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More Info on the MegaSound VRCD300-USB
I haven't spent any more time trying to get the USB reader to work better. In the past, I've tried USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 keys and card readers, all with the same results: the playback will hit a point where it will just skip to the next audio file. Since playing off the USB key also doesn't provide the fast forward function like playing MP3s off of CD, I've basically decided it's not very useful. Maybe the MegaSound guys can change my mind with a good support response when I get around to mailing them.
So, I decided to go down the route of using MP3 CDs. My first attempt was with a CD-R. That actually worked just fine. Of course, with a CD-R, it's basically a one-time use thing, especially if you throw on podcasts or something as opposed to some music you'll listen to a bunch.
So, next, I tried an old CD-RW, not knowing if it would even be able to read CD-RWs. The disc burned fine, but when put into the VRCD300-USB it completely flopped. The playback was all skipping, but not like from the USB key -- just normal audio skipping. That was a bit of a let down.
However, I decided it was probably just the disc -- and this was confirmed when I tried to read it in another MP3 CD player with no luck. So, after some searching at the local Fry's, I finally found some new Ultra Speed CD-RWs to try out. Just about every CD-RW for sale at Fry's was either that old style that only burn at 1-4x or the High Speed one's that only burn at 12x. I finally found some Memorex ones, though, that would burn at the full 24x of "new" CD-RW drives (which have been around for years). These were the only ones I could find there, and weren't cheap. But a 5 pack was only around 6 bucks, so I grabbed them -- I really only needed one or two.
In any case, I burned both an audio CD straight from iTunes (an m4a, so I didn't have to bother transcoding it) and a few MP3 files. Both of these discs worked fine. The only problem I have had so far is with one of the data discs I burned I have to keep pressing the button to switch from radio to CD a few times before it detects the disc, but then it works fine. Another data one I burned doesn't have this problem and neither does the audio disc I burned.
There has been no skipping of any sort. The only playback issue I've noticed is that sometimes the volume seems to fade and then come back. I'm not sure if that's the audio in the podcasts (it has happened in Adam Curry's DSC, so probably not) or if it's the MP3 playback, or something in the amplifier circuitry. It hasn't really been a big deal, but I find myself turning up the volume overtime, and then having to suddenly turn it down when things get loud again.
In any case, I'm pleased that there are no problems reading from CD-RWs. I haven't bothered to transcode any of the MP3 files, so the VRCD300-USB seems to be able to play any sort of MP3, variable bit rate or not. None of my files have been super high bitrates, though (nothing above 128 kbps).
I still haven't tried the audio input. That would answer some of the questions about the volume fading. I have to finish making a wire to use my Audiovox CDM-8940 as the input, since it can play MP3s from it's miniSD card, which is currently 256 MB -- enough for quite a lot of podcasts and music.
I have run across another problem with the VRCD300-USB, unfortunately. The FM radio part has some issues. Actually, only the tuner portion has issues. The memory, the controls, and the functionality are all fine, as is the volume.
However, the selectivity and nearby channel rejection are absolutely terribly. With the stock radio in the Jeep and the two radios that have been in the Miata, I have been able to have two NPR channels -- one for the Santa Cruz side (KAZU 90.3) and one for the Los Gatos side (KQED 88.5) and they have come in crystal clear in their respective areas. With the VRCD300-USB, however, neither channel comes in well at all. There is a ton of static as well as overlapping audio from other stations. In some areas of the my commute the problem is so bad that I lose these stations completely to static or other stations that are much, much weaker (and thus high static).
None of the radio features seem to affect this problem, either. It has a "Local station" button that I think tells it to not stop a scan on weak stations, but I'm not completely sure. It appears to do nothing when a station is already set.
Well, at least NPR now has an official (albeit beta) line-up of podcasts. I can grab one of the 5 minute news ones and queue it up before a 30-35 minute podcast for my commute, getting both the news I have been missing, a podcast I want to listen to, and static free, interruption free audio throughout my entire commute. And that's worth the 99 bucks this unit cost.
Shane Conder's Whateveritis of Nothing: MegaSound VRCD300-USB Review
Shane Conder's Whateveritis of Nothing: MegaSound VRCD300-USB Follow-Up
Posted by Shane on September 9, 2005 8:35 AM | Permalink
TrackBacks
» MegaSound VRCD300-USB Update -- Again from Shane Conder's Whateveritis of Nothing
A couple of updates, this time. First, because my commute is only about 35-40 minutes long I have been normally only burning Audio CDs (to the Ultra Speed CD-RWs, so it's a fast burn). This means I can burn directly... [Read More]
http://www.kf6nvr.net/mt/kf6nvr-tb.cgi/563
