Music sound quality on Iphone 3g

Not sure about your earphones, have never heard of those but I guess it could also be a problem with your Iphone. I haven't noticed this promblem on my phone, and just bouth a pair of phillips headphones, some cheapies for when I'm riding and they actually sound really good. Almost like surround sound and bass sounds good too. Of all the ipods that I've had or used I have noticed that you really need to shop around for a good set of earphones because they really make a difference, and you don't really have to drop a lot for good quality, the most I have spent on a pair was $40 for some sony in ear buds that sounded really good.

I would recommend trying another set of earphones to see if the sound quality is any different and possibly calling apple support to see if they might be able to tell you something.

good luck

It's probably your iphone - I use sennheiser MM50's with a lot of bass and have never had any problems with sound. Compared to the 1st gen, the sound on the 3G is of a much better quality and better able to deal with bass tones.

From that I would have to say it's your Iphone, would definately recommend finding another Iphone to test them on so you know for sure.

As a former sound engineer, I'd say that the audio quality on most Apple iPods is generally not that great (the original white iPod shuffle being a notable exception), so your comment regarding the iRiver doesn't surprise me. It wouldn't hurt to compare you iPhone against another unit though just in case.

There is a problem with the built-in iPod and iPhone EQ settings in that they boost the bass without reducing overall level, thus causing the signal to 'clip' and producing audible distortion. Given that many CDs are mastered for maximum volume, there's not much you can do about this other than turning the EQ off or selecting a different setting. The same effect is audible in iTunes, although you can use the 'preamp' setting to reduce the volume level before the bass boost is applied, thus minimising any clipping. Some types of music and CDs are worse than others, so not everybody will notice this problem, but it can sometimes be quite pronounced.

I have reported this as a bug to Apple in the past and suggest that yourself and others do the same in the hope that they will fix it by applying a similar 'preamp' boost or cut appropriate to each of the built-in EQ settings to avoid the distortion.

I have heard that there is a way to sync custom EQ settings onto iPods (and presumably iPhones). It is listed at the website below. I have tried this with the Bass Booster preset by decreasing all frequencies by 6db. This way the highest eq setting will be 0db and instead of boosting frequencies (and causing clipping) it should only attenuate frequencies. Give it a try and let us know if it helps!

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/4081403-post201.html