Axim X5 as mp3 player

Xibalba · 10-30-03, 03:27 PM

Hey all!

Finally bought a CF storage card for my Ax, and I want to fill it full of music to take with me on a business trip next week (long flight + (Metallica + Pantera) = FUN!).

I am new to the whole mp3 thing, so I do not know what kind of software I need to convert my ripped music files into mp3s to put on my Ax. I put some wma files on there last night. An 11 song album took up 20MB of a 128MB card, and sounded only mediocre over my Aiwa headphones. Can I convert CD music to mp3s using Windows Media Player? I am running a brand new PC with Windows XP Pro. Or do I need other software? I have Roxio Easy CD. Can I do it with that?

OK, as long as I am letting my ignorance show: What is the difference between mp3, wma, and wav? File size? Sound qulaity? Which format do you all prefer?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike:D

Tom61 · 10-30-03, 04:41 PM

Wav or Wavetable is completely loss-less and un-compressed. This yields huge file sizes, and actual CD quality sound.

MP3 or MPEG 1 Layer 3, is lossy copression format, meaning it throws out part of the sounds. Most of the time it's stuff you can't hear anyway. Most encode at 128Kbps, but the format is really intended to be encoded at 196Kbps. What sounds good vary from person to person. Roxio should be able to extract MP3s from CDs, play with the bitrate and find out what sounds good to you, and has a decent file size. (higher bit rate = more space used)

WMA is also a lossy format. It's optimised for better quality at lower bit rates (roughly half that MP3 is for). Most encode at 64Kbps, personally I agree with you that 64Kbps sounds bad. Try encoding at a higher bitrate with Media Player.

If you want CD Quality and small file sizes, you need a loss-less compression format. Ogg-Vorbis is one such format. There players for PocketPCs, I think. You'll have to do a searchon how to rip them (I don't personally use Ogg, but I'd figured I'd throw it out there anyway).

Jer · 10-30-03, 06:00 PM

I usually convert my .wav files to .mp3 using MusicMatch. It allows you to choose the setting. I set it to 128Kbps because its smaller and I cant hear the difference with my headphones. I play them in wmp because it allows me to toggle off the screen to conserve the battery.

xl2k · 11-01-03, 01:52 PM

I use Xing Audiocatalyst to rip all the song to .mp3 format...it also allow you to rip it to .wav format.the good thing is that xing audio catalyst lets you rip the song up to 320kpbs... and you can download the Title and the song name via CDDB buttons... no need to rename all the song... just need to edit it... and it really fast encode all the tracks if you have better sound card such as creative soundblaster... i currently using audio catalyst 2.1 and its fully working.. not trial version.....although this software is quite old... i been using this progam for years and have no problem with it.......

Just Jen · 11-01-03, 02:17 PM

I'm no expert, but I did just fine with the software you already have. All you have to do is sync up your axim, open Windows Media Player 9, pick the left tab titled "copy to CD or Device". Then pick the music you want to copy from the left side. Then on the right side of the screen, use the drop down menu and select the CF Card. Next, pick "select quality level" and move the slider in the direction of the smallest size setting to lower the bit rate. Once you've decided on the bit rate you're happy with save your settings.
So, after you've picked the music files you want copied, where you want them copied to and the quality (bit rate), click on the copy button in the upper right corner and you're copying!
I found myself completely satisfied with the second to smallest setting. I can't hear any difference and I'm able to hold a lot of songs on my CF card.