iAudio 6 review - questions and comments

[weschester808]

Ok, so this might be the best cheap solution I have found so far.

Spy Ear
http://www.stupid.com/stat/SEAR.html

So, use that but instead of using headphones with it I will use a mini-jack cable to hook it to the line in on my i6.

it should work OK for lo-fi recordings, which is all I care about since I will use it for lectures.

this is where I read about it:

http://www.neurosaudio.com/community...82&whichpage=1

[frankmulder]

eXity, in your review you said "The cable that goes to the left bud is shorter than the one that goes to the right, so you don’t have so much cable mess (y-style)." But that's not called Y-style; that's how a symmetric cable is called. Sometimes they call those asymmetric cables "J-style".

[randallb]

The Cowon America online knowledge base suggests that you route the longer wire behind your neck. They even have a picture.

http://support.cowonamerica.com/supp...d=5&nav=0,3,18

[Martinp]

Originally Posted by frankmulder

eXity, in your review you said "The cable that goes to the left bud is shorter than the one that goes to the right, so you don’t have so much cable mess (y-style)." But that's not called Y-style; that's how a symmetric cable is called. Sometimes they call those asymmetric cables "J-style".

Oops, I messed up there - will fix that soon.

[Jackal]

I'm about to buy my first MP3 player and I need some advice. First of all I own a set of Shure E5 earphones and I am looking the best sounding player out there. I'm stuck between the X5l or the I6. Capacity isn't my worry only sound quality.
Which one would you guys recommend ? I'm aware the X5L has been around for a while now so should I go for the newer one ?
Hope someone can help me as I am really stuck !

[afruff23]

If sound quality is your only concern, then try going to head-fi.org or hydrogenaudio.org. Make sure whatever you get supports FLAC and OGG(or whatever you use).

[Jackal]

Thanks for the reply, the Iaudio6 and the X5L both seem to support both formats but which one will give the better quality audio ? Will I lose much space with the higher spec formats ?

[gopihan]

flac files are 20 to 40 mb each file but to me they sound better than the wave files
ape copresses a bit more but is not supported by stand alone devices

[Martinp]

Originally Posted by gopihan

flac files are 20 to 40 mb each file but to me they sound better than the wave files
ape copresses a bit more but is not supported by stand alone devices

Uh, technichally a FLAC file is a wav file. It can't sound better really. Well, it shouldn't sound better anyway.

[gopihan]

it sounds more harmonic some pitches are a bit darker and rounder in sound it has to do with the compression method used at flac for ape this is the same. some channels are modified in a way bbe does

i am in my advanced study period of computer science in audio-visual systems i think i know what i am talking about :winker:

and perhaps was better the wrong word . different is more suitable

but file size is worth the sound

[Martinp]

Originally Posted by gopihan

it sounds more harmonic some pitches are a bit darker and rounder in sound it has to do with the compression method used at flac for ape this is the same. some channels are modified in a way bbe does

i am in my advanced study period of computer science in audio-visual systems i think i know what i am talking about :winker:

and perhaps was better the wrong word . different is more suitable

but file size is worth the sound

Sorry dude, I wasn't critisizing you.

I just don't quite understand seeing that if you convert FLAC to wav and to FLAC again and then to wav you will always end up with the same MD5 sum. So the files sound 100% identical. It just depends on the decoder really.

But you probably know more about this than I do.

[gopihan]

it is hard to understand like bbe for example cause their sound algorithms create sound where no sound was by interpolating and guessing whats next. you can reverse this process if you got the algorithm which can calculate it back so the result will be the same like before by using special bits and so on but this lead to far

so flac can sound different by convering it from a wave. it is hard to hear a difference between both ! you will rather see it with an oscilloscope than hearing it. and the older you get the lower your audible frequencys get so perhaps the ones above 15 or 18 k are already out of your range. loud music and stress

but back to topic still waiting for my player here in germany damn firmware probs

[Jackal]

No one has yet answered my question, Iaudio6 or X5L for better sound ?

[vinnie97]

it sounds more harmonic some pitches are a bit darker and rounder in sound it has to do with the compression method used at flac for ape this is the same. some channels are modified in a way bbe does

This sounds like snake oil. How have you come to this conclusion? Back to back listening of the files in full awareness of what was playing? Again, objective blind tests are the only way you can definitively make such claims. FLAC makes no modification to the sound that is audible...that is the point of lossless. If that were the case, you might as well forego lossless altogether and stay with MP3, OGG, WMA or what have you. When the FLAC is decompressed to WAV again, you have the equivalent WAV that you started out with, which is proof that there has been no "darkening of the pitches" nor has it been made to sound "more harmonic." An oscilloscope will be distorted by a decoder as well, you know, especially if some EQ was applied or if there was some other masking of the audio.

Exity, you're the only one talking sense here as far as I can tell.

No one has yet answered my question, Iaudio6 or X5L for better sound ?

Maybe that isn't a question which can be easily answered...

[afruff23]

When I said go to head-fi.org, I implied that you would check out other things besides iAudio for sound quality, although I believe they will point you to an iAudio product in the end.