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iPad mini Sound Quality from iPad mini headphone Out not as good

iJeremy

iJeremy

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 14, 2007
53
6
San Clemente, California
I love my new iPad mini and don't consider last year's A5 chip or lack of retina to be a deal-breaker for me. However, the sound quality from the headphone out is thinner and not as rich as its full-size brethren (I have the iPad 3). I'm a real audiophile nut and use really good headphones (Ultrasone Edition 8) so this matters to me. I'm not saying the sound quality from the headphone out is not good on the mini, it's just not as great as it is on the iPad 3. My conclusion as to the cause is that the much smaller battery (15w as opposed to 45w in the iPad 3) is not pushing as much power through the amp/dac system, causing the thinner sound.

I'm sharing this to see if there are others out there who have also noticed this? I'm disappointed because I really love the mini in every other way but may return it and keep my iPad 3, just for this reason.
 
Z

zzzyyy

macrumors newbie
Nov 27, 2012
1
0
i hv the same feeling. i think it's not even as good as my iphone4. :((:)confused:
 
haruhiko

haruhiko

macrumors 604
Sep 29, 2009
6,529
5,875
iJeremy said:
I love my new iPad mini and don't consider last year's A5 chip or lack of retina to be a deal-breaker for me. However, the sound quality from the headphone out is thinner and not as rich as its full-size brethren (I have the iPad 3). I'm a real audiophile nut and use really good headphones (Ultrasone Edition 8) so this matters to me. I'm not saying the sound quality from the headphone out is not good on the mini, it's just not as great as it is on the iPad 3. My conclusion as to the cause is that the much smaller battery (15w as opposed to 45w in the iPad 3) is not pushing as much power through the amp/dac system, causing the thinner sound.

I'm sharing this to see if there are others out there who have also noticed this? I'm disappointed because I really love the mini in every other way but may return it and keep my iPad 3, just for this reason.
Click to expand...
But the iPhone has a much smaller battery and worse battery life. And yet it seems that nobody has complained about it?
 
CrAkD

CrAkD

macrumors 68040
Feb 15, 2010
3,180
255
Boston, MA
im prepping my car for an ipad mini install. its weird how headphone jack sounds ok. ipod interface through lightning adapter connector sounds ok. but lightning adapter to iphone dock headphone jack in the line out is a lot more quiet.....real head scratcher.
 
iJeremy

iJeremy

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 14, 2007
53
6
San Clemente, California
I gave up

I returned my iPad mini because of the poorer sound quality. But I had already sold my iPad 3. So I ended up buying the iPad 4 (64GB LTE) on Black Friday. The upgrade cost me just over $200. The sound is stellar again (just like the iPad 3 and possibly even better) and I'm a happy camper!
 
J

Jcumbee

macrumors newbie
Aug 25, 2013
1
0
Audio quality

The audio quality is much better on iPad 3 than the mini iPad. That, along with better resolution, makes 3 the preferred device for me.
 
tomaseriksson

tomaseriksson

macrumors member
Oct 3, 2010
95
1
Stockholm, Sweden
The general opinions is that the newest audio codec used in iOS-devices is inferior to the older one. And then yes, a bigger battery should provide more stable current and less voltage fluctuations. So the Mini is inferior in paper, Im myself a high-end can user (Sennheiser HD800) but I won't speak my opinion. High end audio is pretty comparable to Wine's, price and good craftsmanship/production doesn't always translate into a preferable taste.

Ipad 3:
Apple 338S0987 (Cirrus Logic CLI1560B0 audio codec)
(Can't make out the amp from this pic unfortunately: http://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/ZbNee2xS1wEIbaBt.huge )

The iPad mini has the following audio chain:
Apple 338S1116 (Cirrus Logic CLI1586A1 Audio Codec)
Apple 338S1077 (Cirrus Logic Class D Amplifier)

Ipad 4:
Apple 338S1116 (Cirrus Logic CLI1586A1 Audio Codec)
Apple 338S1077 (Cirrus Logic Class D Amplifier)
 
Last edited:
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