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wrecked_porsche Posts: > 500

If you want loud sound, you have to use headphones with lower impedance. Get one that is about 32 Ohms. The lower it is, the more loudness u can get from it.

Or you could get a headphone amp such as the XIN supermini/supermacro or RSA tomahawk or Meier headsix. They are very small and portable amps for headphones.

Oh and yeah the P990 mp3 quality sucks (IF you're an audiophile like me, that is). Even the Walkman phones don't cut it for me. IMHO, they suck too. Well I guess that's what happens when you've had a taste of the audiophile world. There is no turning back. (sorry to go off topic here)

To the OP, get a connector and use different headphones, they really help improve things. Or get a headphone amp. Hope my post was helpful in some way.

_________________
Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

I Nokia N95

[ This Message was edited by: sanjeevjaya on 2007-11-05 11:25 ]
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Posted: 2007-11-05 07:09:12
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701 Posts: > 500


On 2007-09-05 17:56:14, michael the mage wrote:
The sennheiser is that a powered one? Why should it boost the volume otherwise?

What would be the difference compared to the SE ones? One the technical side that is?


I've tried everything: I changed the original ones with Sennheiser, I've chnaged those (to no avail) with a W200i pair with Bass Reflex and it's still low. I will try a pair of BT ones. Which ones should I try?
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Posted: 2007-11-05 08:59:23
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spitfire14 Posts: 39


On 2007-11-05 06:46:20, ks13 wrote:
if you are into music, mp3 then you should forget about using the P series phones by SE. the are just not designed to give good sound. this is out of my own experience when i switched from w810 to p990. now i am back to using a walkman phone cos i realised that it is music that i treasure. currently using w660


the p990 actually uses the same mp3 player used in the w800 (walkman ver1) , its just a marketing strategy to brand them "walkman phones," tested them both and they're of the same quality, dont know about those walkman ver2...

... i agree with the other post though, if you are an audiophile, walkman branded or not, you won't be satisfied, theres nothing like a dedicated gadget if you dont mind the extra equipment...
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Posted: 2007-11-05 11:55:40
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wrecked_porsche Posts: > 500

Well, you could always take a voltmeter to check the impedance on the stock earphones. I'm not sure what the impedance is, but if its rather high, then there is only two ways to go about it, get a lower impedance headphone or get and mini headphone amp(like those 3 i suggested above).

Do note though, that I'm speaking about the volume level here, not sound quality. That's a whole different beast.
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Posted: 2007-11-05 12:24:32
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ullyeus Posts: 57


On 2007-11-05 11:55:40, spitfire14 wrote:

On 2007-11-05 06:46:20, ks13 wrote:
if you are into music, mp3 then you should forget about using the P series phones by SE. the are just not designed to give good sound. this is out of my own experience when i switched from w810 to p990. now i am back to using a walkman phone cos i realised that it is music that i treasure. currently using w660


the p990 actually uses the same mp3 player used in the w800 (walkman ver1) , its just a marketing strategy to brand them "walkman phones," tested them both and they're of the same quality, dont know about those walkman ver2...

... i agree with the other post though, if you are an audiophile, walkman branded or not, you won't be satisfied, theres nothing like a dedicated gadget if you dont mind the extra equipment...


The interface is pretty much the same, but the sound processing hardware is definately different. The quality produced by P990i is just... meh.
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Posted: 2007-11-05 13:37:39
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icaka Posts: 319


On 2007-11-05 12:24:32, sanjeevjaya wrote:
Well, you could always take a voltmeter to check the impedance on the stock earphones. I'm not sure what the impedance is, but if its rather high, then there is only two ways to go about it, get a lower impedance headphone or get and mini headphone amp(like those 3 i suggested above).

Do note though, that I'm speaking about the volume level here, not sound quality. That's a whole different beast.



Hmm...voltmeter is for voltage.Ohmmeter is for impedance.SE headphones hae low impedance - between 14 and 40 Ohms,most of them - 18-32 Ohms(which isn't that different in the real world).

Changing the impedance may have impact not only on volume,but on quality,too.Higher impedance headphones = lower volume,better quality.If you want BOTH high volume and best quality,go for a portable amp.It has high impedance input,which "unloads" the heavy load of the internal phone amplifier(caused by the low impedance headphones),and very low impedance output,which is much more powerful(this will make high-volume listening with very low distortion and dynamic parameters,and will enhance bass considerably)."Unloading" the heavy load of the internal phone amplifier makes the audio quality much better.As I said,very high impedance = very good quality.(for the amplifier part,I mean.On the headphone output of the additional amplifier lower impedance is better)

So,two of the best portable amps are the Headroom Airhead and Bithead(Bithead has internal DAC so you can plug it in your PC USB and by-pass the low quality soundcard amplifier with much jitter which comes from the fans inside your PC case - RF interference and etc,you know)
It has powerful output and is very good at driving low and high impedance headphones.It is very portable,too.The above mentioned amps are bulkier IMO.

And for headphones - if you want the best over-the-year ones(the best choice for the street,as they don't block external noise,but are powerful and listening to them loud will block it,while keeping you out of trouble - you will hear if something important goes around you.)So they are called Sennheiser PX100(35-50$) and are absolute best in their class.I've had many of them,as I tend to overpower and brake them quite often. But they are powerful enough and solid enough - they have steel over-the-head frame and etc.

If you're looking for IEMs(in-ear monitors) you'll get the best sound/price ratio from Sennheiser CX300,Shure E2,Westone UM1,Ultimate Ears all models(they are really higher-class,but more pricey too).I have only one of these IEMs - UE triple.fi 10 plugs,which are awesome,but kinda expensive.

My favourite portable headphones are still Sennheiser PX100.
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Posted: 2007-11-05 14:37:34
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wrecked_porsche Posts: > 500


On 2007-11-05 14:37:34, icaka wrote:

Hmm...voltmeter is for voltage.Ohmmeter is for impedance.SE headphones hae low impedance - between 14 and 40 Ohms,most of them - 18-32 Ohms(which isn't that different in the real world).

Changing the impedance may have impact not only on volume,but on quality,too.Higher impedance headphones = lower volume,better quality.



Aha.. icaka, a fellow audiophile. Are you on Head-Fi by any chance?
My bad about the voltmeter. I should have said multimeter. I'm just too used to the fact that most voltmeters can measure Ohms too.

High impedance does not necessarily mean better sound quality right? I think its a misconception. Look at Audio Technica and Grado, their headphones are really good and have quite low impedance.
Unless we're talking about 600 ohm Beyer cans of course... But that is waaay out of scope here.

Well, the sens are not bad, but give the KSC75 and Philips SHE9500/9501 a look too. They're not bad.

And the Headsix amp is not tiny enough? Granted the RSA is quite big, but dude, the xin supermicro and meier headsix are really small !

_________________
Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

I Nokia N95

[ This Message was edited by: sanjeevjaya on 2007-11-05 14:49 ]
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Posted: 2007-11-05 15:41:03
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icaka Posts: 319


On 2007-11-05 15:41:03, sanjeevjaya wrote
Are you on Head-Fi by any chance?

Yes,I visit it often.

On 2007-11-05 15:41:03, sanjeevjaya wrote
High impedance does not necessarily mean better sound quality. Its a misconception.

Yes,its not = better sound quality.You didn't quite understood my point.I'm not talking about headphones here.High-impedance load "unloads" the phone amp(which is quite bad in fact) and it distorts much less.


On 2007-11-05 15:41:03, sanjeevjaya wrote
And the Headsix amp is not tiny enough? Granted the RSA is quite big, but dude, the xin supermicro and meier headsix are really small !


Hmm,I'm saying that they're kinda bulky,due to the thickness.It isn't comfortable to put such a thing in your pocket as it is 22mm+ thick.Airhead/Bithead are thinner and have rounded edges(which is more important if you ask me).Xin Supermicro is a good device,but it is powered by just one battery.That will drain pretty fast
Also,the Xin isn't as bassy as the Airhead/Bithead is and hasn't all the bells and whstles,including two-pair headphone out,USB in(for the Bithead model only) and etc.

_________________
Mobile Gear:Archos 504 160GB+2xLM4562+2xTPA6120a2 + balanced Sennheiser PX100s(Cardas cables)
Home Gear:upgraded Pioneer DV-79AVi + balanced PA QRV-03+D-Buffers + Grado GS1000 balanced,Cardas cables

[ This Message was edited by: icaka on 2007-11-05 15:00 ]
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Posted: 2007-11-05 15:55:33
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wrecked_porsche Posts: > 500


On 2007-11-05 15:55:33, icaka wrote:
Yes,I visit it often.






On 2007-11-05 15:55:33, icaka wrote:
Yes,its not = better sound quality.You didn't quite understood my point.I'm not talking about headphones here.High-impedance load "unloads" the phone amp(which is quite bad in fact) and it distorts much less.


Oh, I though you were talking about the headphone specific impedance.


On 2007-11-05 15:55:33, icaka wrote:
Also,the Xin isn't as bassy as the Airhead/Bithead is and hasn't all the bells and whstles,including two-pair headphone out,USB in(for the Bithead model only) and etc.


Well, we must not let the audiophile in us take over when we are answering here. Hehehe... J/K
I think the OP of this thread won't need all that functions. His main gripe is the volume is too soft. Unlike us, I don't think he would need the USB DAC function and two headphone out, etc.

Cheers.
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Posted: 2007-11-05 16:12:51
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anyer Posts: 33

Definitely the problem of the earphone that cause the lwo volume.


----------
Have you ever heard of dual sim cell?

[ This Message was edited by: anyer on 2007-11-07 09:49 ]
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Posted: 2007-11-07 10:47:41
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