Interesting!

The stock earphones that come bundled with the 81x series are pretty decent for what they give you as said previously in the thread. You would be surprised on how they sound for bundled 'phones. The Etymotic ER-4Ps sound great hooked up to my 816 with minimum hiss (you want the less hiss you...

I usually have the EQ off. With most of the setting the sound tends to sound unnatural and all distorted to me.

Quote: Originally Posted by ILikeMusic The record producers who deliver the over-compressed garbage that we get these days are complaining about sound quality? I'd rather hear a well-produced recording in MP3 format than a poorly-produced recording in FLAC any day. Yes, and most...

New player: Sony NWZ-A816 Paired up with good ol' CX300 earphones.

From the music preferences stated, Why not give the AKG K601 a try. Wide soundstage and laid back. Smooth, softer sound compared to Grado's in your face sound. Bass extends well on the K601 as well.

The new iBuds are definitely an improvement over the previous ones. They are lot better in SQ than lot of the standard earphones that come with many players and any cheap $10 phone but not acutally worth $30 if you buy them seperate. The newer iBuds have a "cleaner" sound and more colored but...

The average person would not acknowledge or even care about improved sound quality with better headphones. Another thing is they do not wish to spend over $50 on pair of headphones, or even have background knowledge on better audio and how the music is suppost to sound. The point is average...

Sign me up!

Sure do enjoy music more then before, Since I am hearing more detail and realism in the music from better equipment. Music is more appealing in the sense of immersing yourself in it.

The A818 has metal full metal case while the S618 has a plastic case.

Just FYI on the Sony player (if it hasn't been posted yet) when you drag and drop for the mp3s for some odd reason the year of the track does not show up and says unknown on the player.

Quote: Originally Posted by Gonz If he's using factory locations (stock mounting), he's not going to get good imaging to begin with. If you're concerned with a proper soundstage, you'd be doing a custom install with kicks and custom tweeter placements, not using Walmart coaxials in the...

The Sony player is drag and drop.

^ Not all car have tiny speakers in the front, just FYI 6x8" in the front and 6x9" in the back for me. But to each preference, If you want your soundstage coming from behind you, do spend money on your rear speakers. Usually rear speakers tend to ruin your front imaging and the soundstage...