I was intrigued by suggestions by some that the new Nokia XpressMusic range (especially the 5800) were in the realms of DAP-replacing, along with the 3G. So when my trusty K800i died I went for the cheaper, slimmed down 5530, with dreams of streamlining music, a camera and a media player into one device.
No such luck.
I can't comment on the 5800s sound quality, but the 5530 sounds pretty bad through my SE530s to my ears.
My first gripe is that it's WAAAAY too loud. Anything above the first few notches on the volume slider is rather painful, and using the "line out" option as has been suggested by 5800 users is too loud even on the lowest setting. What the hell were Nokia thinking pumping so much volume out? Admittedly, I'm using very sensitive IEMs, but really who uses 300ohm phones on a £100 mobile phone? It's also somewhat irresponsible to practically ENCOURAGE it's users to listen to music at ear-shattering levels. I have to use the shure attenuator before it's even usable, which is unnecessarily inconvenient.
Even with the volume in check, I'm just not impressed with the sound quality one bit. It's really worlds apart from, say, the Sansa Clip or Cowon S9. Far too artificial sounding, and the bass is definitely fatiguing to my ears.
Am I missing something? Is the 5530 not up to the standards of the 5800 or am I just not impressed by the whole range? Has anyone listened to both the 5800 and 5530 who can compare? If this is as good as it gets for non Apple music phones, that's pretty depressing.
However I feel I should add that aside from the poor sound quality I'm extremely impressed with the 5530 overall, with my only other gripe being that the camera is pretty bad in low light, and definitely not up to the standard of my ancient K800i. I hope I don't discourage anyone, since I still think it's by far the best touchscreen phone in it's price bracket when you consider features and specs. I just don't think it's worth using it as a DAP when you can pick up something like the Clip so cheaply.
No such luck.
I can't comment on the 5800s sound quality, but the 5530 sounds pretty bad through my SE530s to my ears.
My first gripe is that it's WAAAAY too loud. Anything above the first few notches on the volume slider is rather painful, and using the "line out" option as has been suggested by 5800 users is too loud even on the lowest setting. What the hell were Nokia thinking pumping so much volume out? Admittedly, I'm using very sensitive IEMs, but really who uses 300ohm phones on a £100 mobile phone? It's also somewhat irresponsible to practically ENCOURAGE it's users to listen to music at ear-shattering levels. I have to use the shure attenuator before it's even usable, which is unnecessarily inconvenient.
Even with the volume in check, I'm just not impressed with the sound quality one bit. It's really worlds apart from, say, the Sansa Clip or Cowon S9. Far too artificial sounding, and the bass is definitely fatiguing to my ears.
Am I missing something? Is the 5530 not up to the standards of the 5800 or am I just not impressed by the whole range? Has anyone listened to both the 5800 and 5530 who can compare? If this is as good as it gets for non Apple music phones, that's pretty depressing.
However I feel I should add that aside from the poor sound quality I'm extremely impressed with the 5530 overall, with my only other gripe being that the camera is pretty bad in low light, and definitely not up to the standard of my ancient K800i. I hope I don't discourage anyone, since I still think it's by far the best touchscreen phone in it's price bracket when you consider features and specs. I just don't think it's worth using it as a DAP when you can pick up something like the Clip so cheaply.
