When I first saw the Sony Reader, I thought the mp3 feature was going to be one of the most important features for me. Reading with background music sounded great to me.

Now, I've noticed that I haven't even tried music on it yet, because I just like to grab it and read. My focus is on the reading, and I get so comfortable with it that it usually doesn't even occur to me to plug in some headphones!

I still like having the music option there, but I'm curious to know whether anyone else finds that they don't use the music features.

I can't listen to music and read at the same time. I find I lose focus on one or the other which invariably means I end up reading the same paragraph 5 or 6 times before I actually take in what I've read. The music was never an issue for me.

I can't listen to music and read at the same time. I find I lose focus on one or the other which invariably means I end up reading the same paragraph 5 or 6 times before I actually take in what I've read. The music was never an issue for me.
I can do it if music = classical and if volume = very low.

I like to listen to music while I read (classical, new age sometimes smooth jazz) but find that my Ipod nano is so darn light (sits in my pocket), I use it for music while reading with the Reader. Figure it saves Reader battery power too.

I'm not a music person myself -- I like music, I just don't seek it out that much, particularly when reading or working, etc. My mind insists on following all the sounds around me, so music is more often a disctraction than a boon (if I were in grade-school now they'd probably have me on ritilin :( ).

Anyway, I haven't listened to any music on my Reader yet, but I may at some point. It's nice to have the option, even if it is mostly bragware for me, personally. :beam:

Loving the Reader but I'll admit I haven't even tried the mp3 feature yet, I'm just a readaholic!

I use my 60gb ipod video if i want music or a movie ;) Save that battery life for page turns!

I wouldn't want to listen to anything while I read....

I'm still waiting on my pre-order...

Does the Sony software include any podcatching features?
I'd like to have some updated podcasts on my reader...

Anyone?

Thanks!
Valky

Valkyrie Sound
www.vsoundinc.com
National Public Radio
www.npr.org

It'll play unsecured ACC files (do I have that extension right?), so you should be able to play unsecured podcasts.

I've ripped a couple CDs each as one big MP3 and find that this works well on the reader. Jazz, instrumental guitar, classical, etc. I'm wondering how to get the album art on there, though. Is it just in the ID3 tag?

Does the Sony software include any podcatching features?
I'd like to have some updated podcasts on my reader...I don't think Sony supplies anything with the Reader, but you can certainly use a program like iPodder to automatically collect the podcasts into a directory, and then drag them over to the Reader yourself.

I don't think Sony supplies anything with the Reader, but you can certainly use a program like iPodder to automatically collect the podcasts into a directory, and then drag them over to the Reader yourself.

Cool... but I was hoping that it would have something built-in since it can get RSS newsfeeds. I hate remembering to update stuff each time I connect.

Maybe an add for our "wanted features" list? :)

Valky

Some coworkers were playing with my Reader the other day and started up some audio files. Now I have things paused in the "Now Playing" queue. Is there any way to dequeue the files under "Now Playing?" I'm kind of peeved because I didn't realize that there was music playing for about a day and a half before I realized it (and only then because my battery went to 3 bars lol).

I'd like to pull those out of the "Now Playing" list so I don't accidentally start them back up again (I guess they're paused right now).

Deleting the files from the Reader should do it. :)

You probalby don't need to worry about it, though, the only way to start them up again is to go back to the music player and start them. :shrug:

Bob and I discussed the Pause rather than Stop as being a bit odd too, but then they've only got the one button to work with, and I wouldn't want to have to start from the beginning of a sound file every time (especially if it's an audio book). :smile:

I might just delete those, hahaha :) I've got an ipod if I want music. Although the audiobook on Reader is possibly an attractive feature -- it'd be nice if you could "Mark" spots in the audiobook like you can on a regular book. So you could have bookmarks for what you've listened to.

I'm still hoping (dreaming) that they'll get Audible (http://www.audible.com) to play in the Reader sandbox. Wouldn't that rock?

It's AAC files, made popular recently as the default format for iTunes. Speaking of iTunes, like many applications it stores it's album art outside the music files. You can store album art in MP3s, but it is slower to extract it from the music file itself so some apps (like iTunes) maintain a seperate database for the album art.

It's AAC files....Assuming you mean that the Audible files are AAC format:

The Reader will already play AAC files, but the Audible software adds some nice touches. Not the least of which is unlocking Audible's stinkin' DRM. :beam:

I miss Audible! It was great having that bookmark feature. My 5th gen iPod can't even do that (very well) -- I'm forever forgetting where I left off on an audiobook.

I listen to 'em on my Palm, though not very often, I admit....

Assuming you mean that the Audible files are AAC format:

Sorry, I should have quoted what I was replying to. :) It was to you -

It'll play unsecured ACC files (do I have that extension right?), so you should be able to play unsecured podcasts.

I was just mentioning it's AAC, not ACC since you asked if that was the right extension.

Ah! Thank you for clarifying, Leaping Gnome -- I was nowhere close to following what you were saying! :)

Does anyone know how to "export" MP3 from the Connect SW. Don't listen to music on my reader but this thread made me check it out & wondered at the lack of an export capability.

The only time I listen to music while reading is when I'm trying to block out ambient noise, such as conversations nearby. In that case I listen to nature sounds, like ocean waves, to provide white noise.

Does anyone know how to "export" MP3 from the Connect SW. Don't listen to music on my reader but this thread made me check it out & wondered at the lack of an export capability.I haven't checked yet, but I remember someone (igorsk, maybe) saying that the books were stored in your PC's "my books" dir, the MP3's probably are similarly stored.

If nothing else, you ought to be able to place them on an SD card in the Connect software, and pull them from it using your Explorer (windows, not internet :) ).

Audio quality is pretty bad. Very audible background hiss, at least on my device. Nice try, but no cigar.

Audio quality is pretty bad. Very audible background hiss, at least on my device. Nice try, but no cigar.

Really? I thought mine sounded really good, but I have no real use for the feature.

Laurens, have you tried with different MP3s or different headphones?

Even a high-quality MP3 (320kbps) exhibits this background hiss. It does depend on the type of music and volume level, though. My iPod doesn't have this problem with the same pair of (high-quality) Sennheiser in-ear plugs. But then again, that's a dedicated MP3 player, so it's not really a fair comparison.

Just for the heck of it try a different pair of headphones. I haven't tried mine yet but will check it out tonight.

Even a high-quality MP3 (320kbps) exhibits this background hiss. It does depend on the type of music and volume level, though. My iPod doesn't have this problem with the same pair of (high-quality) Sennheiser in-ear plugs. But then again, that's a dedicated MP3 player, so it's not really a fair comparison.
An other point for dedicated use gadgets!

Actually light instrumental is pretty good. Depends on the book though :)

Is there a way to load and later play mp3 files in sequencial order
ie: 1-2-3-4-etc with the Sony 505 reader?

Frejus, I was wondering that myself. I want to use the mp3 function to block out ambient noise while reading. I can't seem to order the play sequence, so I've now unloaded 'singing' type music which really distracts me when I'm reading, and kept to classical. I managed to sync my 505 last night with Windows media player, then moved the music to a SD card (just dragged from the library) - it took hours to get the music to the 505 - finiky software didn't recognize the files. Does anyone know if you can create music files or sequence the order of the music?

[snip]Does anyone know if you can create music files or sequence the order of the music?

What do you mean by "if you can create music files?" Of course you can, you can rip your CDs to mp3 files by many different means, many of which are free.

MP3 files have ID tags built into them which have song title, artist and album information in them. If you rip them yourself from your own CDs you can choose to leave those tags empty. Then the Reader should simply play them in sequence, so you can name the files with a numerical prefix, something like:
001 Layla.mp3

But if there is an IDtag with the song title in it, even if the file is labeled as above, if the IDtag says "Layla" it will be played near the start of the L song files, not as the first song.

You can get an MP3 tag editor and change the song titles in the tags to have a numerical prefix and get them to play in that sequence because that's how the Reader will list them.

I don't anticipate ever playing an MP3 on my Reader. First, I have no MP3 music to play: I have everything in WMA, which is not supported on the Reader. Second, it just isn't my custom to listen and read at the same time, and if I really wanted to I've got a perfectly serviceable, tiny sandisk player to do it from. Third, to me it seems to defeat the nifty battery-saving features of the e-ink display. To me the inclusion of MP3 capability on the Reader is neither a positive nor a negative attribute. Now, I do think having photo capability is kind of dumb. Why would you want to browse through a collection of grayscale photos? But, then, I never have really seen the need to carry tons of photos around on every mobile device.

Even a high-quality MP3 (320kbps) exhibits this background hiss. It does depend on the type of music and volume level, though. My iPod doesn't have this problem with the same pair of (high-quality) Sennheiser in-ear plugs. But then again, that's a dedicated MP3 player, so it's not really a fair comparison.

Really? Music is a huge part of my life, and I typically will listen to music (classical or jazz) when reading. Habit I picked up from many nights on board Naval Vessels. I've found the 505 to be a decent MP3 player. On par to my MP3's players (too many to list) aside from not having Eq or Bass management, the MP3 functionality, of the 505 is very good in my book (no pun :D). Just for reference I typically listen with my Sennheiser HD 280-pros (decent headphones) without an amp. But If Im really feeling like listening to some tunes. I'll break out my Ibasso P2 (www.ibasso.com) and my AKG K701's. This combo typically will reveal any shortcomings in any MP3 player, and while not CD/SACD/DVD-A quailty the MP3 player on the 505 is very good. IMO.

I tried it yesterday. I converted a classical CD to MP3 first using Microsoft's Windows Media Player. Converting the 1 CD created massive files that when put on my Reader nearly used up all the available space (over 100 MB). I then tried converting using Nero. This time, when I used Nero's MP3Pro, the mp3 files came out to be half the size of the Media Player conversions.

The files played flawless and beautifully -- and this morning I removed them from my Sony. Bottom line was that they take up too much room on the Reader and the best I can expect is to convert 1.5 classical music CDs, which isn't enough variety for me to warrant taking up space on my Reader.

rhadin, maybe you'll want to use a sd card or a memory sitck to store your music ?

rhadin, maybe you'll want to use a sd card or a memory sitck to store your music ?

+1 The only way to go. MP3's ripped at bit rate of 320, get pretty big real quick. I took my 512mb SD card out of my Zodiac (about 35 songs) popped it into the 505, and it found all the music (and pics :rolleyes:) on the card.

As for transferring music from the PC. The easiest way I've found to do it is, NEVER use MFG's software. If at all possible use a Multi Media card reader and explorer to drag and drop. Some times you might have to create a folder called "music" but with the MM card reader, Windoze sees it as a removable hard drive. Much easier than fighting with Sony's transfer/sync software.

rhadin, maybe you'll want to use a sd card or a memory sitck to store your music ?

That's a good idea and one that passed me by in my old age :)