mitchell_bb
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2007
- Posts
- 9
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What an interesting morning it has been...im not sure how happy my wallet will be after this post
. My amplifier (Sansui AU-555A) for my bedroom speaker system has been playing up in recent weeks with significant drops in volume and eventually carked it a week ago. Originally i thought i was the on/off speaker switch which snapped in the off position. However before i went out and purchased a new switch i decided i should test whether anything else might be a problem, through using headphones. I tested my computer, CD player, dvd player and ipod and each of them played quieter on the '10' volume, then they did on the '1' volume prior to things going wrong. But thats another problem for another forum
. Onto the issue at hand
When i pulled my standard ipod headphones back into the ipod and started back listening to music (Hallelujah - Buckley) i couldnt work out why the hell the audio quality was so average (volume was on full), there was a constant hissing, static like sound in the background which didnt really disappear until the volume was below about 50%. What the hell could be the problem i asked myself? First possible problem: the 3.5mm to 2 RCA adapter which is used to plug the ipod into the amp was really grimey and this had somehow coated some oxidised layer onto the ipod headphone socket so sound couldnt get through. Unless i could clean it i wouldnt be able to test it so i discounted it. Second possible problem: Ipod standard headphones suck. This i could test. However the same problem occured on my sony street style headphones and Grado SR-80s. Third possible problem: 192kbps Mp3 files suck. I tested this by uploading an apple lossless version and 360kbps Mp3 version of Hallelujah, to which they both had the exact same issue with the static background, even with the SR-80s. Then i remembered i could test the problem with the dirtied audio plug, because id just bought an ipod nano for my sister (birthday). Wow, the exact same issue with Hallelujah. I listened to a few different Jazz, Rock, Classic songs on both ipods and found the same issue again and again. Thus the only conclusion i can reach is that the sound quality of the ipod nano truly does suck. Funny thing is ive been using it while out and about for 2 weeks since i bought it without noticing a thing, however in those cases i was in the city and not particularly thinking about sound quality.
Now my delimma, i will continue to hear this until it is fixed. I have a pair of Westone UM1s on the way and should arrive this week, so i wont do anything until i have a chance to test them. Maybe the fact IEMs will be played at a lower volume might go part way to fixing the problem. The other obvious option is to buy a headphone amp. However the main reason i chose the nano 2GB over any other was because (a) it was very cheap and (b) it was very portable. So if im going to buy a headphone amp, it will have to be very small (first criteria) and not overpriced (second criteria). Im thinking something under US$150 and hopefully not much bigger than an ipod video. Im interested to know any recommended suggestions for a portable headphone amp. Im only young and hardly have what one would call a musicians ear, but i know reasonable quality audio when i hear it. It doesnt need to be brilliant, just plausible.
Hopefully someone here will be able to give me some assistance, it would be very greatly appreciated.
-Mitchell
When i pulled my standard ipod headphones back into the ipod and started back listening to music (Hallelujah - Buckley) i couldnt work out why the hell the audio quality was so average (volume was on full), there was a constant hissing, static like sound in the background which didnt really disappear until the volume was below about 50%. What the hell could be the problem i asked myself? First possible problem: the 3.5mm to 2 RCA adapter which is used to plug the ipod into the amp was really grimey and this had somehow coated some oxidised layer onto the ipod headphone socket so sound couldnt get through. Unless i could clean it i wouldnt be able to test it so i discounted it. Second possible problem: Ipod standard headphones suck. This i could test. However the same problem occured on my sony street style headphones and Grado SR-80s. Third possible problem: 192kbps Mp3 files suck. I tested this by uploading an apple lossless version and 360kbps Mp3 version of Hallelujah, to which they both had the exact same issue with the static background, even with the SR-80s. Then i remembered i could test the problem with the dirtied audio plug, because id just bought an ipod nano for my sister (birthday). Wow, the exact same issue with Hallelujah. I listened to a few different Jazz, Rock, Classic songs on both ipods and found the same issue again and again. Thus the only conclusion i can reach is that the sound quality of the ipod nano truly does suck. Funny thing is ive been using it while out and about for 2 weeks since i bought it without noticing a thing, however in those cases i was in the city and not particularly thinking about sound quality.
Now my delimma, i will continue to hear this until it is fixed. I have a pair of Westone UM1s on the way and should arrive this week, so i wont do anything until i have a chance to test them. Maybe the fact IEMs will be played at a lower volume might go part way to fixing the problem. The other obvious option is to buy a headphone amp. However the main reason i chose the nano 2GB over any other was because (a) it was very cheap and (b) it was very portable. So if im going to buy a headphone amp, it will have to be very small (first criteria) and not overpriced (second criteria). Im thinking something under US$150 and hopefully not much bigger than an ipod video. Im interested to know any recommended suggestions for a portable headphone amp. Im only young and hardly have what one would call a musicians ear, but i know reasonable quality audio when i hear it. It doesnt need to be brilliant, just plausible.
Hopefully someone here will be able to give me some assistance, it would be very greatly appreciated.
-Mitchell
