Desperate for MP3 help

looby383x · 26/12/05 - 14:59

Hello - I hope someone can help me. I must be a bit of a thickie, but I can't get my MP3 player to play my music properly. I know my player is a cheap one, but I can't hear the music properly.

I used Windows Media Player to take music from my CDs to my MP3 player in WMA format, but when I play the tracks on the MP3 player, the instrumental bit is OK, but I can either not hear the vocal or it is distorted.

I tried using some ripper software (I don't really know what that is, but it seemed to be a way I could get the tracks in an MP3 format rather than WMA) to copy from the CD to the MP3 directly, but still the same result - a distortion of the vocal, but not of the music.

I am ready to be totally embarrassed when someone tells me that I've done something very stupid, but I have no idea how MP3s work, or what extra thing I should be doing to ensure that the file on my MP3 is listenable to. I have totally filled the MP3 with tracks (it's just a 256) - would that make a difference ?

Sorry for being so thick about technology & MP3s

emsquare · 27/12/05 - 19:30

I presume that your MP3 player plays WMA files (not all of them do). Any idea what programme you are using to rip your mp3's. Maybe you're ripping to MP3 at too low a bitrate (any MP3 ripper will allow conversion to various MP3 bitrates ranging from 32k up to 360k or higher). The lower the bitrate, the smaller the size of the file created. A good quality bitrate will be 128k or above (eg: 192, 256). maybe that's why it sounds "distorted"as a low bitrate can sound quite "crunchy" or "distorted" to some ears..I use i-Tunes &s et preferences to rip to MP3's. Have you tried i-Tunes? , it's a free download for PC & Mac.

[Deleted User] · 27/12/05 - 20:59

There's also a handy little program called Cheetah Audio Converter which will convert wma's to mp3's very easily.

You should be able to get a free download by searching in google.

St@mmie · 27/12/05 - 23:50

emread is right, a low bitrate will distort the louder sections of your music, I'd disagree at 128k being a quality bitrate though,
personally I wouldn't use anything lower than 192.
Also have you tried changing any audio settings on your player like bassboost, eq etc,
there's also the possibility that your player is faulty, do you know anyone who can give you a known good mp3 you can try on it?

[Deleted User] · 28/12/05 - 01:15

128kbps mp3 shouldn't result in really awful audio, although it's noticeably worse than 192kbps and CD quality. I wonder if there's a fault with either the headphones or the headphone socket, you could be getting the result of the left and right channels phasing each other out. Try another pair of headphones.

[Deleted User] · 28/12/05 - 09:58

If you get an MP3 encoder/decoder for your computer you can rip straight to mp3 from media player. Just install a codec pack like k-light or ace mega pack. Then go to media player option and go to the ripping tab (i think) and change the format to MP3.

looby383x · 28/12/05 - 14:02

Thanks for your replies. I'm just downloading iTunes, so I'll give that a go.

I must admit, I did think it was an earphone fault, but I've tried other earphones and the same problem occurs. I've been a little bit scared of taking it back to the shop in case I made a fool of myself - but if nothing improves when I use itunes, I think I'll take it back - if I get the same problem with a new one - I'll definitely know it's me that has the problem !

Thanks again

alanwarwic · 28/12/05 - 17:19

Downloading Itunes is like swallowing a fly.
Change to mp3 format in Windows Media player.
You probably get better mp3 player battery life that way anyway.

looby383x · 28/12/05 - 19:08

I downloaded iTunes, and converted to MP3 at top quality, but it made mo difference. I think it must be a faulty player, so I am taking it back tomorrow.

Thanks for your help - you've given me the confidence to take it back and not be embarrassed about it.

dslrocks · 28/12/05 - 22:09

Arthur Dent wrote:

There's also a handy little program called Cheetah Audio Converter which will convert wma's to mp3's very easily.

You should be able to get a free download by searching in google.

Converting from WMA to MP3 will make it sound worse than it already is, as WMAs and MP3s are lossy compression technologies.

For best results, you should re rip directly from the CD to your chosen format.

And you should never burn compressed audio files [such as MP3s and downloads from legal download sires] to CD and then re-rip to an MP3. Not only do you waste a CD, the quality will be even worse than you started off with. Burning to CD does not and will not make the audio sound better.

The old adage crap in, crap out applies here.

looby383x · 29/12/05 - 11:50

Thankyou everyone for your replies. I took it back to the shop - who were happy to replace it. As soon as I got it home & put in the earphones, I knew it must have been an earphone socket problem, because with the faulty one it was loose (which I didn't realise until I got the new one, when now I can hardly get the earphones out they are so tightly fitted in)

Sorry for wasting your time, but I'm grateful for your suggestions, and you've taught me some useful things about MP3s for future reference - and I'm enjoying using iTunes - so thanks for that recommendation

Hey there!

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