How can I put mp3-files on a minidisc?

[Michiel Marchau]

Hello

I have a Sony Minidisc player which can also play mp3-files. How can I put these mp3's on my minidisc without converting them to ATRA? I also have a netMD player with SonicStage on a Win XP PC.

Can anyone help me with this?

Thanks

Michiel

[sfbp]

Exactly which MD player do you have?

 

Most of them do not play MP3 very well. The exception is the MZ-RH1 (same is MZ-M200) and possibly the MZ-DH710.

 

The DH710 looks like it is the last model Sony designed and marketed and therefore may have the improvements in sound quality as the MZ-RH1. Even then I'm not sure it is any better than the other "second generation" MD players such as MZ-RH10/910 and the various player-only models. On those (second-generation) devices, the direct MP3 support is not considered to be very good.

 

So your best bet is conversion of MP3 to the highest rate intermediate format you can find. The free Sony-supplied MP3ConversionTool is my recommendation for this. Do not go via WAV files using a converter, you will likely get horrible sound. If you have a really good OTHER system that plays MP3s you might try playing those back into a Sony device, but all the usual warnings (caveats) apply such as getting gold-plated analog cables (of course if your source system playing the MP3 will somehow play S/PDIF digital, then you're laughing).

 

Another relatively reliable way of conversion from (and to) MP3 is Sound Forge 9 or later. This comes bundled with a lot of digital players by Sony, and is part of Sony Studio Platinum (I may have got the name wrong). You can play around with lots of options and try to get the best sound balance. It doesn't work in batch mode, but there is a (very expensive) Pro version that (allegedly) does this in an automated way.

 

Stephen