Shannon's Journal Discussion Thread, Vol. 8

[London1]

https://subliminal-talk.com/Thread-Shann...#pid266682

Because it's the most imprecise and ambiguous instructions you provide.

https://subliminal-talk.com/Thread-Shann...#pid266693

Alright, I see an opportunity here.  I'm trying to get the most precise variable to be this.  I have found it almost impossible to achieve a correct communication of what the best volume is.

TBH I waited such a long time and finally the opportunity is ripe.

My previous post also implied the same stuff but I just didn't wanna be Captain Obvious back then:

https://subliminal-talk.com/Thread-Shann...#pid264828

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https://subliminal-talk.com/Thread-Shann...#pid265461

To recap:

Shannon knows what he's doing, and Shannon knows what he's talking about.  The INSTRUCTIONS are not suggestions or recommendations, and the ONLY time you don't follow them is if they don't work.  Then you ask Shannon how to proceed.  You NEVER use headphones because at best you don't know what volume to use and at worst you could cause damage to your hearing and overload your subconscious, potentially causing it to reverse the instructions or stonewall entirely, which means you spent that money and time to get NOTHING.  Ultrasonic format works just fine even in a dance club level volume situation.  You're not missing out on anything by FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS because SHANNON MADE THEM AND SHANNON KNOWS WHAT THE HELL HE'S DOING AND TALKING ABOUT WHEN IT COMES  TO USING THEM.

First of all, IMHO @Bignoise and I should be reasonably tech-savvy to begin with and therefore please don't even "try anything unnecessary" so to speak. More importantly, there's no need to scream in all apps since we better stay logical rather than emotional.

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https://subliminal-talk.com/Thread-Shann...#pid265461

Played through a headphone, the volume range differs between type of headphone (earbud, over the ear, resting on the ear), quality of headphone (cheaper is less volume) and some headphones have their own volume controls (again, very bad).

With all due respect that's most definitely applicable for both speaker(s) and headphones, not to mention the fact that in some cases Android phones even came with quad speakers:

https://www.epey.co.uk/phone/speaker-fea...-speakers/

And then it wouldn't take much time to do a quick search on Google, just about anyone could find these comparisons with ease:

http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/features...eakers.php
https://startingtodj.com/how-are-phone-s...any-watts/
https://www.screenfixed.com.au/why-does-...-decrease/
https://www.razmobility.com/assistive-te...e-loudest/
https://www.audiokinetic.com/en/blog/lou...rt-phones/


Same deal for the same test that was repeated by GSMArena over the years:

https://www.gsmarena.com/gsmarena_lab_te...-751p7.php
https://www.gsmarena.com/best_phone_spea...-52157.php
https://www.gsmarena.com/best_sounding_s...w-2648.php
https://www.gsmarena.com/gsmarena_labs_n...-41789.php
https://www.gsmarena.com/best_sounding_s...w-2779.php
https://www.gsmarena.com/here_are_the_lo...-61049.php

We could keep going but the point is moot for sure, pretty darn obvious that both volume (dB) and LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale or Loudness Units Full Scale) do vary from one phone model to another.

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I really took my time to do my homework, so far this one turned out to be the only game in town at €149,90 / $149.95 / AU$239.95 MSRP:

https://www.sennheiser-hearing.com/en-US/p/ie-200/

Why not make balanced, high-fidelity sound available to everyone, no matter where they are? The IE 200 is Sennheiser’s answer. Whether you’re a lifelong audiophile — or you just want better sound on the road — these exceptionally neutral and precise earphones reveal an entire world of new detail.

https://eu.sennheiser-hearing.com/products/ie-200
https://global.sennheiser-hearing.com/products/ie-200

• Precision assembly Transducers are manufactured using an advanced process to minimize unit-to-unit variation of the miniature dynamic drivers
  

https://audiopolis.pl/img/cms/pdf/IE200_Spec.pdf#page=2
https://images.thomann.de/pics/atg/atgda...pdf#page=2

The Irish-made transducers of German design are manufactured by Sennheiser Consumer Hearing using an advanced process to minimize unit-to-unit variation of the miniature dynamic drivers; the acoustic fleece smoothens treble for fatigue-free listening; the polymer-blend diaphragm ensures ultrafast transient response and clarity.

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Now let's take a look at our operating systems as well. Unfortunately iOS still failed the bit-perfect test here and there:

https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=35209
https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=40649

Android also seemed to be such a pain to deal with, even with Android 14 or above while only USB audio devices are supported:

https://github.com/androidx/media/issues/415
https://source.android.com/docs/core/aud...mixer-attr
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/android-...an.972830/

Pulsar Music Player wouldn't be ready for the prime time as well:

https://xdaforums.com/t/avoiding-android...o.3933075/

Is anybody aware of a system-wide solution to avoid the upsampling of 44.1KHz / 16-bit music to 48KHz?

With system-wide, I mean a solution that does not rely on certain player apps such as UAPP or Neutron, which we know can do it, but only when playing from inside that app. A solution which works with all (or most) audio sources and apps, modifying the default system behavior of upsampling 44/16 to 48KHz when playing to the Quad DAC.

Further details for those of us who might be interested:

https://github.com/PixelExperience/andro...1020957821

As usual Windows also didn't seem to be all that promising:

https://www.overclock.net/posts/28889271/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/wasapi-v...t-14393462
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum...ost-847042

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Now we should be left with the only choice since Linux really is the way to go. If anyone were able to afford anything in 6G already, then getting a dedicated DAP at $479 MSRP should be no biggie:

https://track.hiby.com/Manual/Find?p=HiBy%20RS2&l=en

The HiBy RS2 is a Linux HD lossless player with Darwin architecture

https://hifigo.com/products/hiby-rs2

Darwin Architecture on the RS2 also features a NOS/OS mode switch. Users can turn the 16x oversampling off anytime by simply selecting the NOS mode.

HiBy’s Darwin Architecture comes as a blessing for the traditional R2R ladder DACs. It effectively reduces the distortion caused by the resistance mismatches in an R2R Ladder producing a natural and clean sound presentation.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hiby-rs...ise.26041/

It has a 3500 Mah battery which gives a 10 hour battery life (9 hours and 37 minutes with my testing). The display is small but intuitive to use as it is a touch screen, the size is about 2.45” and the resolution is 480x360, with my testing on full brightness I was able to read the screen while direct sunlight hitting. It takes around 3 hours to charge from 05 to 100% and should be charged with 5V and 1.5A brick. The weight of the RS2 is 158g and the dimensions are 90.3x64.3x18.8mm which is quite a small form and using it was convenient and easy. the chassis is made o aluminum alloy and it was particularly firm to hold.

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https://subliminal-talk.com/Thread-DMSI-...#pid172837

I play the sub at night, and I listen exclusively on my Sennheiser HD 280's. 

The right headphones make all the difference for me. 

https://subliminal-talk.com/Thread-Aces-...#pid260824

I use Sennheiser headphones directly jacked into my phone or my computer and listen to it that way.  I don't use the phone speakers.

Once again please don't just say something like "Duke tends to know what he's doing" etc. since we should be able to do better than that.

In summary, we've got the best technology in the entire history of Subliminal Audio right now. Let's find an optimal combination of hardware + software to match that innovation.

The (system + application) software part has to be done right, while trying to minimize the variations between two pairs of headphones.

I deliberately picked something without any kinda wireless antennas (e.g. 4G / 5G / Bluetooth / Wi-Fi etc.) since they could interfere with audio playback, not to mention the fact that receiving any calls / system notifications / alarms etc. would also screw things up in the first place.

Of course we've got built-in audio player software, therefore we don't even need to worry about this:

First, this means there should only be one volume adjustment to consider.  If your player offers volume adjustment independent of the cell phone's Master Volume, please use a different player that does not have that feature.  Currently, I use Pulsar for my Android phone because it has the ability to make playlists that have the same track multiple consecutive times, and does not have independent volume control.

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FYI - for those of us who are familiar with the work of Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff, most likely we'll understand why we're opting for Linux instead of other operating systems in the wild:

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profil...facId=6582
https://medium.com/@matt.flownotes/surve...ff04140940
https://www.statista.com/chart/15207/sma...and-apple/

So based on all of that would you say a HiBy RS2 with the sennheiser head phones is the 'cheat code'?