[Sloper]

It may be time to join the digital revolution and get an MP3 player.  The thing is I don't want to pay for downloading things I already own, so how do I go ablout transfering CD to MP3?

Oh and what's a good cheap MP3 player to take to the gym?

Cheers

[lagerstarfish]

how do I go ablout transfering CD to MP3?

Shit, is Google down again?

 

Arsumeing you've got windaz, just pop the CD in the thin cup holder tray thing that pops out of your 'puter that has "CD" and maybe "DVD" written on it (and push the tray back in) and the option to do this should come up on your screen - your puter might refer to the process as "rip".

[Johnny Brown]

I use CDex. Its free.

Price is mainly based on storage, but check out the sound quality, especially if you intend playing through speakers rather than just headphones. The generic cheap devices are unlikely to contain a decent pre-amp (for want of a better term). I've got a Sony, which I bought over an Ipod because it has a radio, was cheaper per gb, and doesn't require Itunes.

[Jim]

I normally follow this
there are loads of free rippers out there, use google, try a few and go with what you think is best.
A couple of points.
when you convert to mp3, you lose some quality (only slightly, probably wont notice depending on the bitrate)
it use to be popular to rip stuff at 128Kbps which is of lowish quality.
you can rip mp3's up to 320Kbps which is as high as MP3 goes although you do lose some data the quality is very good however the file sizes are quite big.
It generally considered that the best way to rip to MP3 is to use the Lame codec which decides for you which bits need ripping at a certain bitrate so you get the maximum sound quality for the minimum file space.
There are other ways to rip music that are loseless (eg .FLAC) but these are not always supported by your MP3 player.

with regards to buying an MP3 player, the popular ones are iPods, I personally don't like them but they do a very small ipod jog thing that is tiny.
there are a lot of small ones out there for not much money however its worth trying some out for things like compatability, ease of use (ie the buttons might be to small for your fingers etc), size - for going to the gym a 2-4gig one will be fine, for more general use a 8gig+ one would be better.
most modern mobile phones have a built in mp3 player and either a largish internal memory or a memory card slot which is what I use for my mp3 player

[SA Chris]

If it's all a bit much for you, most MP3 players will come with a CD that has a converter etc on it. I have a Zen which I really like small and bulky, rather than the thin and flat that iPod go for, still plays after being dropped countless times, and battery is still good after daily use for 2.5 years now.

[nai]

For using in gym/running/etc you want a solid state device rather than one with a hard disk.

An Ipod nano would be an obvious contender but probably doesn't meet the cheap part of the criteria.

This'll tell you all you need to know:

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/buyersguide/portable-mp3-player/

[dave]

just rip (i.e. high speed dubbing) all your sugar hill gang CDs to memorex 90s and roll down the gym with one of these badboys:

[Plattsy]

If, like me, you dread the thought of owning an iWannaBeLikeEveryoneElseCosItsApparentlyCoolToBeLikeEveryoneElsePOD then I'd suggest one of these.

Sansa Sandisk e200 series
Review

Had mine for a couple of years and had no problems with it at all (apart from breaking the screen but thats cos I sat on it and it hasn't effected performance), cheaper and more functions than an iPod.

[SA Chris]

just rip (i.e. high speed dubbing) all your sugar hill gang CDs to memorex 90s and roll down the gym with one of these badboys:

or you can get 3 in none - gym bag that looks like boombox and plays MP3s

[Jaspersharpe]

Get with the programme:

[galpinos]

If you're wanting tunes whilst bouldering the only option is:



(How I lusted after this yellow beauty in my youth)

[dave]

as long as its got auto-stop you're laughing.

[Houdini]

I use LAME / dB Converter, I also use Foobar. You can use windows media player too, though I never use it, it's a dinosaur.

If it's just for an mp3 player to use down the gym then rip at 256 kbps or 192 if you're short of space.  (I'm an audio nazi and only keep lossless files or 320 kbps which makes all the difference if you have poor monitors, less so on higher-end and negligible on reference audiophile systems).

Spending a few bob on decent inner ear phones is also recommended, usually the ones that come w/ the players are dreadful, for example, apple 'phones are dire; they make nothing ergonomic.

[Sloper]

Thanks for the advice, I bought a Phillips MP3 4Gig for £30 and to celebrate moving into the 21st century I bought a copy of The Dark Side of the Moon