Naim.F.C
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 20, 2008
- Posts
- 1,149
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- 286
One thing I've really noticed since purchasing my SE530's is that there's a massive difference in the way certain sources handle or output the sound. Often to the degree of comparing it to sounding like a whole new IEM!
I'll quote myself from another forum.
---
"This thread was mainly just to commend Nokia on the N95 8GB's music capabilities. First and most important, the audio quality. It's just sublime compared to all other mobiles and MP3 players I've used. This includes a 30GB Ipod Video, an 8GB Nano Video, an Iphone, X-Fi from the PC and more. And the Nokia N95 8GB's sound quality imo, bests them all.
The higher end your headphones, the more you notice the imperfections not only in MP3 bit rates and compression, but the capabilities of MP3 players. The iPhone is rather weak with the SE530, you tend to get hissing a lot. The regular iPods fare much better, with minimal hiss, but slightly spongy and un-tamed bass response. In comparison to the N95 8GB, the Nokia not only has a cleaner all around sound, but bass response is generally tighter and more responsive. There is virtually no hissing. I rarely have to go above 50% volume on the N95 8GB with the SE530's. The equaliser is also great on the N95 8GB, not as deep or professional as some of the others, but I find it offers more than enough options. I have spent many hours customising and tweaking EQ's on the N95 and have always been impressed by the results."
---
So after that rant, I would like you guys to rank the players you've used thus far. Here is my ranking so far. My list could change, but based off my time with the different sources so far.
1. Nokia N95 8GB (latest FW)
2. Nokia N81 (same as above but louder, the reason it's number 2 instead of 1 is because of a lack of EQ options)
3. iPod Nano Video 8GB
4. X-fi (PC sound card)
5. Sony Ericsson W200i, W800 and K750i
6. iTouch 16GB
7. iPhone 8GB
8. iPod Video 30GB
9. Logitech Z5500 Decoder
10. Sharp 903
I'll quote myself from another forum.
---
"This thread was mainly just to commend Nokia on the N95 8GB's music capabilities. First and most important, the audio quality. It's just sublime compared to all other mobiles and MP3 players I've used. This includes a 30GB Ipod Video, an 8GB Nano Video, an Iphone, X-Fi from the PC and more. And the Nokia N95 8GB's sound quality imo, bests them all.
The higher end your headphones, the more you notice the imperfections not only in MP3 bit rates and compression, but the capabilities of MP3 players. The iPhone is rather weak with the SE530, you tend to get hissing a lot. The regular iPods fare much better, with minimal hiss, but slightly spongy and un-tamed bass response. In comparison to the N95 8GB, the Nokia not only has a cleaner all around sound, but bass response is generally tighter and more responsive. There is virtually no hissing. I rarely have to go above 50% volume on the N95 8GB with the SE530's. The equaliser is also great on the N95 8GB, not as deep or professional as some of the others, but I find it offers more than enough options. I have spent many hours customising and tweaking EQ's on the N95 and have always been impressed by the results."
---
So after that rant, I would like you guys to rank the players you've used thus far. Here is my ranking so far. My list could change, but based off my time with the different sources so far.
1. Nokia N95 8GB (latest FW)
2. Nokia N81 (same as above but louder, the reason it's number 2 instead of 1 is because of a lack of EQ options)
3. iPod Nano Video 8GB
4. X-fi (PC sound card)
5. Sony Ericsson W200i, W800 and K750i
6. iTouch 16GB
7. iPhone 8GB
8. iPod Video 30GB
9. Logitech Z5500 Decoder
10. Sharp 903
