[Sony Xperia P, U, Sola, Go] Scratchling:
Was gonna start an Audiophile thread(@Mods if thats still ok please shout) but this thread kinda covers it.

Was listening to some music today and decided to bring my good cans on the commute despite them being open backed just to see how the S drove them. After an hour I realised there was an issue. Volume was marginal but that was always expected but when I'd burned 20% battery I copped the problem. 2x250Ohm per side is a bit too much for the amp in the S to handle. I suspect the same is true for most phones. If anyone has used similar on another phone I'd love some input on this.

Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro, 250Ohm version

Players: gMusic

Sound reproduction quite good, very good in mobile terms, despite the amp being at its limits. Found it most enjoyable with the base boosted just a little, modern electronic trains one to like it :P With battery drain though its not practical.

Following on from this I've started testing other headphones/earphones. My regular full size that I use most of the time around the house and when I'm DJing are the HD205's. Basically HD25's for the poor. Its my second pair, thats how much I like em. Very good value for money.

Headphones: Sennheiser HD205

Players: Stock, gMusic, Tinyshark

Volume fine with this, ~80% most of the time. gMusic even with a flat EQ seems like it sounds just a tad nicer. Added a tiny bit of bass, but again thats me being accustomed to it. Overall very happy with it.

Now to the stock(in the box) plugs. I've never really used the headphones that came with anything. iPod ones(never bought an ipod, just won one!) are dirt. The ones with the k750i and C902 were pretty dud too. Pair with the X10 were acceptable. And I have to say these are a step up again :)

Headphones: Sony MH1C

Players: gMusic

As with all in ear plugs, fitting is EVERYTHING. The sound is dependant on the seal which depends on how you fit them and bud you use. I had to play with them for a while to find the sweetspot, it ended up being quite deep into my ear with the standard buds(my ears are pretty average size it would seem). With this done they are way better than any other "free" phones I've used. Little mushy mid range, but grand none the less. Build quality is very nice also, I love ribbon cables. IMO though the right plugs cable should join at the same side as the lefts so you dont have this weird loop at your neck. Its minor though. The low profile jack is a big plus. Would see myself using these in work probably.

Next up, a set of earbuds that I'm on my third pair of. For something that's consumable I think these represent very good value for money when you take account of their relative longevity.

Headphones: Sennheiser CX300 II's

Players: gMusic

Flat eq again, these are pretty accurate for plugs so I left it clean. Got a little clipping on the highs of "I Remember" by deadmau5. I'm biased but these worked very well, pretty satisfied.

Lastly lets go wireless. Bear in mind these guys are oooold. And they've taken a bit of a beating at this stage.

Headphones: Motorola HT820 Bluetooth Stereo

Players: gMusic

These aren't great, never were. Battery life is very good but the cushions aren't held tight enough against your ear and during rush hour they get drowned out. That said they were only €45 when such things were relatively new tech and quite expensive. Bass reproduction is fine on but the clashy highs are harsh on the ears. Generally they do better with calmer tracks, 40mm driver fails to impress with crescendos. The EQ above was good for electronic, but wasnt so great for some acoustic guitar stuff. Music controls worked fine as you'd expect with the A2DP protocol. Pairing is childs play.

Radio:

Thank god they included this in the S. After having one in my previous phones not having it in the X10 was a total head-wrecker. App wise its lovely, nice interface that I cant fault. Reception is good-moderate with a long cable(3M) and moderate-acceptable with a shorter cable(1.2m). FM is FM and one cant expect too much from it. Very listenable and its a function I will use a lot. <3

Overall:

I'd rate myself as a moderate audiophile. Testing was done with 320 MP3's(with a few exceptions). For me the sound was completely up to standard with what I'd expect from a phone. As a bit of background I'm a DJ and my soundcards are a Creative Fatal1ty and a Numark DJ IO. I own a PA rig but thats useless for such testing. If you wanna see the kind of music I listen to check here(horribly mainstream), though not everything gets scrobbled. http://www.last.fm/user/SimonTheDub

Finally, assuming 100 is the top score this is how I'd rate the above headphones:

95 DT990

90 HD205

75 CX300

55 MH1C

40 HT820

#Tired fingers

Scratch