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The best sound quality/MP3 player for your buck
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AfterDawn Addict
6 product reviews
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9. January 2008 @ 15:18 |
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Neph,
the model no. of these phillips buds is SHE9501. they had them in black and white. I got the white ones because they were on sale and the black ones weren't. I prefer black though. they were normally $30. saved $5.
I'm gonna return the meizu. it does sound good but I don't care for the touch pad or GIU. it's to erratic for me. I even updated it with new f/w.
edit: can't get an rma. item is non-returnable :( guess I'll just have to get used to it.
Rig #1 Asus Rampage Formula Mobo, Intel Core2Quad Q9450 CPU @ 3.55ghz, 2gb Corsair DDR2 1066 Dominator Ram @ 5-5-5-15, TR Ultra 120 Extreme w/ Scythe 9 blade 110 cfm 120mm Fan HSF, HIS Radeon 512mb HD3850 IceQ TurboX GPU, Corsair 620HX P/S, CM Stacker 830 Evo Case, Rig #2 Asus P5W DH Deluxe Mobo, Intel C2D E6600 CPU @ 3.6ghz, 2gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 Ram @ 4-4-4-12-2t, Zalman CNPS9500LED HSF, Sapphire Radeon X850XT PE GPU, Corsair 620HX P/S, Cooler Master Mystique Case, Viewsonic 20.1" Widescreen Digital LCD Monitor, Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 THX Desktop Speakers, http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=348351 http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=236435This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. January 2008 @ 16:14
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Mez
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9. January 2008 @ 16:07 |
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Great point!
Most extreme bass does not come from electrically synthesised source. Tubas, cannons, kettle drums and thunder.
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AfterDawn Addict
6 product reviews
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9. January 2008 @ 16:15 |
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and pipe organs.
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Mez
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10. January 2008 @ 08:59 |
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I live outside DC but used to live in the Philly area. It is not well known, but the largest organs in the US are near Philly (old money). If you live near Philly you might want to visit Longwood Gardens in Dec. It was a Dupont estate. It has the same sized organ as the one in Salt Lake. The difference is you can sit 10 feet from the pipes in LWGs. The entire music room is closer than where you can sit by the pipes in Salt Lake. The gardens are not frequented as much in the winter and they need money to warm the 20-30 acrea under glass so they reconditioned the organ. In Dec the play X-Mass carols. I have been to 2 sing-alongs there. The 100 HP air compressor moves more air than speakers powered by a gigawatt of power. If they pull out all the stops which they often do for Come All Yee Faithful. It is literally a moving experiance. People are singing at the top of there voices and your can't even hear yourself because your body is vibrating with the music. You experiance extreme power witout any distortion so it does not hurt your ears. You get the illusion that you are singing perfectly. They play the organ till Easter but it is rare for them to pull out all the stopps during that period. I did hear Bach's fugue in C minor with all the stopps out, again that was an unforgettable experiance!
An off topic question for the educated ear, now that I have two guys that are at least as picky and as educated as I am. What is your preferred audio file format? I have settled on mp3 VBR at the extream setting with slow analysis using the LAME encoder. I have dropped losless and 320 BR because I don't think I can tell a 200 BR from a 320 BR. I don't want to pay a lot extra for the space for something I can't here. I figure what I have is over kill for my old ears. I don't mind losing information I can't hear. The 320 constant BR and the extream VBR are supposted to be transparent to the trained human ear form the source, both played on extreme equipment. I can't hear the high end. That is why the 200 and 320 sound the same to me. A few places sell FLAC files. If I bought one I would not spend the time to down grade the music but I rip to mp3s not lossless. I still have the CDs but I only play burned CDs these days never the source. Can either of you see a flaw in my reasoning?
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AfterDawn Addict
6 product reviews
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10. January 2008 @ 12:35 |
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Mez,
although I have been an audio enthusiast most of my life, I am a complete newbie when it comes to mp3's and players. I know what good sound quality is though. that is one reason I have never retired my David Hafler amps.
now this is gonna sound really stupid and I suppose I was expecting too much, but although the sound quality of my meizu player is good (considering the fact that I'm listening to compressed audio files) it doesn't go very loud. granted I had been listening to mp3's on my laptop through headphones but I expected the decibal level to be similar to that of a portable disc player or portable cassette player.
now I'm reading about headphone amps. are all mp3 players about equil in regards to output power? yeah I know, I'm a real idiot (everybody reading this shaking their heads) but I did mention the fact that I'm a complete newb to the world of mp3 players. I wouldn't care if they were a litte larger but it would be nice to have something that was a little louder.
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Mez
AfterDawn Addict
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10. January 2008 @ 16:35 |
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Go to the settings most of these babies have a parental lock device so their kids can't blow out their hears (like mine)! It is usually set half way. Crank it up to 100% That ought to hurt your ears at full blast unless your ears are as bad as mine. I still don't crank mine up all the way. There is also software that can made the file louder. If you have not checked out Media Monkey you ought to. That will allow you you to make all your files the same loudness. It also has an equalizer. It may not be the best for sound fidelity. I have heard some confused persons claim MM sounds a bit different. It uses less expensive encoders than my ripper. MM gold (the most expensive) costs about $20. My ripper costs $30 a year for all the leasing agreements. The difference to me is I have a less than minimal sound system on my computer. They are going to sound poor no matter what. The stuff I rip is played on the car stereo, ipod and sometimes on my HiFi as well as on my computer. I want the best for ripping. PowerAmp has a professional ripper. Like in the video world, the tools make all the difference in the world if you know what to use when. You can use garbage CDs for audio while you pay big time using garbage in the video world.
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10. January 2008 @ 20:11 |
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Mort, I'm sure sorry you didn't like the the Meizu as much as I do. I like the touchpad myself but since its the one and only way to interface with the player it'd be a serious deal breaker for you. I'm bummed now :(
As for the volume, is the volume limiter engaged? It'll be under "Sound Effects" either in the Main Menu or the Music Menu. It'll go up to 40 but I've never had it beyond 15 - more than that is too much for me.
My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
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"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33 |
AfterDawn Addict
6 product reviews
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10. January 2008 @ 20:28 |
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Neph,
no biggie my friend. everytime I try to select a song or menu item with the touch pad it erratically picks whatever it wants. may be a song or it may go to another menu item. sometimes when I try to change the volume it starts the song over or goes to the menu again.
I am hard of hearing but 15 is no where near loud enough for me. I need 35 - 38 for it even to be enjoyable.
I put it on ebay along with the sony mdrex90lp headphones as a combo deal. I would be happy getting $50 for the two. no worries mate. don't let it get you down ok.
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Mez
AfterDawn Addict
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11. January 2008 @ 08:09 |
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Mort,
Before you sell a good player because the interface sucks, I will put in my nickel. I don?t think a select a tune to play in a year. I either play random or play for the player or random play for a play list. It is too much work to figure out what I am going to hear next. I live and die with play lists. Mine run 150 -250 tunes so I can burn them to a CD to be played on an MP3 CD player. I include the approximate size at the end of the play list name. Like 10 = 100 Megs. I have a little 4 g nano. Because my audio manager has a fantastic sync utility, I swap out play lists weekly/every other week. The sync shows all my play lists and the checked ones are on the player. I swap out one or two play lists by toggling the check boxes. That is where the size at the end of the name becomes handy. I try to keep the player filled. Normally, I just turn my player on and off. Some times I am the mood for a certain kind of music so I play that play list until I get tired of listening to that kind of music. Even the small play lists are 10 hrs so you never play them through. Ipods have a no repeat setting so even though the stuff is played randomly it is not allowed to repeat. The player stops if it completes the play list or all the tunes on the player. Now that my play lists are bigger I never ?use up? a play list.
If you can import and remove play lists easily from your player that MIGHT work for you. It sure makes for easy listening.
Quote:
but although the sound quality of my meizu player is good (considering the fact that I'm listening to compressed audio files)
If you can hear the difference between the compressed file and the source you really ought to learn how to do it right! I know your sterio is a good one. Haffler made specialty store quality equipment for an affordable price. I have a Haffler Preamp. It replaced a Heath Kit knock off of the Phase Linear pre amp. The Phase Linear amp and preamp went for a grand apiece. That was serious money back then since a Mercedes went for about 3. They were the monsters of their time when good stuff was very powerful. You should not be able to hear the difference between VBR MP3s set to the extream mode and your source whether it is vinyl or CD play on an extream HiFi like yours. The VBRs can be as small as 10% of the raw file, appx 50 meg for a 3.5 min file. The other high qualty modes as constant bit rate at 320 BR about 4:1 compression and FLAC files which are losless compression at 2:1. For VRB, the compression is variable the settings are quality settings not compression settings. I have noticed symphony music does not compress as well as R&R. The music is more complicated. VBRs remove the violin sounds during a symbol clash. You can't hear them anyway why would you want them on your recording? The constant BRs mainly cut out high frequency sounds along with the losless compression. FLAC only comptresses with losless compression.
Vinyl stores everything. CDs cut out a HUGE amount but still store massive amounts information for tones only a dog can hear. 20 KHz holds 20 times the peakes of a a 1Khz tone. However, to faithfully capture the tone, the data needed increases logrythmicly. Since I rip music for me not my dog, I would gladly give up tones beyond the human ear if the file was half the size. Realisticlly, I can't hear the difference between 200 and 300 BR. I store the extra data for overkill and pride. I use extream setting in the VBR even though I can't hear the difference between that and the next best setting. I don't mind spending a meg on pride but 20 megs per file is crazy as far as I am concerned. That really adds up if you have a serious collection.
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11. January 2008 @ 20:54 |
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Quote:
no worries mate. don't let it get you down ok.
I hear you and i understand that but its still a bummer you weren't as happy with it as I thought you'd be, know what I mean?
My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
The Forum Rules You Agreed To! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33
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AfterDawn Addict
6 product reviews
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6. February 2008 @ 17:29 |
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update: I sold my meizu and sony earbuds on ebay and in return purchased a sony NWZA816WHI. it is everything I was looking for and more. excellent GUI and awesome sound quality. even the earbuds that came with it sound good although still not quite as good as the phillips earbuds.
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7. February 2008 @ 08:01 |
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Great news Mort! I'm glad you (finally) got exactly what you were after :)
My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
The Forum Rules You Agreed To! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33
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Mez
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7. February 2008 @ 10:33 |
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Thanks for completing the story and that your search for excellence was rewarded. For a true music lover, the extra effort is well worth it.
I will need to check out those phillips earbuds to see if with the ipod and my ears I can tell the difference. On paper, they edge out my Koss plugs. Still, the Koss plugs range beyond the hearing of a young undamaged ear. The question is, can I feel the difference and will I like the difference if I can.
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2. June 2008 @ 20:15 |
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Interesting little bit of info there fellas. :)
I have the older version of the Koss Plug and they're great.. They've been tough as nails and deliver some great bass.... I upgraded to some Skull Candy "cheapies" when I got my Zune but I still use the Koss Plugs at work....
I'm looking at getting some new ear buds and giving the Skull Candy buds to the little wifey...
Here's what I'm looking at .... link to Maximo iM-390 buds
What do you guys think and have you ever heard of Maximo??
tia......
....gm
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Mez
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3. June 2008 @ 07:46 |
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They look real nice but lacks the bass responce of the two cheaper buds mentioned here. 18-22,000
I can't hear 20,000 so the better trebble doesn't mean much to me or anyone over 25. By 25 humans can't hear above 20,000 Hz. In fact, there are police mob control devices that target students. It produces random noise above 20,000 Hz.
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AfterDawn Addict
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3. June 2008 @ 08:53 |
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Thanks for the input Mez. ;)
Ok are these the JVC ear buds (marshmallows) you guys were talking about? link to JVC Marshmallows
I have the Skull Candy Ink'd buds and they do a pretty good job for the money. ;)
Thnaks again for your time and input.. :)
...gm
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Mez
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4. June 2008 @ 10:53 |
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The Koss Plugs 10-20,000 Hz are here for $10!
Yes, you could call them marsh mellows. They are cheap isolation buds. The foam makes contact with your ear to keep sound out and transfer vibrations directly to your ear. Low tones transmitt better through solids than air. They also do better if the air and tones can not escape out your ear. The air is more easily compressed, banging your ear drum.
[url=http://eektechnology.com/Spark-Plug-Stereo-Earbuds/M/B00081A2DQ.htm][/url]
I do not know the model of the Philips he had but the base responce was a bit better. Anything below 10, 8 or even 9 is huge!
A bit about quality, because these devices use so little power most of the stats do not mean much except for the range.
A young human can hear 20-24,000 Hz. By 25-30 humans do not hear above 20,000. We continue to lose the high end as we age. Listening to Rock & Roll can hasten that effect. Why are speakers that produce sub hearing range tones desireable? You do feel them. Thunder produces tones below 5 hz. At that range walls start to shake and if you go low enough the ground trembels. The problem has always been producing these sub hearing tones. Traditionally, they required massive amounts of power. I had some 4 hz speakers they needed about a KW to produce those low tones. At school, it would completly shake a 6 story masonary building. Everyone in the building could hear the music but because the music emenated from the walls, no one knew where the source was. I had only to records that produced notes like that, the Beatles Help album and Black Sabath's, Black Sabath's song Black Sabath. The first song on their first album. That has an amazing thunder storm in the beginning of the song. You want to hear a hi quality version to thear the rain drops spatter as they hit a hard surface well.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. June 2008 @ 11:04
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AfterDawn Addict
6 product reviews
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4. June 2008 @ 11:17 |
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here are the phillips buds that I have. they don't give any specs on the website but here's the specs off the box: frequency range: 6 - 23,500 Hz, sensitivity: 102 dB, impedience: 16 Ohm, maximum power input: 50 mW.
these don't look that impressive but I have tried many different model sony buds and these tore them all up. I know there are better but for the money, I'm yet to find any. the frequency response is very good, low clean bass and nice crisp high end. I don't care much for midrange (anything can reproduce that) and the midrange on these is not overwelming like with some. I particuarly like how efficient these buds are.
the JVC's may sound as good, I don't know but when I was shopping I was looking for efficiency and these did not disappoint. the frequency response was a bonus.
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Mez
AfterDawn Addict
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4. June 2008 @ 14:44 |
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Hey Mort I forgot just how good they were. I have seen 20-2500 Hz buds for $200! I made a mental note a while back to look into Philips for my next pair. My wires are starting to work harden so I will be shopping for myself for xmass. My kids will buy them for me but I need to specify what I want. They have different tastes than I. I am really into HiFi. It is easy to upgrade but painful to down grade. As you approch 0 Hz the diffuculty to reproduce the sound goes up logrithymically after about 20 Hz. So 6 hz is very low.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. June 2008 @ 21:31 |
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Mez
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9. June 2008 @ 07:18 |
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I had had my Koss Plugs for a year of heavy use. I have used them so much the wires are starting to work harden. They have taken huge abuse without complaint. I will be buying a set of Philips this fall just to check them out not because I am unhappy with what I have and I am fairly picky.
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AfterDawn Addict
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9. June 2008 @ 08:43 |
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I found some JVC Marshmallows at the EGG... bought those and they should be here by Wed.... so we'll (I'll) know then. ;)
...gm
link to JVC HA-FX33G
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Mez
AfterDawn Addict
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9. June 2008 @ 09:04 |
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Try to get the stats and post them.
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AfterDawn Addict
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9. June 2008 @ 09:08 |
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This what you're looking for?? ;)
Model
Brand JVC
Model HA-FX33G
Type Headphone
General SPEC
Frequency Response 8Hz-23KHz
Input Impedance 14 ohm
Sensitivity 98dB S.P.L. at 1KHz
Connector 3.5mm
Ear Coupling Canal
Cord Length 3.94 ft tangle resist cord
Weight 0.11 oz.
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Mez
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9. June 2008 @ 09:56 |
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Yes! Thanks.
They have a better range than the Koss. They are less efficient and do not have the base of the Phillips. That is impressive to have better base and better efficiency.
I think you will love them. They deffinitly HiFi and are way better than the Maximo iM-390 buds. Now your job is to get HiFi music on to your MP3 player. That may be tricker than you think. Note: iTunes degrades mp3s to 128 BR m4as as it puts them on your player. That is part of the itunes plan to sell you music. If you could hear the difference between HiFi music and what you can down load you wouldn't want to buy theirs. I suspect itunes downgrands all music you play to 128 Br. The problem with ipods is they will not degrade the HiFi music when it is played. Therefore they degrade it as it is synced.
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