[Blackerthanblack]

I've been trying to permanently move to the 9900, but the only thing preventing me is the rather low audio output via the headphone jack.

Compared to the 9780, which is my current music player, even with audio boost on it's still 2-3 volume steps lower on max volume. I also have a Passport, but that suffers from the same problem. So now I have to carry 3 phones whenever I'm going anywhere, because the little 9780 is louder.

Anyway, have any of you found a different player that also has an equalizer? Perhaps it might be a little different (if there's a preamp or adjustable eq)...

I don't want to carry a portable amp with me and I currently own 2 pairs of 32 ohm dj headphones, so I can rule out the "buy other headphones" advice...
BlackBerry world is barren and my searches have lead me only to apks and BlackBerry 10 apps.

I'm open to any suggestions

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[sedalia066]

Neutron Player may have what you need.

C000C6078 Bits for links to world news and views, technology and science postings.

[Blackerthanblack]

Neutron Player may have what you need.

C000C6078 Bits for links to world news and views, technology and science postings.

For the 9900? It's not on App World
I tried it on the Passport (native and android version) and was not satisfied.

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[mushroom_daddy]

I've been trying to permanently move to the 9900, but the only thing preventing me is the rather low audio output via the headphone jack.

Compared to the 9780, which is my current music player, even with audio boost on it's still 2-3 volume steps lower on max volume. I also have a Passport, but that suffers from the same problem. So now I have to carry 3 phones whenever I'm going anywhere, because the little 9780 is louder. ....

Never owned the 9780 so can't comment on your comparison but personally I've been happy with the 9900 as a music player. I certainly prefer it over my Q10 and my Android handset; although that maybe more due to familiarity than capability. I do tend to play music through external speakers (connected by the headphones jack) so it's easy to ramp up the volume. When using headphones on the jack it's usually to play podcasts / spoken word where volume is less critical.

[anon(8063781)]

Maybe a portable amp would serve the purpose. I've been thinking about getting a Fiio amp myself, because people over at head-fi say that a good amp reduces distortion at higher volumes and can improve sound quality. The other benefit would be that it could be used with any device you bought in the future.

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[Blackerthanblack]

Maybe a portable amp would serve the purpose. I've been thinking about getting a Fiio amp myself, because people over at head-fi say that a good amp reduces distortion at higher volumes and can improve sound quality. The other benefit would be that it could be used with any device you bought in the future.

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Yeah but that is what I was trying to avoid, having an extra (unnecessary) device with me. It kind of defeats the "portability" because you'd have to have the headphones, amp plus source and if it's summer where do you put them? The jeans pockets will only take so much. Plus, you'd have to get a amp+dac because simply getting an amp will up the volume but you'd have the same crapcan quality and the dacs are larger. Moreover, in my case, as I have dj headphones, the cables measure (according to the pair I'm using) either 2m or 3.5m so another gadget attached to me would feel severely out of place. I also wanted to go the Fiio way, but...see above


For now, I'll take the trio with me until I can source another BlackBerry to try

One of my rigs

[anon(8063781)]

Yeah but that is what I was trying to avoid, having an extra (unnecessary) device with me. It kind of defeats the "portability" because you'd have to have the headphones, amp plus source and if it's summer where do you put them? The jeans pockets will only take so much.

Yeah. It may be that BlackBerry reduced the audio output on the later devices in order to comply with the EU regulations announced in 2009, or to avoid class action lawsuits over hearing damage. My Pearl Flip could make your ears bleed. The Bold 9900 is much quieter, and the Q10 has even less volume. The volume is okay with my IEMs, but it's really impossible to drive a good set of on- or over-ear headphones.

I might try a Topping NX2 with mine.

If you find a different solution, post it here!

[Blackerthanblack]

Yes, it's that damn directive which I hate so much! It's a shame that we can't bypass that. I have also tried a 9790, but the model that I tried didn't even have the audio boost function (I guess it was carrier disabled).

Well, we'll see. In the near future I'm thinking about picking up a 9800 just cause I don't have one, but I kind of expect that to be at the level of the 9780. I have a lot of things on my mind at the moment (including switching apartments, whether my PhD application will be approved and so on) and these silly little things that keep eating my free time are half driving me crazy and half keeping me sane. Back on topic, I don't think anything could be done in this regard; it it could, it would have been done by now. Maybe a Classic will fare better

[Blackerthanblack]

Yeah. It may be that BlackBerry reduced the audio output on the later devices in order to comply with the EU regulations announced in 2009, or to avoid class action lawsuits over hearing damage. My Pearl Flip could make your ears bleed. The Bold 9900 is much quieter, and the Q10 has even less volume. The volume is okay with my IEMs, but it's really impossible to drive a good set of on- or over-ear headphones.

I might try a Topping NX2 with mine.

If you find a different solution, post it here!

Sorry to quote you for this, but I had to ask. Would a 9930 be any different from a regular 9900? Considering that it's made for the US market? EU legislation shouldn't apply there. I never saw a CDMA device before but I presume the 9930 has a sim slot, right? Should I import one from the States?

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[anon(8063781)]

Sorry to quote you for this, but I had to ask. Would a 9930 be any different from a regular 9900? Considering that it's made for the US market? EU legislation shouldn't apply there. I never saw a CDMA device before but I presume the 9930 has a sim slot, right? Should I import one from the States?

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I have no idea. I have no experience with CDMA devices. Your logic is reasonable, but logic doesn't always rule the world. :P

[Blackerthanblack]

Yesterday, after some thought, I decided to do one last try to see if the 9900 will be up to the task of replacing the 9780. The 9780 is an excellent music player and has no software limitation in regards to volume, whereas the 9900, with the 7.1 OS is lower in output volume and sound quality.

My final attempt? A downgrade, from 7.1 to 7.0, more precisely 7.0.0.540.
Also, I set my language as English US and region as United States, just to see if setting it to that location would circumvent the annoying EU volume limit. And it did! I checked multiple times to see if this was a placebo or not, by playing different tracks alternatively, from the 9780 and 9900.

The 9780 still has a slight advantage, as the sound seems a bit sharper, maybe a half of step (volume wise) over the other phone, but that's about it. The audio boost check box appears in the settings (on 7.1 you get a warning like on BlackBerry 10). It also seems I gained a bit more volume in the earpiece, so calls are not as quiet anymore. You do get the hourglass more often, but that's an acceptable compromise. For me, it works.

Please bear in mind this is valid just for the headphone output, which was the only thing I cared about, so I'm not sure about the effect on the speaker. I'm quite happy with the result and at the end of the summer, when I'll get my white 9900 (my gf uses my black one) I'll replace my beloved 9780.



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