[Sparky191]

I can only compare the Zen Micro to my MD units, Pansonic PCDP and a 4G iPod. I prefer the sound of the Zen to everything bar my old Sharp MD. For me the only weakness in the sound of the Zen is the bass which I think could do with a little more depth. Mind you my Sharp MD probably has too much bass. I don't use the EQ as I didn't feel it improved the sound for me.

With all players the quality of the source material (music) is critical.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus Hehehe I know the ms1 isn't the sr60 but It was just a comment I had to give on what a great combo the sr60 and the zen are. With EQ presets, High output presets like rock clip with high output songs. Try BT - Paris for example. The bass distorts. Don't even think about setting it to disco with this one By the way, I noticed many people mentioning that they use smart volume, why is that? Doesn't it degrade audio quality?

Just the opposite. Smart Volume is the Micro's built-in replay gain.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus Actually,with the high output music, its not just the bass that distorts. Everything distorts when the low bass notes kick in. Even at low volumes. Whats weird is I tried MP3gain with these songs and the distortion doesnt go away. I wonder if it is lames fault with these particular songs. Some songs from Delerium also distort

It's certainly possible that it could be an encoding issue. I don't have any distortion problems with my Micro, even when listeing to relatively heavy stuff like Tool, Disturbed, Ministry, etc.

 

[donunus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpippel It's certainly possible that it could be an encoding issue. I don't have any distortion problems with my Micro, even when listeing to relatively heavy stuff like Tool, Disturbed, Ministry, etc.

That stuff doesn't distort with mine either. Its rare but there are songs with veeery high output. All my Korn, tool, Ministry aren't high output enough to distort.

dpippel
By the way, Is there a specific thread that talks about smart volume for the zen micro? What exactly does it do? doesn't it sound like the songs are being normalized? or like AVLS???

 

[donunus]

Ok, Ive been playing around with my zen micro and smart volume does reduce distortion quite a bit when the eq is used which makes it have a good purpose but my main problem still isn't fixed... For songs with high output like deleriums stopwatch hearts, smart volume just lowers the volume but distortion is still just as present. Also, Where does it say smart volume is like replay gain? isnt replay gain the information tagged to a file to get the proper constant gain it should be playing at? Well, smart volume aint constant, It fluctuates the volume within one song.... this is no good at all. its sort of like a night mode for home theater receivers. I listened to one song for example where the beggining of the song was just as loud with SV on or off then at the crescendos there is a big difference in the volume of the same song with it on vs off.... this is just like adjusting the volume control to turn down the volume everytime the song gets loud. Such an anti-audiophile feature if there ever was one. Pls correct me if Im wrong

 

[swmtnbiker]

I've never experienced volume normalization WITHIN a song using Smart Volume on my Micro. It's always worked just like replay gain - it adjusts the OVERALL gain on the songs in the playlist I'm listening to so that they're all within a few dB of each other. It seems to use the same logic as Album Gain in an application like MP3Gain. However, I've never done an intensive comparison of Smart Volume On vs. Smart Volume Off.

 

[Rodent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx Why people dog iPod sound quality is a can of worms fluctuating between good reasons like 'bass extension' to silly reasons like 'popularity'. I've been kinda surprised that the Micro has had posts lately that state 'legendary sound quality' or 'well known sound quality', etc. When did that judgment happen? Must have missed that. Like the similar 'Karma is the best sounding player on the market bar none' comments that are rarely checked, it seems if you repeat it enough it becomes true. Anyway, I think most Micro owners are quite happy with the sound so that says something positive about it. It's biggest obstacle IMO is it's low output power which may have an effect in your trials.

Can we please leave the IPOD out of this thread? Really.

 

[Sparky191]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodent Can we please leave the IPOD out of this thread? Really.

The original poster mentioned the iPod...

I've a Zen Micro and just recently (this evening) acquired a iPod Shuffle. I think the Shuffle might sounds more accurate, but I reckon I prefer the sound of the Zen slightly. Hard to describe the difference but the Zen seems to have more energy. Both seem slightly lacking in bass, but I'm beginning to realise its because I'm used to artificially "bassy" sound. The Shuffle does sound slightly cleaner than the Zen. I'm using MX500's and Panasonic RP-HJE50. Maybe my opinion will change after I've had them both for a while.

 

[Sparky191]

I'm begining to favour the shuffle now...

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodent Can we please leave the IPOD out of this thread? Really.

Any particular reason?

 

[donunus]

Actually, don't leave the ipod out. I posted this thread because i was actually thinking of getting the ipod cause i heard the sound is good out of its line out. Is it as good or better than line outs of other DAPS. I'm about to give up on the zen as a device for good sound quality. It's decent at best but doesn't max out the senn 555s I'm using with them. I compared the zen/pa2v2 combo to a sony ES cd player I have here and there is no contest. the sony wins hands down in all aspects of the sound. I want my DAP to be at least the equal of this Sony. Its an older ES model and I could tell that the DAC is not up to snuff compared to a modified marantz cd63se or the higher end CEC player my cousin has but the headphone out has some juice! not bad at all

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus I compared the zen/pa2v2 combo to a sony ES cd player I have here and there is no contest. the sony wins hands down in all aspects of the sound. I want my DAP to be at least the equal of this Sony.

I seriously doubt you're going to find a DAP/amp combo playing MP3s that's going to stack up to a Sony ES player and Redbook CD. IMO your expectations are a tad unrealistic.

 

[donunus]

I forgot who said it, maybe blessingX in another thread that the ipod using its line out is comparable to his marantz cd player

 

[swmtnbiker]

Maybe, MAYBE, if you're using Apple Lossless you could begin to get into the same territory. Maybe. However, I'm skeptical that the DACs and output stage in the iPod (or any other DAP) could stack up to those in a quality CD player or external DAC. Add lossy encoding to the equation and the scale tips even further. I can certainly hear a big difference between my Micro playing 320KB VBR MP3 and my Denon 2900 playing Redbook through the same amp. No contest. Granted the Micro doesn't have a line out, but I can't imagine that the iPod would be in the same league.

 

[Sparky191]

I don't have a HiFi CD only an old but good quality Sony midi. None of my portables, Zen, shuffle, MD or PCDP sounds as good though. However its seems a little unfair to compare a lineout (from the iPod) via an amp, or a HiFi CD through an amp to a earphone out on a portable.