iphone 4 sound quality - Page 3

Damn..so it seems like the 4 is even better than the 3GS. If it was just standard sim, I would have already jumped on it by now

I still think we need to wait until burn-in is complete before making any really firm conclusions. I don't honestly know how much burn-in will be required for it but I assume a minimum of 48 hrs. and up to 300 hrs. It has an amp and a dac inside it and both will need time to settle - that is if it's like any other audio component! 

 

Any comparisons between iPad headphone out and iPhone 4 headphone out yet? 

 

Keep the impressions coming! 

The iPhone doesn't need burn in time - it is what it is. You get it now (if you can actually buy 1 ATM) and it's as good as it's gonna get. The only difference is that 48-300 hours is just going to get your senses accommodated to the SQ and little nuances of the device. Any other claims are just perpetuating a myth.

 

Now, I personally can't wait till Sept - so I can have this delicious device for myself. Maybe, just maybe, the Sept iPhone refresh will be the disclosure of a 64gb iPhone 4. after all, the new 64gb NAND flash chips (well, actually 128gb - which will bring the new 64gb chips the customary price drop) will be in full swing by then (I hope).

Edited by tds101 - 6/25/10 at 4:32pm

Both my 3G and 3Gs improved remarkably with burn in.  I don't think it needs 300 hours but a day or two and the sound opened up quite a bit for both.  I also had the same exact experience with my iPad.  In fact going back and forth between my 3Gs and my brand new iPad, the iPhone was far better.  A couple days of burn in on the iPad and without a doubt the iPad sound a tad better, same sig but with more oomph.

 

I am not a huge burn in advocate but I cannot dismiss what I have found on 3 different apple devices with roughly the same audio internals.

It's not really burn in, unless getting used to the devices SQ and characteristics is burn in. Headphones, speakers, movings parts, that I believe can benefit from burn in. Electronic components that don't really do anything but sit there? Naw, that's a myth.

 

This will be my last comment on burn in BTW, as I refuse to get into one of the famous Head-Fi disputes. I still want my iPhone 4 BTW, or the Droid X - if the iPhone 4 proves to be a lemon. I highly doubt the iPhone is anything but a diamond at this point - and my opinion isn't going to change.

Edited by tds101 - 6/25/10 at 4:53pm

Like yourself I have personal AB experience w/ electronic burn-in of a non psychoacoustic nature.  Doesn't matter what other people think or say when you have a consistent repeated experience.

I now have the iphone 4g... waited forever for it (11 hours in hot sun in California's Santa Monica's 3rd st. Promenade mall from 7:45am until 6pm) .  I also had the ipod touch 2nd gen (sounds good- but no voice control)  and Ipod touch 3rd gen (returned the 3rd gen ipod touch immediately  it was awful!).I heard the Iphone 3g... nothing great IMHO and the iphone 3gs..also...not impressed enough to use it as a music source compared to the Imod 5.5g - I have an Imod 5.5 G and a Ipod Shuffle Current generation.

 

I gave the iphone 4g a listen using 2 Iphone dock cables and the Millet portable tube amplifier along with my APS V3 recabled Ultrasone Edition 9's.

 

Just a FYI... I think the Edition 9 w/o the recable can have glaring highs and too much lower midbass which overwhelms/masks several db of  the true low bass and gives the false impression (our ears hear the louder sound) that the Edition 9 is rolling off the lowest octave of bass...this simply is not true.. with the recable some of the lower midbass is attenuated and you can hear absolutely subterranean bass.. Most people remark with dance music on my set up..."Holy crap! I am IN THE CLUB!!!!" . And truly it is not overwhelming... synthetic bass.... it sounds completely authentic to live concerts albeit a quasi live amplified rock concert- though with better bass balance. As compared to live unamplified jazz and classical... the highs are not as transparent as they should be..but IMHO the trade off is the best possible to make you forget you are listening to headphones as the combination of excellent bass respense, good mids and highs, and the S-logic makes you forget you are wearing cans and lets you get closer to the music.

 

Does the iphone4 beat the Imod 5.5 g? 

 

Well certainly it does decent job directly out of the phone jack... but still fails to bring things to life without the assitance of the Millet. Certainly far better sound than the current  Shuffle and way way way better sound than out of the 5.5G Imod's headphone jack (To be excepted as it is just a 5.5 iPod classic in that configuration) but is it better than the imod?

 

Well a few odd things. That unfortunately ALO might not want to hear... and don't get me wrong..I think Ken is one of the coolest people on the planet....truly.

 

Also..keep in mind that the Ultrasones Edition 9's have tons of bass...and with any other headphone... as most others are frankly way too bass light and have severe roll off... well in the case of the Edition 9's the Iphone dock choice....

 

http://www.aloaudio.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_8&products_id=208

 

this ALO audio OCC Cryo 22awg iPhone/iTouch ipod cable for $105  was superior to the ALO audio 18awg OCC Triple Pipe Cryo iPod/iPhone/iTouch cable for $195 

 

(disclaimer...if fully expect if you have other headphones than the Edition 9's or the ultrasone Proline 750's you likely will need the increased highs and lows of the more expensive ALO cable) 

 

What was different. Well I got consistent goose bumps with the less expensive cable. With the live recording of George Micheals' -"Papa was a rolling stone"..at 1:48- 1:57 the screms in the audience are extremely easy to locate and are real both in intensity and frequency rolloff relative to their audience placement. and at 2:00 when the bass kicks and and the crowd goes wild.. it draws you into the concert with a  visceral impact and reverberation that makes you feel as if you ARE there.

 

But what about really hard hitting dance bass? In Paul Oakenfold's Kill Pussy cat kill Eddie Baez remix... you will feel the drums resonate as the Ultrasones actually shake on your head... you feel as if your ears 20 feet from to the bass bins. The percussion is believable. This headphone system is clear enough to easily discern that the Diana Krall's " The girl in the other room" was a digital mix...and sadly... when I decided to swap in the more expensive ALO triple pipe dock it just exposes its digital harshness more..I had to turn it down...to lower than a realistic level... the liveness was gone.

 

Going back to the ALO audio OCC Cryo 22awg iPhone/iTouch ipod cable the smoothness returned... the midrange retreated to a more comfortable level and the highs harshness was gone... the 3 dimensionality returned. Basia's piano did not seem bloated and the overtones appeared. Notes hung properly and were not aggressively truncated as most digital will do.

 

The 5.5g Imod dock cable I had broke- so I could not do a direct comparison (but I did one with the thicker ALO Jumbo cryo all copper cable- but keep in mind this is not the ideal Imod cable for these headphones- the thinner 22 gauge all copper cable is better just as with the iphone4)- the  ... but I have a great auditory memory with the 22 gauge cable and I can say that the 5.5 Imod is better in the Bass department in terms of linearity and overtones- while ..(this is completely nit picking) the Iphone4 was not as smooth- but IMHO is better than any other Ipod except the Imod...-------> will I find anyone else who could hear this difference???... perhaps a few headfiers... but not many. I can say.. that the Iphone4 with the Millet makes a great system that is ultimately Hi-fi listenable.. and only the 5.5g imod is the ONLY other one that can... IMHO lay claim to that.

 

But let's say this... you already own a Edition 9 Ultrasone...and are willing to recable it...APS V3. and you are going to get the iphone 4 anyhow... toss in $105 for a ALO cable...and you are set... along with voice control..and a touch screen and scrolling... , yes it is paltry 32Gb but with apple lossless it works like 64GB. And it's flash memory...shock proof. AWESOME for sports..ie Skiing snowboarding..where the headphones work as earmuffs.

 

$299

$105

 

= $404

 

Of course you can buy a 5.5g Imod and again..IMHO it sounds better with the less expensive dock cable (except if you connect it to speakers that need extra bass like Magneplanar Tympanis)

 

So figure about $100 for a 22 gauge IMod cable.

$250 for the imod

$695 for a 5.5gen 80gb ipod classic reconditioned with a 240gig hard drive (on ALO site).

could run you $1050

 

realistically... most people except the most die hard of headfier's will go for the iphone4 combo when heard side by side unless they need the extra drive space...and you can now stuff a HUGE drive into an Imod. ...that for many will be the deciding factor.

 

 

If you have doubts about the SQ of the iphone4 when amped... don't worry... just line up and get one. you'll email me with thanks. remember if you are using other headphones...my docking cable choices likely would change.

Edited by Golden Ears - 6/25/10 at 11:33pm

Great, we've gone from discussing the HP out SQ of the iPhone 4 to having a discussion of amping it and using the magic overpriced bs placebo cables, and rocking an iMod. Really, can any thread ever be free of nonsense - or is everyone a self professed audiophile in training?!?!?! And what the heck does this have to do w/the iPhone 4???

 

I must say I can deal w/the burn in discussion, as we each believe different things when it comes to audio gear and SQ, but this is way of topic - and total nonsense posted in this discussion.

 

Well, I guess I'll need to pay attention to the real discussion and just ignore the fodder - let me get my "Ignore" list started.

Edited by tds101 - 6/25/10 at 11:37pm

does holding the Iphone 4 differently change the way it sounds?? 

Only when it comes to the phones reception. seems Apple tells us not to hold it w/the left hand, as it causes a bridge between the antennas on the edging of the phone. Funny really, telling people they hold their phone wrong.

Ha!!.... as if I could care much about the phone feature or reception on the crappy AT&T network. Besides.. on the go in phone mode I use a Wildcharge cover. When I bought my nokia N-95 I bought it for the video camera....durable 5 mp camera and all the other features.. the Iphone is much the same thing.. you buy an iphone for the  compact web browser and SQ...not as  a phone.

 

Yeah the reception thing... looks real - just like in the video..I drop from 3g to ...errr edge in Santa Monica...oddly only if you hold it in your left hand....a certain way. I could give a crap.... people onlycall me to bother me...and typically women use phones to "bell the cat" and for that reason... we should embrace poor phone reception and weak networks.....who wants to have to turn the car around to get a quart of milk/diapers/ box of tampons/ anyhow? 

 

4th quarter of this year.. we will have Verizon iPhones I'll dump this phone when that happens.... but when it happens so many will leave ATT in droves for Verizon it will relieve stress from the AT&T network and likely service for 3g over AT&T will improve... .and Verizon's will plummet under the onslought although Verizon customers have such crappy phones now (Blackberry storm....ehhh) that most are used to not using browsers much on their frustrating Verizon phones.

 

And likely it will take another year for a 4g EVDo iphone.

 Until then..I'm going to get a Sprint 4g EVDO modem.

Edited by Golden Ears - 6/25/10 at 11:44pm

Supposedly the case Apple sells will solve the problem.....but that's another $30 or so.

Oh... I forgot one thing...

 

I did get interference though my Millet when stacking the iphone4 and the Millet- with the cheaper cable... it isn't a factor as the alo less expensive cable is straight- but if you have bass light headphones and use a pre-curved one- like the thicker ALO cables... you probably will be able to hear the interference. Perhaps some MU metal shielding as layer might work... I'll have to order some.

 

http://www.mumetal.com/

 

of course with the Imod.. you will not get interference..

 

Lastly.. I did another comparision with Leonard Cohen...in my secret life... and well wouldnt you know... the Imod with the Jumbo Cryro... well it brought forth some midrange body that made Cohen entrancing.. could not take it off my head.

 

I was hoping to sell one of my set ups... but...well... I guess it isn't going to happen.

Edited by Golden Ears - 6/26/10 at 12:01am

Well if you aren't after better sound... ignore my posts. But if you re-read you will see I compare the headphone out jack as well. I think it is the information you are after. Unless you would rather hear random opinions from "average Joes" that really have no idea what they are talking about I suggest you read the reviews on CNet. As for amps.. the predator is tiny.. you can find them used or new... it will improve things..dramatically...as would a Millet which will help de-digitize digital glare of the music.

 

I do stress that if you hear the set up I describe.. you would be impressed enough to figure out what you had to sell on Ebay. 

 

 

 

good luck on your quest. for many on a budget .. I suggest this.. Iphone4 + used predator + used Ultrasone Proline 750 (an awesome "poor mans substitute for Edition 9 recabled with v3").

 

or for IEM

 

ir just iphone4 + JH audio JH13 or JH16. (wow)

 

budget.. Iphone4 + remold some used UE10s. (involving)

 

cheaper still Iphone4 + senn px 100. (no it won't be thrilling)

 

You do get what you pay for if you pick a quality matched system. If you match it all crappy... no matter what you spend you get crap. it is all about Balance. I wish the cables were placebo... I've hoped they would be...listened carefully... and I can assure you... they work like good EQ with less phase shifting. You need good cables with some gear.... but I happen to like the stock cable and sound from the Ultrasone Proline 750's.

 

 

sorry about your wallet.
 

Edited by Golden Ears - 6/26/10 at 12:15am

Dude what refresh are you talking about?
There has never been an iPhone refresh apart from june. September will bring iPods, unfortunately not bigger iPhones.

I was disappointed myself about no 64gb iPhone. Hopefully next year :(