help, my mp3 player have muffled sound

[mb05]

Hi.

I have an ultra compact mp3 player, but after i upgraded my headphones to some expensive shures, the sound quality is not satisfying at all (compared to my laptop and soundblaster). Is it normal that those ultra small flashplayers (like ipod shuffle) have a bassy-muffled-sound instead of a smooth-clear sound?
If i upgrade my mp3 player to lets say an ipod, will the sound improve and be as good as the sound that is coming from my laptop?
What mp3 player will you recommend where i can get the most out of my shures? (not an apple product!).

Thanks

 

[Divad1]

what bitrate of mp3 are you using?

 

[mb05]

I'm using 192 or 320. They are perfect when played from my computer/laptop, but it's bad out of the mp3 player. It sounds like 64kbps.

(well, not that bad, but i just think that i'm not getting the maximum out of my expensive headphones).

 

[AndyKatz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb05 I'm using 192 or 320. They are perfect when played from my computer/laptop, but it's bad out of the mp3 player. It sounds like 64kbps. (well, not that bad, but i just think that i'm not getting the maximum out of my expensive headphones).

My first headphone upgrade, going back a couple of years, was the Shure E2c. I remember being horribly disappointed when I first tried them out, sound was thin, faint, lacking in texture, highs, lows ... just as you describe, like 64 kpbs. I discovered that Shures in particular are very sensitive to correct placement within the ear canal. Near perfect occlusion produces way, way better sound.

After I figured that out, I discoverd I really liked the sound of the E2. What I didn't like, using Shure's own fittings, was the comfort and difficulty of getting just right. So I moved on to the Etymotic ER 4p (later S with a portable amp).

But you ought to be able to get satisfactory sound from the Shure (which model?) by working on fit. Try the different fittings, bearing in mind that you're not limited just to what Shure provides.

It wasn't until I put an extra Ety flex sleeve over the Shure that it became reasonably comfortable and usable for me.

Andy

 

[mb05]

It's the E3c's. I knew that fitting was crusial, but the yellow foam ones fits just perfect (comfortable, great sound and slightly more bassy). I just tried them on my laptop again and WOW, what a difference compared to my mp3 player. So the question is, how good is the sound in a quality mp3-player (NW-HD5 or harddrive ipod) compared to those small cheap ones (shuffle)? is the sound from your rio carbon as good as the one you get from your computers soundcard?

 

[Kameleon]

The shuffle is one of the best-sounding players out there, so unless it's faulty I doubt it's your problem

 

[mb05]

Kameleon: so you are saying that the Ipod Shuffle sound as good as the large harddrive based Ipod? (i don't have a shuffle but a mobiblu cube, and i consider them in the same category). I was considering the Sony HD5, but if a shuffle plays just as good, then there are no reason to upgrade may be just the cube that has lousy sound.

 

[blessingx]

The MobiBLU (I had the 1500i) and iPod Shuffle are pretty different sonically. I wouldn't group them together. You can really customize the MobiBLU sound, so I'd work with it's EQ, TruBass, etc. before giving up on it. Out of box the Shuffle sounds better to my ears, but I didn't try all the MobiBLU settings before sending it back (USB problems).

 

[Kameleon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb05 Kameleon: so you are saying that the Ipod Shuffle sound as good as the large harddrive based Ipod? (i don't have a shuffle but a mobiblu cube, and i consider them in the same category). I was considering the Sony HD5, but if a shuffle plays just as good, then there are no reason to upgrade may be just the cube that has lousy sound.

I'd say the Shuffle sounded better than the 3G/4G Ipods I've heard, however you're not wanting a comparison with the Shuffle. Just because two mp3 players use the same type of memory and are the same size doesn't mean they'll have anything remotely close to comparable sound quality. I don't know a lot about the Mobiblu cube thing, so I couldn't say how its SQ is.