me7
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2007
- Posts
- 124
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- 25
There is some objective criteria to compare DAPs. First you need to draw a line between neutral audio reproduction and personal taste. A DAP that overemphasizes low frequencies is just as "wrong" as a DAP that has a bass roll-off. Neutrality can be measured (at least to some extent) with frequency response, harmonic distortion, background noise, stereo separation...
Perfect scores in such tests still don't guarantee a device that everyone will love because people have different preferences when it comes to EQs: some hate them (like me), some like more bass, some like more "clearity" for the vocals,...
There is no point arguing that the iPhone/iPod touch sound bad since they have proven themselves in RMAA tests. We can stay objective until here, but now taste kicks in and Apple is well known for implementing bad EQs in their DAPs.
Some people love altering the sound to their wishes and they are disappointed by the iPhone/iPod - not because the device sounds "wrong" but because it sounds too neutral.
Perfect scores in such tests still don't guarantee a device that everyone will love because people have different preferences when it comes to EQs: some hate them (like me), some like more bass, some like more "clearity" for the vocals,...
There is no point arguing that the iPhone/iPod touch sound bad since they have proven themselves in RMAA tests. We can stay objective until here, but now taste kicks in and Apple is well known for implementing bad EQs in their DAPs.
Some people love altering the sound to their wishes and they are disappointed by the iPhone/iPod - not because the device sounds "wrong" but because it sounds too neutral.