[truckdriver]

I had a sneaking suspicion that any change to my portable sound would spell disaster for me. That suspicion was confirmed when I developed problems with both my earphones (Shure SE535s) and my DAP (Samsung Galaxy SII).
 
The 535s developed a short in the cable/earpiece connection causing the left side to dropout. At this point, I still had the sound though, so I lived with the earpiece problem for months. Yes, I was THAT afraid to even have my earphones fixed or replaced.
 
Then (like an idiot), I added some programs (and updated others) on my phone because the Opera Mini browser stopped working . I erased the added programs soon after, but never got back to that state where I found my sound. Previously, I hadn't added a new program to my phone since finding my sound last October. Yes, I was THAT superstitious. However, I had a moment of weakness and I thought I could revert back if something went wrong.
 
Around the same time as Opera Mini stopped working a noticed a short in my 3.5 mm recessed adapter between my earphones and phone.
 
With my great sound now GONE (and not really knowing why), I sent my earphones to Shure for repair. Shure sent me a replacement for my 535s. I also got a new recessed adapter plug (none of which got me back to the sound).
 
I tried setting my phone back to its original state and reinstalling just the programs I had before. I never got back to the point where Poweramp was using 16 to 30 percent of the CPU as it did before. It was down to between 1 and 9 percent (hovering around 3).
 
My sound is now upfront (not 3D like). It's 2D and pedestrian like my other DAPs paired with the 535s. It's not crisp/clear and dynamic any more. It's not the sound I bragged about when I joined this forum. It's ordinary and boring.
 
I was so desperate that I rooted my Galaxy SII (voiding the warranty). I've tried one Gingerbread and one ICS rom with no luck. I don't believe in burn-in and cable effects, but since I had my original cable, I tried it. It was the cable I used when I first discovered my sound. No luck.
 
I'm at my wits' end. I don't know what to do next.
 
BTW, I'm a firm believer that Poweramp sounds crisper/cleaner if it can use as much CPU as it wants. I don't know if it affects the soundstaging and the 3D effect.
 
A browser and a Twitter app were the only other apps competing for resources that I added. Of course, you have all that unnecessary T-Mobile bloatware and google stuff. I thought designer roms would take care of that problem. They haven't.
 

 

[NA Blur]

Have you tried to install an old version of Poweramp?  Perhaps they rolled the revision and your like the older rev.
 
Also make sure you not unknowingly using volume limiting or internal EQ.  Poweramp would be very limited if these settings were on.
 
To me it sounds like the new condition of the phone is not utilizing Poweramp correctly and thus not delivering enough power to your IEM.
 
Do you hear a difference with a fully charged battery?  It really sounds like the headphones are not able to steal the needed power from the phone to sound their best.
 
Did you send the phone in or have it replaced?  Did you replace the battery?  Does it sound better plugged in and charging?
 
Try turning DVC Mode off.
 
Here is a related article:
http://forum.powerampapp.com/index.php?/topic/2283-sound-distortion-and-dvc-option-disabled/
 
You may have to use a Free EQ app to get the sound quality you want back.
 
It looks like their solution is:
 
"Thanks Nigel. Seriously the sound issue is quite frustrating, I do what you said, disabled Limiter and Poweramp Equalizer, turn on Newbie App and now the sound is great (as good as DVC on and Poweramp Equalizer on) without sound distortion, so far."
 
Let us know what you find.