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audiophile tablets?

post #1 of 34
11/16/11 at 5:25pm
Thread Starter 

with the recent spew of tablets, are there any with audiophile dacs and solid headphone amps built in? not looking for software EQ features but real hardware (e.g. dac chips/op-amps) that make a REAL difference.

 

from the size of their batteries, they should be able to trade off sound quality against power consumption, unlike their smartphone counterparts.


Edited by metalgear - 11/16/11 at 5:26pm
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post #2 of 34
11/16/11 at 9:08pm

I have the Asus EEE Pad Transformer rooted with the VooDoo kernel, and it's great. The Transformer prime is coming out next month and I don't know if it will have the same DAC but it's an amazing sounding tablet.

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post #3 of 34
11/16/11 at 9:39pm

i have a Sony tablet S. it sounds ok but noting more than that.

went out yesterday and bought a Colorfly C4. Now that's some serious piece of hardware. especially with the monster IEM miles Davis.

they just match perfectly with the C4. And that is an understatement.

as far as tablets go....  i dont think that tablets at the moment are worth checking out soundquality wise.

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post #4 of 34
11/16/11 at 9:46pm

Yeah. Voodoo supports Transformer. This makes it the best audiophile tab

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post #5 of 34
11/16/11 at 9:49pm

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1132875

 

Transformer has Wolfson WM8903 chip. It can drive HD650

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post #6 of 34
11/16/11 at 10:00pm

i don't think there is a audiophile tab ( yet). or we must have a different opinion on what audiophile stands for.

 

that said i checked out that voodoo thing and it sound promising.

now we need async usb output to a nice portable DAC and AMP.

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post #7 of 34
11/18/11 at 10:28am

The Ipads are quality products when it comes to sound, no matter of what certain people think of Apple. They are clean and have a flat response, better than a lot of DACs out there. What's surprisingly even better (since the smartphones aren't as great) is the Samsung Galaxy Tab. 

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post #8 of 34
11/18/11 at 11:19am

If you plan on using it as a source, I guess it won't be in your pocket? So maybe you could try to use a DAC with an ipad, there is this topic that could help you which lists all the working DAC:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/507559/list-of-dacs-that-work-with-ipad

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post #9 of 34
11/18/11 at 3:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by umvue View Post

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1132875

 

Transformer has Wolfson WM8903 chip. It can drive HD650



does it have a decent amp section to drive iems directly? how does it sound, say compared to an iPhone or iPod?

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post #10 of 34
11/18/11 at 3:28pm

I think the HM801 is big enough to count as a tablet. L3000.gif

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post #11 of 34
11/18/11 at 4:30pm

The Sony Tablet S apparently has a WM8903 too and does have a Sony specific music player.:

 

Knowing the usual quality of their walkman products, I wouldn't be suprised that this tablet does have the same audio attributes.

 

Well, i didn't see this earlier post, so you might skip my comments :(


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Broken Arrow View Post

i have a Sony tablet S. it sounds ok but noting more than that.

went out yesterday and bought a Colorfly C4. Now that's some serious piece of hardware. especially with the monster IEM miles Davis.

they just match perfectly with the C4. And that is an understatement.

as far as tablets go....  i dont think that tablets at the moment are worth checking out soundquality wise.



 


Edited by mukumi - 11/18/11 at 4:33pm
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post #12 of 34
11/18/11 at 6:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by metalgear View Post



does it have a decent amp section to drive iems directly? how does it sound, say compared to an iPhone or iPod?



With Voodoo Control, you can directly adjust the amp power directly.

 

I don't own it so I don't know how it sounds.

 

But based on the consensus of this forum, Samsung Galaxy S with Voodoo sound has way better SQ than iPhone and iPod

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post #13 of 34
11/18/11 at 6:47pm

Meh I'll still take those assumptions with a grade of salt. I have yet to see a low impedance load test of a Voodoo enhanced player. The GS standalone is average in sound, I will also be skeptical of the Sony tables because the DAP are poor in benchmarks. It's all about implementation, the fact that a Wolfson DAC doesn't mean good SQ. 

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post #14 of 34
11/18/11 at 7:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inks View Post

Meh I'll still take those assumptions with a grade of salt. I have yet to see a low impedance load test of a Voodoo enhanced player. The GS standalone is average in sound, I will also be skeptical of the Sony tables because the DAP are poor in benchmarks. It's all about implementation, the fact that a Wolfson DAC doesn't mean good SQ. 



http://dl.project-voodoo.org/RMAA/reports/nfb-12-galaxys-voodoosound-load-hd650.htm

 

Can you interpret this test for us? Thanks!

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post #15 of 34
11/18/11 at 9:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by metalgear View Post



does it have a decent amp section to drive iems directly? how does it sound, say compared to an iPhone or iPod?



seems like it does - a 'class W' amp. Amazing to read that the guys posting in that thread are driving HD650, 702s and D2000s directly out of the Asus Transformer with the paid Voodoo app.

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