[callanish]

This could have been answered so please don't shoot me, but I'm trying to understand if MP3 CD players like the Iriver IMP-550 are underpowered in the sound department compared to the harddrive MP3 players like the Zen with it's 100mw and Signal to noise ratio of 98DB and the IPOD's 60mw. I mean the iriver has a maximum of 12 + 12mw at 16ohms and only 8 + 8mw at 32 ohms with a signal to noise ratio of 50 db's and for an MP3 CD player that seems to be pretty good especially compared to my current Riovolt sp250, but in comparison that seems pretty weak. Say you use a pair of Sennheiser PX 200's with medium to good quality MP3's, would the Iriver have trouble driving the phones to strong sound levels without needing a portable amp. If it does, then why does Creative need 100mw's for the zen. That kind of power sounds like overkill, but is it? I can understand battery life being a factor, but the one thing that I wish I had would be a portable that didn't need an amp in loud traffic situations. The Riovolt sp250, I believe, has a power output of 6 + 6mw at 32 ohms. Is going up to 8 + 8mw's that much of a jump. Right now with the riovolt and sennheiser's in a really busy area I'm at 90 % volume. Everything is working the way it should, but I've got a few classical 128kps mp3's that I don't have the original CD's that I wish would be a little stronger in their output. I've mp3 gained them as far as they will go without distortion, but is the answer a little more power boost from a new MP3 player or track down the original CD's for the crappy mp3 files that I have? Just curious on how much the MW factor in either a MP3 CD player or Hardrive player would benefit my situation?

Thanks for any replies
LTM

 

[usc goose]

all of what you just said... i have no idea what it means. some etys might solve your problems though.

maybe...

 

[callanish]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm starting to think I wasn't too clear when I posted my question. Wish I could use etys, but tried them a year ago and I couldn't get them to fit probably and boy did they give me a headache, so I'm stuck with headphones.

I'm in the market for an harddrive player; Kind of waiting to see what the Rio Pearl is like ( I've got 1.1 usb on my laptop, so the ethernet 10/100 option on the pearl would make uploads much quicker ). The Iriver line would make a great MP3 backup player, but If it isn't any more powerful at driving headphones than my current riovolt sp250, then what's the point in even looking into it I just needed something more powerful for a busy environment. I was hoping someone had both an iriver CD MP3 Player and a harddrive mp3 player to compare them with output. Is there really a huge output difference between an 8 + 8 MW Iriver Cd player and something like a 60MW Ipod in the real world when it comes to sound output?

LTM

 

[austonia]

Callinish,

there is no standard for which S/N or output is measured among these players, so the data you read means very little. a player that is spec'd at 10mw output may get just as loud as one spec'd at 30mw output. or one that has 85db S/N may be just as quiet as one rated for 95db S/N. It all depends on how they were tested and how honest a company is about reporting those specs. Some companies will exaggerate the numbers (Creative?) while some are more straightforward with thier specs(iRiver?). Many people take the published specs as being factually accurate, but there is no independant testing, so we often end up putting too much emphasis on those numbers.. best thing you can do is read user reviews from people who have experience with a wide variety of audio produts. also head-to-head comparisons can provide valuble information.

 

[callanish]

Thanks Austonia,

your reply answers my question and clears things up.

Regards
Lee