[jjmai]

What do you guys say is the one single most important factor that affects the sound quality in portable devices?
Is it the player, headphones, amp, or music format (encoding rate, CD/MP3, etc)?
Thanks

 

[RedSky0]

For me:

Headphones > Player > Amp > Format

That's assuming were talking about a modest to decent amp, as I haven't heard a portable one that's more expensive or better regarded than the Mini^3, and assuming by format you're talking about the difference between FLAC and lossy encoding no lower than 192 VBR.

 

[estreeter]

Its a combination - not much use having a great player with 128K MP3 rips (been there ..), and FLAC is similarly futile if another link in the chain is sub-par. Not sure that all supposedly 'portable' phones are easily driven by some of the DAPs out there, but I am steadfastly avoiding anything that needs me to add a portable amp to my shopping list. The Cowon has been a godsend in this regard - the ia7 might have an interface from 1975, but nothing I have from Samsung, iRiver or Apple comes near it for sheer grunt.

 

[Sennshead]

I agree, assuming you're dealing with decent quality in all 3 areas, the headphones are the most important. Another way to look at it is the difference between mediocre vs high-end in all 3. The difference between mediocre and high end format means missing very subtle details, low end amp vs high end amp: clarity and balance (but also somewhat subtle); mediocre vs high-end cans: missing notes in their entirety, shrill vs warm... (pretty significant stuff)

 

[originalsnuffy]

Source material and headphones. The player matters, but those first two seem to be in the driver seat. Of course....headphone performance can depend on the player...

 

[Uncle Erik]

The recording's quality and the headphones are about 90% of it. An amp capable of fully driving the headphones about another 9%. Everything else is mostly trying to get you to transfer your dollars to someone's bank account.

 

[roebeet]

Difficult question, as it depends on so many factors. But, I'll use the extremes in quality as my main guide. That being said, from highest to lowest:

1- Encoding quality. A badly encoded file (think below 96kps) will kill SQ worse than anything else I can think of. Everyone has their own standards, so it's a question of finding that "sweet spot" that works for you.

2- Cans. The difference between $10 ear-buds and even mid-range cans are like night and day.

3- DAP. Not all DAPs sound alike, as many of us know. But I don't think the differences between them are as high as differences between headphones.

4- Amp. Amps are normally supplement and, even though they help with SQ, I think it belongs at the bottom of the list.

 

[krmathis]

1. Source material (recording quality and codec)
2. Head-/earphone
3. DAP

 

[a_tumiwa]

1. source / audio file
2. cans / headphone-earphone
3. dap
4. amp
5. cable

 

[peli_kan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a_tumiwa /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1. source / audio file 2. cans / headphone-earphone 3. dap 4. amp 5. cable

Shhh! Don't tell that to Monster cables!!!

 

[pata2001]

[sarcasm]
1. Brand name of DAP (the later letter on the alphabet, the better)
2. Number of stickers, buttons, and logos on the device/box (more = better)
3. Rarity (if you have to import it from Japan/hunt one on ebay, it must be better than the ones easily found in stores)
[/sarcasm]

Anyway, there's a point where the source/encoding is more important (eg. low bitrate files encoded with old codec). However, after a point of transparency (eg. anything 128kbps and up with newer codecs), then headphone/earbud becomes the more important factor. I experienced this revelation when I bought my first real headphone (a Sennheiser), jumping from stock/poor sounded buds. I had been playing with various codecs and settings to no end, and with the new can, any players that I use sound superb.

 

[jjmai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pata2001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif .... after a point of transparency (eg. anything 128kbps and up with newer codecs), then headphone/earbud becomes the more important factor.

It's also interesting that people usually only start to hear the difference between 128kbps and something higher (say, 192kbps) when they use a better headphone. I've heard that a lot of people complaining about better cans actually making their music sound worse, simply because now they can hear the faults of their low-bit-rate music.

 

[techfreakazoid]

1. Source material - stick with lossless if you can otherwise, 320 kbps.
2a. Ear/headphones - IEMs are ideal (preferably with good isolation) for portability and no need to carry an amp.
2b. Player - notice Player is not third as phones-player synergy is critical.

 

[charlie0904]

1) source: mp3 quality, flac, lossless
2) cans/iems(customs)
3) player (whether it has a sound chip or amp
4) amp (only if needed and whether it sync with cans/iems via a "good?" cable)
5) player sync with cans/iems(customs) <-- i find this also important

IMO

 

[deadly55]

1. source.
2. player
2. headphones/earbuds/iems.
4.amp
5. cables.