Hi Richard, Thanks for the feedback. I also experienced a drop in volume within the Audyssey Media Player app after making the adjustment. The volume slider when you play tracks within the app has a separate level setting from the iPhone volume controls, so I just adjusted this up using the slider below the player controls in order to compare the sound quality. (It's a pain not to simply be able to access the controls with VoiceOver to toggle this on and off within the app.)
With the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones, after adjusting volume so that I could do a reasonable assessment, I'd say that the Audyssey Media Player app gave me a small improvement with slightly more responsive bass. The majority of the reviews I've read for this app report improvements. Some users detail improvements (from small to more substantial) in most of their headphones but not others (e.g. one user said he tried it with 5 headphones, with improvements, and 1 where he thought the adjustment made things worse). The usual complaint was that not all headset profiles were covered, and if you applied a setting that wasn't designed for your headphones, especially if you were using high performance headphones, you'd degrade your listening experience. The general reviews and ratings for this app at external sites seemed positive and widespread enough that it seemed worth having people try this out, especially since I think this app is only going to be free for a single week, based on a promotion that is advertised on Songza's web site. That's also why I provided the information on how to get this turned on (despite the accessibility issues) in my first post. Cheers, Esther On 23 Jul 2013, at 01:50, Richard Turner wrote: > > I installed the app and after a couple tries I got it to recognize my Bose > AE 2 headphones. > The resulting sound was at about half the volume of using the straight music > app. The sound was more like much lower quality headphones. It gave the music > a tinny sound and a little distorted. I did not have the volume up very high > either. At this point, I would say it isn't a very useful app. I tried it > with some classical music, some Judy Collins, the musical Wicked, and some > folk music. > Later, > > Richard > (Sent from Richard's iPod Touch 5th gen) > > On Jul 22, 2013, at 10:10 PM, Esther <mori...@mac.com> wrote: > >> Hi All, >> >> The Audyssey Media Player app has gone free for this week. This is an app >> that optimizes the sound balance for your headphones (mainly to get better >> sound quality for higher end headphones), based on the specific performance >> profiles of different models. It's been well reviewed, and it seems >> partially usable with VoiceOver, but the individual customization controls, >> beyond the basic headset specific settings don't seem to be accessible, I >> was wondering whether people could try this out and report their >> impressions: whether they think this improved their listening experience, >> and what model of headset they used with the app. >> >> • Audyssey Media Player (free, was $0.99) by Audyssey Laboratories >> https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audyssey-media-player/id569331902?mt=8 >> >> Here's a bit of background. Audyssey Laboratories uses information on the >> response characteristics of a number of headsets. There's an online >> database of the individual headset profiles included in this app: >> http://www.amp.audyssey.com/pick >> >> When you launch the app you select the headset you wish to apply >> equilization adjustment for. First you select the manufacturer's brand, and >> then you select the model, assuming that you find your headset model listed. >> For example, I tried the profile for the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro. >> Annoyingly, after selecting a headset, I couldn't seem to turn on the >> headset profile. VoiceOver would announce "On" and "Off", but I couldn't >> seemingly set things to "On" in the app. The way I got the settings applied >> was by removing the app from the App Switcher window, and then relaunching >> it again with headphones connected. At that point an alert window came up >> announcing "Headphones Detected, Are these the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro that >> you currently have selected?" The button options were "Yes, use these", >> "Choose New Headphones" and "Turn Off Audyssey Technology". Double tapping >> "Yes, use these", seemed to activate the headset profile use. >> >> You can try playing music tracks from your iTunes library library. The >> player controls for the track are at the bottom of the screen (buttons for >> "previous" track, "play/pause", and "next" track, with a volume slider >> below). Double tapping a "button" that covers most of the screen shows or >> hides the information on track name and artist, time since start and to end >> of track, and repeat loop and shuffle controls, just above the player >> controls. >> >> You should be able to access custom controls for the app by double tapping >> the "Audyssey button switched" button at the top of the screen, just below >> the time on the status menu. Here the name of your selected headset gets >> announced, and there is an "Audyssey Options Button" that takes you to the >> Settings screen. However, double tapping "Your Sound" (the second entry) >> for customizing your sound, brings up controls that VoiceOver can't seem to >> interact with. >> >> Anyway, I'd be curious whether people find these app settings improve their >> listening experience, even without the further customization options. Also, >> if there's a way to get the custom controls working, or particular headsets >> that sound better, it would be interesting to know. >> >> This app has gone free for this week, only. There's some relation between >> the app developers and the Songza app, too. >> >> HTH. Cheers, >> >> Esther >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. 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