MP3 players are widely available. The Microsoft Windows Media player will play MP3 files, and QuickTime 4 from Apple supports this file format as well. In fact, MP3 is becoming one of the most accepted digital audio compressed formats world wide. WinAmp and Sonique are two of the more popular shareware Windows-based MP3 players. MACAST is a popular shareware MP3 player for the Macintosh while XMMS is the most commonly used in Linux systems. All of these programs can be easily downloaded from the internet and can be used to play MP3 files without you having to pay anything. We currently recommend Audion, a player produced by Panic. This player strikes a wonderful balance between the complexity of cutting edge technology and the simplicity of an easy to use interface.
The patent licensing from Fraunhofer and THOMSON states that players, referred to as decoders for MPEG II layer 3, can be given away while encoders owe a patent royalty. The MPEG encoder in N2MP3 Pro has been licensed for legal distribution and sale.
The MP3 standard is free and open, as well as the International Standards Organization (ISO) reference source code. It is a matter of international patent law that all developers and publishers of MPEG-audio layer 3 (MP3) encoders based on ISO-source must pay a license fee to Fraunhofer. It is because the kind of algorithmic research that goes into MP3 requires a high level of knowledge and a lot of time, in most of the cases it is a full-time job. The work done by those highly skilled people is property of their respective employers.
Fraunhofer Institute has been the main developer of MPEG audio Layer-3, and the MP3 standard that has been approved is mainly based on its work, which Fraunhofer has protected with a patent. This patent was approved in 1989 in Germany and in 1996 in the USA under the number 5,579,430. Proteron LLC has licensed this patent in order to bring its unique drag and drop MP3 audio encoding interface to the Mac. The publicly available ISO source code needs to be dramatically optimized before it can produce high-quality audio. For this reason, there are dramatic differences in quality between the currently available MP3 encoding engines.
Proteron maintains a list of compatible MP3 players on the Hear and Now area of the N2MP3 Pro Web site at www.n2mp3.com. Another excellent lists of MP3 hardware players can be found at www.mp3.com and also, www.versiontracker.com.
Software players on the Macintosh currently include:
Getting the best sound out of your MP3 files
There are many ways in which you may increase the quality of sound which the Macintosh puts out. Below are some easy, free or relatively inexpensive steps you can take to improve your MP3 listening pleasure.
Step 1: Analogue/Digital volume settings
Make sure that the volume is turned up to 100% on your computer, so that you can turn down the speaker volume a little. Speakers tend to start giving a hissing sound when turned up too much, and the whole amplification process is done in an analogue manner. It is best to let the exterior system do the volume control and have your Macintosh playing as loud as is reasonably possible.
Step 2: Equalization
If your speakers don’t seem to give you enough bass, it is possible you can solve the problem without having to buy new ones. If your speakers have bass and treble control, then try adjusting them. If they don’t, or you just want more control over exactly what frequencies are amplified or reduced, then take a look at your MP3 player’s equalizer. All prominent MP3 players now include equalizers. Read the documentation for your player to find more tips on equalization.
Step 3: Speaker positioning
Common sense says that you will enjoy stereo effects more if there is a decent distance between your left and right speaker; if possible, you want your speakers to be about twice as far apart from each other as you are from your computer or stereo system. For example: if you are 2 feet away from your computer monitor, your speakers should ideally be about four feet apart. It is also a good idea if they are pointing directly at you, and are at the same distance from your ears. If there is a difference in distance that can’t be corrected, due to space limitations etc., then in the computer’s monitors & sound control panel, try using the balance slider next to the volume control, to compensate for this.
Connecting your Mac to your stereo, in general, makes for a big sound improvement and will be worth the effort to set up. To connect a stereo to your Mac, you need to locate your computer’s audio-out or headphone jack (at the back next to the mike or sound-in jack, or sometimes located in front), and have a stereo with Auxiliary-in (AUX) or CD in. You will also need a cable to connect the two. Get a 3.5mm (1/8") -> double RCA cable from Apple, at your local audio store, or from Radio Shack in the United States or Canada. These are rather inexpensive, and should not cost more than $15 at the low end. Plug it in and again let your Mac play at high volume so that the amplifier does the volume adjustment on as strong a signal as possible.
Remember that home stereo speakers have strong magnets in them, and placing an unshielded speaker too close to your screen might permanently distort your monitor (or possibly affect your hard drive or any other magnetic media) – so be careful. For this reason, computer speakers are shielded (others generally are not). Separate computer speakers are now commonly available, and most speakers sold for Intel computers are compatible with your Macintosh’s sound out port. Unless you already have decent speakers and manage to find a good, but cheap subwoofer, then it is generally a better (and cheaper) idea to connect your computer to a stereo.
If all of these examples seem too expensive to you, or you don’t have enough space for big speakers by your computer, try buying a pair of good headphones. Headphones that cover your whole ear are the best, since they also screen out background sound and generally have better bass. If possible avoid cheap headphones. Some earbud-style headphones are especially worth avoiding.
Possible CBR and VBR playback distortion
Sometimes, when playing back CBR- or VBR-encoded MP3 files, some distortion may be heard. This can be caused for a number of reasons. Some of these causes are easier to solve than others. Below is a short list of possible causes and solutions:
1. MP3 player graphic equalizer distortion: If your MP3 player has a graphic equalizer, it is possible that the graphic equalizer settings are causing the distortion. To verify if this is the case, try turning it off. If the distortion disappears, then that was the problem. Either leave it off, or change the equalizer settings in such a way that the distortion disappears.
2. Stereo graphic equalizer distortion: A similar problem can occur if your Mac is hooked up to a stereo system. It is best to ensure that either your MP3 player’s or stereo’s equalizer is off. If ensuring that only one equalizer is active does not solve the problem, then try turning off all equalizers. If the distortion goes away, then either leave them off, or turn only one of them back on, and change the equalizer settings until there is no more distortion.
3. Improperly encoded MP3 file: Sometimes, if the settings were not quite right when the MP3 was encoded, the audio can sound distorted. This is usually most noticeable with high-frequency sounds. The distortion is often described as "warbling". Similarly, high-pitched "squeak" noises may be heard at various intervals, also known as "flanging". Some MP3 Players are able to filter out certain types of flanging, and playing with the graphic equalizer may also help the distortion; however, the best solution is to re-encode the song from its source at a higher bitrate.
4. Source file distortion: Sometimes the source file used to encode an MP3 can contain some audio distortion. This problem is more common on WAV and AIFF files. Typically, the distortion occurs when the sound level was set too high when the sound was being recorded as a WAV or AIFF file from an external source, such as a microphone, stereo tape deck or CD player. The solution for this is to re-record the sound file at a lower sound level, and then re-encode it into MP3 format.
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Tip: some CD audio tracks which are particularly loud, or have a particular recording bias, which will sound distorted unless a very high bitrate and/or encoding quality is selected.
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