Music for traveling

[Carla618]

I don't stream any music at all. my music is located on my computer. I only have about 7.25 gigs of music but they are all my favorite albums. each song is saved as a song title and put into it's own album directory and labeled it's album name. when traveling I just copy the songs I want to listen to, to a usb drive and plug that into the usb on the radio in the vehicle, to use it's stereo. the stereo then mix's the songs up and plays all the songs I chose on the usb drive.

That is what I'm trying to do, only without buying all the albums/CDs. And, I don't want to mess with questionable ways of acquiring music (yet.

But, I can build my legit library over time by buying songs (singles). Back to wondering who sells songs without a monthly subscription.

 

[user 423]

I'm cheap so I use Audacity to record Youtube songs onto my laptop and then load them onto a 3g Tracfone (that is now obsolete) that I use as an MP3 player. It's kind of labor intensive but I've got plenty of time..LOL. The phone connects to a Doss Soundbox BT speaker which has pretty decent sound quality. I do buy some songs off Amazon Music which are usually $1 or so.

When I shop on Amazon I can choose the no rush preferred shipping day option for packages and they give me a $1 digital credit that I can use to buy music or digital print items.

I used to use my Kindle Fire as an MP3 player but recent updates to it won't let me do that now except for songs I've bought off Amazon.

 

[Sasnak]

Is there a limit to how many songs you can download?

No limit that I know of. I have 22 gigs of music currently downloaded.

 

[RVTravel]

freegalmusic.com through your library card allows free mp3 downloads..5 or so per week.

 

[user 32232]

That is what I'm trying to do, only without buying all the albums/CDs. And, I don't want to mess with questionable ways of acquiring music (yet.

But, I can build my legit library over time by buying songs (singles). Back to wondering who sells songs without a monthly subscription.

Amazon for individual songs (or albums). That's the main reason I left Apple - you can share the music you bought from Amazon with anybody.
So, if you're looking for driving music, and don't wish to stream, the question might be: how much space do you have on your phone, and can you connect your phone to your vehicle's stereo?
I've always wondered why car stereos don't usually have SD card options? The exception is my passenger car, a VW which takes a 256gb SD card - pretty much my whole collection! Easy peasy.
Keep us posted, Carla618.

 

[user 423]

....can you connect your phone to your vehicle's stereo?
I've always wondered why car stereos don't usually have SD card options?
Keep us posted, Carla618.

Some stereos have a 3.5mm jack on the face where an mp3 player or Fire, phone, etc. can be connected with a short cable.

I believe Carla said her stereo does have a USB input? To use a zip drive?

 

[Carla618]

freegalmusic.com through your library card allows free mp3 downloads..5 or so per week.

Thanks RVTravel,

The town I live in has no library and no contract with a library. I called the adjacent town and they said I can buy a library card for $139.00. I think it is a good deal considering their large e-library offering.

Already noticed that freegal has quite a few songs that are on my playlist at youtube. And, I would get free eBooks.

The library card includes:

eBooks & Magazines

Axis 360
Biblioboard
Flipster
Hoopla
Alliance Digital Media Library
TeenBook Cloud
Tumblebook Library

Music & Video

Hoopla
Kanopy
Freegal

 

[Carla618]

I'm cheap so I use Audacity to record Youtube songs onto my laptop and then load them onto a 3g Tracfone (that is now obsolete) that I use as an MP3 player. It's kind of labor intensive but I've got plenty of time..LOL. The phone connects to a Doss Soundbox BT speaker which has pretty decent sound quality. I do buy some songs off Amazon Music which are usually $1 or so.

When I shop on Amazon I can choose the no rush preferred shipping day option for packages and they give me a $1 digital credit that I can use to buy music or digital print items.

I used to use my Kindle Fire as an MP3 player but recent updates to it won't let me do that now except for songs I've bought off Amazon.

Do you subscribe to Amazon Music or Prime?

 

[Carla618]

I'm cheap so I use Audacity to record Youtube songs onto my laptop ...

How is the sound quality? Do you have good speakers and an expensive microphone to get good quality?

 

[Carla618]

Amazon for individual songs (or albums). That's the main reason I left Apple - you can share the music you bought from Amazon with anybody.
So, if you're looking for driving music, and don't wish to stream, the question might be: how much space do you have on your phone, and can you connect your phone to your vehicle's stereo?
I've always wondered why car stereos don't usually have SD card options? The exception is my passenger car, a VW which takes a 256gb SD card - pretty much my whole collection! Easy peasy.
Keep us posted, Carla618.

I can't remember if you said you have a subscription with Amazon Music to do that. My phone connects to the stereo, but my phone is awful and has limited space. I got it free from my daughter and I am on her family plan. She told me where to go to order a new phone, but haven't done it yet.

I was hoping to buy a .mp3 player (or flash drive) that plugs into the USB on the stereo. I can add more songs to either from my PC when I visit my house. One of my kids moved into my house so I can access my PC whenever I am back in town.

I'll grab the book that came with the stereo to see what it is.

 

[Carla618]

Some stereos have a 3.5mm jack on the face where an mp3 player or Fire, phone, etc. can be connected with a short cable.

I believe Carla said her stereo does have a USB input? To use a zip drive?

I grabbed the manual. Don't think it will let me play copyrighted songs via USB. See Notes below. Wonder if that means I must use a subscription service.

From the manual:
Playing a USB Device

In these Operating Instructions, “iPod” is used as a
general reference for the iPod functions on an iPod
and iPhone, unless otherwise specified by the text
or illustrations.

For details on the compatibility of your iPod, see
“About iPod” (page 22) or visit the support site on
the back cover.

MSC (Mass Storage Class) and MTP (Media Transfer
Protocol) type USB devices (such as a USB flash
drive, digital media player, Android smartphone)
compliant with the USB standard can be used.

Depending on the digital media player or Android
smartphone, setting the USB connection mode to
MTP is required.

Notes
 For details on the compatibility of your USB device,
visit the support site on the back cover.
 Playback of the following files is not supported.
MP3/WMA/FLAC:
 copyright-protected files
 DRM (Digital Rights Management) files
 Multi-channel audio files
MP3/WMA:
 lossless compression files

https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/res/manuals/4573/45734041M.pdf
These are the specs for my stereo, a Sony DSX-A400BT:

https://www.sony.com/electronics/su...-players-dsx-series/dsx-a400bt/specifications

 

[user 423]

Do you subscribe to Amazon Music or Prime?

Just Prime. No Music subscription.

I'm not sure if songs cost more if you don't have Prime?

 

[Carla618]

Just Prime. No Music subscription.

I'm not sure if songs cost more if you don't have Prime?

I was on a page at Amazon earlier that compared all the music subscriptions, but can't find it now. It said Prime Music is curated. Maybe more like Spotify or Pandora. It is cheaper than Amazon Music Unlimited. There is also Amazon Music.

"This 3-month free trial offer of a monthly Amazon Music Unlimited Individual Plan is a limited time offer and is available only to new subscribers to Amazon Music Unlimited. After the promotional trial, your subscription will automatically continue at the monthly price of $9.99 ($7.99 for Prime members) plus applicable tax until you cancel."

 

[user 423]

How is the sound quality? Do you have good speakers and an expensive microphone to get good quality?

I record directly from Youtube to my W10 laptop. You can select different levels of recording quality which determines the file size. It takes a little experimentation to get decent recordings plus it depends on how good the YT feed is. Speakers don't affect the recording quality, just the output. The sound is good enough for me as I'm not really an audiophile plus I suppose my hearing probably isn't good enough these days to appreciate the range of frequencies.

 

[Carla618]

I record directly from Youtube to my W10 laptop. You can select different levels of recording quality which determines the file size. It takes a little experimentation to get decent recordings plus it depends on how good the YT feed is. Speakers don't affect the recording quality, just the output.

Oh duh. So weird you can do that on youtube with Audacity. I'm going to try it on my PC now. I don't think my truck stereo will let me play the songs, but could they be played from an mp3 player with speakers... maybe?

 

[user 423]

The stereo in my van doesn't work so the BT speaker w/mp3 player is what I've used for the past 4 years. I usually don't use them unless I'm on a long trip though.

The Sony has Aux in but I'm not clear if it's for Ipods only?

The USB won't support mp3 but since it has BT, maybe that would work from an mp3 player?

 

[Carla618]

The stereo in my van doesn't work so the BT speaker w/mp3 player is what I've used for the past 4 years. I usually don't use them unless I'm on a long trip though.

The Sony has Aux in but I'm not clear if it's for Ipods only?

The USB won't support mp3 but since it has BT, maybe that would work from an mp3 player?

I just reread the manual and for Bluetooth there is no "Note" about not playing copyrighted music. There was one under USB. So you might be right

This is everything the manual says for AUX:


Connecting Other Portable
Audio Device
1 Turn off the portable audio device.
2 Turn down the volume on the unit.
3 Connect the portable audio device to the
AUX input jack (stereo mini jack) on the
unit with a connecting cord (not
supplied)*.
* Be sure to use a straight type plug.
4 Press SRC to select [AUX].
To match the volume level of the connected
device to other sources
Start playback of the portable audio device at a
moderate volume, and set your usual listening
volume on the unit.
Press MENU, then select [SET SOUND]  [SET AUX
VOL] (page 20)

 

[Carla618]

I record directly from Youtube to my W10 laptop. You can select different levels of recording quality which determines the file size. It takes a little experimentation to get decent recordings plus it depends on how good the YT feed is. Speakers don't affect the recording quality, just the output. The sound is good enough for me as I'm not really an audiophile plus I suppose my hearing probably isn't good enough these days to appreciate the range of frequencies.

Are you still using audacity at youtube? I tried and failed. Audacity is pretty cool. I'm going to tell my son about it. I love open source stuff.

 

[user 423]

^
It's been a few months sine I've messed with it but I just recorded off YT, no problem.

Did you see the blue 'record' waveforms (for L-R channels) at all? You need to do some split-screen acrobatics to get things going. Record and then go to File > Export > Export as MP3.

What I do is also save it as a 'project' that lets you manipulate it if you need to. Like to edit out glitches/static that you can get either from the original recording or your connection isn't quite perfect.

Just look around some. There's a learning curve...

 

[Carla618]

^
It's been a few months sine I've messed with it but I just recorded off YT, no problem.

Did you see the blue 'record' waveforms (for L-R channels) at all? You need to do some split-screen acrobatics to get things going. Record and then go to File > Export > Export as MP3.

What I do is also save it as a 'project' that lets you manipulate it if you need to. Like to edit out glitches/static that you can get either from the original recording or your connection isn't quite perfect.

Just look around some. There's a learning curve...

When I played the song on YT, then hit record on Audacity, YT sounded like the static on a television after the stations turns off for the night. Super loud static and the bar on Audacity that checks for clipping went nuts. It kept maxing out. Yes, learning curve. I'll try it again.