[geekchic]

Matt, noticed you reached your 1500th post - and did it in style praising the D2.

Way to go!!

@shigzeo - when you say the D2 does not beat any IPod for SQ do you include the Touch also? I recently tested my friend's Touch with my phones and I definitely thought the D2 sound had more body as well as detailing - well I don't know the exact tech terms but it sounded much better to my ears! I must now listen to the Nano and check what you're saying. I've not given it a listen since the launch version (3-4 years ago?) and I was quite underwhelmed then. I'm sure Apple must have improved the SQ by now.

I have not been a fan of the IPod for various reasons in the past - maybe I would benefit from shaking of the biases and giving it a listen

 

[Baines93]

I disagree totally with Shiz.

I A-B'd a friends Classic 80gb on friday evening, my D2 sounded much nicer, more detailed, fuller, better sound stage etc. Then when i turned on my favourite Jeteffects the d2 and livewires sounded far better than they did with the Classic. The jeteffects are great, mach3bass gives no colouration in highs, so you get even more bass rumbling and still the sparkling highs. The stereo enhance and surround JE's also sound great and make the sound fun when you fancy it... The classic and my sisters Nano sound ver similar. Both hiss slightly more than the D2 aswell, and have far less power, probably an EU limiter though.

Yeah, 1,5001 now, was saving 1,500 for a happy hp supremus thread though...doh!!

Matt

 

[geekchic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, 1,5001 now, was saving 1,500 for a happy hp supremus thread though...doh!! Matt

You must be one of the youngest hp supremus I guess!

 

[chinesekiwi]

Just convince her to get some decent earphones as well as the default iAudio ones are rubbish

 

[shigzeo]

when i say sq, i do not mean what you like as that could be amazing or complete rubbish. what i mean when i say quality is when you compare what the two players actually are able to produce: the nano wins hands down for stereo separation but they both have similar bass roll off. if you hear a fuller sound in the d2, it is not because of the normal attributes of the player.

it is either eq, effects, placebo etc. my d2 is much much weaker sounding for bass than my ipod touch, my meizu, my sony etc. it has a smaller stage than all of those for low imp phones and even large ones is intolerable. it is around 38 -42 decibles depending on the song. for me, that is very poor combined with bass roll off.

i like the player but i would not praise sq. surely not unless you use it with an amp as that is a great combination: one of the best

 

[tds101]

Actually - it's the feature set that has me using the A829 more than my D2. Across the board the D2 has better SQ, separation, and EQ settings. Since I have adjusted the sound in the hidden service menu it's CLOSE to the D2 - not there yet - but CLOSE!!! Enough for me to have to A829 as my main squeeze. But the iPod sounding better than the D2 is crazy. And, I'm only talking about un-amped. Also, I've heard or owned most to have knoweledge of each and have access to all almost models.

 

[shigzeo]

well, my first impressions when i got my d2 were, 'why does this thing hiss'? i had heard so many people praise this thing that when i got mine and my friend got his, i had to sell my um2 as i thought if the best sounding player ever invented hisses with um2, the um2 are at fault.

then, after listening to my main genre, trance for months on end and feeling okay about it but not that happy as i don't use a portable amp, i got the chance to try several other players. all of them i noticed had similar bass roll off but none gave me a headache with trance. the d2 has a very small narrow stage. excellent instrument separation but the left to right separation is so narrow on all of my portable phones that it is almost eerily inferior for trance. the low resolution in the bass because of roll off usually does not bother me too much as i have lived with it since forever but combined with the stage, makes a poor combination for trance.

i was never bothered by anything else but never thought of it as better in any way to any other player. the whole time i felt that it had features that were great but i don't want to buy external memory to use with it just to use external memory since it can. i also don't watch video on its small screen. and every encode i have done that plays perfectly on my computer or friends computer had artifacts on the d2.

my 828 sony is to my ears the better sounding player but i do not know how well it actually does everything. the ipod nano is the same thing. it makes one hit where the d2 fails: separation of left and right channels or wideness of stage. the touch has a chalkier deeper sound with less bass roll off but none of them have like 92 db s/n out to amp.

the d2 is superior for amping. it also has decent effects though they are to make up for a lack in other areas: no way to recover details lost in that bass. the eq is unfortunate though.

i appreciate that many people like it but for actual sq alone versus sounds good, this player has got a larger shroud of untruth around it than any other player i have heard. i have expressed my loathe for things i think should be included in a 'best sq evar' player for a long time (gapless being the main one and of course channel separation) and have encountered this: more rabid fans (so far not in this thread) than any other player.

if it had gapless i probably would have suffered through the rest a bit longer but this player in sq: measurable sq and for my tastes, sound preferences is far from many other players.

unamped, it scores average measured in rmaa and i am quite sure that no other players i own will be that low.

 

[geekchic]

shizgeo, thanks for the detailed explanation. I respect your opinion on the matter as you have clearly spent a lot of time with all the players you talk about. I was curious about your comment on D2 vs. Nano SQ as till date, I have not really read a balanced comparison of the two devices.

I would mostly use any DAP I buy unamped for portability reasons, so SQ of the source becomes a matter of high concern for me. I do feel that I may have under-rated the Nano. Now I will definitely check it out basis your comments.

I do love the sound on my D2, but I will admit it takes some getting used to initially if you come from warmer sounding players like my IRiver H300. My music does not require a lot of bass though it has been easier for me to acclimatise to it.

 

[shigzeo]

if you love it, stick with it. for me, it was a very dissapointing player but one that could have been so good. it is enough that you enjoy it.

 

[tds101]

I personally prefer the Sony SQ at this point. The iPod is feature rich and, if it sounded as good (un-amped) as my Sony (or, truthfully, my D2), I'd go back ASAP.

 

[elmer_42]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed /img/forum/go_quote.gif Get her or advise her to get an 8GB card or two. Crazy not too.

The SD expansion is the main reason she went with the D2, but she already has some extra SD cards laying around because her camera takes SD cards.

@Everyone: Yes, I will enjoy it while I have it. Basically, if I like it when I get to "test" it then it is cemented in place as my next DAP. Thanks for all your help everyone!
@Baines93: I wasted your 1500th post! HA!

 

[Bubbah]

Just bought Nano 3G with iBasso D2 Boa and a jumbo cry dock. With this setup, will the d2 + amp beat my nano in terms of SQ ?

 

[shigzeo]

if you want it to, it will. if you don't want it to, it will not. personally, the nano fits the music i listen to much better in any situation than the d2 does ever. it depends on which on you want to win: then that one will win.

 

[tds101]

It's all about personal taste - see which fits you best.

 

[tldoxmf87]

Go for the D2!!
Itune is just plain annoyance.