How bad do your mp3s sound when doing gapless playback in MC? I don't think the iPod is any worse.
The iPod is actually MUCH worse in the relative sense. The gaps in MC are only a small fraction of what they are on the iPod.
I think the problem many people have is that the iPod has difficulty even with "gapless" formats like WAVE.
This is true. The iPod does not play ANY formats gapless -- not even the formats that are truly gapless on a computer.
If so, how much of a gap is there, and how disruptive is it?
This is totally dependant on the music. On regular single-song pop music you'll never notice it's there. On albums from bands like Genesis or Pink Floyd, however, I find the gaps EXTREMELY disruptive. The flow between songs on ablums like The Wall is destroyed. The transition between certain songs is incredibly jarring to me even with a small gap. This was a big disappointment when I got an iPod.
As far as how "long" the gap is, I'd have a hard time estimating. It's definitely less than a second, but when you suddenely stop a continuous beat for even a half or quarter second, it destroys the rhythm -- especially if the transition occurs during a loud section of music.
All that said, the iPod is a nice unit for other reasons -- what it does do, it does quite well. Knowing what I know now, however, I'll definitely look into other players when I get another portable player. I'd have to make sure that it still worked with MC, and I'm not sure such a unit actually exists at this time -- i.e. a unit that supports gapless playback (like a Rio Karma) that is also fully supported by MC.
Larry
Author
Topic: Gapless iPod? (Read 2215 times)