? What colour is it? Condition, pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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