tmann

Hi all. I am new to this digital music thing and am thinking of getting a hard disk player. I think I have it down to the Dell DJ or the Rio Karma. Ipod's battery life immediately eliminates it for me. Seems like the Rio's advantage is gapless playback, and all the codec it supports (including OGG and FLAC), but it seems less reliable (hard disk failures - fix? smack it!!) based on what I have read.

Does Dell have gapless playback, or if not, does anyone know/hunch that it will in the future? (Means if there is no gap between songs on the CD (like Dark Side of the Moon), there won't be one when played on the DJ). If it is gapless, is there a click sound in-between songs? (I could probably live with that if there is no gap where there shouldn't be.) What rippers/codecs are you using?

I know the DJ did not originally support gapless playback but I have heard that this may have been fixed through a firmware update.

I know some people who recommend the Karma based solely on this feature. It does seem annoying that a $2-300 player would not be able to play an album without sticking gaps in-between songs where there aren't any on the CD.

Any other opinions comparing these two players, plusses and minuses? It seems like all anyone talks about is the ipod, but why would anyone pay so much for such short battery life?

Thanks for any help!

Money4me247

i'm pretty sure that the DJ plays the songs gaplessly. i just tested it out to make sure and there was no delay. I didn't hear a clicking sound, but that might depend on your personal DJ (whether it gets banged up)

The reason people would pay for short a short battery life is:
-supposed to be stylish (a symbol of class/elite)
-very reliable (doesn't break down) (can can more abuse than DJ)
-has better sound quality
-has all these extra features (clock, game, calander, contact book)
-well-known (popular)
-nice user interface/control system (cool wheel) but I like the DJ control's better
-no one really listens to music 16 hours straight (main benefit of DJ)
-most likely you will be able to charge the iPod before your battery runs out
-only problems are price tag and battery life

I'm not for the iPod or against the DJ but these are the facts... i think

You should get a DJ is you don't like parting with exorbitant amounts of $$, need long battery life, or want voice recording for no extra $$.

Oh, and you'll feel safe knowing that since the Dell DJ is well known for blowing up, you can neigoiate a replacement for your DJ, saying that it was defective, when you break it or it just dies.

Yep and everyone wants to talk about the iPod!!!

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tmann

What ripper and codec was used on the tested album? Which album was it?

Thanks.

TheBigNewt

I just downloaded Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"(mp3 128 vbr using Allofmp3) and transferred it using Dudebox to the DJ. No gaps between tracks. Sounds like it should.

mentarman

Think I answered in your thread over on Dell's forum, but anyway, I downloaded DSotM with Exact Audio Copy, encoded to mp3 with LAME and transfered to DJ with DJ Explorer. No gaps.

As an aside, to comment on the above post about iPods, I'd just like to note that they break down plenty too. Check out ipodlounge and you'll see horror stories as well. They may be more reliable than the DJ, I don't know. But it's not like they never break down.

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tmann

Thanks gents.

Is there a faint clicking noise between the tracks, or does it play exactly like the CD? I'm not sure if this would matter to me, but I want to get all the facts before making a purchase decision (vs. the Karma).

chazas

The Dell doesn't add any gaps. So it plays what was ripped. The closer that is to gapless, the better it will play. I have several mix-type CDs, and some of the transitions play seamlessly, some have an almost imperceptible short gap. None of them are bothersome.

My understanding is that some players, like iPod, actually add gaps between tracks during playback. I could be wrong about this, though.

The issue is that MP3 is not a gapless format. Something about the way the tracks are coded means that it will never be completely seamless. My understanding is that the Rio Karma actually looks for minute gaps between the tracks on playback and eliminates them on playback, so it is a bit more gapless than the DJ.

Money4me247

Well, as far as I'm concerned, my DJ broke after about 3 days of use. And my friend's DJ broke after a month. So, far I don't personally know anyone who has a iPod which broke. I know at least seven people with iPods. The good thing was that my friend and I both got brand-new replacements after four days. Besides the four days of DJ-less existance, I am really happy with the Dell and the DJ... I mean a brand-new replacement, no questions asked. (but that might be because I only had it for 3 days)

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Rev. Nathan

You know, now that I think about it, listening to some of my MP3 rips today, I noticed that the downtime 'till the following track was indeed not present. But I noticed when it's in my pocket and I'm walking, there can be a delay... Hmm...

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tmann

Right. If the DJ doesn't remove the gaps caused by ripping (like the Karma), how does it play albums (that should be gapless) gaplessly?


I shouldn't have mentioned the ipod because I didn't want this thread to turn into Dell vs. Apple, but the long gaps with the ipod, plus the short battery life immediately eliminates it for me (not to mention the price). The trendiness factor doesn't add anything at all with me, and probably is actually another negative factor. I would rather pay for features than advertising.

deckard

In my experience the DJ is has effectively gapless playback. There may in reality be some submillisecond pause between tracks but it is not perceptible to my ears. The bottom line is you should have no trouble at all listening to your continuous mix CD's after ripping them track by track instead of all 1 big rip.

Oh, I rip with EAC and encode with LAME, latest versions of each.

MusicMan

Ability to to store and display text notes, calendar, clock, alarms, games, audible.com compatible, holds contact details.....

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Money4me247

yea, the dell dj doesn't add gaps between tracks. The tracks flow pretty smoothly. If there is a gap, I can't hear it.

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deckard

Many such features cost battery life unfortunately. I'm pretty pleased with the raw functionality of the DJ. Granted it has few bells and whistles but does its core function very, very well for a good bit less cash than the competition.