iphone 4 sound quality - Page 20

Oh boy.  Using Amps for EQ and EQ for amps.  Sigh.....

I've only ever tried the EQu of those you mentioned with my iPhone 4 and it compresses the dynamic range pretty badly, I can't listen at moderate-to-loud levels without it audibly clipping.

I think Equalizer sounds better. To me it sounds very close to the apple player on 'flat'. EQu definitely has a different sound and I didn't like it, so I never use it.

Equalizer > EQu.

I'll cop that I've used an amp to help with EQ, since the iPod Classic will not give me what I want from the low end on it's own (XM5 has made the SQ excellent) but I don't see how I'm guilty of the other. Adding the 75 ohm impedance to SuperFi 5EB has more or less resolved the "bass bloat" issue that many complain about, and other than turning the volume up to compensate for the reduced signal, I'm not sure what your point is. Why make amps with enhancement features at all if it is so frowned upon?

 

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I guess it wasn't clear that you were using an amp solely for EQ since using EQ rendered your amp obsolete.  I have no problem w/ using the hardware in an amp to mitigate 'issues' as I made the same decision.  It was just your statement that sort of read like there was a lack of understanding of the fundamentals of amping.  I'll presume it was simply just a case of lexical ambiguity.

 

Doesn't matter what's frowned upon as long as you are happy w/ the sound and understand why it sounds as it does.  People make amps and all sorts of stuff with 'enhanced features'.  That doesn't make it the best or most desired solution.  We are talking quick fixes that usually come w/ a cost or other compromise.  Listen to what you like.  My point was just to try to separate the concepts of amping from equalization should some folk here read and blend the two together without knowing any better.

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That's fair enough then since I didn't specify what I was using the amp for. At any rate, it's nice to have parametric EQ options that can stretch as low as ~20hz, yet still be able to keep midbass subdued - none of the iPod presets in iPhone4 can deliver anywhere near that kind of individual preference. I'm still baffled as to why Apple haven't included even a rudimentary 5-band custom option.

I'm loving this iPhone 4 (headphone out) and Sleek Audio SA6 combination. It sounds very good to me. My computer audio setup is nothing to laugh at either, and in comparison I am still very happy with this portable setup.

 

I also use the iPhone in my car with a combination LOD/charge cable, and hooked to my home stereo with a modified Apple iPad dock and am very happy with it there as well. 

Trying out Equalizer, but haven't had any luck "perfecting" music since this is my first time trying an equalizer. I'm just randomly goign up/down seeing what sounds better, but when changing genres the equalizer isn't fit for the music anymore (must get another preset).

 

I'm still wrapping my head around this whole equalizer process (new to the audiophile world, just a pretty big music lover coming to this site and checknig headphones to get).

Would you guys consider Equalizer app to replace iPod? Isn't changing the EQ when you're on the go too much of a pain each time? :P Source is mostly 320kbps MP3 with some ALAC, no amp, just AKG K518DJ's.

Has anybody in this thread compared the iPhone 4 line out + decent LOD + good quality amp (ttvj slim, Alo Rx MKII, etc.) to an HM 801, with a pair of decent portable headphones (HD-25, DT 1350, ES10, etc. - NOT IEMs) ? What were your impressions ?

I don't believe in changing the EQ for different genres. I take several of the albums I am most familiar with(various genres), and start tinkering with each set of headphones....for example, you can't have the same setting for PortaPros as you do for SR60i's, given how different the 'phones frequency responses are. The ideal headphones would need no EQ adjustment, but most of us don't have the ideal headphones...so EQ can help compensate.

 

 

 

I'll give it a shot. As I said, haven't had much time but I used some bassy songs to tinker with the EQ, then once I switched over to Jazz I did NOT like the sound of it at all.

Is there anyway to know -what- exactly you're changing with the program or not? Since randomly pulling things up/down/left/right doesn't seem precise to me (as it's what I'm doing :P). So I guess once you've set a good overall EQ (I'm guessing good for all genres = no extreme high/low in EQ), you use Equalizer as your go-to media player on iPhone?

Too bad I don't know any other K518 users using this program, I'll see what I can make of my new phones tonight :).
 

 

Edited by Shiryu - 7/27/11 at 7:25am

Foobar2000 has a spectrum analyzer component which can be helpful (see below....click the image to enlarge). You can adjust foobar's equalizer and see the effect it is having in the spectrum analyzer.....that could give you a basis for knowing what frequencies equate with what sounds you are hearing.

 

For those of you who use Equalizer, what is your favorite preset?  I've found that almost ALL of my music sounds better when under the "Acoustic" preset.  It's REALLY noticeable on really busy songs and some hard rock/heavy metal stuff.  I listened to Stick Stickly by Attack Attack! and it just sounds SO much better under the acoustic preset.  I like it cause it ups the bass a little bit and also the mid treble.

 

I don't use any of the presets. For me, the whole point of having the app is to be able to make my own settings.