I need to know what is better to play music. between a digital mp3 player and a cd player, i'll choose the cd player :\ seems more powerful, the sound is better, maybe not the same fidelity, but... than the mp3 player, or maybe i didn't find yet the perfect mp3 player. I had ipod, sony NW-A800 ( http://regmedia.co.uk/2007/03/02/sony_video_player.jpg ), Creative Zen, etc. but none of these ones doesn't match, what and how I want to listen the music. from what I had in time, the nokia 6288 with the equalizer on top, it hears a little bit louder... what is more important? the player or the headphones? both? something like a good sound card and the biggest headphones, with some watts... I got my mind on something like this: http://www.copystars.com/images_products/behringer_headphones_hpx4000_s8048.jpg . but for these headphones you need a good compatible player... What do you people recommend? THANKS
To most persons, fidelity is the measure of music quality not loudness. Hearing experts warn playing music over half volume on your mp3 can damage your ears. Devices that go in the ear and seal the ear cannal are particularly dangerous. Those devices are a must for persons that prefer loud music and will deliver many times the power to your ear drum than any portable Cd player. The loudest portable CD player can't damage you ear if you put your ear up to it. If that is not damaging enough for you, there are the mini booster amps that can over double the out put. The in the ear sealed pods use the same concept that if you burn gunpowder un contained it does not make much noise. If you contain it, it becomes a bomb. In effect you are turning your ear cannal into a bomb! Those are all I use and I have poor hearing. Even CD players costing over $500 are not HiFi. All mp3 players and sound cards are HiFi. To get the fidelity of a good mp3 set up, you will need to spend thousands of dollars. If you spend enough you will have better sound than an mp3. mp3s are the poor person's only option for HiFi. I would not get hung up on mp3 player audio quality. The quality is super for all of them. That technology was perfected over a decade ago. Output wattage might be less uniform. Audio is as weak as the weakest link. Ear devices are the least uniform. I have seen $7 ear buds blow away $260 ear buds. The one was beautiful but had terrible responce. For $15 I have some Philips buds that have a range of 5-22,000 Hz. A 10 year old can hear 20 - 22,000 Hz by 25 you can only hear 20 - 18,000 Hz. HiFi is music that exceeds your hearing range. People can feel tones out side their hearing range especially on the low notes. Good base is felt, not heard. Pay close attention to your ear devices they will make or break your hearing experiance. Ipods bundle ear buds with terrible responce. The actual responce is not known to the public since they will not release those stats. Do not buy buds without knowing at least their range. The actual mp3s might make a difference. I suggest you rip your own mp3s at 320 or on the extream setting for VBR mp3s. That is really over kill but they will be sure to sound as good as the CD. Music from itunes or the like do not sell HiFi music. Some sites that sell independent artists do sell hiquality music. However, the media mafia will not let anyone sell their music in mp3 form unless it is low quality.
