iRiver H320 - Equalizer question

[benjamind]

Does the iRiver H320 have a custom EQ setting where you can adjust the level of the 5 bands up or down?

I've read a review which said that the H320 didn't have a custom EQ but I'm not sure if there were firmware upgrades since that review. I've also read that this model does have 1 custom EQ setting.

To the point - I'm confused and want some clarification. I've definately settled on this player but just wanted to pop one last question.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[crypt@]

Not individual band frequency adjustments. Just a simple boost for "bass" and "treble". And I've yet to discover which frequency range qualifies as bass and which as treble.

 

[benjamind]

Wow...that sucks, I'd have thought that there would at least be a 5-band EQ that you could adjust up or down.

I'm wondering if this has been fixed in the newer firmware. If it hasn't I can't get this player. I need to be able to use EQ properly.

What a let down!

 

[Super King]

There's a five band EQ in the new H10, but not in either the H1xx or H3xx.

 

[blessingx]

Are you looking at the parametric EQ on the Karma, if EQing is important to you?

 

[benjamind]

I'd love to get the Karma but it's not released in Australia as yet. It should be hear in a little while. This one is definately the best with regards to sound quality. Nothing comes close.

I'm wondering if Australian distributors/sellers are waiting for new/improved batches of the Karma. I know that older batches had some hard disk problems, so maybe that is being sorted out.

I don't care that much for the colour screen on the H320, and the lack of customisable EQ really sucks. I could have sworn that on such a high-end player like the iRiver H320 it would at the very least have customisable EQ!

I want the very best sound quality as I'll be using ER-6i or ER-4P canalphones and these are supposedly quite sensitive to the source.

 

[blessingx]

Well, I'm not so sure about the nothing comes close, but it's certainly the most customizable with the EQs.

Is this place legit? http://www.expansys.com.au/product.asp?code=113608

 

[benjamind]

Probably legit...but what a ripoff?! $530?!

I'm not sure there is anything out there that comes close to the Rio Karma, maybe except the iAudio M3 and the iRiver H320. The rest of them, well, just don't seem to measure up in my opinion.

I know the iAudio sounds awesome, but not having a screen on the player and requiring a remote to access the features is a little daunting.

The only other option, in this sound quality level, is the iRiver H320.

 

[Necros]

Why do you need to fiddle with the sound ? Usually a slight bass or treble boost is enough to get the iriver to sound similar-ish to your rack mounted hifi headphone amp.

I've got a iriver h140 and only use bass boost +3...even if it had 4band eq I wouldn't use it..my hifi is straight through as well. Not sure if the 3xx series have SRS/WOW but that totally screws up the sound.

I wouldn't dismiss a DAP just because it lacks those features. Perhaps Rockbox might add it to the 120/140, I guess fiddle with it for a laugh but then put back to normal.

 

[benjamind]

You're right Necros, bass and treble boost is probably all I'll ever need. I should really check it out in person, a 5-band parametric EQ like the Karma would be awesome but I probably wouldn't use it all that much.

I'll probably find that the iRiver sounds even better than the iAudio M3, to my ears at least. I know that the iAudio M3 has good treble, with decent bass, but I've been told the iRiver has a warmer sound and I always prefer a warmer sound.

iRiver H320 it is!

Hoping the ER-6i will sound good through my iRiver. I'm told the iRiver has a very good efficient amp built-in so I'm looking forward to it

EDIT: iRiver H320 has SRS and WOW features, you are correct about what it does to the sound. I find that, apart from the Trubass feature (which is IMHO totally awesome, at least it was on my old Dioneer DCP-400 MP3/CD player), SRS/WOW totally ruins the sound stage and gets everything muddled up, sometimes the vocals go right into the distance, yucko!

It would have been better to have the BBE features, these are a world apart from the SRS. BBE actually makes the sound richer and the Viva and MP are pretty good too, but standard BBE is the best feature on the iAudio M3 and the Mach3Bass, WOW, to my ears anyway.

 

[st5150]

I just got the H320. The bass is great, but the treble is very lacking, even with ogg vorbis files. The ultra highs simply aren't there, even with the treble maxed out. My Dell DJ sounds much brighter up top. I love the H320 so far, but its just a tad muddy for me.

 

[benjamind]

The H320 never sounded muddy to me. It sounds just right and most people aren't going to worry, but the tish on the cymbals could have been a little bit brighter where it was needed, the iAudio M3 had a bit better treble so it had no trouble with cymbals.

The iAudio M3 (and the M5/X5) will basically flog the pants of every other MP3 player out there when you measure everything up, except the Rio Karma

 

[benjamind]

From what I understand, the iRiver iHP110/120/140 and 320/340 have the flattest frequency response of any of the DAPs - except for the Karma. Maybe the ultra-treble details are lost through OGG/MP3. Or maybe the DELL had a coloured sound that accentuated the treble.

I'd try listening to a WAV file on the iRiver, if that is at all possible. If that doesn't work, well, I guess some DAPs have treble roll-off, not sure why so, but I admit they do. Not a good thing IMHO.

This is why I prefer the iAudio M3, the treble is a little better.

 

[Seijang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crypt@ Not individual band frequency adjustments. Just a simple boost for "bass" and "treble". And I've yet to discover which frequency range qualifies as bass and which as treble.

Uh, well there are eq presets as well.

Like (is looking at his H320 now) Jazz, Classic, U. Bass, Normal and Rock. I keep mine at Jazz, it seems to makes the lows a bit clearer on my e3c's, and my high's a bit brighter ^^.

 

[Mr Iriver]

Why don't you boost the trable a bit and see if that helps? I found treble boost with the 6i a bit to bright, but you make like that brighter treble.