help quick!Sound Quality with USB question
help quick!Sound Quality with USB question I am buying a CD player and really wanting one with a USB in the front so I can load mp3's on a thumbdrive and play music without having to mess with CD's.
I have the Pioneer DEH2200UB picked out since its $109 at crutchfield with all the installation gear. I have had multiple pioneer HU's and never had one single problem with them. My main question is= Is there a difference in sound quality between burnt CD's and just playing music from the thumbdrive?
I have the Pioneer DEH2200UB picked out since its $109 at crutchfield with all the installation gear. I have had multiple pioneer HU's and never had one single problem with them. My main question is= Is there a difference in sound quality between burnt CD's and just playing music from the thumbdrive?
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From: Eastern MA
Depends on the quality of the files on the thumb drive. A 128 bitrate mp3 won't sound as good as a CD whereas as 384 bitrate mp3 will. There are a few others in between too where you probably won't notice any difference (192, 256). Also there are other audio formats like Ogg Vorbis, AAC, FLAC.... etc. Which can offer better sound quality.
So, its really difficult to answer your question accuratly other than to say that it all depends on the quality of the files on your thumb drive.
If you are really that concerned about sound quality, you'll probably want to use a loss-less audio compression format with a high quality setting.
For me, I'm not that concerned and I just stick with mp3 (128 or 192 to save space, but 256 or 384 for better sound quality... i usually go for 192).
So, its really difficult to answer your question accuratly other than to say that it all depends on the quality of the files on your thumb drive.
If you are really that concerned about sound quality, you'll probably want to use a loss-less audio compression format with a high quality setting.
For me, I'm not that concerned and I just stick with mp3 (128 or 192 to save space, but 256 or 384 for better sound quality... i usually go for 192).
128 doesnt sound too great, 192 is a drastic improvement. If you download, try getting files that are -V0, which are mid 200's - to me (im deaf in my left ear), they sound like CD quality.
I want to add, that ogg and flac are great, but a lot of mp3 players will not play them (where like all mp3 players should play a mid 200 bitrate file)
if you're ripping cd's, and want cd quality, you can archive in FLAC, and then trans code to whatever bitrate mp3 you want for your thumbdrive.
if you're ripping cd's, and want cd quality, you can archive in FLAC, and then trans code to whatever bitrate mp3 you want for your thumbdrive.
so basically with a decent bitrate the usb is definetly worth having. its $40 cheaper w/o the usb, but the usb just seems like it will be so much handier. more songs, ease of switching music w/o having to make a new cd. im gonna pull the trigger on it. thanks for the help guys
Last edited by LS1WS6dreamer; Sep 8, 2010 at 10:57 PM.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,321
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
VIP1... I think you meant 320Kbps rather than 384. The MP3 standard doesn't include any bitrates higher than 320Kbps - although there are some encoders that can create higher rates, there aren't many (if any) players that will play them.
In a car, 192Kbps encoding will be transparent - you will not be able to distinguish it from the original source. If you want even better quality with similar compression, using VBR V2 (variable bit rate) encoding in your MP3 will give you up to 210Kbps without increasing file size.
In a car, 192Kbps encoding will be transparent - you will not be able to distinguish it from the original source. If you want even better quality with similar compression, using VBR V2 (variable bit rate) encoding in your MP3 will give you up to 210Kbps without increasing file size.
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Yeah the extra cost will far outweigh the ease of use and not messing with cd's anymore. I can't count how many times I made a cd and forgot one song or heard a new song I wanted the next day. With new speakers and the CD player and my sub and amp compared to the complete **** setup I have right now(no cd player, speaker quality godawful/crackling muffled etc.. I am just gonna be beyond enjoying my car. I will post some pics and stuff when I get it all put together. I am on a budget so hopefully nobody laughs at my ****. lol
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Verdad Gallardo Copy & Paste Moderator
Joined: Apr 2002
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From: Eastern MA
Originally Posted by WhiteBird00
VIP1... I think you meant 320Kbps rather than 384. The MP3 standard doesn't include any bitrates higher than 320Kbps - although there are some encoders that can create higher rates, there aren't many (if any) players that will play them.
Originally Posted by WhiteBird00
In a car, 192Kbps encoding will be transparent - you will not be able to distinguish it from the original source. If you want even better quality with similar compression, using VBR V2 (variable bit rate) encoding in your MP3 will give you up to 210Kbps without increasing file size.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,321
Likes: 341
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Yup. It's odd how my $50 Sansa MP3 player can handle VBR without any problems yet my $1000 Kenwood in the car sometimes chokes on them. But it's a couple of years old (a lifetime in electronics) so I was thinking maybe newer decks would handle it better.
the down side is the hu i have doesnt play wave only mp3 from the usb
