Fuze bass output (with equalizer) vs Sony players?

[arnold]

I often need my mp3 player to have strong (but not distorted) bass output, because I often listen to music while cycling. I use noise isolating IEM's, which isolate well the higher frequencies, but the lower frequency noise of wind and traffic can still be somewhat heard and interferes slightly with the bass sounds.

So what I want to know is: can the Fuze bass be tuned stronger with the equalizer to mach the Sony A-series/S-series bass reproduction (with clear bass), so that the bass is stronger without messing it up? I'm asking, because I have this Sony A-series s706, which has just about perfect amount of bass with +1 clear bass setting (with Shure SE210's). How well can the sound output of the Fuze handle upping the bass?

A flat sound spectrum (which the Fuze is reported to have) is usually pretty ok while listening indoors (depending on music type and source file, of course), but not when outside where it needs a little boost on the bass.

[Skinjob]

I believe you're correct that with no EQ, the Sony's have a warmer, bassier sound while the Fuze has a flatter response. However, the Fuze's EQ is good and you can boost it to ridiculous levels without distortion.

I use the Fuze with my car stereo and to accomodate for the lower level when connecting headphone-out to line-in, I use a custom EQ that boosts all the frequencies about half way to max. And even with the Fuze's volume set at max there is no noticable distortion.

For normal listening I doubt you would boost it nearly that high and you certainly wouldn't have the volume on max. So I think you shouldn't have any problem.

[sweet spot]

Originally Posted by Skinjob

I believe you're correct that with no EQ, the Sony's have a warmer, bassier sound while the Fuze has a flatter response. However, the Fuze's EQ is good and you can boost it to ridiculous levels without distortion.
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I wish I could back that up and agree with you, but I was just actually testing that out and the bass distorted the hell out of my Panasonic RP-HTX7's when pushed above about a 4db boost. All the way up and it's a wretched mess. I haven't tried it with either my UE 5 pros or iM616's yet though. The sound quality in general however, is excellent IMO. Flat EQ sounds fairly balanced and I only usually require a bit of a bump in the treble freqency, which always means I boost the bass a bit to balance it. For all intents and purposes, if one must pump the bass up to the point where it's going to distort, that's just too much color in the bass anyway. Though, it would be nice if the distortion didn't exist.

On my iHP 120, I can pump the bass up to stupid levels (ROCKBOX) and the cans take it like a champ, and sound great. So YMMV.

Doug

Doug

[JK98]

Wearing isolating earphones while riding a bicycle is very dangerous.

[arnold]

Thanks to Skinjob and Sweet spot for the answers. I find that while cycling, I need to pump the bass up quite a lot on certain kind of music with the Shures to pick up the bass nuances. Of course, the Shures are not bass monsters - they have a pretty flat output. So, I'm not sure if the Fuze can give me enough juice on the lower end.

Originally Posted by JK98

Wearing isolating earphones while riding a bicycle is very dangerous.

Aww, it is so sweet of you to take such care of me! I promise I'll be carefull.

ps. I have (by a rough estimate) experience in cycling for over 100,000 kilometers. I also only use noise isolating earphones on routes that are very familiar to me (this should be an obvious thing about cycling and earphones). I believe I'll manage (and have managed for quite a few years now). I've never had a single serious accident with a bicycle and I ride it all the year (and it truly snows around here during winter time).

[Skinjob]

Originally Posted by sweet spot

I wish I could back that up and agree with you, but I was just actually testing that out and the bass distorted the hell out of my Panasonic RP-HTX7's when pushed above about a 4db boost.

I wonder if the Panasonics just can't handle it? Do you hear the distortion event at low volume levels?

Also, there are some conflicting reports of the EQ not working properly after the latest firmware upgrade. Some say the EQ sound quality is poor after the upgrade, while others (like me) haven't noticed any problems or difference. You might want to check out the official forums.

I'm not sure what each notch on the Fuze EQ corresponds to in DB, but I've got all frequencies at +6 (max is +12) with full volume and it doesn't noticeably distort in the car. It's not a high end system by any means, but it's quite decent with 4 door speakers, 2 column-mounted tweeters, a spare-tire sub and a brand new JVC head unit. Definitely good enough to notice any significant distortion.

I don't use any EQ that extreme when listing over phones. But I've played around with all the presets, some of which have major bass boost, and haven't noticed any distortion at all.

[arnold]

I'm interested in hearing more experiences on how succesfully people have tuned the Fuze's bass with the equalizer and if possible, with what head phones.