Audio Do iPods have poor sound quality?
- Thread starter esanthosh
- Start date
rohan_mhtr
Adept
Most people judge the sound quality of an ipod with the headphones you get with them which are totally crap . I have a 2g touch and i changed the default headphones with phillips she9550 and was amazed by the result . I even tried my she9550 with my friends d2 and since i am not an audiophile i couldnt see any difference . To be honest you can hardly notice any difference if you are using sub 2-5k headphones !
Konquerror
Adept
Hey FaH33m, can you please write a comparative review of Sansa Clip+ with D2, iPod, Creative etc. I am looking for a mp3 player as I'm thinking of retiring my Creative Zen V Plus 
^ I only have the Clip+ with me right now. Gave away my iPod to a friend. The D2s i've tried on various occasions belong to friends .
Anyways if it's in terms of SQ, I would rate D2 >> Clip+>>Ipod.
No idea about the Creative players, though going by the reviews I doubt they are as good as Cowon/Clip+.
It also depends on what other factors are you looking at, price, size,video support etc. if it comes to VFM , then nothing beats the Clip+ right now.
Do read up reviews on www.anythingbutipod.com , should help you get a idea of other factors like UI and all .
.Anyways if it's in terms of SQ, I would rate D2 >> Clip+>>Ipod.
No idea about the Creative players, though going by the reviews I doubt they are as good as Cowon/Clip+.
It also depends on what other factors are you looking at, price, size,video support etc. if it comes to VFM , then nothing beats the Clip+ right now.
Do read up reviews on www.anythingbutipod.com , should help you get a idea of other factors like UI and all .
esanthosh
Skilled
@Faheem,
That was what I was looking for
@Konquerror
I come from Zen V Plus myself. Clip+ would be a very good VFM upgrade.
Do read Sansa Clip+ forums. Some of them report a drop in battery life (5-6 hrs for a few, 7-8 hours for many). But, I've not faced any issues so far.
But, Clip+ does have an issue with battery indicator. It was 41% and then I played like 40 minutes of music (I got 13 hrs the first time, so I assumed another 3-4 hours at least), it drained out :huh:
SQ, Ease of operation, Ease of carrying around, Folder browsing, the ability to add a card to enhance the storage capacity - you won't regret moving to Clip+ from Zen V Plus (though you might miss album art and the time remaining display in a song, if those are important to you)
That was what I was looking for
@Konquerror
I come from Zen V Plus myself. Clip+ would be a very good VFM upgrade.
Do read Sansa Clip+ forums. Some of them report a drop in battery life (5-6 hrs for a few, 7-8 hours for many). But, I've not faced any issues so far.
But, Clip+ does have an issue with battery indicator. It was 41% and then I played like 40 minutes of music (I got 13 hrs the first time, so I assumed another 3-4 hours at least), it drained out :huh:
SQ, Ease of operation, Ease of carrying around, Folder browsing, the ability to add a card to enhance the storage capacity - you won't regret moving to Clip+ from Zen V Plus (though you might miss album art and the time remaining display in a song, if those are important to you)
Older ipods had a very good DAC section but the amp and output section were substandard, nor could you get digital out from them which is why many people preferred the cowon/iriver
According to many headfiers, the itouch is way better than many other players.
Ive recently started using my ipod with LOD which bypasses the internal amp...SQ improvement is noticible
According to many headfiers, the itouch is way better than many other players.
Ive recently started using my ipod with LOD which bypasses the internal amp...SQ improvement is noticible
thetoxicmind
ex-Mod
blr_p said:
Come again. :S
thetoxicmind
ex-Mod
blr_p said:
thought so.
you could have phrased it better.
esanthosh
Skilled
FaH33m said:
Just a Noob question, of course
How good is the SQ in Amp3 Pro2? I of course am not comfortable buying it because
a) I do not have too much money left to "splurge"
b) It may be powerful, but it's UI, hiss (reported by some), battery life (8 hours? which is understandable due to the hi-fi config) etc., are an issue with daily usage. It also lacks gapless, which I need for some of the albums e.g., Opeth's MAYH etc.,
Besides, reading through this thread at head-fi here gives me the impression that it may be an upgrade to D2+/S9/Sony X-Series/Clip+, but not in a huge way. On this, what is your impression of Amp3 Vs D2 / Clip+? Is this a great upgrade, which will make one forgive it's usability and drool over it's SQ? (I'd trust your first hand impression more
)
Spacescreamer
ex-Mod
If you are that obsessed with quality of sound and a bit concerned about the money factor as well.. then try to take a look at the ipod shuffle.
Among the ipods, this variation is the best as far as sound is concerned.
It produces near perfect square tooth wave means better output. critical midrange and treble frequencies are clearer and really impresses even the most hardcore audiophiles.
it uses push-pull output instead of the single-ended, capacitor-coupled output found in other players.
Great thing being the non necessity of other ear buds to get the sweet output. The stock ipod shuffle earphones will do the job for you.
Price wont be too mch a worrying factor for you.
If you can live without a display and the given capacities.. i suggest you take a serious consideration of the shuffle.
Among the ipods, this variation is the best as far as sound is concerned.
It produces near perfect square tooth wave means better output. critical midrange and treble frequencies are clearer and really impresses even the most hardcore audiophiles.
it uses push-pull output instead of the single-ended, capacitor-coupled output found in other players.
Great thing being the non necessity of other ear buds to get the sweet output. The stock ipod shuffle earphones will do the job for you.
Price wont be too mch a worrying factor for you.
If you can live without a display and the given capacities.. i suggest you take a serious consideration of the shuffle.
I have used many Pmp. Ipod by far the easiest to use whether its the shuffle or the nano. The interface is just too slick for anyone to get used to. On the other hand ipod offers nothing more thank gimmick, being a nano and shuffle owner I have used them a lot with decent to good quality IEMs. I used to though they are quite good but when I used the S9/i9 I was blown away by the audio reception they delivered. Not to mention the trouble one has to go with syncing and all. Most of the features are inaccessible if you use any software other than itunes
If you consider overall package like brand name, interface and looks, ipod may come at the top but when it comes to job i.e. sound production there are other viable alternatives. I am still saving to get myself an iaudio9 and get over this stupid pod
If you consider overall package like brand name, interface and looks, ipod may come at the top but when it comes to job i.e. sound production there are other viable alternatives. I am still saving to get myself an iaudio9 and get over this stupid pod
esanthosh said:Just a Noob question, of course
How good is the SQ in Amp3 Pro2? I of course am not comfortable buying it because
a) I do not have too much money left to "splurge"
b) It may be powerful, but it's UI, hiss (reported by some), battery life (8 hours? which is understandable due to the hi-fi config) etc., are an issue with daily usage. It also lacks gapless, which I need for some of the albums e.g., Opeth's MAYH etc.,
Besides, reading through this thread at head-fi here gives me the impression that it may be an upgrade to D2+/S9/Sony X-Series/Clip+, but not in a huge way. On this, what is your impression of Amp3 Vs D2 / Clip+? Is this a great upgrade, which will make one forgive it's usability and drool over it's SQ? (I'd trust your first hand impression more
The SQ of the Amp3 Pro is definitely a big upgrade from the Cowon , because I remember I had tried both back to back.The thing with Amp3 is it's really powerful(the need for a basic amp is eliminated) and the whole detailing , sound stage is on a different level.It's difficult to explain by words.
I also own a flagship Philips SHP 9000 cans which I tried with the Amp3 connected to a Meier corda amp (both belonged to Brendon).I was literally blown away by the SQ.The SHP 9000 are a bit difficult to drive but they sound had a smooth,laidback sound and a superb soundstage with the Amp3 Pro.That left me and even Viralbug on TE totally impressed
.The S9 should be more than sufficient for most entry level high end IEMs but if you are looking at a niche IEM or cans then the Amp3 pro should be considered.Yes the other issues of form factor,UI, battery etc are there but once it start's playing the music all those big problems seem to be small and negligible.It's a player only for the serious listeners-someone who doesn't care much about the other bling factor .
Metalspree
Skilled
D2+ certainly has an amazing sound quality compared to all other mp3 players.Its way far better than the ipods i used to own and the creative ZEN which was my mp3 player prior to D2+ .If you want amazing SQ with all other elements top notch then its only Amp3 pro 2 .It costs $159USD and doesn't need an amp what so ever untill ur gonna use very high end IEM's which carve for power.
I am bored of Cowon D2+ and its become irritating to carry the D2+ paired with the cMoy so planning for an upgrade in 2 to 3 months time.
@Faheem i stopped using the Philips SHP 9000 for long time as the D2+ cant power it up even when paired with the cMoy.Another con of the the SHP9000 is that it has a very very very long cable which makes it difficult to move it around.
I am bored of Cowon D2+ and its become irritating to carry the D2+ paired with the cMoy so planning for an upgrade in 2 to 3 months time.
@Faheem i stopped using the Philips SHP 9000 for long time as the D2+ cant power it up even when paired with the cMoy.Another con of the the SHP9000 is that it has a very very very long cable which makes it difficult to move it around.
