[vranswer]

So, playing the new Transatlantic album Whirlwind my BNIB 1st Gen iPod Shuffle (yes the stick gum one) began to skip horribly. My first thought was,'crap - should've known there had to be something wrong with this "new" 4-yr-old DAP'. So I load up a different album (one that had played without flaw previously on the Shuffle). Now Boy Hits Car has some skipping but not as much or as badly.

Bad player right? But wait, the plot thickens...I toss the Shuffle in the gadget drawer and break out the 8GB Sansa Clip, one of those $49 clearance ones Walmart was selling earlier this year or last year, can't remember. Isis' Wavering Radiant begins to play and then ---you guessed it! ...starts to skip!!! Different album and different codec - the Transatlantic album was purchased from iTunes and is AAC format, the Isis album was purchased from Amazon.com and is an MP3 file.

THEN....went to play the Transatlantic album on my 3rd Gen iPod nano, on which I had played it probably 4 or 5 times previously with no issues....RIGHT! ...the sucker started skipping!!!

THREE different players, different file types, different albums purchased from different media sources suddenly start skipping for no reason. NONE of them, nor any of my other gear, had shown any such signs before. One other thing presumably not related...but is it??? Earlier that same day at work I spilled breakfast taco juice all over my trousers, and upon exiting a Walmart store inexplicably tripped and hit the pavement HARD. Could this simply be a snake-bit day or perhaps a haunting??

 

[Pezzite]

Erm...did you try listening through different headphones? Might be a problem with your connector, but yeah, that is really really weird.

 

[Justice Strike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vranswer /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, playing the new Transatlantic album Whirlwind my BNIB 1st Gen iPod Shuffle (yes the stick gum one) began to skip horribly. My first thought was,'crap - should've known there had to be something wrong with this "new" 4-yr-old DAP'. So I load up a different album (one that had played without flaw previously on the Shuffle). Now Boy Hits Car has some skipping but not as much or as badly. Bad player right? But wait, the plot thickens...I toss the Shuffle in the gadget drawer and break out the 8GB Sansa Clip, one of those $49 clearance ones Walmart was selling earlier this year or last year, can't remember. Isis' Wavering Radiant begins to play and then ---you guessed it! ...starts to skip!!! Different album and different codec - the Transatlantic album was purchased from iTunes and is AAC format, the Isis album was purchased from Amazon.com and is an MP3 file. THEN....went to play the Transatlantic album on my 3rd Gen iPod nano, on which I had played it probably 4 or 5 times previously with no issues....RIGHT! ...the sucker started skipping!!! THREE different players, different file types, different albums purchased from different media sources suddenly start skipping for no reason. NONE of them, nor any of my other gear, had shown any such signs before. One other thing presumably not related...but is it??? Earlier that same day at work I spilled breakfast taco juice all over my trousers, and upon exiting a Walmart store inexplicably tripped and hit the pavement HARD. Could this simply be a snake-bit day or perhaps a haunting??

and your pc?

 

[vranswer]

An update: converting AAC files to WAV format on the Shuffle makes them play normally...could be decoding there. Don't know what to say about the rest.

 

[ucrags84]

If the commonality is your headphones, the "skipping" could be a headphone problem.

 

[vranswer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucrags84 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If the commonality is your headphones, the "skipping" could be a headphone problem.

WOW! What an AHA moment! OK, sorry but a little more background. I suffer from minor but persistent tinnitus...can be very unnoticeable at times but downright frustrating often. I take homeopathic stuff to minimize the effect with questionable results.

WELL...since the first post of this thread, and wierdly subtle so as to remain underneath my radar I began to become increasingly unsatisfied with my music. With more and more conviction I began to question everything...is the sound just not as good on these DAPs?? ...is my hearing deteriorating to a point where I just can't discern the music's dynamics??...and finally within the last couple of days, is there something wrong with the beloved SE530s?

All music seemed flat and tinny, and turning up loud didn't help. The skipping problem which started this thread hadn't been present, but the loss of interest and involvement was excrutiating.

Then I went out for a walk with my dogs (two GSDs who are active and challenging to control). Suddenly, POW...the skipping began again!!! AND THEN, thanks to the seed planted in my mind from the post above a suspect was shown - .........bad connection??? ....I reached behind my back (with two dogs trying to understand the leash move) and grabbed upper and lower cables of the SE530 (extender cord connection) --- and PUSHED ---

The FULLNESS was astonishing!!! The LIFE to Transatlantic was mesmerizing!! The SKIPPING was gone! It dawned on me that I had recently driven in my car with my SE530s on and quite possibly pulled the plug slightly out -- not enough to kill the sound but just enough to create a half-ass contact. The skipping was a symptom of walking occlusion jarring that bad connection. It made for flat sounding audio with no bass/life or dimension.

I've been blowing my brains out all night....

 

[vranswer]

Thing is, ucrags84 had offered a suggestion which at the time was summarily dismissed..i.e., "yeah, right ...headphone problems with SE530s". I had replaced them within the last three months, so their integrity was out of the question. But the idea was planted in the back of my mind, and surfaced at the right moment to suggest the answer. Head-fi rules.

 

[ucrags84]

Thanks, I'm honored