[j477]

I was looking into which tablet had the Best Sound Quality through Speakers (not headphones) - because I need something for primarily music and video to give my poor laptop a rest. I would like to have something with:
- good enough sound quality that I can play my vocal recording sessions without too much distortion, so I can learn from them
- good enough volume to mostly fill a small quiet room so I am not chained to being within 2 feet of the device.

A music player/speaker set and internet enabled TV will be best for these activities individually, but I travel a lot and I wanted something portable - hence, the quest for a tablet which is "good enough". So I narrowed it down to:

- BB Playbook (user reviews on the net are "wow" but cant find in store to try, understandably)

- Nexus 7 new generation: only thing I could tell in the noisy store was that it is louder than Kindle Fire latest generation but it is supposed to have good audio because of its "Fraunhofer Surround Audio"

- Kindle Fire HD 7 - Previous Generation i.e. predecessor to current Kindle Fire HDX 7 (cant find in store but read good user reviews online which said speakers are good because of "dual drivers")

- And possibly the new NVIDIA Tegra Note 7 which has good expert reviews on sound (though cant find any actual user reviews yet), the Sony Xperia and the HP Slate with Beats Audio

Can someone who has used both the Playbook and some other tablet for music/video guide me ? Which of these tablets has the best sound ? Do you know any other tablet or portable device which has better sound than these and will be better suited for my needs ?

Thank you for helping

[rotorwrench]

I was looking into which tablet had the Best Sound Quality through Speakers (not headphones) - because I need something for primarily music and video to give my poor laptop a rest. I would like to have something with:
- good enough sound quality that I can play my vocal recording sessions without too much distortion, so I can learn from them
- good enough volume to mostly fill a small quiet room so I am not chained to being within 2 feet of the device.

A music player/speaker set and internet enabled TV will be best for these activities individually, but I travel a lot and I wanted something portable - hence, the quest for a tablet which is "good enough". So I narrowed it down to:

- BB Playbook (user reviews on the net are "wow" but cant find in store to try, understandably)

- Nexus 7 new generation: only thing I could tell in the noisy store was that it is louder than Kindle Fire latest generation but it is supposed to have good audio because of its "Fraunhofer Surround Audio"

- Kindle Fire HD 7 - Previous Generation i.e. predecessor to current Kindle Fire HDX 7 (cant find in store but read good user reviews online which said speakers are good because of "dual drivers")

Can someone who has used both the Playbook and some other tablet for music/video guide me ? Which of these 3 tablets has the best sound ? Do you know any other tablet or portable device which has better sound than these and will be better suited for my needs ?

Thank you for helping

I can comment on the PB vs Nexus7 but not the Kindle, haven't heard it yet. I would say the Nexus has the volume of the PB but not the quality. Several times I've listened to the Nexus using the same tracks and it just sounded shallower and not as clear as the PB. I even tweaked some of the audio settings on the Nexus using the equalizer app that was installed and couldn't get it to sound as pleasing to me as the PB does. Like I said, I can't comment on the Kindle yet.

To give you an example of the SQ based on the opinion of those with ears, my violin instructor was blown away by the audio playback of the PB and believe me, she is a hard core music purist. Of course that is in comparison to other tablets and laptops of other students, not stereo systems. Also note that all my music files are in FLAC, not mp3, which makes a difference to me but maybe not you.

We all have different tastes in what is pleasing to the ear, as well as personal preferences so you really need to listen for yourself if the audio is important to you. I've listened to a lot of tablets over the last 2 years and I still find the PB to be the tops in SQ. Good luck.

[SEAWARRIOR]

i haven't heard any other tablet but as a musician & audiophile i can tell you the surround sound & clarity of the pb is very good,,, music is loud for a small device & range is good,,, when playing games the "movement" of the sound is great...

[Georgefly97]

Kindle (fire hd and up) have excellent speakers, undoubtedly, but I just ordered a PlayBook from eBay so I will know the comparison soon enough!

Posted via CB10

[howarmat]

the new nexus has improved speakers and sound quality but it doesnt beat the playbook with front facing speakers. The new kindles are aso very good. I would say a slight step behind the playbook

[j477]

Thanks very much! This is the Nexus 7 2nd gen with the "Fraunhofer" surround sound they are touting ?

(Yes, I really wish I could hear them all for myself but 2 are no longer available in stores and hearing only the Nexus 7 in-store over the din doesn't tell me much. I'm hoping hearing other users' opinions will save me the trouble of buying and returning things.)

[howarmat]

yes 2nd gen n7

[j477]

Kindle (fire hd and up) have excellent speakers, undoubtedly, but I just ordered a PlayBook from eBay so I will know the comparison soon enough!

Posted via CB10

Cool! Let me know which you feel has better sound. I suppose you have the Fire HD - previous gen ? http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Dolby-D...bUvbUpU9826380 I believe the new HD/X's actually have worse sound - people were complaining online about upgrading to a device with worse audio and the reason seems to be they took out the dual drivers that only the Fire HD of the previous gen had.

[j477]

I can comment on the PB vs Nexus7 but not the Kindle, haven't heard it yet. I would say the Nexus has the volume of the PB but not the quality. Several times I've listened to the Nexus using the same tracks and it just sounded shallower and not as clear as the PB. I even tweaked some of the audio settings on the Nexus using the equalizer app that was installed and couldn't get it to sound as pleasing to me as the PB does. Like I said, I can't comment on the Kindle yet.

To give you an example of the SQ based on the opinion of those with ears, my violin instructor was blown away by the audio playback of the PB and believe me, she is a hard core music purist. Of course that is in comparison to other tablets and laptops of other students, not stereo systems. Also note that all my music files are in FLAC, not mp3, which makes a difference to me but maybe not you.

We all have different tastes in what is pleasing to the ear, as well as personal preferences so you really need to listen for yourself if the audio is important to you. I've listened to a lot of tablets over the last 2 years and I still find the PB to be the tops in SQ. Good luck.

Thanks very much! This is the Nexus 7 2nd gen with the "Fraunhofer" surround sound (because they are saying it is much better and "immersive" vs the first gen) ?

About the mp3 vs FLAC - I have no idea if that makes a difference for speakers. Does it ? I'll have to google it...

And lastly , can you recommend any good portable bluetooth speakers you might have tried / use with the PB ?

(And yes, I would really prefer to listen for myself... but 2 out of these 3 devices are no longer in-store. So I am going to first buy (and try) whatever gets the most thumbs-ups.)

[j477]

yes 2nd gen n7

i haven't heard any other tablet but as a musician & audiophile i can tell you the surround sound & clarity of the pb is very good,,, music is loud for a small device & range is good,,, when playing games the "movement" of the sound is great...

Thanks! Have you also tried any good portable bluetooth speakers that you can recommend ?

[Georgefly97]

Cool! Let me know which you feel has better sound. I suppose you have the Fire HD - previous gen ? http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Dolby-D...bUvbUpU9826537 I believe the new HDX's actually have worse sound - people were complaining online about upgrading to a device with worse audio and the reason seems to be they took out the dual drivers that only the Fire HD of the previous gen had.

I heard about that with the newer ones, especially that they aren't as loud. My experience is just with the 7inch HD (1st gen) and it is just so loud with movies and quite respectable handling my music (I'm a metal man so it's a tough job for speakers generally) and I've never had to turn it up past 50-60% unless in a super noisy environment (which then everyone hates you). I'm piqued about the PB though because they face *forwards* instead of backwards so who knows but I'll be sure to update with my experience when I get it.

Posted via CB10

[ghundiraj]

BB Playbook
Nexus 7 new generation
Kindle Fire HD 7
Can someone who has used both the Playbook and some other tablet for music/video guide me ? Which of these 3 tablets has the best sound ? Do you know any other tablet or portable device which has better sound than these and will be better suited for my needs ?
Thank you for helping

If your only point of comparison and requirement is recording music and playback, I would recommend the PlayBook with my eyes closed.
I have used the PB and the Kindle extensively (no idea about the Nexus 7), and love the speakers on the device.
It also has dual microphones and all recordings I have done (amateur singer and music composer) play back beautifully on the PB.

It has a voice notes app (native) that allows you to record and pause (resume when ready ) and that is all I use.

Let me know if you need any more details...




LP&HG

[j477]

If your only point of comparison and requirement is recording music and playback, I would recommend the PlayBook with my eyes closed.
I have used the PB and the Kindle extensively (no idea about the Nexus 7), and love the speakers on the device.
It also has dual microphones and all recordings I have done (amateur singer and music composer) play back beautifully on the PB.

It has a voice notes app (native) that allows you to record and pause (resume when ready ) and that is all I use.

Let me know if you need any more details...

LP&HG

Thank you for the help! Just to confirm - this is the older generation Kindle Fire HD you are comparing it to ? i.e. the one at this link: Kindle Fire HD Tablet [Previous Generation]

Amazon has named their tablets so confusingly, its very difficult to tell them apart. But apparently only this Kindle HD - previous gen (the new version of this model is Kindle HDX and what they call Kindle HD now replaces the earlier Kindle) had dual drivers which led to better sound - so that's why I am interested in a specific comparison with this one particularly.

Also - since you are a musician, any recommendations for good portable bluetooth speakers and this is not a dealbreaker but as a bonus - any good apps for making / listening to music - like grooveshark / itanpura on ipad ? Doesn't matter if not, speaker quality is what I'm after but would be nice bonus!

[SEAWARRIOR]

Thanks! Have you also tried any good portable bluetooth speakers that you can recommend ?

i don't have any,,, if i'm going for more sound it's the house/car stereo, or sometimes pc,,, the only time i really use the pb for music is to record/playback riffs on the fly, which the quality is pretty decent...

[Georgefly97]

A suggestion for portable speakers: bose sound mini-link. You won't be disappointed. Unbelievable sound from such a tiny thing. It costs as much as the PB did back in late 2012 though...

Posted via CB10

[j477]

i don't have any,,, if i'm going for more sound it's the house/car stereo, or sometimes pc,,, the only time i really use the pb for music is to record/playback riffs on the fly, which the quality is pretty decent...

do you use the native recorder / player or some other ? thanks again!

[byex]

Playbook all the way for music playback and sound quality. I have an Asus transformer no where near the sound quality of the playbook. Only comparison I have.

Be sure to get the neutron music player for the playbook.

[joshua_sx1]

Still, no tablet in 7" category beats PlayBook when it comes to sound...

Posted via CB10

[Gooseberry Falls]

Still, no tablet in 7" category beats PlayBook when it comes to sound...

Posted via CB10

Agreed. PB has great speakers. Better than iPad mini and Nexus 7 2012. Don't know about newer Kindles or Nexus 7 2013, tho. Interested in Georgefly97's assessment of the Kindle's difference 'cuz Amazon does advertise great sound quality.

[SEAWARRIOR]

do you use the native recorder / player or some other ? thanks again!

native voice notes...

[djrupey]

If you are interested in sound quality then you should only be thinking of playing uncompressed files (FLAC, WAV, etc). Even on the PB's speakers the difference is noticeable. Played on a decent stereo system it is glaringly obvious. Also use the Neutron music player, which is an audiophile app which replays music to a far higher quality than the built-in music player. I can't comment on the PlayBook comparison with other tablets because I haven't used any. But remember that as with all music systems, the source and playback device/programme is more important than speakers. As with a car and home stereo, a really good head unit/turntable/CD player and good amplifier will make even the cheapest speakers sound wonderful. That's not to say that good speakers are not important, they are, but you won't turn crap input into wonderful sound by buying expensive speakers to mate up to a cheap, rubbish music source. It will just make your crap music source sound even worse.

[j477]

Still, no tablet in 7" category beats PlayBook when it comes to sound...

Posted via CB10

Im not stuck on 7" - just on great speaker quality. Do you know any 8/9/10 inch tabs with better speakers ?

[SUBLIMINALLYINCORRECT]

theres also the tegra note 7 that came out last month thats got dual speakers.

EVGA Tegra Note 7 review: a gaming tablet with much to offer, much to learn

[j477]

If you are interested in sound quality then you should only be thinking of playing uncompressed files (FLAC, WAV, etc). Even on the PB's speakers the difference is noticeable. Played on a decent stereo system it is glaringly obvious. Also use the Neutron music player, which is an audiophile app which replays music to a far higher quality than the built-in music player. I can't comment on the PlayBook comparison with other tablets because I haven't used any. But remember that as with all music systems, the source and playback device/programme is more important than speakers. As with a car and home stereo, a really good head unit/turntable/CD player and good amplifier will make even the cheapest speakers sound wonderful. That's not to say that good speakers are not important, they are, but you won't turn crap input into wonderful sound by buying expensive speakers to mate up to a cheap, rubbish music source. It will just make your crap music source sound even worse.

Thank you. I haven't really had the need to get into the technicals of recording so it was useful to be reminded about compression - something I once knew vaguely about but had forgotten (re sound anyway).

I agree about the importance of source/playback program. Source is something I will have to control but if you have any more tips aside from the Neutron - about good add-ons (portable music speakers/amplifiers) or good apps / settings for music players etc for making/listening to/playing back music on the PB , for eg. any recos on good radio/music apps like Grooveshark and (I'm reaching here) but something for (basic) music editing (something as simple as cutting the track at the point I want and saving it to another file) - then do let me know - the little info I can find on the net is outdated (well, in digital years).

Doesnt matter if you dont - Speaker quality is what I am ultimately after so lack of apps is not a dealbreaker at all but I might as well ask if they exist. Thank you for the help you have given already - I've put "research into uncompressed files" on my Google list

[Gooseberry Falls]

You might also look into the HP tablet. It has the Beats audio. Otherwise, not great spec-wise:
Slate 7 Tablet | HP� Official Site

Also, the Sony 10" tab might be worth looking at as Sony has a good rep for audio but rather pricey:
http://store.sony.com/16gb-xperia-su...Xperia-Tablets