Are any iPod Touch EQ apps as good as Cowon' BBE?

[123rabz]

Do you think that the iPod Touch can sound as good as the Cowon? I've tried a few apps for iPod Touch 4g and bass cannot be felt physically like it can on my Cowon. 3D Surround is just an on or off option on the iPod Touch unlike the Cowon where I can control how much is added or taken off. And certain changes in the uqualiser bands (on the iPod Touch) can result in distortion, something the Cowon never really seems to do.

Why does the Cowon sound so good?

[CrowdAds]

[dfkt]

Regular equalizers unfortunately can't do what BBE does, it's a different technology, no matter how good the EQ. EQs only affect the frequency response, while BBE affects the dynamic range, compression/expansion, and stereo imaging of an audio track, among other things.

[McDougal]

Now I'm getting really curious. I haven't had the opportunity to listen to any Cowon player before.

[Marvin the Martian]

Which of the EQ apps have you tried?

I don't know where you're seeing 3D Surround on a Touch 4G....you must be using an app I haven't tried. I don't like it on my Cowon players though....it can make everything sound rather artificial.

As far as distortion from EQ-ing, if you're getting that from the Touch you're either using the wrong EQ app, or using whichever one you're using incorrectly, because it is not an issue for me.

The "physical feeling bass" leads me to believe you're cranking on the Mach3Bass, which is all well and good....I like it too. But if you're turning it up that high, you have to beware of drowning out the lower mids.

That is never an issue for me with my Touch, because my app of choice gives me a seven-band fully adjustable parametric EQ. I can set the frequency and Q value of each of the seven bands, and I can even EQ the left and right channels individually(including gain).

So in answer to your question

Do you think that the iPod Touch can sound as good as the Cowon?

I say yes, it certainly can, if you know what you're doing. My experience tinkering with the Rockbox 5 band parametric EQ was invaluable when it came to customizing the seven band EQ in the Equalizer app.

The wondrous effects of the Cowons are great if used judiciously, but can quickly lead to artificial, unnatural sound if one is not careful. It took me a good bit of tinkering with mine to discover that.

[dfkt]

3D Surround on Cowons is actually a hardware feature of the Wolfson DAC (like the EQ), it's not a BBE software tweak. If the iPod runs on a Wolfson (like many of them do), it should probably be hack-able to enable adjustable 3D Surround.

[Marvin the Martian]

The Touch 4G runs on a Cirrus Logic chip......to the chagrin of many on Head-Fi who worship Wolfson.

[The DarkSide]

WOW!!! Marv, I'm impressed. You know a lot more than just lots of rumors about lestatar & his tranny exploits.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

The Touch 4G runs on a Cirrus Logic chip......to the chagrin of many on Head-Fi who worship Wolfson.

Yep, and it performs mighty fine indeed - http://rmaa.elektrokrishna.com/index...&search_mode=f (AFAIK the iPad 2 is basically the same as the 4G, hardware-wise.)

[The DarkSide]

Still, to have an on-board STOCK EQ would be too much to ask (on the touch/iPhone). And FWIW, there is NO distortion when using a touch/iPhone 4 w/the 2 EQ apps we mostly use - or the on-board presets.

Cowon is still the more convenient solution tho, w/the Mach3Bass that kicks ass!!! But, in all fairness, the Digiziod ZO takes care of EVERYTHING when it comes to brain-shattering bass!!! I luv the damn thing - I use it DAILY!!!