# A very interesting experience......



## monsursound (Sep 18, 2012)

I truely believed that if audio quality is your top priority you must get a MP3 player. So instead of getting a costly phone i got a basic samsung phone (dont even know the name ) while i was still deciding between *iPod Shuffle* and *Cowon E2*. After getting the phone i plugged my *Sennheiser PX 80* just to listen to some music....and voila!!!! *There was almost no difference at all between the ipod shuffle*(i have an ipod shuffle 2G which computer is not recognizing anymore  but the present songs are playing alright) *and my phone*. I tried different genres of music and i was blown away with the kind of music quality that my cheap samsung phone (Rs 2500 only)was offering.So now i am wondering if it is even worth getting these low end MP3 players at all since your cellphone coupled with a good ear phone seems to do the job perfectly!!!

iPOD shuffle Rs 3200--------------------------------------------Only Music.
Samsung Phone(i still dont know the name ) Rs2500-----------call,text,apps,organiser,music and a hell lot more........

So ????? you know what i mean............


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## abhidev (Sep 18, 2012)

IMO the device also makes a difference in the sound quality....right now as you are using good headphones the audio intensity must have been amplified...as for most of them loud sound means good audio quality. And the PMP are definitely good when it comes to sound quality as there are many factors to be considered apart from just loud sound. Hope you get my point


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## RCuber (Sep 18, 2012)

not necessarily.. I was thinking my Samsung "Android" phone sounded awesome, but dedicated quality MP3 players are different. iPod Shuffle is the worst MP3 Player I have ever used in terms of sound quality (I have two and also a iPod Classic), more recently I bought a Sansa Fuze+ and the sound and quality is much way better than the iPod and Samsung phone. pair it with a IEM and you are set to spoil your ears ..


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## abhidev (Sep 18, 2012)

@ as I said earlier...there are other factors to consider when it comes to sound quality...the audio too has to be of good quality. Also what I meant is when it comes to PMP...they are dedicated to just for audios n videos as compared to cellphones.


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## monsursound (Sep 18, 2012)

abhidev said:


> @ as I said earlier...there are other factors to consider when it comes to sound quality...the audio too has to be of good quality. Also what I meant is when it comes to PMP...they are dedicated to just for audios n videos as compared to cellphones.


May be you are right.I havent used anything other than ipod shuffle....so thats kind of reference for me....in future i will go for cowon ...but right now i dont feel the necessity of another ipod shuffle.....


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## dan4u (Sep 18, 2012)

iPod shuffle's music quality is pretty bad, a nano or ipod touch offers better quality, not to mention battery backup. I've got a htc explorer, while playing music the battery gets drained really fast. so I got a nano, great battery life and good quality. but if you get a high end phone you'll hardly notice any difference between dedicated music players.


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## ratul (Sep 19, 2012)

dan4u said:


> iPod shuffle's music quality is pretty bad, a nano or ipod touch offers better quality, not to mention battery backup. I've got a htc explorer, while playing music the battery gets drained really fast. so I got a nano, great battery life and good quality. but if you get a high end phone you'll hardly notice any difference between dedicated music players.



not even high end phones, today a 10-15k phone has dedicated sound chip, so the sound quality remains on the par with dedicated music players, but as you said, the main concern is the battery, so music players are still better for long time listening..


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## Hrishi (Sep 19, 2012)

All I know is that Nokia N-91 , and Samsung Galaxy i900 are the best I have ever heard. In Fact Nokia N91 was a gem by Nokia. They had DAC by harman kardon.

And My Nokia n95 8gb was like sh** in terms of sound quality in headphones.


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## audiophilic (Sep 20, 2012)

monsursound said:


> I truely believed that if audio quality is your top priority you must get a MP3 player. So instead of getting a costly phone i got a basic samsung phone (dont even know the name ) while i was still deciding between *iPod Shuffle* and *Cowon E2*. After getting the phone i plugged my *Sennheiser PX 80* just to listen to some music....and voila!!!! *There was almost no difference at all between the ipod shuffle*(i have an ipod shuffle 2G which computer is not recognizing anymore  but the present songs are playing alright) *and my phone*. I tried different genres of music and i was blown away with the kind of music quality that my cheap samsung phone (Rs 2500 only)was offering.So now i am wondering if it is even worth getting these low end MP3 players at all since your cellphone coupled with a good ear phone seems to do the job perfectly!!!
> 
> iPOD shuffle Rs 3200--------------------------------------------Only Music.
> Samsung Phone(i still dont know the name ) Rs2500-----------call,text,apps,organiser,music and a hell lot more........
> ...



Depending on the degree of your listening abilities, you will be able to do a noticeable difference between a stand alone mp3 player and a phone. Usually, cheaper phones are not made with the audio setup that a stand alone mp3 player has. You didn't perhaps notice a difference because you might have listened to a couple of songs for a shorter period of time, or you didn't do an advanced set up test with varying audio containers. 

I think for you to tell clearly the difference, you need to do a complete file format analysis, along with duration of playback. I would need at least 3 months, if not 6 to really tell the difference between your cheap phone and the ipod shuffle you bought. 

And I think apple mostly spends their money on build quality more than any other company, so i believe most of the money you paid for is not really the sound. It is the build quality and material used by apple to build it, which is aluminum compared to your cheap plastic samsung phone. Hope this helps.


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## red dragon (Sep 24, 2012)

@op,try the same thing with a Sansa clip or the fuze(not the Fuze plus) with little better iem and come back!!
ipods are never really known for their sound quality but they are usually better than most mobile phones(specially the high end ones)
GS3 for example has a very good Wolfson DAC,but it is easily one of the worst sounding high end smart phone around!
Try a clip plus and let us know if you find it better or not.
A good DAP (ipods not included) will always sound better than a phone.


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## RCuber (Sep 24, 2012)

^^ I was looking for Clip+ /Clip Zip, but couldn't find it  .. had to settle for Fuze+ :/


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## red dragon (Sep 24, 2012)

Rishi. said:


> All I know is that Nokia N-91 , and Samsung Galaxy i900 are the best I have ever heard. In Fact Nokia N91 was a gem by Nokia. They had DAC by harman kardon.


A good DAC does not always translate into good sq when it comes to mobile phones.
GS3 has a very potent DAC,but it sounds a lot worse than a 4s.
N91 must had great DAC along with some sensible engineering also(it could completely block the cpu whine with adequate shielding)
The galaxy note and gs2 has exact same DAC but the note does sound better(both are pretty rubbish though)


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## red dragon (Sep 24, 2012)

RCuber said:


> ^^ I was looking for Clip+ /Clip Zip, but couldn't find it  .. had to settle for Fuze+ :/



Why?Grabmore has a lot of clip plus and clip zips! 
Buy a 2GB clip plus,put in a SDHC(32gigs),it is dirt cheap and sounds a lot better than ipods!


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## RCuber (Sep 24, 2012)

^^ 2.5K for that and in case of RMA /DOA etc I had to shell out 1.5K for shipping, which would come up to 4K , so logically I would go for local seller pristine note .. BTW I have already bought it


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## red dragon (Sep 24, 2012)

Yes,I have seen your thread.How is the sound quality?Can you compare it with an ipod?Which headphones are you using it?
Actually I am also planning to buy a DAP which can drive slightly higher impedance headphones.Clip plus is great,but the amp is a tad too weak for larger cans(which is perfectly understandable,given its size)


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## RCuber (Sep 24, 2012)

^^ will do a review.. lets stick to topic


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## red dragon (Sep 24, 2012)

Sorry,my apologies!


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## Faun (Sep 24, 2012)

FUZE+ is good enough comparing to STX + Stepdance combo in PC. 

There are better DAPs if you have the money. Studio V, Colorfly, HiFiMan. 

But the most important thing is the synergy between the the components you use.


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## Anorion (Sep 24, 2012)

hmm op is right

there is almost no difference, and samsung does have one of the best audio in it's devices, across the range 

SII frequency response (roughly, flatter is better)
*i.imgur.com/gx749.png

*i.imgur.com/5vTiR.png

*i.imgur.com/N5Uab.png

*i.imgur.com/YK6DB.png

moral of the story : ipods are marginally better, but they are both very good 

Sansa clip is flat too
*i.imgur.com/bDbX6.png

Cowon D2+ is a lil diff, cant be read as a "flatter is better logic", it's bass heavy, but that's really good, and can be easily neutralized in the equaliser 
*i.imgur.com/JJRxI.png

sources: RightMark Audio Analyzer test: comparison,  this site, anandtech, and gsmarena


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## manojbhagat (Sep 25, 2012)

Even i have noticed this.I had a Samsung Corby and a iPod touch.There was no difference at all in the quality or intensity of the sound when listening through earphones.
But when i used to connect the Corby to my Bose Lifestyle 18 home theater there was a noticeable decrease in the volume when compared to the iPod Touch.So i guess there is some difference in the output for sure.


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## red dragon (Sep 25, 2012)

The frequency response curves only tell half of the story(even less for DAPs)
                    Clip plus or a Fuze sounds much better than a ipod(except 5&5.5th gen classics)
The hp out of ipod is absolutely garbage.


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## monsursound (Sep 27, 2012)

Well...i am not an hardcore audiophile..... i am just a casual listener.....all i want is 'good' sound.You a may say that i am a bit particular than an average music listener.So very minute details and very little differences really does not make a difference to me(or you may say that i wont  even be able to tell any such difference).But i also dont want to listen to muddy music.And now i have listened at least 10hrs of music...really i found very little difference and also the volume is a bit low.And this post is regarding the entry level Mp3 players.I am not comparing highends like ipod touch,classic,cowon j3....etc.


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