[misterDX]

can any owners comment on its SQ? i plan to use im716 and se530 on it, and is hoping for a analytical(like D2?), bass tight (not bass heavy) sound. I am hoping the SQ will be at least comparable to sansa fuze or d2. Thanks for all your contributions!

 

[misterDX]

bump

 

[jant71]

I have one and would say it is in between. It is not as warm as an Iriver or Sony but not more neutral like a D2 or Meizu(SL). It is as detailed as anything out now.

It runs the WM8987 as the Meizu does. More power, more soundstage, more detail than the Meizu though. Sound effects are better than most and it can be tailored to sound more analytical without ill effects.

I had 3 Toshibas, a couple of Cowons, Sony, Irivers, etc. Everything except Apple and Sandisk. Only the Toshibas' sound better flat and adjusted/tweaked it is probably the best I've heard for headphone out. It is pretty big so I had a Cowon U5 as a more portable source but had to sell it since it could not match the SQ of the SmartQ. Note: the U5 sounds like the 7, warmer and more musical, not like the D2. It has more power and can drive headphones better which is part of the reason it sounds better.

Smartq could be considered the Chinese Cowon. More feature laden players with more firmware updates(8 since release, last on 10/22) and top-notch SQ.

It runs with the mainstream players but is not perfect. Has TV-out, album art, subtitles, lossless support and cue file support etc. Should be ~$180 with a 16GB card. There is an LE version cheaper if you don't need TV-out and cheaper earphones(non-LE stocks are better than PK2 to my ears). But the chips are the same WM8987 and Blackfin processor. Some deals give the game controller with it. I bought one separate and it can be used as a remote control except for radio(disabled) and photos(you can start a slideshow or display one photo then the controller is disabled but videos work fine. Latest updates have given notes to use with the Calender, new game platforms(CPS-1 and Megadrive), ability to load fonts to the device etc. Upgrade is simple as extracting the new SYSTEM file and replacing the existing one. You don't even have to reboot the player just press the play/select button to disconnect the device and the new firmware is loaded up in about two seconds without the player shutting down.
Translated version of http://www.smartdevices.com.cn/down/t5/firmware-t5/2008-5-12/sq08597525.html

 

[PeterDLai]

Hi jant71,

I was just wondering. How is the hiss level on the SmartQ T5-II with sensitive IEMs?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jant71 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had 3 Toshibas, a couple of Cowons, Sony, Irivers, etc. Everything except Apple and Sandisk. Only the Toshibas' sound better flat and adjusted/tweaked it is probably the best I've heard for headphone out.

Which player are you referring to in the bolded text, the Toshiba or the SmartQ?

Thanks...

 

[jant71]

Of the two players, the Toshiba Gigabeat U series sounds best flat. The SmartQ sounds better with a bit of adjustment than the Toshiba does. With FLAC and DSE it might be the best I've heard aside from a Rockboxed Gigabeat F with FLAC files.

The Toshiba(all three actually) have always been a cut above. The SmartQ is pretty close set to flat and still beats all the others, IMO. A bit like than the last generation Sony with less hiss, a bit less bass, and a bit more detail. Also probably the best I've heard through external equipment through a headphone out.

As far as hiss goes, my impression is that it is slightly better than the Cowon U5 was. Better than the last Sony's, Meizu SL, Irivers(quite a bit), Creative. It is not a totally black background(like Toshibas' >95 SNR) but is better than most. I had the UM2 till about a month ago which would have been perfect to test it but I sold them and I really only used them with added impedance. The best I have now is 13ohm, 115 sens. phones I can hear a slight hiss on pause that does not change with volume increase and is quite hard to hear on playback. Still, not the most sensitive phones though.

 

[Zephyron]

For SQ, you can't go wrong with any of them. They're better than most players out there.

With regard to hiss, the Fuze and T5-II are quite similar. Both are quiet, but with more sensitive IEMs like the UM2 and whatnot, hiss is audible in absolute silence.

Doesn't detract from the musical experience though.

The D2 and H120 L/O are the dead quiet ones from the bunch.

With regard to sound sig, the T5-II is very fun compared to the D2, but the D2's sound has more air to it overall IMO.

Earphone matching plays an important point too IMO. I prefer the D2 with the Soundmagic PL30 despite the SE420's higher SQ reproduction level IMO. Same goes for the T5-II and Fuze, which I prefer with the SE420 + Impedance adapter.

 

[yaukayin]

hello everyone...
i am a music lover from HK

i recently discovered this forum and after reading this post
i registered

coz in HK this chinese brand, SmartQ , is quite
well-known and i may offer help to all of you

btw...my english is poor...hope u understand

i own smartQ t5II before...
the SQ is excellent, but the hisses are unacceptable!

How can u buy T5II in Europe or in US ?
i wonder if smartQ has shipped their product to overseas..
why don't u buy their new product "TAO" instead??

Lastly...i think that this is not the best choice if u only listen to music
but this machine can play many format of music and videos,flac,ape,wav,mp3,ogg,wma for music and rmvb,avi e.t.c. for videos
Besides, u can play GBA games on this machine too!

 

[misterDX]

which Impedance adapter do you use?

yaukayin, TAO is not for sell overseas yet as all of their batches have screen problems and have to be recalled.

T5 is available for shipping overseas.....

 

[jant71]

Interesting, Zephyron, I sold my SE420 and use the funds to buy the T5-II so I never heard the two together. I thought the SE420/s-adapter and Cowon U5 was an excellent match but then the U5 sounds more like the 7(warmer) and not as much like the D2. I thought the PL30 and SmartQ using treble preset and Extended SFX (Bass 1, Treble 4, and 3D on 3) was excellent and better than with the Cowon.

That's two of us agree that it is quiet but not dead black. Not sure of Yaukayin's experience but the majority I've heard matches me and Zephyron.

I, myself, use the Ety S-adapter back from my ER4P->S days. I had the Gigabeat F back then and that was dead black quiet. Using it for me was never about hiss but SQ improvement. Tightening up bloaty dynamics a bit or adding some more impact to armatures which it does well enough to make it one of my favorite all time audio purchases. I just bought a Degen pocket radio with built-in MP3 player(I love it, BTW) and the radio part has some hiss and some loud pops/crackle when switching modes which the S-adapter takes care of nicely. In this case and with an older Emerson pocket radio it is more about the hiss.

 

[yaukayin]

i say the hiss is unacceptable...may be exaggerated
coz i used to have a cowon D2 before....
it has no hiss and analytical...but not emotional...
the sound is just boring...

so i buy smartQ...
and at that time i m using UE 5PRO
The hiss is audible....that's my experience...
overall....i highly recommend this machine
it's much better than meizu m6 and m3
and may be as the same grade as D2 and Sansa Clip
but of a different style

sorry...i can't express what i want to say
i am not a native English speaker

P.S i just receive my SMARTQ TAO!!

 

[PeterDLai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yaukayin /img/forum/go_quote.gif i say the hiss is unacceptable...may be exaggerated coz i used to have a cowon D2 before.... it has no hiss and analytical...but not emotional... the sound is just boring... so i buy smartQ... and at that time i m using UE 5PRO The hiss is audible....that's my experience... overall....i highly recommend this machine it's much better than meizu m6 and m3 and may be as the same grade as D2 and Sansa Clip but of a different style sorry...i can't express what i want to say i am not a native English speaker P.S i just receive my SMARTQ TAO!!

Is the SmartQ TAO any better with hiss?

BTW your English is pretty easy to understand so don't worry about it.

 

[yaukayin]

sadly....even worse ....
for SQ , after listening awhile, it's almost the same as T5II
despite the new look, don't expect too much...
btw, the mon is just great....its resolution is 480X320
same as iphone....so i get many resources easily...haha!

misterDX, if u don't care about the dull look of T5II

i recommend u to buy t5II

cheaper price..with radio, TV out and games!