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Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

naughtycomputer.uk

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Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#291

Post by secure »

hak8or wrote: post #141
GuiA wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any recommendations for the US? All the circuits I’ve ever made were breadboarded, this could be a fun direction to take.

Go with OSH park instead of China. Their support is gnebuinky amazing, and the service in general. Is 5 days for a 2 layer board with 5 dollars per square inch of design for 3 boards, and free shipping. The company is active on Twitter and its founder is awesome based on interviews he gives with various electronic podcasts.

+1

I’ve been using OSH park for the last few projects. Way easier to get started (they take Eagle files and supply design rule files), quick shipping, amazing support.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#292

Post by Rondom »

saagarjha wrote: post #3
baxtr wrote: post #2

> Right now I'm absolutely astonished at how difficult it appears to be to just listen to music with a good pair of headphones. Is it not 2018? The media is full of talk about preposterously ambitious ideas such as AI and self-driving cars and yet I can't even listen to a fuck-damn music track? O_o I enjoyed reading this. The whole time I thought however: that’s not an issue on my Apple devices. Then I read: > If any…

I find this especially humorous given this: > Although Android is Free Software, meaning I can modify the code, it would probably take me months to learn enough about music decoding and the Android-media-player-service to write a fix.

I think it is just a matter of what one is most comfortable with.

The HW-solution is a nice challenge, but I am sure, there are simpler ways to solve it.

On a sidenote: I would be surprised if the issue he has is systemic too Android devices in general. I am sure others would have noticed it if was that widespread that it occurred on all devices.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#293

Post by ikeboy »

dsego wrote: post #208
ikeboy wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it just me, or are $10 branded earbuds just fine for music?

Did you try any more expensive ones? If not, how can you compare? I don't think you know what you're missing. From my experience, you realize how bad cheap ones are is when you try something better. For example, I thought AKG Y20 sounded pretty good before getting the chinese TFZ series 2, which are just so much 'more'. I am aware that those tfz are also lower range (~45$ on aliexpress). I also own a pair of Beyer DT…

If I'll enjoy my current ones less after trying more expensive ones, isn't that a reason not to try them?

I do see a difference between the branded ones I've used (mostly Panasonic and the Samsung AKG one that comes with phones) and the cheaper generic ones I've tried out here and there

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#294

Post by frio »

SSLy wrote: post #280
PascLeRasc wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been under the impression iPhones don't do aptX, did you find a workaround?

That would cut into the Beets business.

They don't support aptX, but Beats and others (the Sony 1000Xs, for instance) usually support AAC over Bluetooth which is similar in quality.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#295

Post by kakarot »

013a wrote: post #156

I have a pair of powered studio monitors (Mackie MR5), and I completely relate to this problem. Many PCs and phones will emit an audible hissing noise while plugged in. I've tested on a dozen different devices, with integrated and external DACs, five hundred dollar sound cards, massively shielded cables, practically every modern OS you can name, tweaking every audio setting exposed to me. The only devices that work p…

I agree with everything you've said except for

> literally only because developers are lazy

I think management has a lot to do with this, or priorities in general because at the end of the day working with electron and web everywhere is on a superficial level just as difficult as working with other languages-- it's a matter of training and hiring the right people for the right jobs.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#296

Post by clarry »

mhh__ wrote: post #237

With all "high quality" audio matters like this - and compressed music - I genuinely don't understand what the point is. I listen to a lot of different music (Pop, Jazz, Metal, Microtonal stuff etc.) through a lot of different mediums (Good preamps into really expensive amps etc., cheap headphones, overpriced headphones) an I honestly think the point of diminishing returns is at about £30. For the price that some peo…

I have several musical instruments and a bunch of relatively high end audio gear.

The point of dimnishing returns starts at $0, what matters is what kind of quality you want. Every once in a while, I buy some headphones in the This summer, I had to buy a new phone, I went for a OnePlus 6. I figured I could use another pair of IEMs/earbuds so I bought the kit they offered with the phone. Tried them once, for about ten minutes, and threw them away. Yuck. These are obviously $2 kit of garbage sold at a massive premium..

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#297

Post by kakarot »

fb03 wrote: post #256
013a wrote: post #156

I have a pair of powered studio monitors (Mackie MR5), and I completely relate to this problem. Many PCs and phones will emit an audible hissing noise while plugged in. I've tested on a dozen different devices, with integrated and external DACs, five hundred dollar sound cards, massively shielded cables, practically every modern OS you can name, tweaking every audio setting exposed to me. The only devices that work p…

The only way I found to minimize/eliminate HISS while using high quality monitors/pro speakers is to pair them with a proper external USB Audio Card. Those External Audio Cards receive the signal in digital form, thus free of any noise they could pick up in the process. These are decoded inside the external DAC which then feeds audio to the speakers. since this part of the signal path is analog, any interference pick…

Checked out the AG06 but it has internal DSP and other things I don't really need, plus it seemed like more of an audio interface than a sound card, do you have any recommendations for balanced audio usb external cards without all of the extra stuff?

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#298

Post by kerneis »

amelius wrote: post #166
shittyadmin wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never had any problems with "explosions" using standard media players, even when plugged into my HD650s - anyone else have that happen? HN is mostly engineering types, the poster clearly has that mindset, we should be filing or looking for a proper bug report for this instead of crafting hacks or talking about alternative products altogether right off the bat.

> we should be filing or looking for a proper bug report for this instead of crafting hacks or talking about alternative products altogether right off the bat As if Google even considers reading any bug reports ... :(

Googlers read HN though ;-)

(source: I work for Google)

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#299

Post by mattlondon »

hunta2097 wrote: post #47

Have had 8 android phones. Literally never heard anything like this.

Likewise - never experienced any of these issues from any android phones I've had (mainly nexuses and pixels, but some old HTC things years and years ago), both wired and via bluetooth.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#300

Post by clarry »

temp0876456 wrote: post #14

Boy does this person need to look at the ‘good headphone’ market. I paid (a very reasonable) $2k for a set of reference headphones and a suitable amp/DAC to drive them. I could have spent a lot more. It is hard to drive a set of headphones with enough SQ to make them worthwhile. You cannot plug a set of headphones into an Android phone and expect anything good to happen. And lots of DAPs suffer from software problems…

> It is hard to drive a set of headphones with enough SQ to make them worthwhile.

I disagree. Most headphones are really easy to drive, including many high end ones. And DIY builders are making perfectly good & cheap amps using parts that have been available for more than two decades now. Parts that used to make it in stereos and other off the self supermarket stuff.

I'm more than happy to plug my AKG K812 to laptops (such as a thinkpad T460s), android phones (such as LG G4, One Plus 6), portable media players (such as the Cowon D2). My Sennheiser HD650s, HD800s, and AKG K701s are generally plugged to external DACs and amps mainly because I use them at the desk (or with my music gear). But I've tried all of them on various consumer gear and many of them can deliver good sound. The Sennheisers, however, can be a little too quiet with some of the portable devices.

What the author of the linked story here is complaining about is the race to the absolutely garbage bottom (though it isn't nearly as bad for people with less sensitive phones).

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