[lmf22]

Just got the new Shuffle today, and I noticed there's static noise through my Shure E4c when it's turned on and during quite passages in music, even when nothing is playing. The noise is not noticeable through the Senn HD595. Anyone else having this problem?

 

[IpaqMan]

I just got my new Shuffle today and tested it immediately with my Sony MDR-EX90LP earbuds. These are slightly more sensitive than EX71s.

I could barely detect any background noise with the Shuffle paused at a loud volume setting. I had to turn it on and off to notice any difference. The noise was more like amplifier white noise as opposed to higher pitched hiss.

Update:

I tested the new Shuffle with my Shure E3s and could more easily hear the background noise mentioned in the Ilounge.com review. The E3 sensitivity issue is one of a few reasons that I do not like these phones. In my testing, I had to be in a very quiet room with high isolation earbuds to hear the noise. And the noise is louder than that of my other Ipods.

With my normal EX90s or my KSC75s, the noise is not noticeable during music tracks.

 

[3X0]

iLounge said that the new 2G Shuffle had a higher base noise level than any other iPod currently sold. Strangely enough, they also concluded that the 1G Shuffle was overall marginally preferable when it came to sound.

Just FWIW.

 

[IpaqMan]

Thanks for the Ilounge review information. I read the whole review and disagree with the final evaluation of the new Shuffle. I have a Nano and do not use it as much daily as the new Shuffle because of the speed of operation issue. With the Nano, I have to take it out of my pocket and carefully touch the scroll wheel to change volume and/or tracks. With the new Shuffle, I can immediately touch the controls (clipped to my shirt).

As one commenter put it, it is like comparing Kirk's handheld communicator to Picard's badge communicator. One of them is more convenient to use.

 

[IpaqMan]

I use DAPs to provide music to fall asleep by and so I require a very low volume setting. The new Shuffle does provide a very low volume setting; however, that built-in background noise becomes noticeable at such low volumes.

I plan to return the new Shuffle and wait until the problem is fixed.

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 iLounge said that the new 2G Shuffle had a higher base noise level than any other iPod currently sold. Strangely enough, they also concluded that the 1G Shuffle was overall marginally preferable when it came to sound.

Although different reviewers have different opinions, I find it a tad strange that many consider the nano below the full-sized and 1G shuffle (shuffle sometimes placed above the 5/5.5 model - as implied in the iLounge review), that the iLounge review placed the nano above the 2G shuffle in many ways including SQ ("it's our feeling that the new shuffle is now overall a step behind the full-sized iPod and nano in overall sound quality"), and caveats (premium headphones, etc.) or not, said the 1G shuffle was similar to the 2nd ("The iPod shuffle's audio performance is roughly the same as its predecessor, which isn't to say that they're identical, but they're very similar."). Either the 1G shuffle was never as good as rumored, the 5/5.5G dramatically improved over the 4G (don't tell RedWine) and the 2G nano is superior than many feel here, or something is very askew.

 

[yume]

lmf22, how bad is the hiss for Shure e4c? Do you still hear it when you have music playing? Or you can hear it when it is paused? I guess what I want to know is, do you think the new ipod shuffle works with shure e4c?

I have UE Super.fi Pro5. The hiss is so bad that it is not bearable. Very very bad.

 

[lmf22]

Yume:

The hissing on my Shuffle is unbearable when using Shure E4c. It is there when paused, during quiet passages in a song, and when playing a song at low volume. The hissing is as loud as the music when volume is at 3-4 clicks above volume-0. Adjusting volume has no effect on the loudness of the hissing.

I just came back from Best Buy after trying out their demo Shuffle with the E4c. There is no hissing. Somebody on another thread reported no hissing from his E4c. I think it is a defective batch. I am going to request warranty service online right way and hope I'll get a new one soon.

Good luck with yours.

 

[yume]

lmf22, which bestbuy did you go that has a demo of the shuffle with e4c? I'm in bay area too, might as well drop by and test it out to see if it is wrong with my shuffle.

 

[gshan]

lmf22, thank you for the testing. I'm going to visit with apple store this week to see if I can make an exchange.

 

[gshan]

I just got off the phone with Apple phone support. Quick response btw, and I spoke with it nice guy.

After having spoken with me for 5-10 minutes about the issue and asking me to do another reset and restore to confirm the problem still existed he gave me a case # which I'll be taking to the AppleStore Genius Bar thing next week. Hopefully there's a possibility of an in-store replacement.

 

[lmf22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yume lmf22, which bestbuy did you go that has a demo of the shuffle with e4c? I'm in bay area too, might as well drop by and test it out to see if it is wrong with my shuffle.

I went to the Best Buy in Union City. They only have one unit available on demo, and there are no songs on it.

UPDATE: I just got mine replaced at the Pleasanton Apple Store, but...
Same problem! The Shuffle the salesperson has on him also has the same hissing sound with my Shure E4c. This is so frustrating! I'm beginning to think maybe it's a design problem, and me not hearing the hiss with the one at Best Buy was just because of the noisy store environment.
I will try to go to a different Best Buy store next week and see.

 

[lmf22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gshan I just got off the phone with Apple phone support. Quick response btw, and I spoke with it nice guy. After having spoken with me for 5-10 minutes about the issue and asking me to do another reset and restore to confirm the problem still existed he gave me a case # which I'll be taking to the AppleStore Genius Bar thing next week. Hopefully there's a possibility of an in-store replacement.

gshan, if you do get yours replaced, can you please let us know if it has the same hissing noise?

 

[stevesurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmf22 Just got the new Shuffle today, and I noticed there's static noise through my Shure E4c when it's turned on and during quite passages in music, even when nothing is playing. The noise is not noticeable through the Senn HD595. Anyone else having this problem?

Ick! I was planning on using one with my e4s and getting three others as gifts - I wonder if this can be corrected in F/W. What does everyone think?

 

[lmf22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevesurf Ick! I was planning on using one with my e4s and getting three others as gifts - I wonder if this can be corrected in F/W. What does everyone think?

Upgrading from firmware version 1.00 to 1.0.1 did not correct the problem. I wonder why Apple released the update only a day after the release. It feels like they rushed the Shuffle to market. I am hoping future firmware will fix the problem. This is a really great DAP if it wasn't for the static noise.