Importing very old audio results in fast static

[souporman]

Hi there. I have some old recordings taken from a very early model MP3 player back in '98. I can't seem to get anything to play them, and in Googling, found somebody having success using Audacity and importing RAW. I tried that, and I actually hear the music, but it's very fast and static-y. I downloaded MediaInfo, and here are the results:
Format : Wave
File size : 11.3 MiB
Duration : 11 min 57 s
Overall bit rate : 132 kb/s

Audio
Format : Dev
Codec ID : 350
Codec ID/Hint : Micronas Semiconductors, Inc.
Duration : 11 min 57 s
Bit rate : 132 kb/s
Channel(s) : 1 channel
Sampling rate : 32.0 kHz
Stream size : 11.3 MiB (100%)

Any suggestions for changing how I could import it? Thanks a lot!

[Trebor]

Any suggestions for changing how I could import it?

The sample rate is 32000 , that much I know, the rest is guesswork ...

a guess.png (7.87 KiB) Viewed 435 times

[DVDdoug]

found somebody having success using Audacity and importing RAW.

That won't work with MP3s. It will only work with uncompressed files and there are a few parameters you have to guess (unless you already know).

Audacity should be able to open an MP3 "out of the box", but If you haven't already done so, download and install the optional FFmpeg Import/Export Library. With FFmpeg, Audacity can open almost anything. (If you want to export to MP3, download and install LAME while you're at it.)

I have some old recordings taken from a very early model MP3 player back in '98.

What does that mean? How did you transfer the files to your computer?

Do you still have the old MP3 player and can you play the files?

but it's very fast and static-y.

Is it recognizable at all? If you open an MP3 as raw data, I'd expect the playing-time to be short (because it's compressed) but I'd expect to hear pure noise so I wouldn't expect to sound "fast".

Format : Wave
File size : 11.3 MiB
Duration : 11 min 57 s
Overall bit rate : 132 kb/s

The flle size, duration, and bitrate all "make sense" and 132kbps is about right for an MP3 but MedaiInfo says "Wave" and 132 kbps isn't really standard for constant-bitrate MP3. Do you think 11 minutes is right?

[souporman]

Any suggestions for changing how I could import it?

The sample rate is 32000 , that much I know, the rest is guesswork ...

a guess.png

Thank you for the tip, I'll start with 32000 and try different settings for the rest. Trying the settings from your attachment sound the same.

found somebody having success using Audacity and importing RAW.

That won't work with MP3s. It will only work with uncompressed files and there are a few parameters you have to guess (unless you already know).

These files all have a .pcm.wav extension and were recorded from a Sensory Science Rave MP2100. The only thing I do recall about this (nearly 20 years ago, oh dear) player was that it did not record in mp3. Just for a chuckle, here's an Amazon link to it... ahh the memories https://www.amazon.com/Sensory-Science- ... B00000SG9M

Audacity should be able to open an MP3 "out of the box", but If you haven't already done so, download and install the optional FFmpeg Import/Export Library. With FFmpeg, Audacity can open almost anything. (If you want to export to MP3, download and install LAME while you're at it.)

I have some old recordings taken from a very early model MP3 player back in '98.

What does that mean? How did you transfer the files to your computer?

A proprietary piece of software that was shipped with the player was necessary to move music to and from it.

Do you still have the old MP3 player and can you play the files?

Afraid not .

but it's very fast and static-y.

Is it recognizable at all? If you open an MP3 as raw data, I'd expect the playing-time to be short (because it's compressed) but I'd expect to hear pure noise so I wouldn't expect to sound "fast".

It is recognizable. I can faintly hear some very fast and high pitched voices but mostly it's just noise.

Format : Wave
File size : 11.3 MiB
Duration : 11 min 57 s
Overall bit rate : 132 kb/s

The flle size, duration, and bitrate all "make sense" and 132kbps is about right for an MP3 but MedaiInfo says "Wave" and 132 kbps isn't really standard for constant-bitrate MP3. Do you think 11 minutes is right?

Yeah, 11 minutes is correct.

Hey, I appreciate you taking the time to have a look at this. If you feel like fiddling with it, here's the actual file via dropbox.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7o9546uymenrn ... M.WAV?dl=0

[Trebor]

If you feel like fiddling with it, here's the actual file via dropbox.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7o9546uymenrn ... M.WAV?dl=0

I think MediaInfo is giving you a bum steer : I used these settings ...

settings.png (7.43 KiB) Viewed 399 times

he does in fact live with his mother.wav

Um, this guy I've described, (Dave?) mentioned there, he does in fact live with his mother ...

(218.14 KiB) Downloaded 18 times

[souporman]

If you feel like fiddling with it, here's the actual file via dropbox.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7o9546uymenrn ... M.WAV?dl=0

I think MediaInfo is giving you a bum steer : I used these settings ...

settings.png

he does in fact live with his mother.wav

You beast! Thanks a lot!

[steve]

I think MediaInfo is giving you a bum steer

Can't really blame MediaInfo: the file header says that the sample rate is #00007D00, which is 32000 Hz, though from listening to the file, that is clearly not the case.