Tech questions (music)

[Triple]

I decided to finally step into 2003 and buy a portable MP3 player. Probably going with the SanDisk® Sansa®, pretty much because a friend recommended it and I don't know enough about these things to look elsewhere.

Questions:

Is it possible to download songs hosted on sites like Myspace (or other sites where there is no obvious "download" option)? There is some music I can't find anywhere but an old Myspace playlist.

When ripping songs from CD's onto my computer, is it possible for me to edit the track? For example, there are a few hidden tracks I want to rip, but they are in fact just extensions of existing tracks. The last song on the CD will play, followed by three minutes of silence, followed by the hidden song. Can I cut the first song and the dead air off the track?

[pauldun170]

Originally Posted by Triple

I decided to finally step into 2003 and buy a portable MP3 player. Probably going with the SanDisk® Sansa®, pretty much because a friend recommended it and I don't know enough about these things to look elsewhere.

Questions:

Is it possible to download songs hosted on sites like Myspace (or other sites where there is no obvious "download" option)? There is some music I can't find anywhere but an old Myspace playlist.

When ripping songs from CD's onto my computer, is it possible for me to edit the track? For example, there are a few hidden tracks I want to rip, but they are in fact just extensions of existing tracks. The last song on the CD will play, followed by three minutes of silence, followed by the hidden song. Can I cut the first song and the dead air off the track?

Sansa - Menu selection sucks but since you're new to it all, its not a big deal for you. My old Sansa 8gb has lasted me awhile and i still keep it as a back up in my bag (incase my iTouch battery dies)

There is an add-on for firefox that allows you to rip those files off Myspace\Youtube\interwebz. the name escapes me but its probably one of the more popular addons if you browse around on mozilla.org.
I keep an old XP box with an audigy2 sound card in it to use the "Record what you hear option" when all else fails.

Audacity should be able to do whatever you want (manipulate music) (Free and awesome)

[EpyonXero]

Originally Posted by pauldun170

Sansa - Menu selection sucks but since you're new to it all, its not a big deal for you. My old Sansa 8gb has lasted me awhile and i still keep it as a back up in my bag (incase my iTouch battery dies)

I also have a Sansa Fuze which I bought when I briefly lost my iPod Touch a few years ago and I havent used it since. The menu system and the way it orders playlists is really anoying on the Sansa but it does play mp3s and its cheap which is fine if thats all you need.

If youre going to keep your entire audio library on one of these devices (like i do) the interface is going to be invaluable anbd its worth paying more for something that really works. Ive been frustrated a lot with the way the Sansa would re-order my playlists making it almost impossible to listen to some audiobooks.

[pauldun170]

Originally Posted by EpyonXero

I also have a Sansa Fuze which I bought when I briefly lost my iPod Touch a few years ago and I havent used it since. The menu system and the way it orders playlists is really anoying on the Sansa but it does play mp3s and its cheap which is fine if thats all you need.

If youre going to keep your entire audio library on one of these devices (like i do) the interface is going to be invaluable anbd its worth paying more for something that really works. Ive been frustrated a lot with the way the Sansa would re-order my playlists making it almost impossible to listen to some audiobooks.

I didn't even bother with playlist on my Sansa. The huge benefit to the sansa over my iTouch is drag and drop\multiple formats. Much quicker to load stuff on it and the battery life rocked.

Not really a big fan of interface (for music) on my itouch but it gets the job done. So far my best experience has been with Creative products, but it has been awhile since I had one.

[EpyonXero]

Originally Posted by pauldun170

I didn't even bother with playlist on my Sansa. The huge benefit to the sansa over my iTouch is drag and drop\multiple formats. Much quicker to load stuff on it and the battery life rocked.

Not really a big fan of interface (for music) on my itouch but it gets the job done. So far my best experience has been with Creative products, but it has been awhile since I had one.

For music, drag and drop works great but when you have an audio book or a backlog of podcasts you need to be able to control the play order.

[Triple]

Originally Posted by pauldun170

Sansa - Menu selection sucks but since you're new to it all, its not a big deal for you. My old Sansa 8gb has lasted me awhile and i still keep it as a back up in my bag (incase my iTouch battery dies)

There is an add-on for firefox that allows you to rip those files off Myspace\Youtube\interwebz. the name escapes me but its probably one of the more popular addons if you browse around on mozilla.org.
I keep an old XP box with an audigy2 sound card in it to use the "Record what you hear option" when all else fails.

Audacity should be able to do whatever you want (manipulate music) (Free and awesome)

Ended up with one of these:

Philips GoGear SA2VBE08K/17 Flash Portable Media Player 8GB

Easy to use for a novice like me; only complaint is that the connector for the ear buds fits very loosely into the player. Any slight movement interrupts or completely disconnects the sound. Not a big deal if you're just sitting at a desk, but if you're walking/running/exercising, forget about it.

I also need to find a cord that lets me run the player through my car stereo. It didn't come with one.

About ripping files from Myspace, Youtube, etc: there are lots of different programs and hacks to be found via Google, but the easiest method I discovered was just using the Stereo Mix function in Audacity. Not that I want to do this often; sound quality of music on Myspace playlists sucks. In fact, I'll keep my online downloads in general to an absolute minimum. Just judging by ear, music ripped from even a burned CD is superior to what I've downloaded from online sources.

Something I can't figure out: the songs I've ripped from Myspace and saved as MP3's play fine from my PC, but will not transfer to my media player.

[Triple]

Originally Posted by Triple

Ended up with one of these:

Philips GoGear SA2VBE08K/17 Flash Portable Media Player 8GB

And ended up returning it. Couldn't keep the ear buds connected to the device. *useless*

Looking into one of these:

Microsoft Zune 30 GB Digital Media Player - $76.49

Is there a way to run an MP3 player through a car stereo directly, without having to play it through an FM radio station? The "car kits" I keep finding for these things all play through the radio. This requires you to change stations if you're traveling long distance, and your sound quality will alway be in a state of coming and going. I want it to play consistently, as if I were playing a CD.

[EpyonXero]

Originally Posted by Triple

And ended up returning it. Couldn't keep the ear buds connected to the device. *useless*

Looking into one of these:

Microsoft Zune 30 GB Digital Media Player - $76.49

Is there a way to run an MP3 player through a car stereo directly, without having to play it through an FM radio station? The "car kits" I keep finding for these things all play through the radio. This requires you to change stations if you're traveling long distance, and your sound quality will alway be in a state of coming and going. I want it to play consistently, as if I were playing a CD.

The radio transmitters suck. The only way to play directly through your stereo is if your head unit has some kind of auxillary input. New head units have them on the fron and some have them on the rear where you have to remoe the unit to access it. Also, if you have a cassette player you can get an adapter that plays through the cassette player.

[sherri_chickie]

I have my own question.. how the hell do I get my music from itunes onto my iphone from my PC? I can\t seem to get it to synch music.. wtf? ( would synch from my work mac, but I dont have that this year on maternity leave)

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by sherri_chickie

I have my own question.. how the hell do I get my music from itunes onto my iphone from my PC? I can\t seem to get it to synch music.. wtf? ( would synch from my work mac, but I dont have that this year on maternity leave)

It should detect it just like any other iPod device...