great SQ!? I don't get it.

[Alex91]

Right now, I have an 8gb A728 and a 16gb(8gb+8gb card) Cowon D2. On the Sony, the sound sounds too....covered. I run the EQ on pretty much flat with clear bass all the way up. The bass still seems lacking. I use MylarOne X3i's on both players. The D2 sounds a lot more "uncovered" to me and precise. I tried the Crossroads Amp I bought on head-fi on both and it still didn't make enough of a difference. Then again, this amp is pretty basic and the most it will probably do for me is to drive cans better(things I'm looking @ such as MDR-V6's and AKG K81 DJ) I don't really get what it is people see in the Sony.

Also another question, if I paid for the warranty, I can't transfer that to someone else(ebay, head-fi), can I?

Thanks in advance.

[CrowdAds]

[Riolist]

That's surprising. I have the same setup, 728 w/X3i's, and I think the sound is amazing. I don't have a D2, though I do have several other players including a Trekstor Vibez, Sandisk Fuze, Archos XS202, and Rio Carbon to name a few. I don't think anything else I have beats the 728's SQ, though the Fuze is a close second.

[grillface]

Mmm, I know exactly what you mean. The problem is with ClearBass -- if you play around with the settings, you will notice that it 'muffles' the sound even as it increases the bass. For that reason, I only put it on the first setting (I have an A729) to get a balance -- but I am very happy with the sound!

So, try lowering the ClearBass and you will notice the sound opening up

[digitalq]

Hey Alex, did you check your Dynamic Normalizer setting in the Music Settings menu? I found that makes some differences in the sound and not just the dynamic range like the name implies.

I also think the player has excellent sound, I'm using Creative's EP630 plugs and don't require any EQ at all. I'm sure I have different musical tastes though.

[The DarkSide]

Sounds like GOLD w/Panasonic HTX7's.

[ray_f]

I also have bad experience with the built-in amp in A826. I bought the bundle in Australia which came with a pair of bluetooth headset the DR-BT21G. I also have a pair of Sony MDR-EX90, which was bought earlier this year and have been using with a Sony HiMD MZ-RH10, sound amazing, with great extension in both high and low frequency.

Well, let's get back to the new A826. The bluetooth headset DR-BT21G sounds pretty nice after running in for 20 hours, together with the quality set to High Quality Mode. However, when I try the same song on the EX90, I was pretty shocked by the thin sound, harsh high and weak bass. Guess it's only good with a headphone amp which I don't have so can't really comment on that.

But anyway, I'm very happy listening with the bluetooth headset. I'm free from the wire, and also getting a much better sound quality!

P.S. Never tried the bundled EX82 headset, thus no idea how would it compare to the EX90.

[The DarkSide]

Download the service manual and go to the DAC settings: Bass is set at -4.5 default. Set it to -0.0 decibels. Worked for me, really boosted the low end (the A829 is kinda thin in the bass), just dont touch anything your not familiar with. Link:
http://stashbox.org/v/97717/NWZ-A826.pdf

[ray_f]

Originally Posted by nywytboy68

Download the service manual and go to the DAC settings: Bass is set at -4.5 default. Set it to -0.0 decibels. Worked for me, really boosted the low end (the A829 is kinda thin in the bass), just dont touch anything your not familiar with. Link:
http://stashbox.org/v/97717/NWZ-A826.pdf

Thanks for the link. I'll give it a try! Do you have any idea whether it's going to affect the bluetooth headset as well?

[djp952]

Originally Posted by ray_f

Thanks for the link. I'll give it a try! Do you have any idea whether it's going to affect the bluetooth headset as well?

It might. I had previously cranked up the bass on my 829 a bit in this manner, and I had to put it back to the defaults to prevent some pretty bad distortion over bluetooth. It probably depends on your headphones/receiver, though. The receiver I have is inexpensive.

You can always put it back if it doesn't work the way you'd hoped it would. Just be careful in there like nywytboy68 said.

[frimframsauce]

might just be a limitation of bluetooth? the music is sent recompressed i think. and well the performance of such headphones is limited.

[ray_f]

Originally Posted by djp952

It might. I had previously cranked up the bass on my 829 a bit in this manner, and I had to put it back to the defaults to prevent some pretty bad distortion over bluetooth. It probably depends on your headphones/receiver, though. The receiver I have is inexpensive.

You can always put it back if it doesn't work the way you'd hoped it would. Just be careful in there like nywytboy68 said.

Just tried to change that setting, I have the bluetooth DR-BT21G with me at the moment, I'm able to notice the fuller and more solid bass straight away!

Will try the EX90 later tonight.

[ray_f]

Originally Posted by frimframsauce

might just be a limitation of bluetooth? the music is sent recompressed i think. and well the performance of such headphones is limited.

Well I don't know, but this doesn't seems to explain why the MylarOne X3i or the Sony MDR-EX90 sounds bad on the A826...

[The DarkSide]

My Sennheiser HD202's sound great on my D2, but sound like CRAP on the A829 - guess some phones sound better paired w/some, and some don't work very well. Works well w/my Senn PX100's, V-Moda Bass Freq's, and the included headphones (non-blue tooth).

[The DarkSide]

Try THIS (I originally posted this in another thread:

DAC settings (firmware menu)
Press "Back", then activate "Hold" switch. Now press "Option" and hold down
while entering the following w/the direction pad:
up, up, down, down, right, left, up , down, up ,down, right, play/pause

These are MY settings - kills the over-processed sound the A72X/A82X series has.
Bass: -0.0 @ 50Hz (default is -4.5)
Treble: -4.5 @ 15kHz (default is -0.0)

These are my EQ settings - find whats best for you:
Clear Bass: +2
Equalizer: +2, -1, +1, +2, +1
DSEE, Clear Stereo: OFF and Normalizer: ON

These work for me. You can ONLY adjust the bass & treble - but it seems to be enough to make it sound sweet (like my S618 - but BETTER). Now it sounds like a Sony should - clean sound, powerful bass, excellent highs - but now they're not overpowering and "piercing".

PS: This also allows you to access the service menu on the S61X/A81X series as well FWIW.

[ThisWill]

nywytboy68's setting is good. The quality was clear before his settings but that high piercing sound was a bit unbearable. I have a pair of V-moda's Vibe with my A829. Thanks for the sony hack. hehe. up down right left.

[The DarkSide]

Some people have dropped the treble to -7.5 with great results:
Bass: -0.0 @ 50Hz (default is -4.5)
Treble: -7.5 @ 15kHz (default is -0.0)
Depends on what you prefer.

[ray_f]

At last I've found out why the A826 sounds so bad with the EX90, I was listening at a volumn of 20. The high was distored, harsh, and the bass was weak. What I had done was turning the volumn down to 14, and everything went perfect! No complaint!

But hey, at 14 it's far from being half of what it's capable of. With my HiMD MZ-RH10, it can go fine with up to somewhere between half and 2/3 of the volumn. But not this new MP3 player, it seems like Sony has move another step forward in power saving!

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by ray_f

At last I've found out why the A826 sounds so bad with the EX90, I was listening at a volumn of 20. The high was distored, harsh, and the bass was weak. What I had done was turning the volumn down to 14, and everything went perfect! No complaint!

But hey, at 14 it's far from being half of what it's capable of. With my HiMD MZ-RH10, it can go fine with up to somewhere between half and 2/3 of the volumn. But not this new MP3 player, it seems like Sony has move another step forward in power saving!

Try changing the setting in the service menu - tone the treble down so it doesn't distort & jack up the bass - worked for quite a few of us.

[ray_f]

Originally Posted by nywytboy68

Try changing the setting in the service menu - tone the treble down so it doesn't distort & jack up the bass - worked for quite a few of us.

Well, my primary headset is the bluetooth DR-BT21G, and it works perfectly well with Bass @ -1.5 and Treble @ 0. I wouldn't worry too much about the sound quality with a wired headphone at the moment.

Frankly, I would say the extra battery in the bluetooth headset does a great help in providing enough power to keep the driver in good shape.

[The DarkSide]

BT huh - OOPS!!! I've yet to use BT headphones and prob never will!!