Is my player becoming a sound quality bottleneck?

[Zeratul]

I have a MPIO FL100 MP3 player, and soon after buying it went seeking alternative headphones and found this site. I bought a pair of Portapros, and I've been extremely happy with them ever since. Just today, however, I thought I'd try out my PPs on my computer. The sound is INCREDIBLY different and much more full, and I'm only using onboard sound (SoundMAX). I now understand why people say that the PPs are base heavy. Ugh, the base even seems distorted now that I can hear it properly. Even after fiddling with EQ settings, there is a noticable difference in the quality of sound when I switch sources. So my question is (I guess I already said it in the title, but I'll say it again for clarity): is it my MP3 player that's holding the sound back? Or is it just that portables don't drive headphones as well?

 

[Zeratul]

Bump.

 

[infiskik]

possibly, i dont know much about, ok nothing, about that dap but it might be.
you can try to add a portable amp to your DAP to bring out what you feel is missing.

but is it just not as lively or actually degraded like cracks and hiss's.

 

[Oddball]

What kind of audio codec are you using?

 

[Thisp]

Try a blind test, placeabo is far too big a factor, yet far too underestimated in these kinds of sudden comparisons.

 

[Zeratul]

Sorry, double post.

 

[Zeratul]

-No cracks or hisses, just a "not as full" sound
-I'm using MP3, mostly LAME, mostly 192 kbps
-Alright, I'll try a blind test later tonight. When I do it, should I leave the EQ for both sources as flat? Because if I do there is absolutely NO comparison. When I increase the lower frequencies on my player, it sounds more similar to my computer, but with a more cluttered sound. The computer creates VERY strong bass with flat EQ, but with very good, precise treble as well. To get similar bass on my player, it drowns out the trebble and mids, leaving them sounding muddy.

Will an amp help with that? How much would a cheap one cost?

 

[jpr703]

My best guess would be that the amplification circuitry in your portable player is the weak point. I'd recommend a mint amp. They're not that expensive, especially used.

Spending a lot of money on an amp would be overkill for your system, but a cheap one would probably help.

 

[Vashin]

I've also listened to the onboard sound vs my mp3 player (iriver h320) and the onboard sound is terrible. Small soundstage, bloated bass eww.