5 ms·

SoundFocus (YC S13) launches Amp iPhone audio case

62 points by garry 12y ago

tmuir 12y ago
No one stacks shit taller than audio hardware companies. Warm rich bass on a half square inch speaker? 24-bit DAC to faithfully reproduce your lossy audio files? Come on.
- stoev 12y ago
  While the claim about "warm rich bass" on those small speakers is definitely an exaggeration, there are many Hi-Fi headphones that benefit from a portable amp-DAC combination. Many people are already carrying extra devices in their pockets for this purpose, so why not integrate tyem with the phone? "Amp measures your hearing pattern so it can tailor to your ears" - this could also be very interesting. Especially if combined with frequency response data for a large database of headphones that would customise the sound for each one of them. I think that it is an interesting idea with a lot of potential and am looking forward to seeing whether the actual product is good enough and catches on.
  - varunsrin 12y ago
    Hey stoev - Amp founder here. Great comments, tailoring to your hearing pattern and headphones is a big part of what we focus on in addition to your environment, and I'm glad you're excited by it. Music, and audio in general, has traditionally been mastered for 'ideal' studio conditions, which are perfect listening environments. In the real world, a lot of people are listening to their iPod earbuds while walking down a busy streets and have less than perfect hearing, which completely negates a lot of the hard work that the studio engineers put into the mastering process. Look at any live event where audio plays a big role - you almost always have a sound engineer leveling and remixing sound, so that the little details shine through as the environment changes constantly. We're automating that process , and bringing it to your phone, so you can enjoy great sound no matter where you are. Speaking to the speakers specifically, we've done a lot of work with our DSP engine and acoustics to really reinforce the sound in the low 200 - 300 Hz range, which is where a lot of the warmth perception comes from. There are a lot of really cool acoustical tricks you can play with resonances and backflow volumes - its not just the speaker driver itself, but what you do with the enclosure and the volume behind the speaker that makes a huge difference.
    - dmritard96 12y ago
      'has traditionally been mastered for 'ideal' studio conditions' - really? I thought things were mastered for the format often times...
      - serf 12y ago
        They are, and that's the point of reference monitors that are capable of 'modeling', an engineer can have a single pair of monitors which can change dynamics to mimic the specifications of more common consumer equipment or environments in order to achieve a well-rounded experience for whoever your target consumer is.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
    - stoev 12y ago
      There seems to be a large demand for a device like the Pono player, which I'm sure is great, but is not very practical - nobody needs to carry a separate player when they already have a phone with plenty of memory. Although I only listen to lossless files at home, I am certain that their benefit over regular 320 kbps mp3s on a noisy street are nonexistent. What the audiophile consumer needs is a good portable amp/DAC that would drive even high impedance headphones and that's what I like about your product. Speaking of audiophile consumers, I tink that it would be great if you could offer two separate verisions of your product: 1. The full version that you have just released. 2. A second version, specifically aimed at people who only care about HiFi sound coming through their headphones. I don't really care about the speakers as they will never replace a proper audio system. To me they are just taking up space and it would be great if I could buy the rest of the technology in a smaller package. One more question - I guess you'll offer Amp with a separate music player iOS app. It will probably run a few hearing tests in a quiet environment and that's how it will adopt to one's hearing. If so, will it also support various headphones? Not having to EQ the Beyerdynamic DT1350 and other cans with weird frequency response would be very helpful and will make your app bring the best out of any pair of headphones.
      - 12y ago
- anigbrowl 12y ago
  The amazing thing is that people keep buying the bullshit, allowing companies to get away with nonsense like 'Quantities are limited. Pre-order your AMP today.' ...like they're only going to manufacture enough to meet a fraction of the market demand. I can't believe YC invested in this, but OTOH it will probably turn a profit even thought it's nonsense.
timfrietas 12y ago
I'm at a loss for why this is targeted for iPhone and not tablets. At least for me tablets are in the uncanny valley where they are large enough to be used for media consumption (i.e. watching Netflix in bed) AND the speakers are too small/weak so I am annoyed by the sound quality. The iPhone DACs are fine for 99% of mp3 headphone listeners and most cars/aftermarket car stereos have integrated Bluetooth nowadays if you want to take your calls on even bigger speakers.
beedogs 12y ago
So it's already obsolete? This is for the 5s. Also, honestly, anyone who plays music on their phone in public is kind of a dickhead.
- matznerd 12y ago
  Your comment is already obsolete. I wouldn't be so quick to judge, with both of your points... In regards to phone models: "What phone models does Amp support? Amp is designed for the iPhone 5, 5s, 6 and 6 plus." As for your second comment, what about people who want to play music from their phone while by the pool or in their backyard or at a small gathering? I personally listen to a meditation each morning and have to use an external bluetooth speaker so this looks pretty useful to me.

62 points by garry 12y ago

tmuir 12y ago

No one stacks shit taller than audio hardware companies. Warm rich bass on a half square inch speaker? 24-bit DAC to faithfully reproduce your lossy audio files? Come on.

stoev 12y ago
While the claim about "warm rich bass" on those small speakers is definitely an exaggeration, there are many Hi-Fi headphones that benefit from a portable amp-DAC combination. Many people are already carrying extra devices in their pockets for this purpose, so why not integrate tyem with the phone? "Amp measures your hearing pattern so it can tailor to your ears" - this could also be very interesting. Especially if combined with frequency response data for a large database of headphones that would customise the sound for each one of them. I think that it is an interesting idea with a lot of potential and am looking forward to seeing whether the actual product is good enough and catches on.
- varunsrin 12y ago
  Hey stoev - Amp founder here. Great comments, tailoring to your hearing pattern and headphones is a big part of what we focus on in addition to your environment, and I'm glad you're excited by it. Music, and audio in general, has traditionally been mastered for 'ideal' studio conditions, which are perfect listening environments. In the real world, a lot of people are listening to their iPod earbuds while walking down a busy streets and have less than perfect hearing, which completely negates a lot of the hard work that the studio engineers put into the mastering process. Look at any live event where audio plays a big role - you almost always have a sound engineer leveling and remixing sound, so that the little details shine through as the environment changes constantly. We're automating that process , and bringing it to your phone, so you can enjoy great sound no matter where you are. Speaking to the speakers specifically, we've done a lot of work with our DSP engine and acoustics to really reinforce the sound in the low 200 - 300 Hz range, which is where a lot of the warmth perception comes from. There are a lot of really cool acoustical tricks you can play with resonances and backflow volumes - its not just the speaker driver itself, but what you do with the enclosure and the volume behind the speaker that makes a huge difference.
  - dmritard96 12y ago
    'has traditionally been mastered for 'ideal' studio conditions' - really? I thought things were mastered for the format often times...
    - serf 12y ago
      They are, and that's the point of reference monitors that are capable of 'modeling', an engineer can have a single pair of monitors which can change dynamics to mimic the specifications of more common consumer equipment or environments in order to achieve a well-rounded experience for whoever your target consumer is.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - stoev 12y ago
    There seems to be a large demand for a device like the Pono player, which I'm sure is great, but is not very practical - nobody needs to carry a separate player when they already have a phone with plenty of memory. Although I only listen to lossless files at home, I am certain that their benefit over regular 320 kbps mp3s on a noisy street are nonexistent. What the audiophile consumer needs is a good portable amp/DAC that would drive even high impedance headphones and that's what I like about your product. Speaking of audiophile consumers, I tink that it would be great if you could offer two separate verisions of your product: 1. The full version that you have just released. 2. A second version, specifically aimed at people who only care about HiFi sound coming through their headphones. I don't really care about the speakers as they will never replace a proper audio system. To me they are just taking up space and it would be great if I could buy the rest of the technology in a smaller package. One more question - I guess you'll offer Amp with a separate music player iOS app. It will probably run a few hearing tests in a quiet environment and that's how it will adopt to one's hearing. If so, will it also support various headphones? Not having to EQ the Beyerdynamic DT1350 and other cans with weird frequency response would be very helpful and will make your app bring the best out of any pair of headphones.
    - 12y ago
anigbrowl 12y ago
The amazing thing is that people keep buying the bullshit, allowing companies to get away with nonsense like 'Quantities are limited. Pre-order your AMP today.' ...like they're only going to manufacture enough to meet a fraction of the market demand. I can't believe YC invested in this, but OTOH it will probably turn a profit even thought it's nonsense.

timfrietas 12y ago

I'm at a loss for why this is targeted for iPhone and not tablets. At least for me tablets are in the uncanny valley where they are large enough to be used for media consumption (i.e. watching Netflix in bed) AND the speakers are too small/weak so I am annoyed by the sound quality. The iPhone DACs are fine for 99% of mp3 headphone listeners and most cars/aftermarket car stereos have integrated Bluetooth nowadays if you want to take your calls on even bigger speakers.

beedogs 12y ago

So it's already obsolete? This is for the 5s. Also, honestly, anyone who plays music on their phone in public is kind of a dickhead.

matznerd 12y ago
Your comment is already obsolete. I wouldn't be so quick to judge, with both of your points... In regards to phone models: "What phone models does Amp support? Amp is designed for the iPhone 5, 5s, 6 and 6 plus." As for your second comment, what about people who want to play music from their phone while by the pool or in their backyard or at a small gathering? I personally listen to a meditation each morning and have to use an external bluetooth speaker so this looks pretty useful to me.