brandobean
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2010
- Posts
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Hi folks,
New poster here but longtime audiophile and audio professional (let's put it this way, I swapped the capacitors in the crossover of my Celestion home speaker for added transparency).
Anyway, I wanted to improve the sound of my HiFiman HE4xx headphones which I'd been driving from the headphone out of my Huawei Matebook laptop. I prefer a warmer sound so folks recommended the Fiio Q1 mk ii. I've had the device for a week and am not at all impressed.
After about 20 hours switching back and forth between the laptop out and that of the Fiio, I can say, there isn't much improvement, and in many ways, I think it's a step DOWN.
In this case, while there is slightly more openness in the treble, it's also a bit chalky sounding, especially in the lower treble, the exact frequency range that can sound especially metallic with streaming compressed content like Spotify streams (though still present on higher bitrate audio).
It's not "fatiguing" per se, but it's not sweeter or more clear either.
It also appears to lack the weight and solidity of the Huawei headphone out.
In short, the lowest octave appears to be rolled off or, something... it just doesn't boogie.
I tried adding the bass boost from the amp but that's TOO much bass and it sounds thick and congested.
I certainly don't MIND the sound from the Fiio... and it might be a good solution from those trying to get decent sound from an iPhone, but for my intended purpose, It's not meeting my needs.
So I turn to you geniuses for advice:
- Is it unreasonable to expect better sound quality than a laptop at $100?
- Would another model suit me better? (especially if it has bluetooth!) or do I just return the Fiio and give up.
thanks my auditory heroes!
New poster here but longtime audiophile and audio professional (let's put it this way, I swapped the capacitors in the crossover of my Celestion home speaker for added transparency).
Anyway, I wanted to improve the sound of my HiFiman HE4xx headphones which I'd been driving from the headphone out of my Huawei Matebook laptop. I prefer a warmer sound so folks recommended the Fiio Q1 mk ii. I've had the device for a week and am not at all impressed.
After about 20 hours switching back and forth between the laptop out and that of the Fiio, I can say, there isn't much improvement, and in many ways, I think it's a step DOWN.
In this case, while there is slightly more openness in the treble, it's also a bit chalky sounding, especially in the lower treble, the exact frequency range that can sound especially metallic with streaming compressed content like Spotify streams (though still present on higher bitrate audio).
It's not "fatiguing" per se, but it's not sweeter or more clear either.
It also appears to lack the weight and solidity of the Huawei headphone out.
In short, the lowest octave appears to be rolled off or, something... it just doesn't boogie.
I tried adding the bass boost from the amp but that's TOO much bass and it sounds thick and congested.
I certainly don't MIND the sound from the Fiio... and it might be a good solution from those trying to get decent sound from an iPhone, but for my intended purpose, It's not meeting my needs.
So I turn to you geniuses for advice:
- Is it unreasonable to expect better sound quality than a laptop at $100?
- Would another model suit me better? (especially if it has bluetooth!) or do I just return the Fiio and give up.
thanks my auditory heroes!
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