To try out the MP3 compatibility of the NorthQ 7100, I burned a CD with a number of MP3-songs. They were encoded in different bit-rates, mono/stereo and were put in a directory structure. I also burned the CD in two sessions to see if the player would recognize multi-session CD's. All MP3's were encoded in 44,1 kHz.
Below is a table that explains the structure of the MP3 CD I made, and also information about which MP3's that played as they should.
Directory/File |
Information |
Test result |
|
---|---|---|---|
\ | Root directory | ||
__8_k_m.mp3 | 8 kbit/s, mono | Did not play | |
__8_k_s.mp3 | 8 kbit/s, stereo | Did not play | |
_16_k_m.mp3 | 16 kbit/s, mono | Did not play | |
_16_k_s.mp3 | 16 kbit/s, stereo | Did not play | |
_24_k_m.mp3 | 24 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
_24_k_s.mp3 | 24 kbit/s, stereo | Did not play | |
_32_k_m.mp3 | 32 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
_32_k_s.mp3 | 32 kbit/s, stereo | Did not play | |
_48_k_m.mp3 | 48 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
_48_k_s.mp3 | 48 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
_56_k_m.mp3 | 56 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
_56_k_s.mp3 | 56 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
_64_k_m.mp3 | 64 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
_64_k_s.mp3 | 64 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
_80_k_m.mp3 | 80 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
_80_k_s.mp3 | 80 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
_96_k_m.mp3 | 96 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
_96_k_s.mp3 | 96 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
112_k_m.mp3 | 112 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
112_k_s.mp3 | 112 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
128_k_m.mp3 | 128 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
128_k_s.mp3 | 128 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
160_k_m.mp3 | 160 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
160_k_s.mp3 | 160 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
192_k_m.mp3 | 192 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
192_k_s.mp3 | 192 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
224_k_m.mp3 | 224 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
224_k_s.mp3 | 224 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
256_k_m.mp3 | 256 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
256_k_s.mp3 | 256 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
320_k_m.mp3 | 320 kbit/s, mono | Played OK! | |
320_k_s.mp3 | 320 kbit/s, stereo | Played OK! | |
ID3v1.mp3 | MP3 with ID3 tag v1 | Played OK! | |
ID3v2.mp3 | MP3 with ID3 tag v2 | Played OK! | |
ID3v1v2.mp3 | MP3 with ID3 tag v1 & v2 | Played OK! | |
mp3pro64.mp3 | mp3PRO encoded MP3 | Played, sounded like a 64 kbps MP3 | |
Variable bitrate mono.mp3 | Varable bitrate, mono | Played OK! | |
Variable bitrate stereo.mp3 | Varable bitrate, stereo | Played OK! | |
vbr_m.mp3 | Varable bitrate, mono, short filename | Played OK! | |
vbr_s.mp3 | Varable bitrate, stereo, short filename | Played OK! | |
\Level1 | Subdirectory, level 1 | ||
128_k_s.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
\Level1\Level2 | Subdirectory, level 2 | ||
192_k_s.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
\Level1\Level2\Level3 | Subdirectory, level 3 | ||
320_k_s.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
\Mono | Subdir with short filenames | ||
128_k_m.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
192_k_m.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
320_k_m.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
\Mono Tracks | Subdir with long filenames | ||
128 kbps mono.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
192 kbps mono.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
320 kbps mono.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
\Stereo | Subdir with short filenames | ||
128_k_s.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
192_k_s.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
320_k_s.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
\Stereo Tracks | Subdir with long filenames | ||
128 kbps stereo.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
192 kbps stereo.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
320 kbps stereo.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
\Session2 | 2:nd session of CD | ||
128_k_s.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
192_k_s.mp3 | Played OK! | ||
320_k_s.mp3 | Played OK! |
Here is a picture of what's shown on the screen when playing MP3 CD's:
Unfortunately they have made the text part a little too transparent, so it can sometimes be hard to see the text. |
So the conclusion of the MP3-capabilities of the NorthQ is:
Plays almost every possible MP3, except 8/16 kbit/s mono/stereo MP3's and 24/32 kbit/s stereo MP3's. | |
Does not support mp3PRO ecoded MP3's other than it plays them as a regular MP3 file. | |
Recognizes all sessions on a multisession CD. | |
Plays MP3's in subdirectories. | |
Does not show ID3 tags. | |
Shows the first 11 characters of the MP3 filename. |
So as an MP3 player, the NorthQ does a pretty good job of decoding almost anything thrown at it! When it comes to the sound quality, I'm not the right person to give any comments there. To me it sounds pretty OK.