Tag: sound reproduction

Introduction

I am reviewing the Creative Labs MA930 in-ear headset which is pitched for Android phones as well as computers. This headset also can work with computers even if the unit has a separate microphone and headphone jack due to Creative supplying a breakout adaptor cable for these situations.

Price

Recommended Retail Price: AUD$119.95

Type

The headset itself

Connectivity

The Creative Labs MA930 headset had difficulty working as a proper headset with my earlier Samsung Galaxy S Android phone but would work properly with newer computers and phones. There is also the headphone / microphone breakout adaptor that allows this headset to connect to separate headphone and microphone jacks on computers when you want to Skype someone.

Comfort

A closeup of the earpieces

The earpieces on the Creative Labs MA930 headset needed to fit tightly in your ears like the older earpieces for them to yield proper sound with good bass response. I have noticed that this can be uncomfortable over a long time of use. Creative does supply different ear adaptors which you slip over the earpieces to fit your ears tightly.

Sound quality

When the earphones are properly inserted in your ears, the Creative headset does perform well with the bass response. As well, there was the clear response across the frequency ranges as I have noticed when I was playing a mixture of “ambient” music tracks through them.

The headset also can handle voice and effects content in video content this also being able to work well with phone calls and video games. Of course, they would work well if the headset is pushed properly in your ears which may affect different people.

Noise reduction and handling in noisy environments

Due to the design of these earpiece-style headsets, you have improved noise reduction which I have noticed when I used them while sitting up the back of a bus. Here, all the sounds around me were significantly reduced and I was able to hear the program material very easily.

Conclusion

The Creative Labs MA930 headset would work well with laptop computers, handheld games consoles as well as recent standards-based smartphones (Android, Windows 8, Nokia) if you value a lightweight headset and want the noise reduction that the in-ear design provides such as in the gym or while travelling on public transport.

But I wouldn’t recommend it for use when jogging or cycling because you may not hear the traffic easily. Of course, like many in-ear designs, it may not work at its best with your ears.

A trend that I have seen with laptop computers and some all-in-one desktop computers is for them to have their sound output “tuned” by a company involved in the recording or reproduction of music. In a similar vein to how a motor-racing team will work a car destined for street use to improve its performance, these firms, such as Harman (JBL), Bang & Olufsen or Dr. Dre’s Beats Audio,  will work on the sound-reproduction systems to improve the computer’s sound reproduction, whether through its integrated speakers or through headphones attached to the computer.

The main issue that these efforts are trying to conquer is the tinny sound that emanates from the typical laptop speakers. Previously, these computers used just a pair of small speakers installed in their small chassis that didn’t yield good bass or midrange reproduction and they were driven via a low-power stereo amplifier in the computer. The setup was just good enough for audio prompts and, in some cases, speech from people without accents, yet did a horrendous job at reproducing music or sound effects in video or game content.  This is compared to the way even a cheaper portable radio or tape player that is equipped with the traditional 3” cone speaker can reproduce most frequencies “across the board”.  It is made easier due to these sets having a larger cabinet that isn’t crammed out with circuitry and reproducing sound through a larger speaker with a deeper cone. End-users are asking a lot more out of their computers as they use them as personal jukeboxes, movie players and games machines or businesses make heavy use of them as voice and video telephony endpoints.

The challenge is to keep these computers slim yet yield a proper and desirable sound across the audio spectrum. Typically the modifications will focus on the sound-reproduction and amplification circuitry as well as the integrated speakers. For example, there will be digital-sound-processing circuitry that works as a tone control for the computer, with the ability to improve the tone for the integrated speakers.

There will be the implementation of Class-D power amplifier circuitry that is designed by people in the audio industry and the sound will emanate from a multi-way speaker system. An example of this is the ASUS Ultrabooks implementing Bang & Olufsen ICEPower audio amplification. Most systems will use a 2.1 speaker setup with a separate bass driver that may be separately amplified, but some may use a multi-way speaker setup with many speaker units to achieve the sound of larger traditional speakers. As well, there would be some work on planning out the speaker-enclosure area to allow the sound to come out of the system properly.

From what I have noticed when I reviewed many of the laptops, I have come across some setups where the speakers can be muffled easily when you rest your hands on the palmrest, or some computers may sound better when placed on a harder surface. I have also noticed that the screen area isnt necessarily used on most laptops as a place to locate speakers because when you have speakers there, you can improve the stereo separation and sound localisation there.

There are still the many challenges ahead for these sound-tuning projects, where there is an expectation to yield that punchy bass from the built-in speakers. This is usually the kind of stuff that the marketers hype on about when they promote the computers that are equipped with these sound-tuning efforts. Other than that, these efforts have succeeded in putting the life back in to sound reproduction from the larger “new-computing-environment” laptop computers.