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CNET'S QUICK GUIDE: MP3 player audio quality

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Introduction

Signal-to-noise ratio

Distortion

Frequency response

The best-sounding MP3 players: distortion

Distortion is a measurement of the total distortion and noise relative to the output level; higher absolute numbers are better. In this test, the Apple iPod Shuffle and the Samsung YP-Z5 performed admirably, while both iRiver models and the Cowon iAudio X5 ended up at the back of the pack.

Distortion (longer bars are better)

Measured in dB

Apple iPod Shuffle

-69.6

Samsung YP-Z5

-68.8

Apple iPod (5G)

-65.4

Archos Gmini 402 Camcorder

-60.6

Apple iPod Nano

-60.5

Creative Zen Micro Photo

-58.3

Creative Zen Vision:M

-58.0

Sony PSP

-55.0

Cowon iAudio U3

-54.9

SanDisk Sansa c150

-54.7

iRiver U10

-50.4

iRiver T10

-50.4

Cowon iAudio X5

-50.1

Frequency response

More resources from CNET

CNET Music Center

Best-sounding MP3 players (human edition)

The best headphones

MP3 player and PVP reviews

Editors' top MP3 players

TalkBack
30 messages

Article discussion: MP3 player sound-quality chart

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Latest post:

"iTunes is a big mess."

by Rod Roddy (See profile) - May 7, 2007 10:46 PM PDT

My Daughter has an iPod, I a Zune. Zune software (in my opinion) is heads and tails better than iTunes. I should know, they're both installed on my computer, and I deal with them b... (Read more).

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iTunes is a big mess.

My Daughter has an iPod, I a Zune. Zune software (in my opinion) is heads and ta... (Read more)

by Rod Roddy (See profile) - May 7, 2007 10:45 PM PDT

I CREATED THIS ACCOUNT TO WARN PEOPLE ABOUT IPOD

I went throught the trouble of creating this account specifically to warn people... (Read more)

by humbll (See profile) - February 6, 2007 7:31 PM PST

16 out of 16 users found this comment helpful | 4 comments

U10 last,but not least!

I have the U10,and love the sound.
Regardless of this test,I know the sound i... (Read more)

by cutienoua (See profile) - June 4, 2006 9:43 AM PDT

CNET hates success of Ipod

Cnet seems to hate the success of Ipod and rate "underdogs" highly even
thou... (Read more)

by jmhwood (See profile) - June 3, 2006 9:20 AM PDT

5 out of 10 users found this comment helpful | 4 comments

Sound quality and numbers

Great that you guys found equipment that can judge a 0.1dB difference. What is n... (Read more)

by peter.mortensen (See profile) - May 31, 2006 12:33 AM PDT

Has it occurred to the designers that....

Has it occurred to the designers of the audio test that the sounds of the variou... (Read more)

by Sirocco (See profile) - May 30, 2006 4:51 PM PDT

0 out of 5 users found this comment helpful

Ears vs. Analyzer

Forgive me for being a curmudgeon. If my ears cannot detect the difference
... (Read more)

by macmook (See profile) - May 30, 2006 4:24 AM PDT

0 out of 5 users found this comment helpful | 2 comments

Correction: Samsung YP-Z5 uses a SigmaTel STMP3600

Correction: The Samsung YP-Z5 uses a SigmaTel chip called the STMP3600 (not a sa... (Read more)

by (See profile) - May 12, 2006 9:53 AM PDT

5 out of 5 users found this comment helpful

About the U3

One thing I've noticed with the U3 is that distortion and noise can change drast... (Read more)

by scatteredshadows (See profile) - April 27, 2006 6:34 PM PDT

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