Asus phones are fine for me except I do run into issues with the Intel CPU. Percentage wise it's not much but it's unpleasant when it happens. My subjective opinion is that the Intel setup makes the overall system a little less smooth, and a tiny bit slower than the benchmarks would suggest.  ...

Unlike other multi-driver products, the CKR9 is not using 2 drivers for different frequency ranges. It's got them set up against each other in what the company calls a "dual phase push-pull" setup.   Also keep in mind that in the world of headphones, specs have less connection to real-world...

Bumping this thread for two developments. One is that Onkyo had announced the W800BT back in September for a yet unknown launch date. Two is that someone in China is already in the market with a similar product.   Both are reason to suspect that some OEM in China has either already finished...

  So what's your contribution to his question? the unfortunate typo of caint?

No worries! Enjoy 

  I simply could not get myself to like the Sansa Clip sound, no matter how many people say it's better than the shuffle. It sounds dead in a way the shuffle doesn't, even if the shuffle may occasionally hiss a little more.   Before committing to the shuffle, decide if you can accept the low...

  My local Sony Centre has the A20 in all five colors, displayed with matching h.ear on and h.ear in products. So I've had the opportunity to audition them extensively over the last few weeks (no customers!), and as an A10 owner, I always end up rolling my eyes at the A20.   They're the same...

  Processing power? I don't believe that for one second, if Fiio can do it on a measly Rockchip chipset...    I used to do that, pay for each time the thing I own lacked something, but audio and gadgets have not given me enough to justify it. The disappointment is far worse than the money...

Auditioned the A9 briefly in-store last week. The first impression is that it sounds clean, in fact I'd describe it as Samsung-clean -- the signature is different from my M8 which is a lot thicker.   I'm sure it's not bad by any means, but all the little things that add up to create HTC's...

  The A20 is able to apply EQ to hi-res files. So, I bet Sony had already decided last year that they'd hold off this feature for this year's model. Moral of the story: Sony does a lot of indefensible things.    (off-topic... I happen to be VERY angry at Sony right now cause I just realized...

  But isn't that restriction also on most, if not every phone with an ESS DAC?

  Interesting that you say that, that because I've seen a very serious audio review insisting the 816 sounds nothing like the M8.    Which more than anything highlights the notion of...I don't know, manufacturing variance? That we may all hear differently? It's interesting.   I don't have...

  Reading others' opinions and JVC advertorials online, I half-expected the 20 and 30 would be qualitative equals that sound different, but once I heard them in Tokyo, the 30 felt "obviously" like a top model in the typical Japanese way, in the exact way you described.   So the 30 is more...

  Yes. While I never got a modded radio, I still use some of his words to gauge pocket radios to this day. Unfortunately it feels like that part of the audio hobby has vanished, and we're really sharing house with a lot of people who only understand specs (thus turning everything into a weapons...

It's not odd at all. There are no "should like"s in audio.   The warmest player app I've heard is the stock HTC Music, but I don't know if anyone's ever made a standalone APK of it. And apparently that app is going away because it's not on their latest phone? (the A9).

I used to mod and flash roms and all that, but I currently have a strict policy of not only  NOT flashing roms, but also NOT updating beyond the version my device shipped with.   The reason being, some feature I want, need or enjoy is invariably defeated or removed in that process.   Case...

I kinda distrust, dislike Google, so I personally would not buy a Nexus device. (the first thing I do on every android device is to root, and disable google search/google now)   However I've got great synergy with Korean smartphones, meaning Samsung and LG's design choices and direction tend...

  +1 all the way! After sampling about 50 IEMs in one week on a Tokyo trip (thank you Yodobashi!), the Momentum IE was my final pick.    Sure it involved several players and a number of songs, to ensure audition quality, but the tie breaker was a single song, my favorite song of the year...

Was it the Plattan ADV you heard? I believe that's the proper counterpart to the Major II.   The best-sounding Urbanears product for me - the one I'd actually pay money for - is the Bagis, which has never had a Marshall version.

  That's most likely because Zound Industries (Urbanears/Coloud/Molami etc) is the company behind Marshall headphones and speakers. They've got that kind of EDM-centric signature sound throughout their range of brands.   Typically every Marshall headphone has an Urbanears counterpart, but...

  Yes because it essentially compresses the dynamic range in order to try and make all tracks sound equally loud. This practice has always been a major taboo for audiophiles.

  Oh! Thanks for the tip, that's the kind of extra feature I was looking for, but couldn't figure out.

Is the scroll wheel used for anything other than menu navigation? i auditioned the X3II at Bic Camera Yurakucho and apart from really liking the sound, I found myself wishing the wheel could scrub the track a la the ipods or even adjust volume. Now i know those aren't primary concerns for a...

I'd have to pay about $35 for the Quadbeat 3. Would it be worth that price tag? 

I gave up the pursuit for "audiophile" headphones and players.   Like I was saying in some other thread. I heard the Sony ZX2. It sounded great. I would've been wowed to no end five years ago, and immediately began to churn my brain for ways to eke out that money by doing everything you guys...