need help mp3 cd audio

Deepsingh said:

I need a mp3 cd player for dad's birthday. it must play mp3 cds. i have been looking at bose wave music system
http://www.google.com/products/cata...T_n8BqejiQLqv6nlDQ&ved=0CG4Q8wIwBg#ps-sellers

if you have any better suggestions please let me know. i need the best sound. budget is $500

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Why not just get an iPod and some real speakers. Would certainly fit in your budget.

OK if you MUST play optical CD discs. Sony still makes the "discman" portable player and almost any DVD player will also play CD MP3 disc as well as DVD MP3 discs. You can get something for $100 or less that will work. Then buy some self powered monitor speakers.

The words "mp3", "Bose" and "quality sound" should never be used together. You will not find many people recommending either the MP3 format or Bose audio gear here.

Deepsingh said:

whats so bad about bose audio quality? i don't understand.

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They depend on a trick. It's based on the science of human hearing. Really it is related to the way that MP3 works. It turns out you can remove a lot of information from sound and we humans don't seem to miss it. Bose typically gives you bright highs and the overtones for bass that is missing and much reduced mid range. It sounds snappy and clean. Until you become critical


There really are not short cuts. With speakers larger is generally better

As for the CD player. It will not be the weak link. Even a cheap one will be better than a $500 pair of speakers. At $500 budget, speakers will be the weak link.


In photography I tell people who want to judge which photo is sharper to look for objective questions you can ask, like "can you see the buttons in the shirt in each? How about the thread that holds the buttons? Can you see fibers in the threads? Eventually in one of the two photos you will have to say "no". If you just look and guess there are things that can fool you. Like making the background blurry can make the subject look sharp. The same with music. Bose (and MP3) would fail the objective test but sound good by use of trick akin to the out of focus background that a photographer might use.

And WHY use MP3 CDs in 2012? If you don't like iPods, find a music player that plays SD cards. You can buy 16GB SC cards but a CD holds only about 700MB (or 0.7 GB) at the most.

Bose is a piss poor price/performance ratio. You can do much better at 500.

Deepsingh said:

what about tivoli music system.

http://www.tivoliaudio.com/the-music-system.html

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At $999 it's another overpriced under performing music player. Since it's flash you want consider a B&W Zeppelin & iPod classic.

You'd do yourself a favor if you stop looking for all-in-ones or package deals.