iPhone Sound

[Negotiableterms]

By now, it's clear I'm an iPod fan, so it should come as no surprise that I've snagged an iPhone.

For me, the surprise was the sound. The iPhone sounds markedly better than my iPod and far better than my Motorola SLVR. This is true through Bose QC2s and even more true through Sennheiser HD-650s.

Anyone know why this might be? Different DACs? Different op-amps? Larger battery/power supply?

All (reasonable) theories welcome!

[Negotiableterms]

BTW, the iPhone's headphone jack is in a small hole in its case, which is too small for the Bose QC2's right-angle jack to fit. All you have to do is use a sharp knife to shave off the last black plastic ring on the plug and it works perfectly. I think this might be true of a fair number of plugs.

[JimJ[VT]]

You're comparing identical bitrates between the two, yes?

[JDaniel]

Maybe your ears are getting better with age? :scratch2:

I was playing around with an i-phone this week too. Zooming in or out on the touch screen took a little getting used to. I haven't tried the music out yet.

JD

[Negotiableterms]

;1264586']You're comparing identical bitrates between the two, yes?
iTunes loads the same files into both the iPod and the iPhone, so yes, same bitrate and same bits.

[Negotiableterms]

Maybe your ears are getting better with age? :scratch2:

Eh?

[Fisherdude]

Apologize for the semi-hijack, but since you have one and can probably cut through the rumor, what is going to be the procedure for battery replacement?

I've heard that the battery is soldered in, so it's going to have to be shipped off somewhere, which will leave you with no phone. Will the local store provide you with a loaner? Is there a method to swap the memory card from your phone to the loaner? I've also heard that your phone will come back with the memory empty, so is there a backup-to-pc method you use before you take it in?

Thanks, Dave, just curious!

[Negotiableterms]

If the phone is still under warranty, they give you a loaner phone and they crossload the data for you. If it's not, you pay $20 for the loaner, and $180(!!!) for the battery.

Needless to say, there will be a sizable after-market of solutions to this problem.

[Fisherdude]

Or, you just buy a new phone.

They probably never thought of that.:D

[ozmoid]

:rolleyes: I'm certain that never occurred to the marketing department at Apple.

[JDaniel]

Yep, I've tried, and looked, and can't find anyway to get to the insides of the i-phone. I did log onto AK with it today. I'll snap a pic sometime of it.

JD

[ozmoid]

Someone somewhere will have it cracked open soon - when I see it, I'll shoot you a link. Very likely to be seen over at the make:blog when it happens.

My guess is you will have to "break" something to get in, lots of Apple's recent stuff has been like that. Trend for the worse, IMO.

[ozmoid]

Sorry Jeff, it was on Techrepublic (http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-1035_11-93276-1.html) and I missed it. Already open.

[Negotiableterms]

Wow... I'm impressed with the job TechRepublic did on disassembly/reassembly. The battery does seem to be soldered on, but doesn't look that hard to deal with once you ge the whole thing apart. Only a matter of time till there are after-market replacements, because $80 is highway robbery.

[ozmoid]

I appreciated their resistance to breaking apart certain component groups - nothing like frying your new iPhone just to prove it can be done. :D

[Fisherdude]

And so it begins...

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3422578&page=1

[ozmoid]

IME, Li-ion batteries have a shelf life of about 3 years. "Charge Early, Charge Often" will help the battery have a higher "response curve" at the end of it's life.

I would be suspect poor charging practices if the batteries "die" before the end of the two-year contract.

[redcoates7]

Aren't they using some pretty nice Wolfson chipsets on the audio side? Pretty respectable for a phone!

[Negotiableterms]

Aren't they using some pretty nice Wolfson chipsets on the audio side? Pretty respectable for a phone!

That's my understanding also, but I dunno how it can be confirmed.

[Jukin Jay]

:D

http://www.willitblend.com/videos.aspx?type=unsafe&video=iphone