I'm hoping to dump my present boombox for a newer mp3 disc playing one
but before I do that I'd just like to get an idea how well they work and what limitations there are

*Is my motley collection of variously encoded mp3s simply burned as a data disc likely to work on one of these things?

*If not how easily can I convert my existing MP3s and how much of a quality
drop can I expect?

Any help with these questions would be very deeply appreciated!

Thanks in advance!javascript:emoticon(':D')
smilie

If all your mp3's fully adhere to the mp3 spec, then you shouldn't have any playback problems (including VBR files). If your not sure what they were encoded with, and you have either the original CD's or lossless versions, then I would re-rip and in both cases encode with any of these LAME's (v3.90.3, 3.92, 3.93.1). For LAME settings, do a forum search. I use --alt -preset standard.

xen-uno

Thanks for the info man! I'll get hold of the LAME encoder u mentioned. The thing is though I have rather a lot of stuff that isn't lossless(ummm..define lossless anyway?!) and to for which I no longer have access to the discs...

so:

*can I find out if my mp3's conform to the standards? If so, how?

*can I re-encode them if I'm not sure and get reliably usable results?

*umm....what are VBR files, zigackly?javascript:emoticon(':huh:')
smilie

Thanks again javascript:emoticon(':D')
smilie

If the boombox has a completely compliant decoder, then it should be able to play virtually any MP3 (with the exception of "freeformat" (>320kbps) MP3's, which are VERY rare on P2P networks).

Though it may not have a good decoder, in which case the thing most likely to trip it up is VBR.

VBR stands for variable bitrate, which refers to MP3's where the bitrate is not constant, but rather switches up and down from one fraction of a second to the next. VBR provides better quality than typical (CBR) MP3's.

Welcome to HA, you will find the answers to this and many more questions
here. Well, so far I think your questions have not been really answered, so I will give it a shot.

1.- LOSSLESS
Lossless is anything encoded in any of these formats. Or the original 16-bit, 44.1 kHz, stereo wavs ripped from a CD (or the CD itself). Everything else is lossy. To find out the difference, read the FAQ

2.- *can I find out if my mp3's conform to the standards? If so, how?
If they have the extention ".mp3", they have a bitrate between 32 and 320 kbits per second, and if they play in ANY of the standard MP3 computer players (Winamp, MusicMatch, Foobar2000) then it is safe to say that they comply to standards. To read more, check the FAQ

3.- *can I re-encode them if I'm not sure and get reliably usable results?
Yes you can, but there is some stuff that you have to keep in mind. First, re-encoding from a LOSSY file to another LOSSY file (for example converting your MP3s to MP3 again "to make them compatible") is called TRANSCODING and it is not recommended nor endorsed by pretty much anyone here. Look, because of the LOSSY nature of MP3 (that means that some data is discarded from the original file to make it smaller) if you LOSE DATA again, your files will sound worse. This is a rough explanation, the details can be found in the FAQ.
Of course, if you have access to the ORIGINAL CDs, or have LOSSLESS copies available, then RE-ENCODING to good quality MP3 (using the recommended compiles and settings of Hydrogen Audio) is the right thing to do. More info you-know-were (I think I'm beggining to be a pain in the arse)

4.- *umm....what are VBR files
Dude, let me tell you: You have a LOOONG way to go. But nevermind, just read the FAQ and you will get there. Short explanation: there are two ways of encoding a file: 1)Having constant bitrate (CBR), 2)Having a variable bitrate (VBR). In the first one, whatever bitrate you select (128, 256, 320 kbit/sec) will be kept for the entire duration of the song. The catch is that, due to the VARIABLE nature of music, there will be moment of any song where the selected bitrate will be either insufficient of overkill for the quality. That's why the much better mode VBR was invented. In this mode, the encoder uses whatever bitrate is necessary according to the music. It varies throughout the song and that's way it is called VBR.
This is the best method, and although some older/crappy MP3 players had trouble with it, pretty much anything you can buy right now will most likely have no problem.

BEWARE: If you have music already as MP3 and you cannot access the originals to re-encode to VBR, LEAVE THEM AS THEY ARE. Doing any further encoding WILL NOT HELP to make them better, on the contrary, they will get worse!
You might also want to check out MP3GAIN too (the FAQ man, the FAQ!)


On my experience, regarding MP3 hardware players, the only real issue I have found is when burning them. My iRiver 150 will refuse to play MP3 discs burned with ISO Mode 2 supporting more than 64 characters (like BAO does) but will play those made by Nero (altough my long filenames suffer).
My in-dash Jensen player, on the contrary, plays pretty much I throw at it.

Although not a BoomBox I purchased a Sony Portable (D-CJ01) a few months ago and am running it thru a 20watt amp to drive a pair of rear speakers in my S10 Blazer.

My in-dash unit does not have pre-amp inputs, so I run a 1/8 Y-adapter from the Headphone Out to the L/R inputs of the amp, output volume is controlled via the Sony player. I don't have air conditioning in the vehicle so I run with the windows partially down, and have a 45-minute commute to work. For this enviroment the player works well.

Run this unit on rechargable batteries which I swap-out every 2-days.

This unit supports ISO 9660 level 1/2 - Joilet - 64-character filenames - 8-levels of directories, 255 folders, 255 files, ID3 v.1.1.

Recognizes both closed session - open disc, and closed session - closed disc, but prefers the later.

All my mp3s are Lame391 --alt-preset standard (vbr) encoded, burned at 2x on inexpensive CDR, and the Sony hasn't balked yet.

Also, supply CDR for a buddy whose a long-haul trucker, he recently upgraded his in-dash unit to a Kenwood KDC-MPV7019 and he is very pleased with the media I've been able to supply.

The fact that we can get (prox) 7.5-hours of material on a CDR is very attractive to him.

In addition to custom compilation and album selections, I've also been ripping movie soundtracks from DVD - many movies lend themselves well to an audio only experience.

Most current mp3 players should give satisfactory playback.

Just my 2-cents.