Hi Peeps, was directed here after googling for mp3 help.

I have bought an iriver-H320 20gb mp3 player and downloaded CDex software that i've configured to use ogg vordis encoding at setting 5 (160kps) , Previously i've used a Sharp-722 MD to listen to music on the move but i've finally took the plunge and joined the mp3 revolution.........bearing in mind i'm a PC numpty and can cope with turning it on/surfing the net/switching it off, anything else and i start to panic , i have a couple questions that i would appreciate answered if possible.

At the above setting 5 (160kps) on ogg vordis, approx how many cd's could i expect to fit onto the 20gb iriver?..............I ask as i've approx 500+ cd's and quite a varied taste in music from dance/techno-mali blues/world music-led zep/pink floyd-coldplay/travis and i'm currently encoding them on my pc using CDex/ogg vordis.

Is it worth upgrading the headphones that come with the iriver to some Shure ear pods or similar?.

What player do you recomend for use on my pc to play encoded tracks?.

It was a choice between the iriver or the 20gb ipod - hope i've made the right choice as the short batterylife of the ipod put me off.

The iriver was ordered from Amazon and should be delivered tomorrow (hopefully ) so i'm busy encoding as many albums as i can - didn't realise it takes so long .

many thanks

musicmonkey

Assuming the H320 can hold 21474836480bytes, and assuming files of exactly 160kbps, you should be able to hold approximately 298 hours and 15 minutes of music.

Assuming 20gigs mean 20000000000bytes, and assuming files of 151kbps, 294 hours and 20 minutes.

Here's how you do the maths.

1. First take the total storage, in bytes, and multiply that by 8. Now you have the total storage in bits.

2. Multiply the bitrate (in kbps) by 1000, to get the bitrate in bits-per-second.

3. Divide the first number by the second number, and you get the playtime in seconds.

4. Divide the third number by 60, and you have the playtime in minutes. Divide it again by 60, and you have the playtime in hours.

5. Take the part below the decimal point from the final fourth number, and multiply it with 60 to get how many extra minutes you have.

Cheers kjoonlee, your explanation is much appreciated and i'm able to follow the second reply quite easy.

many thanks,

musicmonkey

Well your h320 will hold 18.3gig useing the real gigabyte of 1024mb per gig as opposed to the 1000mb per gig marketing gigabyte. I have mine hooked up to my comp and looking at the size as I type...

I currently have mine half full(8.6gig used) with about 140 albums at an average bitrate of 183Kb/s so I suspect you could probably get about 400 albums on it mabye a little more at 160Kb/s but mabye more if all of em are punk albums .

And although it really pains me to say this you might wanna consider using mp3 because ogg's eat battery life at a fairly high rate. Check out this test.

PachmanP - Thanks for that link! - i've bookmarked that site as i'm a total noob when it comes to using mp3/pc's so it'l come in very handy for when i need help.

The reason i've started encoding using ogg vordis is i was told that it "sounds better than mp3" , which i know is a subjective subject but i listen to music all the time through a pretty decent home setup as i refuse to have a "google box" (tv) in my house and would hate to be disappointed with the sound quality of my iriver.

Any other good links for mp3/iriver related sites would be much appreciated.

many thanks

musicmonkey