I'm curious about MP3's.

I'd like to be able to convert all my CD's to MP3's, then put them on an iPod or something, then be able to feed the signal from that player into my stereo or car stereo.

Any ideas how to do this?

I'd REALLY like to get my glove box back. It's currently taken up by my 6-CD changer...

Thanks!

1. Get an Ipod
2. Use i-Tunes to rip your CD's to MP3's
3. Either get something like an i-Trip (FM broadcaster) or a casette adapeter and away you go.

There are several programs out there that do that.

Id probaly take Engineer's suggestion.

I carry a full spindel of CDs in the car.

Quoted: I carry a full spindel of CDs in the car.

That's just it. Storage space is at a premium in my truck, and I don't much fancy having to carry all those CD magazines....

I mean, CLIPS!

The chili and macaroni one tastes like shit.

Quoted: The chili and macaroni one tastes like shit.

I've never tasted a CD before.

Quoted: Quoted: I carry a full spindel of CDs in the car. That's just it. Storage space is at a premium in my truck, and I don't much fancy having to carry all those CD magazines.... I mean, CLIPS!

I found the spindel keeps them in a very small space for what you can carry.  If you want to get something far down on it its a pain in the ass.

Quoted: The chili and macaroni one tastes like shit.

You sure Frances didn't do a number on you, buddy?

Quoted: Quoted: The chili and macaroni one tastes like shit. I've never tasted a CD before.

I chewed on the AOL CD at a store once, look at everyone strightfaced as you do it, and all smiles.

I'd like to know how to convert my mp3 into an MP5.

Quoted: I'd like to know how to convert my mp3 into an MP5.

Thats covered by the NFA.

Quoted: ...but considering that MP3s aren't true CD quality anyway...

They're NOT?

WTF, K?

Pretty close Zaphod, don't worry about it.

Like Troy said, having to go the proprietary way would be a big pain, but I have zero experience with large capacity MP3 players besides my computer

I'd definitely say you'd have to go with a new CD/MP3 player for your truck that has a line in on the front, our JVC does. Then get some kind of MP3 player, Dell has them and many other brands. Shop around look at reveiews.

Quoted: Quoted: ...but considering that MP3s aren't true CD quality anyway... They're NOT? WTF, K?

If you're playing music through an FM transmitter or car casette adaptor in the noisy environment of a car/truck, your are not going to notice any difference. You probably won't notice any difference listening through a pair of headphones. Just make the MP3 with a decent bitrate and you'll be fine.

I'm with Troy about buying into a proprietary system that can later dictate terms and tell you what you can and can't do with the music you have bought and paid for.    Just say no.  (In the interest of fair play, I think iTunes4 and up will send an mp3 to an iPod, no longer limiting the user to AIFF's and AAC's)

Not being all that enamored with the iPods, I got a Rio Karma for a lot less than a comparable pod.  See specs here.  

Here's a way to do some future-proofing and get the best possible sound quality:  Rip all of your CD's to (non-proprietary) FLAC format first.  FLAC is a lossless format that still manages to get some good compression.  Then as you get different players supporting different (improved?) formats, just rip from FLAC to the format of choice.  You'll always be working from a lossless master, and you won't have to rip all your CD's two or three times as you change players.

I'm running (non-proprietary) Ogg-Vorbis on my Karma at "Quality 6" of 10 and while it ain't no CD, it's pretty good for portable music.  I've got something like 1100 tracks on my Karma, consuming about 5 gigs of space on the 20GB drive.

As a music nut, I don't know how I made it without one of these cool portable players...

Alpine

Thanks for the info, guys.

I'm not sold on the iPod, believe me. It's just the stereotyical MP3 player. I have MUCH to learn before I blow my money on anything like this....

Go to www.goldwave.com and download the latest version.  Get the older free one at this page:

www.goldwave.com/release.php

Under Installation Notes you will see a place to click to get v. 4.26

Also, you need an mp3 decoder, download, from further down the same page, under where it says Optional Downloads, the Lame endoder.  Follow the directions for installation of Lame.  This allows you to convert *.wav files to *.mp3 files.

So, what you will do is, plug in the CD and let your default player open (Winamp, whatever).  Hit the stop button, but leave it open.

Open Goldwave, and get it ready to record.  Be aware, there are places to set levels, record times (chose a record time slightly longer than the duration of the tune), etc.  Unlike tape, you do not want to exceed the max level, in digital that causes mucho distortion.  

Start recording with Goldwave, hit the Play button on your computer's CD player program.  When it is finished recording, you will Save As, and instead of saving as a *.wav file, type in the name of the track, and you will "Save as type", and chose "MPEG audio (*.mp3)" from the drop down, and in File Attributes, chose, Layer 3, 22050hz, Stereo, 64 kbps (for the best quality sound).   Now save it.  Do the next track and the next.  When done, you should end up with a folder of MP3's.

You can also "normalize" before saving.  This feature will go through, find the peak volume, and then reset the entire thing track to have a certain average level.  You should to this to all tracks.  This keeps you from having one CD, or some tracks so quiet you have to crank up the volume to hear them, then the next track, or CD, blows your eardrums out.  This feature gives a suitable volume to all tracks.  

You can also do some neat editing, such as fade outs, trimming the beginning or the end, copy and paste, and check this out...

You can run a cable from your stereo Line Out, down to a 1/8" stereo plug (like on walkman earphones) to the Line In of your computer's sound card.  Then in Gold Wave, chose the Line In as your source.  Now, put on that favorite old LP, and record that.  Once done, run the Pop/Click filter.  Yep, it will clean up most of that old record noise, and give you sometimes a near CD quality recording.  A great way to archive those old LP's that will never come out in CD.

I hope this is what you needed to know.

Program called CDEX, look for it wherever fine pirating wares are given away freely.  It even has a feature that accesses an online database called CDDB that can label the CD songs that you are about to "make a private archival copy" of.  

This way, you lose less time to typing out names to your tunes and more time weight-training with beer.

I have the 40GB Ipod, and I haven't looked back since I got it in June. I've loaded all 380 of my CD's on it, (it took about 16 hours total to do, but all you need to do is put the CD into a computer hooked up to the net and hit copy. All titles and song names, artist info is instantly transferred) Oh, and my 380 CD's only took about 10.5 gigs of space up. I use the rest as a portable hard drive for data. I also have my address book, notes, and calendar on it too.

Since I travel a lot, the Ipod comes in really handy. It's my walkman, my stereo in my hotel room (hooked up to the JBL Onstage Speakers/Charger), and in my car it's my greatest CD player ever. (Get the Car Dock FM rather than the Itrip, it charges your ipod and holds it while it broadcasts on FM. In NYC it can be a little tough to maintain a good signal, but once you're out of the city (2 to 3 miles out) it's easy to find a clear channel to use all the time without switching.

The ipod is really the only game in town for a MP3 player, and it's only going to get better. Check out the others if you want, but between the accessories available for it and it's ease of use, buying another MP3 player would be like buying some weird variant of an AR15 made in Chechnya for $1000 when you could get the real thing for less.

BTW - you DONT have to have your ipod in white, just get whatever cover you want from www.macskinz.com/ - they're cheap and well made.

Unfortunately no direct access to the file system like you would have in, say, one of the iRiver products.  That was something I wanted as well, but I've found Rio's Music Manager is adequate for handling the transfers, and you can even use a java version to hit the Karma from a Linux box.  There is also a pretty killer app from Red Chair Software that integrates with the OS.  

What decided it for me was the sound quality of the Karma versus every other player I'd heard.   I have been a critical music listener for years, and the Karma certainly had it over the iPod and slightly over the iHP-120 from iRiver.  YMMV.  The Karma is smaller, has a more versatile EQ, comes with very good earbud phones and a dock with line-level outputs, and has a nicer interface.  I liked the direct access and the remote of the iRiver a lot though.  Get both?

There is good info available (with pros and cons, because people tend to gripe more than praise) at the two main hardware sites: Riovolution and RioWorld.
 
I've been very, very pleased with my setup.  

Alpine

Quoted: Hey Alpine, Do you have direct access to the file system on the Karma?  I like everything else about it... -Troy