1. Mike Dominski's Avatar
    Never really wanted to go blackberry until I saw the passport and I'll first say I am quite impressed with it. The physical keyboard, the screen size, the overall build of the phone is pretty awesome. Blackberry made a very effective ui. Gestures feel natural and I never have to look at the keyboard while I type. It's a good amount of freedom I have all but forgotten about since my old Verizon prepaid slide out keyboard phone. I never really got quite used to a virtual keyboard.

    Now the single most disappointing thing about this phone is the headphone quality. I've only tried this with the included headphones so correct me if it's just these things. I listen to metal and whenever there's a lot of things going on in a song everything seems to drown out. Bass hits are quieter. Vocals sound distant. Everything else sounds very distorted. Until it calms down again. Then it sounds okay again. I only say okay though. My initial thought when I found this out was to download poweramp from snap. Installs and works fine but it doesn't find any music at all. Poweramp is normally capable of making the worst phone with the worst pile of cheap headphones you can find sound completely amazing. I was disappointed when for some reason this is the only android player that just refuses to find any files on this phone at all. Maybe someone knows a remedy?

    I ended up buying neutron because of the reviews. Not a very user friendly app. But I was determined to get my music to sound good again. Took me about an hour of fiddling to get it to where I wanted. Then I compared some songs to the stock player only to find out the stock player still sounds better than neutron. So there goes $6 in the toilet.

    I'm hoping this is a software issue. I've tried a bunch of other music apps from snap. All of them play music but all of the equalizers don't change anything. Must be an android blackberry thing.

    Posted via CB10
    Supa_Fly1 likes this.
    12-20-14 10:24 PM
  2. tdaye's Avatar
    The included headphones suck. I have some decent ones and the sound is awesome, full and rich.

    Posted via CB10
    12-20-14 10:36 PM
  3. middbrew's Avatar
    I agree music apps and quality aren't BlackBerry's strong suit. Have you tried different headphones? My Z30 sounds pretty good with headphones that are made for music and can be set up by Bluetooth.
    chinmay007 likes this.
    12-20-14 10:36 PM
  4. dale-c's Avatar
    Never judge a device using the bundled earbuds.

    Using the same earbuds, I have always gotten the same results from my z10 as my iPod.

    I think the passport should be the same.

    Posted via CB10
    12-20-14 10:39 PM
  5. Morten's Avatar
    I don't understand why headphones are bundled at all - The sound quality is one thing, but many of us have big problems with the different in-ear things - keeps falling out etc... and I assume that most of us who either use handsfree or headphones for music, have gotten some "real" ones instead - with good sound quality, and with perfect "fit" for whatever ear shapes we have.

    If anything should be bundled, it could have been a case instead - to protect the device

    The sound quality from the Passport itself, is comparable to the best there is on mobile phones today, - and combined with the microphones and OS control - it makes the device very decent in use as Speaker Phone.

    If you, like me, love to listen to music while at work, get some good headphones, that fits good in/on your ears. A good set would ex. be Bose QC20, which also have a microphone on the cord and a button to answer/hang-up/assistant

    (NB: the "i" versions (QC20i) can also be used, but media volume+next/prev does not work on Passport or Z3 due to new hardware )
    ThaSwapMeetPimp likes this.
    12-21-14 12:10 AM
  6. gogogadgets's Avatar
    Neutron delivers excellent sound quality, far superior to anything I've heard on any mobile device. If anything, I find the sound quality on BB10 devices way better than other non-realtime OSes. Try different headphones, try different EQ settings. Try Neutron. I think you'll be impressed.
    12-21-14 12:25 AM
  7. drecar's Avatar
    The sound quality of BB devices has been top notch for many years imo. Quality headphones like something made by Grado is what I'd suggest.
    12-21-14 12:34 AM
  8. anon(870071)'s Avatar
    Never really wanted to go blackberry until I saw the passport and I'll first say I am quite impressed with it. The physical keyboard, the screen size, the overall build of the phone is pretty awesome. Blackberry made a very effective ui. Gestures feel natural and I never have to look at the keyboard while I type. It's a good amount of freedom I have all but forgotten about since my old Verizon prepaid slide out keyboard phone. I never really got quite used to a virtual keyboard.

    Now the single most disappointing thing about this phone is the headphone quality. I've only tried this with the included headphones so correct me if it's just these things. I listen to metal and whenever there's a lot of things going on in a song everything seems to drown out. Bass hits are quieter. Vocals sound distant. Everything else sounds very distorted. Until it calms down again. Then it sounds okay again. I only say okay though. My initial thought when I found this out was to download poweramp from snap. Installs and works fine but it doesn't find any music at all. Poweramp is normally capable of making the worst phone with the worst pile of cheap headphones you can find sound completely amazing. I was disappointed when for some reason this is the only android player that just refuses to find any files on this phone at all. Maybe someone knows a remedy?

    I ended up buying neutron because of the reviews. Not a very user friendly app. But I was determined to get my music to sound good again. Took me about an hour of fiddling to get it to where I wanted. Then I compared some songs to the stock player only to find out the stock player still sounds better than neutron. So there goes $6 in the toilet.

    I'm hoping this is a software issue. I've tried a bunch of other music apps from snap. All of them play music but all of the equalizers don't change anything. Must be an android blackberry thing.

    Posted via CB10
    The headsets first of all aren't premium quality! I'm sure if you upgraded to something with balanced or dynamic armatures, you'll get the range you are expecting!
    Only higher end headphones or IEM's will give you this! My fav go to is the Klipsch x7i's! GOES great with a bitstream DAC amplifier plugged into the micro usb outlet. Works like a charm.
    Posted via CB10
    Last edited by cellphonejunkey; 06-01-15 at 04:40 PM.
    12-21-14 01:40 AM
  9. anon(1852343)'s Avatar
    Try different headphones. My earbuds that came with my 9900 are better but obviously not what it sounds like you are after. There is another thread that has some solid recommendations for headphones. Search audiophile

    Blackberry Passport running 10.3.1.1151
    12-21-14 02:18 AM
  10. Ducca683's Avatar
    Passport music reproduction is just fine. With included music app or Neutron. You need to seriously consider getting new pair of headset (like with most phones, included ones are just necessary evil). There is separate thread on headsets and passport, so do some digging...

    ( And, if I know no better, I will also suggest change the music you listen :-0)

    Posted via CB10
    chinmay007 likes this.
    12-21-14 05:09 AM
  11. jmr1015's Avatar
    First thing to do is use better headphones. Second, what sort of files are you listening to? If they're low bitrate compressed MP3s you ripped from YouTube or downloaded from a file sharing site, odds are they're going to sound like crap no matter what.

    From what you've discribed, listening to metal and multiple instruments drowning each other out, you want headphones with more clarity and seperation. No two headphones are alike, and you need to figure out what sort of sound profile you like. Heavy bass is popular for most. Some value a flat response, to hear the sounds exactly as recorded. Others like forward mids.

    Sennheiser CX-300ii Precision Enhanced Bass are a good place to start. They're cheap, and offer a fun sound profile. Strong bass, but tight. Decent seperation, and mids that aren't too recessed. Definitely a good sounding set of earbuds for around $30. Pair them with appropriately sized (for your ear canals) Comply foam tips, and you should be rockin.
    12-21-14 06:44 AM
  12. Taigatrommel's Avatar
    I'd also simply consider getting other headphones. Even though the bundled pieces are labelled as "Premium Headphones" they simply aren't. Maybe good enough for my casual music listening needs, but for every at least half passionate music lover, especially for every more demanding music like metal, I can only suggest buying nice, dedicated aftermarket headphones. I mean those earpieces for 100+ bucks are really there for a reason, a complete different level than all those standard included OEM headsets.

    Posted via CB10
    12-21-14 06:49 AM
  13. Buddha Piece's Avatar
    With the passport regardless of which headphones I'm using, the audio quality is still very much disappointing. I've posted here about the audio quality multiple times, and there's no real solution, I do believe it's a software issue though. The Classic has a much clearer, bass filled, loud volume sound, usually I have to carry an iPod on the train for music consumption with my BlackBerry but the Classic so far does the job much better than the passport.

    Of course the Classic is running an updated OS, 10.3.1.747, so I'm not sure if any of the new leaks would fix the audio quality/volume on the Passport. Would actually choose a Passport over a Classic if music play was equal on the two
    12-21-14 07:22 AM
  14. Mike Dominski's Avatar
    I should mention that when I connect wireless to my vehicles sound system I get the same results. I'm constantly trying to fiddle with the stereo and phone volume, changing the eq on both to try and get something that sounds good and it just doesn't. I'll be definitely getting a different set of headphones but so far I am not really too happy with it.

    Posted via CB10
    12-21-14 07:28 AM
  15. kbz1960's Avatar
    My old ear buds weren't sounding so good. Low volume etc. I bought a pair of cheap Koss ear buds and what a difference.
    12-21-14 07:34 AM
  16. Shanerredflag's Avatar
    Two things, grab a free trial from Tidal and a set of decent head phones...I think you'll be very pleased. Digital music is only as good as the source, crap in crap out kinda thing.

    Passport'n stuff all day long.
    NtotheK likes this.
    12-21-14 07:41 AM
  17. melb_me's Avatar
    Do you have the headphone boost turned on? Settings > Main Volume > Headphone Audio Boost
    12-21-14 07:42 AM
  18. Publisher1963's Avatar
    I agree. Neutron + Z30 = awesome sound! And just as good if you use decent quality headphones (not those which come bundled)

    Posted via CB10... on my Z30 10.2.1 waiting for 10.3.x
    12-21-14 07:58 AM
  19. BACK-2-BLACK's Avatar
    What sound files are you playing and at what quality?

    Re: stock earbuds.... I haven't used them in years after realizing how $hit they are.
    Gotten to a point where they stay in the box, unraveled in the little plastic bag and the only thing they are good for is that when I decide to sell my phone and the stock headphones are brand new!

    Re: eq settings.... 'nice' to have, but never found the default settings to reproduce the way I wanted it, so always resorted to the custom tuning. Also noticed that the default settings wouldn't represent the music I was listening to. This is with any device, not just BB.
    12-21-14 07:59 AM
  20. eddy_berry's Avatar
    I'm in the same camp as most everyone here. I use my Z30 with a pair of BlackBerry headphones a lot. They are far from spectacular. I also use a pair of Sony Sound Monitor headphones. They aren't expensive headphones but the sound quality destroys the BlackBerry headphones. I would say get a good pair of headphones. It makes a big difference. Enough people on CB have agreed the BlackBerry headphones weren't great.

    Posted via CB10
    12-21-14 08:03 AM
  21. anon(870071)'s Avatar
    I should mention that when I connect wireless to my vehicles sound system I get the same results. I'm constantly trying to fiddle with the stereo and phone volume, changing the eq on both to try and get something that sounds good and it just doesn't. I'll be definitely getting a different set of headphones but so far I am not really too happy with it.

    Posted via CB10
    Klipsch x7i's have balanced armatures with a dynamic effect! If metal is your music preference they will give you tight mids with clear separation of the high and lows with natural bass. Metal sounds horrible if over exxagerated so beats audio for example would not work! Look for dynamic or balanced armatures, it's the best for metal!

    Posted via CB10
    12-21-14 08:07 AM
  22. Mike Dominski's Avatar
    Passport is my first BlackBerry. Music quality is disappointing.-img_20141222_100146.png doesn't appear I have that option.

    Posted via CB10
    12-22-14 09:02 AM
  23. anon(870071)'s Avatar
    First thing to do is use better headphones. Second, what sort of files are you listening to? If they're low bitrate compressed MP3s you ripped from YouTube or downloaded from a file sharing site, odds are they're going to sound like crap no matter what.

    From what you've discribed, listening to metal and multiple instruments drowning each other out, you want headphones with more clarity and seperation. No two headphones are alike, and you need to figure out what sort of sound profile you like. Heavy bass is popular for most. Some value a flat response, to hear the sounds exactly as recorded. Others like forward mids.

    Sennheiser CX-300ii Precision Enhanced Bass are a good place to start. They're cheap, and offer a fun sound profile. Strong bass, but tight. Decent seperation, and mids that aren't too recessed. Definitely a good sounding set of earbuds for around $30. Pair them with appropriately sized (for your ear canals) Comply foam tips, and you should be rockin.
    Agreed:always rip music at the highest bit rate to your computer!

    Posted via CB10
    Last edited by cellphonejunkey; 04-03-15 at 10:38 AM.
    12-22-14 10:47 AM
  24. anon(870071)'s Avatar
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IMG_20141222_100146.png 
Views:	3015 
Size:	75.7 KB 
ID:	322408 doesn't appear I have that option.

    Posted via CB10
    What option?

    Posted via CB10
    12-22-14 10:47 AM
  25. anon(870071)'s Avatar
    Generally mobile music quality is not so great and you be right about that! BUT as we all answered'invest in a pair of higher quality IEM's and you'll notice a difference.

    Posted via CB10
    12-22-14 10:49 AM
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