Sansa Clip+ Impressions - Page 8

Yeah I meant if he previously had the European limit then after rbing it, it will be louder

Ok i'm starting to wonder if I listen at abnormally low volumes. For my DBAs without replaygain/eq i listen at around -56 to -45db, sometimes around -40 on the quieter recordings but never usually past it. Ive used pretty insensitive ear buds and iems before but i never had to really go past -25db on RB or past the 80% mark on OF.

You know, I listen to a wide variety of music.  The clip+ is very fine for, lets say, classic rock, Indian music, R+B, basanova.  But I also like to listen to some electrotrance, for example, and that's music that you want to hear ripping through the headphones, nice and pumped up.  Screaming treble, really fat bass.  The Sansa+ can't deliver.  I also own a 1st gen ipod shuffle... the sound quality is worse in general than the sansa, but it provides maybe 15% louder volume, without distortion.

So I wonder if rockbox can pump up the volume a bit in the sansa+?  I haven;t rockboxed it as I'm happy with the current UI actually, but I'd do it for some extra loudness.

The 1st Gen shuffle gets louder, but distorts at the upper end of the volume more than the Sansa. But if you are listening to music THAT loudly, then you probably can't pick up the distortion anyway. In terms of SQ, the Clip is only really better in hiss and at loud volumes, holding down distortion. At normal volumes, the shuffle has better low end performance, better stereo separation, and (subjectively) smoother mids. 

I own both and think lovely for their uses, but if the shuffle didn't hiss (and never died), I'd never use the clip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo 

The 1st Gen shuffle gets louder, but distorts at the upper end of the volume more than the Sansa. But if you are listening to music THAT loudly, then you probably can't pick up the distortion anyway. In terms of SQ, the Clip is only really better in hiss and at loud volumes, holding down distortion. At normal volumes, the shuffle has better low end performance, better stereo separation, and (subjectively) smoother mids. 

 

I own both and think lovely for their uses, but if the shuffle didn't hiss (and never died), I'd never use the clip.

Haha I can most certainly pick up the distortion, I know very well what distortion sounds like.  And the 1st generation shuffle unquestionably can get louder than the clip without distorting.  (I didnt say that the shuffle wont distort at its max volume, it sometimes will depending on the track.  But itll get to a higher volume than the clip without distorting on any given track.)  SQ wise, Id say that the clip has smoother mids, and overall a nicer, fuller sound.  i prefer it.  id agree that the 1st gen shuffle is indeed usually better at low end performance (so music with a ton of bass can sometimes sound better on it, yeah), sometimes better very high end performance, and usually better stereo separation, but it sometimes soundsalmost like its too much too me, like its really not smooth, choppy, and really missing some detail.  In any case i like the sound from both devices, of course the shuffle 2nd gen for example is much much worse than both.

But in any event, if I rockbox the clip+, will it get a bit louder?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JosephKim 

Well Ive filled up my clip and looking for a micro sd card. Ive heard certain brands dont work with the clip. What have you guys had luck with? Also, what site tends to have the best deals for them?

I use SanDisk cards, and I buy them from Amazon.com.

Well, I ordered a Clip+ yesterday, it should be here next week. Imported, because apparently this country doesn't care for anything but cheapo players and ipods. My Samsung Jet headphone jack died on me for the second time, so I'll just stop using it as an mp3 player.Very excited about the Clip+ though, especially since I've been playing with an emulator+rockbox and it seems to be a really nifty little thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark88888 

 

But in any event, if I rockbox the clip+, will it get a bit louder?

It shouldn't. Rockbox simply changes the software, not the hardware. The amp is still the same. The only difference in terms of volume is that rockbox allows for more precise and minute adjustments - more volume "bars" than the stock UI. But again, output will remain constant.
 

A week.. I've waited three weeks for my clip+, but it's finally here. I've been messing with it for a few days now and I must say it's an awesome little player. Rockboxed right away, after taking a short look at the original firmware.

It's great in all imaginable ways, except the power output. I have to keep it nearly at full volume to get good volume on a pair of Sennheiser CX870s. OTOH, the parametric EQ is brilliant, it really helped tweak the sound of the Senns, which is a tad too V-shaped for my liking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zmd 

A week.. I've waited three weeks for my clip+, but it's finally here. I've been messing with it for a few days now and I must say it's an awesome little player. Rockboxed right away, after taking a short look at the original firmware.

 

It's great in all imaginable ways, except the power output. I have to keep it nearly at full volume to get good volume on a pair of Sennheiser CX870s. OTOH, the parametric EQ is brilliant, it really helped tweak the sound of the Senns, which is a tad too V-shaped for my liking.

I'm not familiar with those IEM's, but I can't imagine needing nearly full volume.....mine runs my SR60i's quite well.

There seems to be a huge discrepancy in volume output w/ the Clip+ unrelated to the Euro volume limiter.  Some claim their ears will explode at max volume.  Others can listen at 90% w/ average to moderate gain.  I'm in the latter camp that find the output underwhelming.

Thanks for the warnings, I've got multiple cans I've tested, some play louder, the CX870 are the quietest, for some reason. Yes, I do have it set to North America plus I've been asking people around the house if my listening level is too high and they agree it's moderate. So there's something with the CX870s. Once you smooth out the big bass and treble, the volume's got to go a tad up in order for them to sound good. FWIW, it's at about -15 to -20.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zmd 

Thanks for the warnings, I've got multiple cans I've tested, some play louder, the CX870 are the quietest, for some reason. Yes, I do have it set to North America plus I've been asking people around the house if my listening level is too high and they agree it's moderate. So there's something with the CX870s. Once you smooth out the big bass and treble, the volume's got to go a tad up in order for them to sound good. FWIW, it's at about -15 to -20.

That's not bad then.....when you said it needed near max volume, I had visions of you with the volume at 0db or more. My most power-hungry set of 'phones will have me around where you describe, sometimes up to -5, depending on ambient noise levels.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

There seems to be a huge discrepancy in volume output w/ the Clip+ unrelated to the Euro volume limiter.  Some claim their ears will explode at max volume.  Others can listen at 90% w/ average to moderate gain.  I'm in the latter camp that find the output underwhelming.

I do find that quite odd. When I had the clip+ paired with the DBA-02 I didn't go much past 50% at my normal listening volumes and at max it would be at levels where hearing loss would happen. DId you have yours on a EU volume limit or something?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

There seems to be a huge discrepancy in volume output w/ the Clip+ unrelated to the Euro volume limiter.  Some claim their ears will explode at max volume.  Others can listen at 90% w/ average to moderate gain.  I'm in the latter camp that find the output underwhelming.

I notice this discrepancy as well, as i can run my M50 at my prefered listening volume at -22 in quiet/home areas, or -15 in louder/street areas, this is rockboxed of course and those volume levels are not high at all for their situations. As well i don't suffer from loss of deep bass or the quality of the mids/treble when running just on the clip+ itself.

It's interesting people have such different experiences with the clip+, but in the end it doesn't matter really as mine worked amazingly well.