Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Source Gear › Clip+ Sound Quality, really??
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Clip+ Sound Quality, really?? - Page 3

post #31 of 179
4/7/10 at 6:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LFF View Post
I feel a STOCK sansa clip+ UNAMPED still sounds better than most DAP's out there, including all the ipods.
I've never heard the Clip+ but i dare to say the stock Clip sounds just as good as the s:flo2 to my ears... and a portable amp such as the Headsix doesn't bring anything good when using my IEM. With more demanding phones (portable phones like D1001 or ES7 in my case) the bass is a bit rolled off compared to a more powerful DAP, which may explain the "thin" sound some people hear. It's only a matter of synergy with the headphone out i think.
Reply
post #32 of 179
4/7/10 at 7:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mobbaddict View Post
I've never heard the Clip+ but i dare to say the stock Clip sounds just as good as the s:flo2 to my ears... and a portable amp such as the Headsix doesn't bring anything good when using my IEM. With more demanding phones (portable phones like D1001 or ES7 in my case) the bass is a bit rolled off compared to a more powerful DAP, which may explain the "thin" sound some people hear. It's only a matter of synergy with the headphone out i think.
Really? I'd like Shig to comment on the the clip and the SFlo2 sounding the same. I find that extremely hard to believe.

As for thinness, honestly its just a general lack of body or resolution over the whole spectrum. I'm beginning to think the majority of clip users are using BA IEM's as well, perhaps that would explain the discrepancy.

I have since Rocked the Box and it is much better than stock. Working on a config file for it atm. Although it sounds much better, it is still shy of my iPod nano and Sony Discman. I think the SFlo2 is next, I find it hard to believe its Dual Wolfson DAC's sound like a stock Clip.
Reply
post #33 of 179
4/7/10 at 7:33am
different folks different strokes..
Reply
post #34 of 179
4/7/10 at 7:53am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by weibby View Post
different folks different strokes..
You know not to be rude but this attitude seems be more prevalant in this thread regarding the clip than any other thread I've seen in Headfi. As a website for 'Audiophiles' that has a compendium for describing accurate sound for the benefit of its members to attain a better understanding and appreciation for music such comments are ridiculous and accomplish nothing useful. Sound is either full or thin, bright or dark, loud or soft, etc. This whole you hear what you hear and I hear what I hear is a bunch of bullcrap and would make this whole forum pointless if everyone felt that way. A few of you have been very helpful and constructive and I thank you. For the others, well, keep on trolling.
Reply
post #35 of 179
4/7/10 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anaxilus View Post
Really? I'd like Shig to comment on the the clip and the SFlo2 sounding the same. I find that extremely hard to believe.

As for thinness, honestly its just a general lack of body or resolution over the whole spectrum. I'm beginning to think the majority of clip users are using BA IEM's as well, perhaps that would explain the discrepancy.

I have since Rocked the Box and it is much better than stock. Working on a config file for it atm. Although it sounds much better, it is still shy of my iPod nano and Sony Discman. I think the SFlo2 is next, I find it hard to believe its Dual Wolfson DAC's sound like a stock Clip.
It's just my impressions, most people will tell you the s:flo blows the clip out of the water, and while i'd love to share their enthusiasm, it's just nothing special to me actually. You could think my opinion is biased or wrong but i also compared both of them with my old Vaio Pocket (great DAP by Sony), and the latter is still my favourite by a fair margin.
I don't know about the BA IEMs hypothesis... except with portable phones, i never found the clip flawed.

On the other hand the headphone out of the s:flo is much more powerful: 40 mw/channel vs... 15 mw, something like that? It could explain a lot of things.
Reply
post #36 of 179
4/7/10 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anaxilus View Post
You know not to be rude but this attitude seems be more prevalant in this thread regarding the clip than any other thread I've seen in Headfi. As a website for 'Audiophiles' that has a compendium for describing accurate sound for the benefit of its members to attain a better understanding and appreciation for music such comments are ridiculous and accomplish nothing useful. Sound is either full or thin, bright or dark, loud or soft, etc. This whole you hear what you hear and I hear what I hear is a bunch of bullcrap and would make this whole forum pointless if everyone felt that way. A few of you have been very helpful and constructive and I thank you. For the others, well, keep on trolling.


but what makes your word/opinion the final answer?
If others are hearing the fullness of the sound quality what makes your opinion to Trump there's.

What would be the motive of almost all Prof. Reviews of the clip+who don't share the same view as you do?

The bottom line is yes different strokes for different folks, you don't like it, that's fine, but many people do.

So anyone who doesn't share your view doesn't know what they are talking about or are a troll?
Reply
post #37 of 179
4/7/10 at 2:01pm
I agree with boswd and mobbaddict. You may be able to get a general concensus on some things here but expecting everyone to share general consensus on everything is flawed by definition. If someone hears something and gives their impression on it, who are we to tell them they are right or wrong? If you like what you are hearing and enjoy the sound, who are we to tell you that what you hear is crap... So in that sense it is different strokes for different folks...

However that shouldn't stop people seeking other opinions on something (thats one of the reasons this forum exists), it just means that you'll eventually need to make up your own mind on it and not expect everyone to agree...
Reply
post #38 of 179
4/7/10 at 2:50pm
old Sony Discman? too high standard for mp3 players!
Maybe some very old HDD players, such as kenwood hda7,d9,b9, and creative nomad jukebox series.
Reply
post #39 of 179
4/7/10 at 4:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by boswd View Post
but what makes your word/opinion the final answer?
If others are hearing the fullness of the sound quality what makes your opinion to Trump there's.

What would be the motive of almost all Prof. Reviews of the clip+who don't share the same view as you do?

The bottom line is yes different strokes for different folks, you don't like it, that's fine, but many people do.

So anyone who doesn't share your view doesn't know what they are talking about or are a troll?
If my opinion were the final word I wouldn't be asking for other peoples experiences would I? I am also not the only one that finds deficiencies as you should have read in this thread. The question is why the discrepancy?

What are these Prof. reviews you speak of? Professional reviews?? What 'Professional' do you speak of that lauds the stock clip+ or even the boxed clip+ to be equal to or better than an SFlo2 or and iPod. Please point me to these miracle reviews by audio engineers who have scientifically measured the respective DAP's in question.

My issue is it seems alot of people are posting their recommendations using inaccurate methodology and limited audial experience. Say someone listens to their rockboxed or LOD'd Fuze plugged into a desktop tube amp using 24 bit FLAC and then listens to the same song on their friends unmodded iPod unamped using 128k MP3's. They come on here and post Fuze destroys all other DAP's! Now people go spend their money and find out umm, WTF?

I simply don't find this discrepancy of opinion in other threads. With the IEM and Amp thread people do very well describing the sonic character of products and reaching consensus. Here in the portable DAP area, people are all over the place and from where some on this particular thread have taken it seems far from any legitimate discussion of sound quality from an Audiophile perspective.

You want a final word Boswd? Here it is on the Sansa Clip+:

Pretty good sound when rockboxed for a $30-$50 player in such a small, well built package. Look elsewhere if you are searching for Audiophile level SQ in a DAP especially if you have dynamic drivers that need a bit of power to bring out their best.

Regards
Reply
post #40 of 179
4/7/10 at 4:58pm
Quoted from Anaxilus: Pretty good sound when rockboxed for a $30-$50 player in such a small, well built package. Look elsewhere if you are searching for Audiophile level SQ in a DAP especially if you have dynamic drivers that need a bit of power to bring out their best.

My opinion? He's pretty much right on. The player sounds thin compared to my T51. It is detailed and the UM3Xs sound great out of them but IMO they could use some more power to sound their best. For under 50 bucks it's a very, very good player but alone it doesn't stand up to the T51 (I would compare to iPods but I don't remember how my 5G Nano sounded).
Reply
post #41 of 179
4/7/10 at 5:28pm
It's a very good sounding DAP too my ears, even unamped. I should buy one just for FLAC files. Oh well, I like it...
Reply
post #42 of 179
4/7/10 at 6:59pm
I got an 8GB Clip+ and without rockbox, I was rather depressed with the quality/output. Even at full volume it was annoying low. Pumping the audio through my CmoyBB, I needed to set the volume on the amp to over half to get anything decent out of it. After Rocking the Box, I couldn't believe how much everything had improved. The volume can now be set to either stun/kill, though I don't think that'll ever happen to my ears. The advanced audio settings are mind boggling and tbh I don't think the RB'd version would ever need to be amped. The main reason I got it is because I need to get out walking and I need as little bulk as possible, having something that'll keep me going without little annoying things like gaps between tracks.
Reply
post #43 of 179
4/7/10 at 7:44pm
True, the maximum volume sounds too soft although I'm used to it now.
Reply
post #44 of 179
4/7/10 at 7:51pm
Anyone who compares the Clip+ and S:flo2 needs to remember the price and size difference.
It just isn't fair to compare them on an equal stage.
That's my 2 cents anyhow.
Reply
post #45 of 179
4/7/10 at 9:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deep Funk View Post
True, the maximum volume sounds too soft although I'm used to it now.
it might be set to European settings which has a very low volume cap. if you set it to "North America", it's much louder

(admittedly this post is based on my experience with the old clip, not the new clip+, but i'm guessing it will be exactly the same. you can use the "Reset" option found in the settings and it will ask you to set up your location again)
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Portable Source Gear
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Source Gear › Clip+ Sound Quality, really??