Onkyo X-B8

[bogon07]

Noticed this at Audiocubes today:

"X-B8 is Onkyo's all new 2005 high quality CD/MD/Tuner Amplifier System features Hi-MD support"

http://www.audiocubes.com/product/Onkyo_X-...ier_System.html

It has "Hi-MD" standard correspondence. So is it really a Hi-MD deck.

Also says the MDsection has a Frequency characteristic: 10Hz - 20kHz

(most of the Sony portables are 20Hz-20kHz).

Sorry looks like this has been around since March2005.

However the frequency characteristic is interesting. With Sony portables having 20Hz-20kHz is it overkill using earphones rated for 5Hz-23kHz ?

Edited September 2, 2005 by bogon07

[greenmachine]

Frequency responses below 20 or above 20000 Hz are - if accurate at all - not of importance since the human hearing struggles to perceive such frequencies anyway. You should pay more attention to what's happening in between the lower and upper limit for an involving experience. Although most playback devices usually have no problems reproducing the whole spectrum more or less linearly, it looks much different with the weakest link of the audio chain - headphones and loudspeakers. Extended frequency responses never tell you the whole truth and are by no means a guarantee for accurate reproduction.

[bogon07]

It does ultimately depend on the state of your hearing abilities and the environment you are listening in.

I was also curious about the actual difference in sound playback between the different Sony portables considering that their specs are similar. Some of the top line ones have digital amps and virtual surround sound which allow more customisation choices but is the basic sound reproduction better.