Anyone know what portable player(s) meets these requirements?

** It has to play uncompromised CD quality audio, which is to say tracks extracted from audio CDs and downloaded to it. Non-lossy compressed, such as FLAC, etc., would be fine but is not something I care about one way or another. The first player I bought listed wav among its supported file types, but it really only plays very low quality wav (8 bit, 8kHz) files recorded through its built in microphone.

** It needs to hold 80 minutes worth of CD audio.

** It need to use a menu screen, or some not very easy to change method, to adjust the volume. Once I set the volume, the little person who will be listening from it must not have any way to accidently change the level.

** Its analogue output must do very well with high frequencies

** Solid state for durability would probably be best (unless those two don't actually go together). Little person tends to just drop things from anywhere to anywhere when her focus changes.

* While it probably won't be used long enough at any one session to make this feature mandatory, it could be useful if it can be set to repeat once it reaches the end.

* Shuffle play could also be beneficial, but is not mandatory.

* Additional features for an extra price are not appreciated.

ipod nano with ALAC?

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/

dude any recent and decent 1gb DAP should be able to play 80mins worth of 16bit, 44.1khz WAVs. the ipod nano's have a volume lock. also they're known to be durable.

I guess the key word there is “decent” but what just is its definition? The first two players on that non-ipod site don’t do wav, so I guess they aren’t, regardless of any other qualities.. The ipod nano might work, so I will keep it in mind, but it is rather too expensive, I think. I could let her destroy at least five portable CD players, protected from manipulation during play in a zippered pouch, before I would be approaching the ipod price.

Getting beyond the first two players on that non-ipod site might chalk up players that handle wav files. The next one, for instance, seems to say it does, but it is far over the top in “other,” un-needed features. The entire hunting for one is about as interesting as shopping for funeral insurance, hence my post requesting specific recommendations. Perhaps it was as bad an idea as it felt like it was. Other people’s needs and interests are likely too different. But thanks, anyway.

On the volume front, could you not force down the WAV amplitude such that at maximum player volume the output volume was always acceptable?

That might be possible, but if she can adjust the volume, she could then turn it down and out of functionality. It needs to be stable. It will probably be some while before she gets the idea of making controlled changes for a deliberate result. Right now she just loves turning dials and pushing buttons. It would alleviate the possibility of hearing damage, my most important concern, but it is probably a lot more work than using a player she just can’t manipulate.

Is there a way you could make the iPod Shuffle work? Possibly wedging the Hold control in place with a bit of matchstick?

Michael

Since she hasn't yet figured out zippers, a zippered case could work for many types of controls. Hard to guess what next week will bring however. She does undo velcro, but doesn't yet have the strength to manage a very large piece. Again, I don't know how fast growth will be in that regard.

Hmm, zipper secured with one of those little padlocks they give you with suitcases? By the time she can pick (or break) that, you've got other problems

Michael

I think you should look at the Cowon portable players, there are flash and HDD models. I've Cowon D2 4GB, it can play FLAC and Monkey's Audio lossless. Nice battery: music up to 52 hours and video up 10 hours continuous playback. Perhaps you will find a model that meets your criteries.

Sorry for my english

There's your answer.

I'm assuming the plethora of cheap WMA compatible "mp3" players don't actually do WMA lossless, otherwise one of those might do too. You can get 512MB ones for £10-£20 in your local supermarket. (volume only disabled with a zippered pouch, I'm afraid).

Is the 20kHz mp3 LPF is the issue you're trying to avoid by going lossless? Not that there's any way around it - just interested.

Cheers,
David.

If you are not familiar with the problems of sensory integration dysfunction and audio processing deficiency, I can provide some references. Also, there are loads to be turned up by Google and such tools.

mp3 might in reality work, but since the audio isn't normal music (Tomatis treatment), and the therapy is supposed to be at least 300 hours cumulative listening, I have no intention of taking the chance of wasting all that time with unapproved and possibly "defective" material.

And I think that a $30 portable CD player is probably where we will be starting afterall. Her mother has spent quite a bit of money on other aspects of therapy already.

are you moving in two directions? you're placing high demands on fidelity yet you're at risk compromising fidelity by the probable used of junk headphones or speakers.
also, did you review this link's FAQ stuff about CDs & tapes?
<http://www.tomatis.com/English/Articles/faq.htm>

The demands on fidelity, such as they are, are somewhat different than what would engage an "audiophile." My intentions to stay away from mp3 and other perceptual encodings are due to the fact that the perceptual model may not be completely valid for this audio. It is not normal music. There are in fact aspects of it that are difficult to perceive, especially by those who may most benefit from it. It is supposed to have direct physical impact upon parts of the inner ear. Reportedly the ability to consciously hear more of it changes over time, as the training has its effects.

I have taken some tracks, encoded them as LAME V0, and compared the decoded waveform with the original. I understand quite well that is not valid for evaluating perceptual encoding, but it may well be more relevant here. The difference signal is much higher than with normal music. This is not too hard to believe, I think, because Lame has been optimizer for music, not for music with the large mix of non-musical sounds included in these tracks.

Maybe this physical difference (after mp3 encoding) would not make a significance therapeutic difference, but I've already pointed out the valid reason for not taking that chance. This is not about "will you still enjoy it" or "can you ABX the difference", at least not without extensive clinical evidence that these are valid measures.

I see nothing in the thread justifying any presumption about junk headphones. Good headphones suitable for a small girl have been a significant part of my investigation. My higher end Grados and Sennheisers just don't fit that small a head, so something else was necessary. I think the quality of the analogue electronics on the output of the player are of more concern.

Sennheiser developed the HD 500A in conjunction with the Therapeutic Listening program, which is widely used by clinics specializing in autism and early learning disabilities. These clinics push this particular ($150) headphone, and it does adjust to fit smaller heads. The Joudry organization, on the other hand, claims to have extensive experience with many thousands of users that says that the only requirement for results is reasonably good phones.

I know about the official Tomatis organization's position on any other source of therapy. Possibly it is somewhat valid, but it is also economically motivated. Without going into a point by point discussion of their FAQ, one major consideration of what we've chosen is that the Sound Therapy International recordings are claimed to be made at the output of Tomatis equipment. To believe this still makes them invalid it to either get metaphysical about the equipment itself or to get metaphysical about some limitations of recording.

I can certainly see the possibility that individualizing the treatment in real time might be beneficial. That would only be possible with real time playback through the in-house equipment, but I don't know in fact that they do any such customizing of the program to the person. Since it involves so many hours, it may well be that at least most of it is standardized.

I would not object to taking her to a genuine Tomatis clinic. There is one about a half day's drive from here. I've spoken to the owner/director a couple of times. However, even if the program were not so expensive in itself, the costs of giving up work, and relocating for weeks at a time in order to attend many hours per day, make it impossibly expensive. Faced with the impossibility of "the real thing" vs. a possible, long established, alternative, there isn't any other choice.

Now, if you wanted to debate the evidence that this kind of therapy is of any actual benefit at all in these early learning disability situations, that could be more interesting. A small percentage of children make major improvements on their own, without intervention of any kind, but most do not. Since she, like so many that get any help at all, has been, and will be, receiving speech therapy, occupational therapy, music therapy, and physical therapy from a number of different practitioners, it will be impossible to analyze the confounding factors and assign any particular results to any particular events. It is like trying to get to Carnegie Hall.