[Cankin]

I just bought SR80, when using with my ipod, its mid and high are so clear that to the extend which, too sharp or harsh for me. But on the other hand, there is little bass. If I use EQ in iPod, there are distortions.
I don't find any problems with SR80 if I use it with my sound card.
How can I improve the bass level and make mid/high more neutral on iPod??

 

[Headphone Dummy]

If your SR80 are brand new, burn 'em in for 100 hours or so and listen to them again.

Looking at your signature, though, I think your brain and ears also have to adjust to the SR80 presentation. You've been using iems that have a lot of bass emphasis and very rolled off highs, so it's pretty natural that the SR80 is sounding very harsh and bright to you at first.

If you want to find out if the SR80 is for you, listen to them for about 2 weeks. If the sound presentation still hasn't grown on you, sell the SR80 and buy something with emphasis on bass.

 

[aaroncort]

You're not the only person to have this problem. the ipod's sound sig is just what you're describing. The problem is that you're grados already extenuate the high end. So when matched with your ipod you have a grossly exagerated high end. The ipod also is very week in the bass department for many, myself incuded. Now with grado's already forward high end it seems like there's even less bass when plugged into an ipod.

 

[Headphone Dummy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cankin /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't find any problems with SR80 if I use it with my sound card.

Oops sorry didn't read this line when I posted earlier... well the iPod has bad built in EQ so you're only left with the option of a portable amp i guess...

Or maybe install rockbox and see if you can make it better with the rockbox EQ (although I can't say much about it because I don't have any experience with it)

 

[Cankin]

Can anyone please suggest a cheap warm amp with good bass?
My budget is tight and looking for <$100 usd
I believe line out is better than headphone out, right?

 

[Paragon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cankin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can anyone please suggest a cheap warm amp with good bass? My budget is tight and looking for <$100 usd I believe line out is better than headphone out, right?

I use my 325 straight from the ipod with no issues (I'm sure the 80's should be fine too). I never use EQ settings and the volume is usually around 50-70%
I built a small cmoy-variant amp but at the moment, don't have a dock connector to make a linout cable so all I have to use at the moment is a crappy mini to RCA cable to hook up the amp so the difference in sound quality from ipod -> 325 and ipod headphone out -> crappy cable -> amp->325 is not big.

With your cans being new, let them break in before you jump to conclusions. They should mellow a tad and the bass tighten.
It could also be your music files or the bands you are listening to. I have found certain albums to have some particularly nice punchy bass which is probably what you are expecting. What recording are you comparing with?

 

[Cankin]

I did let it burn in for more than 30Hrs, don't know if it's enough
I tried it with different sources, CD players, MD players and even my mom's portable radio, they all have more bass than ipod.....

maybe a portable headphone amp is the only way to go?

 

[Paragon]

I never really let mine burn in.. just used them straight from the box.

Are you using the same recording between the different sources? If not, then it really depends on what you are listening to.

You could take Live - All Over You in your best source and then Modest Mouse - The World At Large in the ipod and I guarantee that you would say ipod is better. The Live track does not have much bass in it and the Modest Mouse has punchy bass.

<*> Also, is this with flat EQ and bass boost of on the other sources?

 

[Cankin]

yeah, same set of recordings on different players(except of the radio which I have no control to what the station plays) with EQ on all players set to off if they have one.

I don't wanna sell my SR80 because it's the best sounding headphone(to me) in this price range

 

[3x331m]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cankin /img/forum/go_quote.gif yeah, same set of recordings on different players(except of the radio which I have no control to what the station plays) with EQ on all players set to off if they have one. I don't wanna sell my SR80 because it's the best sounding headphone(to me) in this price range

What kind of encoding do you have for your records ? Lossless ?

Have you tried ipod EQ in "Acoustic" setting ?

I'm using my SR-80 with Nano and RSA TH.... Man! I love the solo guitars....

If you want more bass out of SR-80, try the flat pads or the senn pads mod. To my ears, I still prefer the bowl pad which have good bass control.

 

[Paragon]

Don't know what to say other than listen to them for a while. I have no issues with mine when driven from the ipod. I wouldn't think the 80s would lack that much compared to the 325s but I am only guessing. Check the amp forum. There are a few threads on reviews/comparisons of portable amps.

 

[Cankin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3x331m /img/forum/go_quote.gif What kind of encoding do you have for your records ? Lossless ? Have you tried ipod EQ in "Acoustic" setting ? I'm using my SR-80 with Nano and RSA TH.... Man! I love the solo guitars.... If you want more bass out of SR-80, try the flat pads or the senn pads mod. To my ears, I still prefer the bowl pad which have good bass control.

224k AAC and I tried every EQ and they sound a little distort even at 50%~60% of volume....flat pads add just a bit of bass but mid/high quailty get lowered....

SR80 sounds really good even with my onboard sound card, how can I bring that sound to ipod?

 

[Paragon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cankin /img/forum/go_quote.gif 224k AAC and I tried every EQ and they sound a little distort even at 50%~60% of volume....flat pads add just a bit of bass but mid/high quailty get lowered.... SR80 sounds really good even with my onboard sound card, how can I bring that sound to ipod?

Don't know as my grado sound the same from the ipod and the computer.

Do you have the latest ipod firmware/software update? Not sure what it can do for audio output. Do you have another ipod to try? Perhaps a friends.

 

[Cankin]

I tried on both my nana 2G and video 5.5G...i also tried SR125 and SR225 on my ipod....they had a bit more bass than my SR80, but not to the level of SR80 + sound card.....

All firmware/software are updated

 

[3x331m]

Check out Lineout dock. It made a big difference for me.