Posted by jcwhite_uk
I have used many SE phones and currently use a Nokia N95. I have experienced iPods but havenever owned one. For me the sound out of all of my recent phones (SE and N95) are top notch and sound as good as a iPod as far as I can tell (not being an audiophile).
For me the main reason for not getting an ipod is so I dont have to carry 2 things around with me when I want to listen to music, as I always have my phone with me.
Why take two things out with me when I can just listen and go.
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Life[ This Message was edited by: jcwhite_uk on 2008-03-19 00:40 ]
Posted by metcard
On 2008-03-18 18:10:00, manster wrote:
Apple IPOD sound's good but for me the Sony NWZ-A810 sounds better the only thing i dont like about Sony is that they don't have enough space but the battery life is better than the Apple IPOD's.
Sony
Pros: Great Battery Life
Sound's Great (For Me)
Cons: Small Screen
Not Enough Space
Apple IPOD's
Pros: Great Space
Cons: Not That Great Battery life
[ This Message was edited by: manster on 2008-03-18 17:11 ]
Nailed it.
I was looking into buying a dedicated MP3 player for a while now and the IPOD was first on my list, i.e until I used my cousins.
Wow.. for such an acclaimed product it sure as hell sounds like crap.
The 810Sony on the other hand is the best sounding portable player which i've ever owned, and I've owned quite a few.
And as a bonus they come with fairly decent earphones for when I don't feel like wearing huge cans on my head.
Posted by bavlondon2
Yep thats the same experience I had with my touch and Sony NW S700 mate. Sony may have fallen behind a bit in terms of looks on their devices but in terms of sound quality they are still up there as the best imo.
Posted by max_wedge
On 2008-03-18 19:16:56, Dogmann wrote:
@Max
My previous headphones where the Sony EX71-SL's and yes they were quite good but they don't get close to my current Shure's the step up in quality is very noticeable.
Agree 100%. Shure are better, but more expensive. I've heard a lot of good reviews on them. I'm working up to spending the cash and probably will go with shure's
I get an excellent result from the HPM-70 headphones (ex71 clones basically), and even better from the ep630's, which is basically why I haven't bothered spending more on headphones just yet - but you can always improve and now that I'm running 320Kbps it's probably worth upgrading again.
Posted by manster
@Dogmann
I'm not saying the batterylife is bad but against sony its no competition because for me when going on camping trips for like 3days 2nights or on a very long flight with those long stays on airport with connecting flights its just different people prefer different things and use there mp3 players differently.
Posted by max_wedge
I agree, and for something that doesn't take any kind of standard over the counter battery you are reliant on having that mains power supply available whenever you get low so battery longetivity is a lot more important.
Mind you I do alright with my phone which has to be charged everynight or so. For camping away from the car, I'm looking at getting a freeloader (a small solar panel device for charging batteries).
it works with ipod, as well as most mobile phones on the market.
http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=167194
Posted by QVGA
I've tested all 3 very thoroughly and came to this conclusion:
Sony Walkman Phones provide average sound quality.
Sony Walkman Players offer superb sound quality.
I just want to puke all over the iPOD.
Posted by Dogmann
@manster @Max Wedge
To be honest if i was going to be away from a power source for long enough i would most probably invest in something like the IGo portable chargers or even a Power Monkey or Proporta devcie. Most of these carry enough power for a couple of charges and work with more than just one device.
Max the Shure EC2g's cost me £40 delivered which i really don't consider to be very expensive for what they are and were not much more than if i had got the next couple of steps up from the EX71-SL. Although i really liked the choice of short or long cable on the EX's the Shure's have a much thicker wire between the jack and ear phones and overall the quality and fit is excellent.
@QVGA
I really am amazed you found them that bad unless of course you used the headphones that ship with it them. But i wouldn't swap mine for anything else and neither would millions of happy users.
Marc
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[ This Message was edited by: Dogmann on 2008-03-20 20:48 ]
Posted by QVGA
Well i used one headphone for all of them. They are creative ones. I found the bass on iPOD to be severely lacking and weak. Add to that the in-ability of customizing the equalizer settings and its just not that pleasant.
Posted by razec
On 2008-03-20 21:52:23, QVGA wrote:
Well i used one headphone for all of them. They are creative ones. I found the bass on iPOD to be severely lacking and weak. Add to that the in-ability of customizing the equalizer settings and its just not that pleasant.
Same experience here. i tested the IPOD classic version with a Bose earphones (can't remember the model, sorry )
i'm not an audiophile nor an expert, but at least i can felt differences.
Posted by REO
Now I remember why I hardly post here (esato) lately.
It's such a bias forum. Most folks here are not open minded.
I have 4 different Sony units and 3 Ipods(all different).
My Sony products sound the crapiest.... Oh well..... If I were biased as I was when I fist joined esato, then I would be saying the same shit most of you are saying.
LOL Most of you are lifted as a leaf, letting the wind toss you to and fro....
Posted by razec
^^ Biased? we are just plain members and you expect us to say the same thing you think dont you? remember esato members are allowed to spoke what's their opinions i won't call it biased as fas as every personal experience tells
i remember QVGA has said ipod's bass' sound is weak and he has some considerable technical reasons for saying it, while you have said sony sounds "crappiest" which is percieved as a more biased and childish post.
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[ This Message was edited by: razec on 2008-03-21 01:27 ]
Posted by Fanofmodi
When i last tried an ipod, definetly the sound was good, but only diff i could make out was the loudness. Atlast i wud go for SE because of the over all package that it has to offer, like the in ear headphones. Its a pain after few minutes with ipods headset. Now some wud want me to advice to buy a good headphones. Thats what m talking about the overall pakage.
Posted by Waspinator
@Fanofmodi:Get Creative ep630.They are available for 800rs.
Posted by Waspinator
@Fanofmodi:Get Creative ep630.They are available for 800rs.
Posted by pt020
Hi
Last week i tried my bose headphones(see picture) on the iphone,and i must say the quality of the sound in the iphone is much better then my P1i,even better then my old W800i,also the volume level was higher.
i know what will be my next phone!
[ This Message was edited by: pt020 on 2008-03-21 08:05 ]
Posted by max_wedge
On 2008-03-21 02:07:22, REO wrote:
Now I remember why I hardly post here (esato) lately.
It's such a bias forum. Most folks here are not open minded.
I have 4 different Sony units and 3 Ipods(all different).
My Sony products sound the crapiest.... Oh well..... If I were biased as I was when I fist joined esato, then I would be saying the same shit most of you are saying.
LOL Most of you are lifted as a leaf, letting the wind toss you to and fro....
in other words, you are saying that people who don't agree with you that ipod's are better, despite their own experiences, are being tossed by the wind?
It would seem to me that to go against our own judgement and bow down to your opinion would be the real "letting the wind toss you to and fro"
Get off your own apple bias and you may find just because you say it's so, doesn't mean we are necessarily gonna call you God and bow down to your infinite wisdom.
I'll use my own ears to judge sound quality thank you very much.
Posted by plankgatan
when this babys arrive i will buy them.
HPM-77 Black version, new membrane, new design, better stereo separation, oxygen-free copper cable, etc....
if you want good sound on a cell phone. wait for w980. (HPM-77 arrives with w980 by the way)
ps... is this thread really about
cell phones ?????
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[ This Message was edited by: plankgatan on 2008-03-21 10:40 ]
Posted by Mizzle
I received an iPod touch ten days ago, and I'm very disappointed about how it sounds. It's way too loud, so the sound gets extremely noisy. There's no bass and the treble is awful. Verdict: I'm selling it at the end of this month!
I like my W960's sound quality a whole lot more, and W890 as well.
Posted by plankgatan
im happy with my k850 sound. think
player 3.0 doing a good job.
the Mega bass sound have been improved after 031, its more smothly bass sound now against the earlier firmware.
im really exciting about w980... it has stereo speakers, new "sound hardware", FM transmitter, etc...... looking good
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[ This Message was edited by: plankgatan on 2008-03-21 11:12 ]
Posted by EMS06
The only "Sony" product I own is (Sony) Ericsson and am not happy at the way things are going at SE but I have to say that the NWZ-A810 is DEFINITELY BETTER than any Ipod in sound quality. Yes I've tested this!
I'm no Sony fan but where credit is due I will give. The older generation Sony mp3 lagged behind the Ipod but not anymore. In fact Sony has marginally surpassed Apple in that department, kinda like Nokia having surpassed SE.
Just because a lot of people swear by Ipod doesn't mean it still is the best- brand popularity and loyalty do have a place in this world unfortunately.
As for cellphones it's going to take a while before they reach the sound quality level of standalone mp3 players.
Oh, and the Iphone does sound better than any Nokia or SE phone sound quality wise.
Posted by QVGA
On 2008-03-21 12:09:34, plankgatan wrote:
im happy with my k850 sound. think
player 3.0 doing a good job.
the Mega bass sound have been improved after 031, its more smothly bass sound now against the earlier firmware.
im really exciting about w980... it has stereo speakers, new "sound hardware", FM transmitter, etc...... looking good
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K850, W810 & T29
------------------------------------
____________________________________
(t610, t630, k700, k750, k800, k810)
[ This Message was edited by: plankgatan on 2008-03-21 11:12 ]
W980 doesnt have better hardware for sound. Its the same primitive one used in W810 and pretty much all other SE phones.
Posted by Muhammad-Oli
On 2008-03-21 12:58:27, QVGA wrote:
On 2008-03-21 12:09:34, plankgatan wrote:
im happy with my k850 sound. think
player 3.0 doing a good job.
the Mega bass sound have been improved after 031, its more smothly bass sound now against the earlier firmware.
im really exciting about w980... it has stereo speakers, new "sound hardware", FM transmitter, etc...... looking good
W980 doesnt have better hardware for sound. Its the same primitive one used in W810 and pretty much all other SE phones.
Do either of you have any proof? I just think you're brand bashing.
Posted by QVGA
On 2008-03-21 13:02:08, Muhammad-Oli wrote:
On 2008-03-21 12:58:27, QVGA wrote:
On 2008-03-21 12:09:34, plankgatan wrote:
im happy with my k850 sound. think
player 3.0 doing a good job.
the Mega bass sound have been improved after 031, its more smothly bass sound now against the earlier firmware.
im really exciting about w980... it has stereo speakers, new "sound hardware", FM transmitter, etc...... looking good
W980 doesnt have better hardware for sound. Its the same primitive one used in W810 and pretty much all other SE phones.
Do either of you have any proof? I just think you're brand bashing.
If by proof you mean i dissect two SE phones including a W980, then no i dont and will never have a proof.
I read it on Mobile-Review. Eldar said its the same hardware used in older W phones, and you NEVER EVER question Eldar!
Posted by Muhammad-Oli
Alright mate, just checking.
Yeah, I wouldn't question Eldar!
Posted by Dogmann
Hi all
Well i have to say some of what is being said here is really funny, first point is equalizers or Mega Bass or bass boost or any other such gimmicks are all meant to make up for the lack of power and sound stage from the device itself and mask it's failings.
If you have well encoded Music from a CD and are using a good player and earphones there should be absolutely no need to equalize or boost frequencies as this what engineers and producers get paid vast sums of money to do in the recording studio.
Sorry but i can't comment about various iPod models but the 5.5gen model defiantly is not lacking in Bass when using a pair of Shure in ear phones, as i listen to quite a lot of Bass heavy Music such as Cypress Hill, Eminem, Faithless, Chemical Brothers etc etc.
Now i know what a balanced and full sound stage should sound like with good separation of all the instruments and loud doesnt equal being good you should never need to listen to any devcie at full volume. Also the Bass shouldn't dominate the sound either and this why i said what some people consider good others won't what is good is a personal preference as to how each of us like things to sound.
Really this is a pointless thread as you will never get all to agree on anything some will always believe what they have is best and as long as it's what they are happy with really that is all that counts it's just human nature and hard to admit we could of bought better with our money. Same as some will always believe a certain brand is best simply because they want to.
Marc
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[ This Message was edited by: Dogmann on 2008-03-21 15:28 ]
Posted by max_wedge
mega bass sucks dogs balls.
You are quite right any sort of artificial EQ is just a step backwards. It's only necessary when you have a degraded sound source that you can't get the original for (or if the original itself has degrade, ex: old tape)
Posted by famous12
On 2008-03-22 02:18:49, max_wedge wrote:
mega bass sucks dogs balls.
You are quite right any sort of artificial EQ is just a step backwards. It's only necessary when you have a degraded sound source that you can't get the original for (or if the original itself has degrade, ex: old tape)
wat are you talking about ? mega base rocks.
i had an ipod nano and sold it to get a w300i...well i was not at all dissapointed infact walkman is better than ipod nano IMO.
I dont know about the new ipod touch sound quality
Posted by max_wedge
okay, I accept that it's an issue of personal taste. Personally, I would rather the sound was just good quality, megabass tends to muddy things up.
But for people who love thumping bass, even in tracks that aren't designed with thumping bass in mind, then mega bass is a good feature.
Posted by QVGA
How is changing the eq. frequencies artificially changing the quality? Have you seen the eq. board music DJ's use? And the eq. board used when a song recording is taking place? Surely if they use it means it not a gimmick
Posted by max_wedge
they use it to boost frequencies that are weak.
In a club environment, certain frequencies are absorbed by the environment, others are enhanced. So a sound technician (or DJ) has to adjust the levels to suit the environment. Also, in clubs, people generally are thumping bass nuts. I myself like thimping bass in a club, when dancing.
But would I listen to rock and roll with the same eq levels that a DJ uses in a club? No. At a rock and roll concert, sound tech adjust levels also, but to suit a concert hall environment.
When you have a good quality sound source and good quality isolating headphones, it's not necessary to boost any frequencies - you can listen to the music exactly as the recording artist intended it.
If you like to artifically boost bass, other than to correct for a device's inherrant flaws, then fair enough, but you are adapting the sound away from it's original design.
What I'm arguing, is that SE Walkmen players have sufficient quality that it's not necessary to enhance the eq levels. Obviously Apple are so confident of this in their ipod's that they don't bother with EQ at all.
I don't mind if people like extra bass, because we all hear differently and some people hear some frequencies better than others. But with good isolating earphones and a quality player, most people should be able to hear the music as it was intended without any EQ.
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[ This Message was edited by: max_wedge on 2008-03-22 12:45 ]
Posted by Dogmann
@QVGA
Exactly the point i was making look at a mixing desk in a recording studio and how complex and able to tweak the smallest details that is. That is the time that the producer, engineer and band after recording the tracks tweak the sound how they want it to be. Yes to a degree that is cheating but it enables them to produce the best results for our listening pleasure and how they want to sound. It also explains why with some bands or singers there singles or Albums sound great but there live performances never reach the same quality or sound the same.
Max explained perfectly the need for DJ's or live performances as to why they use it but if your device and ear phones are of sufficient quality you really shouldn't need to have to use an Equalizer. Personally i always leave them off and never use them at all, but everyone is free to do what suits them and to achieve a sound they prefer. But to judge a device as being better for giving this option is wrong as it is there to correct it's inadequacies and on better devices really shouldn't be necessary at all.
@Max
Actually the iPods do have EQ just not user defined they come with presets for different types of Music, which is arguable if the are necessary or not but then a lot will depend on how low a bit rate some use or the type of sound they prefer. As i said i never use the EQ so have no idea if it is any good or not but somehow doubt it's worth it.
Marc
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[ This Message was edited by: Dogmann on 2008-03-22 19:36 ]
Posted by razec
I'm beginning to love this thread. the thread rich in infos. in fact i learn some new things about determining audio quality(which i actually sucked at
)
Posted by djin
well i think eq's r very important for any audio device, besides that, i totally agree with Dogmann(n i luv mega bass
).
Also, you guys should really consider microsoft zune, last time when i checked it at cnet, zune was 1st n then ipod. N hopefully after my exams i cud get a zune(basically for vids).
Posted by mrllcoolj
I havent read much pinion on here about the w890i, but ive just bought this phone (upgrade) and cant believe that people have such strong feelings towards the iphone.
my view is this: dedicated mp3 players will produce better quality sound reproduction overall than a device that handles both phone and music functions. i may be wrong, but that my opinion. for example, i cant compare my w890i with an ipod, but i can with an iphone?
ok, i also own a Sony Walkman 4gb A816, with upgraded noise cancelling headphones included. this i have compared to my gf's 4gb ipod nano (2nd gen), my sister's 1gb ipod shuffle, my SE w810i, my friend's 30gb ipod classic (5th gen), an ipod nano (3rd gen video, in apple store) and a display ipod 8gb touch (in the apple store).
in all honesty? the iphone and ipod products DO NOT compare. the nanos suck, only the classic and touch had comparable quality. even then, the touch suffered somewhat in crashing volume and brash reproduction. the iphone quality is good, but i feel it doesnt come close to touching the latest in sony Walkman products, especially the A816 that i have. the iphone is however, marginally better than my SE w890i in terms of sound but not by much). Overall, the ipods/iphone is not as good as the Sony Walkmans.
many thanks for reading
[ This Message was edited by: mrllcoolj on 2008-04-22 04:17 ]
Posted by mrllcoolj
On 2008-03-19 14:01:34, bavlondon2 wrote:
Yep thats the same experience I had with my touch and Sony NW S700 mate. Sony may have fallen behind a bit in terms of looks on their devices but in terms of sound quality they are still up there as the best imo.
oh, and surely you should be looking at the new crop of SE phones? they are looking very swish and swanky!
ie. w890i, w980, c series etc...
many thanks
Posted by Mige
SE
Posted by mrllcoolj
[ This Message was edited by: mrllcoolj on 2008-04-22 04:17 ]
Posted by Mige
???
Posted by Miss UK
I bought a USA iPod Mini before it was released in the UK many years ago,
it was nicething to have, but I used to think the sound was abit to quiet, then the iTunes used to do my headin having to install that and muck about with with traxx I got rid of it after a month
I used to love the sound Quality on the dear old P910i,
I nearley bought a Sony MP3 player a few months ago well I did but it went walkies in the post I could of got another but I would have to wait for more stock
to bugger with that I got one of these instead
never been so happy with it sound qualitys great and it lasts 17hrs,
it's small and practical fit's anywhere, has drop and drag no messy software needed, and a lovely display!
not bad for £25 was in a sale