iPhone 6 as a high-quality music player?

[mKTank]

In mine and that of many others; I don't see head-fi replete with threads extolling the sonic attributes of a 99 cent stock earbud

Well here's a 21-page appreciation thread on Head-Fi: http://www.head-fi.org/t/629335/apple-earpods-appreciation-thread

I think I'll value their opinions just a little bit higher.

Also, they cost 35.00 AFAIK Let me know where you keep finding them for .99 cents because they're worth about 60-80. What a steal!

 

[AppleRobert]

You have to go with Sony Walkman for high fidelity music player.

All i can say about Iphone 6 is that sound quality is better than 4s. Maybe on par with 5s. I use Yuin PK 2 and it sound better on the 6.[/QUOTE}

The Sony Walkman I picked up years ago actually got a class rating by an audiophile magazine in their shootout yearly issue. That speaks volumes.

 

[UKapple73]

I agree with ffosse here, I think the EarPods sound crap, but maybe it the fit in my ears because it was very loose with no seal, hence a weak sound
I use some ultimate ears 900, they are quad armature drivers and sound awesome up against EarPods, but then they were £350 so......

 

[AppleRobert]

For sound quality I suggest A-Jays Four, Creative Aurvana in-ear 2 and in-ear 3, Yamaha EPH-100.

As for big headphones Creative Aurvana Live, B&O BeoPlay H6.

iPhone 6 is great music player. But most important is one thing. Quality of your music files.

Been curious about the Creatives, maybe I'll pull the trigger.

My latest recommendations on the cheap:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRXB50A...TF8&qid=1423843684&sr=1-1&keywords=sony+mdr50

http://www.amazon.com/Symphonized-N...43880&sr=1-4&keywords=sound+isolating+earbuds

The Apple Earpods are OK, but they will never do other than an occasional listen as there is zero noise isolation.

 

[Ffosse]

Well here's a 21-page appreciation thread on Head-Fi: http://www.head-fi.org/t/629335/apple-earpods-appreciation-thread

I think I'll value their opinions just a little bit higher.

Also, they cost 35.00 AFAIK Let me know where you keep finding them for .99 cents because they're worth about 60-80. What a steal!

One thread with varying opinions..and pretty dead lately.

But good luck with your sonic bliss plus your 99 cent EarPods.

 

[mKTank]

One thread with varying opinions..and pretty dead lately.

But good luck with your sonic bliss plus your 99 cent EarPods.

Lol I'll definitely enjoy my Head-Fi approved 35 dollar (worth 80-100 dollars) EarPods, thanks.

 

[FieldingMellish]

EarPods are tuned to satisfy a midrange with emphasis on vocals. That covers a lot of ground. It's an open design that presents decent soundstage. Last thing Apple needed was an IEM approach and all the support headaches that would have entailed. It's s good product that has a lot going for it.

I've been using a sturdy set of Etymotic HF5 that were on sale at a pittance. Mounted some fat comply on them to drown out yakkers and incessant railroad messages. Not as deep as I'd like, but clean, accurate sound in all frequencies it's tuned for.

 

[RoboWarriorSr]

The only issues I have with EarPods is the fact that they don't do very well around loud areas. Other than that, I found them quite fantastic for the price point.

 

[Ffosse]

Lol I'll definitely enjoy my Head-Fi approved 35 dollar (worth 80-100 dollars) EarPods, thanks.

Good on you...I see by your sig you do like old stuff. Both my sets went in the trash as they were worthless.

 

[Zxxv]

with apples EarPods users need to hear the outside world. A sealed design would have been stupid for the real world use of an iPhone.

 

[appleincognito]

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[mKTank]

Good on you...I see by your sig you do like old stuff. Both my sets went in the trash as they were worthless.

If it wasn't apparent to you that the sig is more about a history timeline rather than what I currently own...then I really can't help you.

Still enjoying my Headfi-approved EarPods.

 

[willentrekin]

But lets assume that most of us have fairly decent amounts of storage on our devices. In that case, if you have a good set of headphones, you're really missing out on true sound if you're not listening to lossless files.

Some great places to start are:

• 
  http://www.hdtracks.com
  http://www.cnet.com/au/news/top-6-sites-for-buying-flac-music/
  https://bandcamp.com
  https://www.beatport.com

Just wanted to add Tidal to the list. I've been using it for about a week now and have been seriously impressed so far.

 

[hellfried]

I have recently gotten into quality headphones. I have the Sennhesier momentum on-ear and the Audio-technica M50x. Of the two I find that the Sennheiser sounds the best plugged into my iPhone 6. For the Audio-technica, it sounds way better with my iMac then the phone. Why should there be difference?

 

[andyp350]

so....one decent brand (sennheiser) and 2 garbage brands, i hardly consider those audiophile level comments. you're talking about 1 consumer grade headphone made for 16 year old kids to blast bass through, 1 consumer grade headphone made for middle aged people to feel like they're audiophiles based pretty much only on the fact that they advertise to middle aged white people, and then sennheiser, which makes some decent higher end stuff.

bottom line, OP, yes, you'll be able to play your compressed MP3s through your best-buy purchased headphones and you won't know the difference between that or anything else.

And the award for the biggest snob on the forums goes to...

 

[appleincognito]

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[appleincognito]

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[Nevaborn]

These topics always make me cringe.

The DAC in iPhones is I would say the best of any mobile phone, but the problem you have is it not being good enough to truly appreciate hi fidelity audio.

The Apple pods are alright and do give a pretty balanced sound, though they lack the punch of a set of cans with their larger drivers. I would seriously draw the line at £150 with these though as you will not get any extra benefit, especially with a the level of the output such as an iPhone.

As for quality I have tested lots for my blog last year and found for my ears Sennhesier had a good neutral sound but lacked on the high end. Bose had a beutral but warm sound making them feel very rich and full, except in the extreme low end, but was very impressed with the mid range.

Beats which always get a kicking, moslt by people who have not used them did live up to the reputation, beeing heavily bass driven. The more expensive studio models were if anything cooler with an almost twang adding very sharp high ends. The newer Solo 2 model though while still delivering a lot of bass has really sorted it's mid range out. My only gripe is fod the sound quality they are too expensive.

As for media, CD or MP3 can sound the same from an inferior setup and if we really want that hi fidelity sound I think we need to ditch headphones and get back to speakers and a proper player. Then you see the return for your investment.

 

[TacticalDesire]

I absolutely can not take anyone who says Earpods are better than any $100 earbuds or headphones from a reputable brand seriously. They're great for something that's included in the box and I don't mind using them if they're what's around. They're passable and sound decent and that's about it. Let them be what they are and not pretend they're something they aren't. There are much better sub $100 options out there and anyone who refuses to acknowledge that is simply kidding themselves.

 

[andyp350]

His point makes perfect sense. Both Beats and Bose are not high-grade components in general.

I'm not saying there's not truth in what was said, it was the way it was said that gave me the impression they were a pompous snob.

 

[George Knighton]

Anyone else use their iPhone with high quality headphones and music? I'm wondering how good are the iPhone 6 - 6+ components to listen to good quality music on the road.

So far I've paired my phone with a couple Sennheiser headphones and it sounds pretty great but definitely not Hi Fi... Would other non-apple phones have better sound?

I do this very often and find that the iPhone 6 is the equal or better than any iPod, which is to say, very good, especially with the earphones that come with the iPhone 6 packaging.

I also use it as an iPod in my 5G Legend, hard wired with the iPod connection to the Krell Audio, and it is incredible. Some FM HD will be slightly better, but the iPhone 6 at high bit rate is better than anything else, and better than *most* HD Radio.

That means of course that it's leagues ahead of XM satellite. I hang onto that for BBC and other broadcast, and for the huge variety of music even though the audio is nowhere near that of the iPhone.

Now that you've made me think about it, I believe that Pandora at high quality, and AHA (Slacker) are both better than satellite, even when using Bluetooth instead of the iPod connection to the Krell.

 

[Thebeat07]

Actually i find apple devices to have the worst audio system ever. My 2000 Sony is still better. All the Windows or non apple players are much better. Its not about the headphones, its about inside the audio devices. Even the macbooks are worse than pcs.

 

[George Knighton]

Actually i find apple devices to have the worst audio system ever. My 2000 Sony is still better. All the Windows or non apple players are much better. Its not about the headphones, its about inside the audio devices. Even the macbooks are worse than pcs.

I see. Well, perhaps my ears are just not very good, or perhaps Krell is fooling me somehow. I'm pretty stupid sometimes.

 

[zhenya]

Actually i find apple devices to have the worst audio system ever. My 2000 Sony is still better. All the Windows or non apple players are much better. Its not about the headphones, its about inside the audio devices. Even the macbooks are worse than pcs.

I totally disagree. Apple devices tend to be far above average in my experience. Their headphone outputs tend to have extremely low output resistance, virtually no hiss even on sensitive IEM's, and very well engineered DAC's and output stages. The vast majority of PC's I've owned over the years have lots of hiss and other system noise, and even ignoring that, just tend to sound poor.