Nokia N900 - Has anyone tried it? - Page 2

I have chosen Mac OS X as my notebook OS. I hope Apple can get similar experience on mobile computers too. For me iPhone OS is too limiting, no multi-tasking and apps run in a very restricted environment, plus Apple gets to decide what runs on it and what doesn't. Totally different than Mac OS X. We'll just have to cope with compromises until technology develops far enough.

Maybe the new tablet from Apple will be the one we love?

joonas: Maybe the audio circuitry are wanting a burn-in period before becoming 'usable'? I hope so for your sake and everyone else who would benefit from its sonic potential. 48GB of music on a flash(with the extension card) is nothing to scoff at, and I wouldn't be shocked overwhelmingly to learn that someone at Nokia might have had the prescience to load an actual amp into the chassis, eliminating (for many) the situations demanding an outboard headamp. They could load a switch into the OS, with an option for letting the audio grab more of the current, allowing for higher voltage audio drive at the expense of battery.

We both wish the same thing. But before that, I wish my Audiotailor Jade arrives!

I currently have the N900 and was thinking about buying the Sennheiser IE8 or the Ultimate Ears 700. Can anyone tell me which one would be better for the N900 or are they both overkill for it?
I listen to a wide variety of music from Britt Nicole to Evanescence to Hardcore
Help would be appreciated

I'm using the N900 with a pair of Westone 3s and it sounds fantastic. I mostly listen to FLAC. At any rate, I was pleased enough with the sound that I've just moved all my music over from my Cowon D2 to the N900. (The D2 has great audio but its UI sucks bad. Also, now I only need to carry around one device.)

Here's the audio portion of the N900 review on GSMArena that might help you decide what you need:

Nokia N900 review: A new hope - GSMArena.com

The Nokia N900 works pretty well as a stand-in hockey puck for pickup games on the frozen pond in my backyard.

Yes, most pocket-sized mobile devices do.

I went for the Sennheiser IE8 with an Ibasso D2+boa amp and I must say it sounds great

Just curious how the IE8s sound on the N900 without the 'middleware'? Is there enough power to drive them on its own?

With the D2+ boa are you using USB or just the analog headphone jack? I'm looking forward to the possibility of driving an external DAC and headphone amp (waiting for the Fiio E7) from the USB port on the N900.

The N900 actually sounds pretty good without an amp. Even with the sennheisers

a little late in the game but since I just landed into this thread thought I'd pipe up.

 

I've had this phone for a year now and I love it. I can crack wireless networks on the go! (kismet, aircrack) 

For the hacker, there is no other device this portable that packs the same amount of power.

For the user, it sucks, get an iPhone and go be happy.

 

well back on topic....

 

It has for a headphone amp:

Texas Instruments TPA6130a2 (from http://natisbad.org/N900/n900-commented-hardware-specs.html)

some specifications found online: [http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/tpa6130a2.html]

 

"The TPA6130A2 is a stereo DirectPath™ headphone amplifier with I²C digital volume control. The TPA6130A2 has minimal quiescent current consumption, with a typical I_DD of 4 mA, making it optimal for portable applications. The I²C control allows maximum flexibility with a 64 step audio taper volume control, channel independent enables and mutes, and the ability to configure the outputs into stereo, dual mono, or a single receiver speaker BTL amplifier that drives 300 mW of power into 16  loads

The TPA6130A2 is a high fidelity amplifier with an SNR of 98 dB. A PSRR greater than 100 dB enables direct-to-battery connections without compromising the listening experience. The output noise of 9 µVrms (typical A-weighted) provides a minimal noise background during periods of silence."

 

so:

DirectPath Ground-Referenced Outputs -- e.g. no output DC blocking capacitors {NICE!!}

SNR of 98 dB  {not shabby at all!}

300mw at 16 ohms is not bad at all. It looks like Nokia didn't overlook the music community too much. The TPA6130A2 is a respectable headphone amplifier, at least on paper.

 

I have an HD600 / TF10 / AHD1001 and they all drive them direct no problem, albeit the HD600's at 85% volume and sounds great for music on the go.

Edited by moophus - 5/18/11 at 10:27am

Have you tried the rockbox ported to n900 moophus?

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=66896

no way...going to look into it now.

I gotta say. the n900 looks dated, it's simply massive and clunky. plus a resistive touch screen in 2010? BUT, it just keeps impressing me.

It's stably overclocked to 900mhz for the past year. I was out on vacation last week and sniffed and cracked a wep network in about an hour :)