[Exact Sound]

Up till this point I have been using older "relatively cheap off eBay" Smasung YP-T8 mp3 players with Shure E2C IEM and older Samsung Verizon flip phones also off eBay for cheap. Since I own and operate a lawn and garden business my phones are either destroyed or rendered useless inside of 9 months due to being dropped or knocked of my belt clip. I use the belt clip so I can feel it on vibrate mode when a call comes in. It is important to be able to catch calls while I run power equipment depending on who calls

My Samsung YP-T8 players have faired well since they have tolerated the dirt and grime very well. The silicone jelly skins for the MP3 players have proved to be very beneficial - as of yet I haven't lost one yet to impact.

Recently I have become an avid listener to Pandora One at home. I'd really like to take this on the road. Also using the Blackberry applications such as weather, Google calendar Outlook etc. is a great benefit for business applications. I own a Headroom Airhead Amp but I really can't see using this due to its size and extra working clutter connections etc.

In case your wondering I also use external Peltor H10A muffs which are the best in there class at a rating of -30 dB so the listening environment is not as bad as many would think since the Shure E2C also provide 20+ dB of further noise isolation. I do run the IEM cords down my back under my shirt so the likely hood of tangling or yanking is reduced but it still happens.

Any input appreciated as to what model to look at or if this just a march toward futility and money poorly spent to use this as an audio source in a hostile environment. Battery life needs to run at least 2+ hours to be usable. 5+ hours is better. Swapping out batteries every hour or so would frankly render the device worthless as an player.

 

[Dazed&Confused718]

blackberry 9700 or Storm 2

 

[debitsohn]

first you should look into an otterbox defender case. 2nd, yes the 9700 and s2 are the newest ones so they should have the best sound quality but no blackberry has great sound from what ive heard.

i own the s2 and have not hooked it up to headphones yet but i guess i should try it now.

 

[noisecancelationheadphone]

is it possible for blackberry to produce good sound quality?

 

[Sparky191]

From a practical point of view something with less buttons, ie a touch screen would seem to be more robust as theres leass chance of dust getting into the unit.

 

[Exact Sound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by noisecancelationheadphone /img/forum/go_quote.gif is it possible for blackberry to produce good sound quality?

The quality issue concerns me. Then again I have Shure E2G and the newer SHURE SCL2 basically the same and I just bought the SE210's off a member here but I'm thinking there probably isn't a huge difference.

Maybe I need to buy a headphone adapter and walk into a Phone store and demo how Pandora sounds on a Blackberry?

 

[barbes]

I have a Tour, love Pandora, and unfortunately have to report that the Pandora Blackberry app sounds pretty bad, even over my JH13s. That said I don't listen while outside and working, only in quiet environments, which makes it easy to note poor SQ. As a practical matter it might be good enough. Do you know anybody with a Blackberry? The app is free - try it and see if it's adequate. Or perhaps you could try it in a store, as you suggest. You don't need an adaptor, your phones will plug right in.

 

[Exact Sound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbes /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a Tour, love Pandora, and unfortunately have to report that the Pandora Blackberry app sounds pretty bad, even over my JH13s. That said I don't listen while outside and working, only in quiet environments, which makes it easy to note poor SQ. As a practical matter it might be good enough. Do you know anybody with a Blackberry? The app is free - try it and see if it's adequate. Or perhaps you could try it in a store, as you suggest. You don't need an adaptor, your phones will plug right in.

So how would you compare Pandora SQ wise on your Blackberry to Pandora on your PC sound card or even with a basic USB amp?

The Internet free Pandora service is 128k. I've upgraded to premium at 192k which I feel does sound better.

The lowest quality music compressed files I have are 128k WMA which are frankly fine for more casual listening when I have the external muffs on in a noisy environment. Most of my rips are at 256k and 192k mp3.

....anyhow did a Google search for "Pandora blackberry bit rate" ....um..

. ah that was a bit of shock I was expecting it to be 128k...thought I read that on the Pandora site somewhere? Not really interested in listening to music below the 128k wma rate equivalent.

...will definitely take a listen at a cell phone shop this week.

 

[barbes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exact Sound /img/forum/go_quote.gif So how would you compare Pandora SQ wise on your Blackberry to Pandora on your PC sound card or even with a basic USB amp? The Internet free Pandora service is 128k. I've upgraded to premium at 192k which I feel does sound better. The lowest quality music compressed files I have are 128k WMA which are frankly fine for more casual listening when I have the external muffs on in a noisy environment. Most of my rips are at 256k and 192k mp3. ....anyhow did a Google search for "Pandora blackberry bit rate" ....um.. . ah that was a bit of shock I was expecting it to be 128k...thought I read that on the Pandora site somewhere? Not really interested in listening to music below the 128k wma rate equivalent. ...will definitely take a listen at a cell phone shop this week.

I usually listen to Pandora streamed through an outboard DAC to speakers, which is a much more forgiving setup than headphones. When you asked this, I fed the signal into my headphone amp w/ JH13s. I've also bought the upgraded 192 rate. Heard that way, I'd call it midway between 128 and 256 iTunes/Amazon downloads. The Blackberry Pandora sound quality is much worse. The internet signal strikes me as "this should be better;" the Blackberry sound quality strikes me as "I don't want to listen to this."

That said, the first time I used the Blackberry Pandora was on a long train ride - I downloaded the app on the train and started using it right there, and I thought it was great. I really think that in more active environments when one isn't totally focused on (and maybe obsessing over) the sound, a lot of these distinctions become beside the point. So it might be worth a field trial or store visit if you can work that out.

Good luck...

 

[Exact Sound]

Turns out I bought the Verizon Wireless Google Droid 3G phone a few days ago yes the best one. I have my Pandora One account on it now and there is choice between "High Quality" and "Normal" I'm still not sure what the bit rate difference is between the two or even what they are at this point. Sound quality is ok but I'm not sure if is as good as the 192K streamed PC version of Pandora ONE...? I'm using Shure SCL2 IEMs with it now which are probably not stunning HiFi but I prefer them for portable use since it has the 90 degree plug.

What is a nifty feature with the droid phone is I live in an area that has basically marginal to Zero 3G coverage but the droid phone will lock in on your WiFi network so I can still use heavy bandwidth apps...

 

[Exact Sound]

Just installed slacker mobile on my Droid and it does sound a tad better in quality over Pandora ONE...can anyone confirm mobile bite rates?