MP3 Players = Shit Sound?

[Muffin]

Yes, IMO the perceived difference in quality will not be as significant in music that's blasting one bass note throughout as opposed to a composition that utilizes a greater range of sounds and timbres of multiple different instruments (e.g. shitty party music vs. classical symphony). But I guess this depends more on subjective value than anything else.

Actually, you don't need to start turning up the volume much before the difference in quality is really evident in "shitty party music" as well. The reason for this is that low quality generally makes the sound very compressed, and with compression you lose ALL forms of dynamics, so the music will sound flat, muddy, and without the "punch" you so often hear in party music. If the quality tips below 128kbps you're going to start hearing artifacting too, which is really really bad.


I think MP3 is going to die away progressively as broadband and storage mediums grow exponentially. The single biggest reason for its development was the ability to get music in a small enough package to get over early broadband/dial up, and onto early MP3 players(i remember having one with 128MB storage back when it was new. I could only dream of the 4GB i have on my Creative Zen now, and by todays standards thats really small)

With the current rate of internet information and growth in those storage mediums, i think the knowledge of higher quality, along with the ability to both aquire, store and play HD/HQ audio, MP3 is going to be a thing of the past within 10 years tops.

And as evident of my little rant here, higher quality = larger space requirement, meaning you can fit less songs on a MP3 player. Just for those who don't know it yet lolz

 

[(__Joonas__)]

I use MP3 mode and 320kbps. My headphones are quite kickass. Still what I saw with Creative Zen was a terrible sound, maybe 50% in desibels from what the CD player produced, a horrible lack of bass, nightmarish amount of treble. Decided to stick with the CD player until I solved what was the problem.

So my rips are alright, and in case the sound is near-indistinquishable from CD, the particular Creative Zen had to be faulty...

 

[children of COB]

^Have you even read my post? I'm telling you, no matter which combination of player/earphones you get from what I listed there will get you as good or maybe even better sound than your current CD player. And the earphones I'm listening I can assure you sound better than the ones you own right now.

 

[Crzy_Aus]

@Muffin: Well you may be right. Like I said though, must be just subjective.

But you're right, storage is becoming less and less of an issue. As soon as average user's Internet speed catches up, one of the popular lossless formats will probably replace MP3.

Still what I saw with Creative Zen was a terrible sound, maybe 50% in desibels from what the CD player produced

Now you're confusing sound quality with volume The volume issue is most likely due to the headphones. I use in-ear and I rarely ever need to turn the sound up above 2/3 on my Zen, even if I'm on a subway or plane with lots of random noises around.

Sound quality-wise, Creative probably makes some of the best-sounding MP3 players today. I've used mine for over 3 years now, with headphones ranging from crappy 2-dollar Chinese shit to expensive monitor headphones, and the player has great sound once you adjust the EQ to the type of headphones you're using and the style of music you're listening to. Your problem - "a horrible lack of bass, nightmarish amount of treble" - sounds like the EQ wasn't set up properly.

 

[(__Joonas__)]

I just bought the iPod Classic 80gb for 90 euros used. Wasn't too bad since a guy tried selling it to me today for 249e. Now just fingers crossed it's faultless and works as supposed to.

Oh and I tried ear plugs with the Zen and they sucked three times as much as my headphones. I wanted to do something evil to them.

People talk about sound quality and it gets confused with loudness, that's true. Obviously sound quality for listening to classical music very silently is another thing to blasting out melodic death metal so you feel the headphones trembling.

 

[Crzy_Aus]

Do hope so

 

[(__Joonas__)]

^Indeed, something reeks in the price and bluntness of description in the item. But if someone's trying to fool me I won't hesitate to remind "good condition" doesn't mean only outside in electronics, and demand my money back from that male-slut.

 

[children of COB]

Hopefully it'll be working alright.

I just bought the iPod Classic 80gb for 90 euros used. Wasn't too bad since a guy tried selling it to me today for 249e. Now just fingers crossed it's faultless and works as supposed to.

Oh and I tried ear plugs with the Zen and they sucked three times as much as my headphones. I wanted to do something evil to them.

People talk about sound quality and it gets confused with loudness, that's true. Obviously sound quality for listening to classical music very silently is another thing to blasting out melodic death metal so you feel the headphones trembling.

Again, the headphones that came with the Zen were sure shit, but if you try one of the ones I've told you you'll throw yours right into the dumpster. Nothing gives a better feel and sense of tightness than in-ears, while blocking outside sounds.

I take it that you want quality and not loudness. Because loudness is extremely easy to get from anything, just crank the volume till the top and you're there, and good luck not becoming deaf before you're 40.

 

[Crzy_Aus]

Obviously sound quality for listening to classical music very silently is another thing to blasting out melodic death metal so you feel the headphones trembling.

Actually, I usually do it the other way round I blast classical so I can hear every note.

 

[snowy]

I've used a portable CD player always. I buy CDs. I don't like this downloading crap. I get no satisfaction from downloaded metal music. Downloading works with computer music but not with metal music.

wow shut the fuck up, ''computer'' music's quality does also get extremely shitty when its converted to mp3 and mp3 suck anyhow. Get some good headphones, these 50cent earplugs are always treblish.

anyway, i'm using an Ipod, I dont like carrying my cds around.

 

[(__Joonas__)]

Hopefully it'll be working alright.

Yeah. I'm sure it'll be broken in one way or another, I have bad luck with these things. I'll let you know.

Again, the headphones that came with the Zen were sure shit, but if you try one of the ones I've told you you'll throw yours right into the dumpster. Nothing gives a better feel and sense of tightness than in-ears, while blocking outside sounds.

I wear these and I'd be impressed to try in-ears that would be better. I ever only tried them a few times anyway and the sound sucked and they don't stay in my ears. They're loud enough in the CD player at 95% volume and that's where the bass starts breaking too. Maybe there are better ones but I haven't found. Tried some 300e dj headphones once but they're meant for recognizing different sound frequencies instead of heavy metal experiences...

I take it that you want quality and not loudness.

No, for head phone listening rather loudness. What does quality help if the sound has to be kept very low... in un-plugged home use of course quality (that also goes to bass quality in low volume) as the pussy neighbours won't tolerate noise.

 

[Crzy_Aus]

The sound volume will mostly depend on the power of the player & headphones as well as the electric resistance of the headphones. Pretty much any high-Watt low-Ohm headset will sound loud. Any headphones that isolate outside noises will sound additionally loud (e.g. in-ear, noise-canceling etc.).

Of course, nothing could beat something like [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1291924764&sr=1-4]this[/ame] style of headphones in terms of quality, but you probably don't want to lug those around.

 

[(__Joonas__)]

Yeah, majority of the big head phones look powerful but they're far from it. I use such for the keyboard, they're good for that. But the Koss headphones I posted are very powerful and crunchy even for playing guitar over a metal song thru the computer.

 

[Crzy_Aus]

The big ones give you a better quality of sound. The volume, however, depends on a specific model. I have fairly cheap ones and they just don't cut it for portable players and noisy environments. The ones I posted in the link are great, however, and I really enjoy the sound (my school's music dept. uses those so I've used them a plenty of times). I'd get a pair for myself if I weren't so cheap.

I haven't tries the specific model you've posted, but I haven't liked most of the experiences I've had with that style of headphones. They can be loud, but the sound quality's usually pretty bad, and they distort on louder volumes almost as bad as non-vacuum earbuds. Koss overall is a good company when it comes to quality/price ratio, but their stuff doesn't cut it in terms of quality when compared to higher-tier stuff.

 

[Slimefest]

I use iPod classic and Koss portapro, sounds good to me.

 

[CliffBurton]

Nº3: I haven't tried your earphones, but I'm sorry they look wrong. If you want the bass to really hit you and to hear everything crystal clear, the first step are in-ear headphones, small and with rubber ear pieces that avoid most of the outside sound. They also have to be of good quality, but for some 50€ you can have them.

Ones that cover you're ear will be much better than some earplugs, if you spend the cash. Cheap over-ear headphones will always be shit, and sound will bleed in and out. Everyone will hear you're irritating music and you will hear their shitty complaining. GOOD over-ear headphones will be better than any in-ear, but you'll be paying twice as much as the MP3 player itself.

Really good in-ear headphones are cheap though. The rubber ear pieces are key for sound bleeding though, a big reason why I really like skull-candy, but again, they're cheap and have broken on me often. My friend (who does like 7-10 hours a day of walking around with his headphones on), stopped buying them cause he'd use them up every 3-4 months.

 

[CliffBurton]

Yeah, majority of the big head phones look powerful but they're far from it. I use such for the keyboard, they're good for that.

If they are good for that, then they will be best for music. The best keyboard amp you can get is just plugging into a stereo system. Guitars are different and would sound shit coming out of a stereo system, thus they will sound shit coming out of your headphones.

The big, studio version of Beats by Dre are absolutely incredible, I just don't want to spend $500 on a pair of headphones. I've heard mixed reviews of the ear buds, and my friend in class uses the medium size, over-ear pair. They are also really really good, but again, way to pricey for me. My computer speakers have all the clarity I need, and if I want to use headphones it means I'm walking around and don't focus on the music as much.

 

[snowy]

Yeah, majority of the big head phones look powerful but they're far from it.

But more Ohm will give you a lower distortion factor which is always welcome. Just buy some headphone amp Nothing has to be ''powerfull'' (i.e for most people: F U L L O F G I G A W A T T) to sound great.
Quality over loudness

 

[Crzy_Aus]

Quality over loudness

Yeah!

 

[zirkonflex]

Sennheiser In-Ears usually make for a good starting point.
You'll have to EQ the shit out them (out of any smaller phones anyways) but they will have a sound that's close to a good monitor system or expensive headphones.
The Superlux HD681b studio phones are still a secret tip, theyre fucking GREAT for the price and way above Sennheiser's or similar at 150-200$.
Theyre certainly everything you'll ever need for listening, and even quite good for recording music.
The frequencies (EQ) are very even, it really shocked me in the first place because I was expecting to hear crap all the way.
I have compared them to several expensive Headphones and monitor systems (using them along with my M-Audio system for a few months now) and the difference in sound is really neglectable, altough some little spots of "awesomeness" (extremely little details on cymbals and hats) are not perfect.

I have to say that I would really recommend everyone to stay away from the 100$ Sennheiser phones because they really SUCK compared to the Superlux.
The freqencies on these are fucked and its sound like youre listening in a tin can ...