Hardware 3DS Speaker Specs

[dsfanatic5]

I was curious if there were specifications as to the internal speakers of the 3DS. I realize with handhelds that the audio experience is much better with headphones, but with an emphasis on 3D movies, hopefully the built-in speakers will be improved.

Anyone who owned the original DS(Phat) knows that the speakers were more powerful, and gave decent sound without headphones. While the DSLite improved almost everything on the original design, the speaker quality took a huge dive. I don't always like to have headphones on, and could enjoy 3D movies thoroughly if the speakers are of good quality.

Then I'm reminded of the PSP. The PSP had a huge emphasis on UMD movies, and since the system's onboard speakers weren't great for the theatrical experience, many companies made docking stations with amplified speakers to "Enhance" the movie experience. I only wonder if the 3DS is going to see a numerous amount of peripherals trying to provide a better audio experience.

I can't wait until later this month when Nintendo reveals more info.

 

[JonthanD]

I was curious if there were specifications as to the internal speakers of the 3DS. I realize with handhelds that the audio experience is much better with headphones, but with an emphasis on 3D movies, hopefully the built-in speakers will be improved.

Anyone who owned the original DS(Phat) knows that the speakers were more powerful, and gave decent sound without headphones. While the DSLite improved almost everything on the original design, the speaker quality took a huge dive. I don't always like to have headphones on, and could enjoy 3D movies thoroughly if the speakers are of good quality.

Then I'm reminded of the PSP. The PSP had a huge emphasis on UMD movies, and since the system's onboard speakers weren't great for the theatrical experience, many companies made docking stations with amplified speakers to "Enhance" the movie experience. I only wonder if the 3DS is going to see a numerous amount of peripherals trying to provide a better audio experience.

I can't wait until later this month when Nintendo reveals more info.

Hmmm I don't know that the lite has worse speakers then the phat... (own 2 phats and 2 lites) maybe I have tin ears

Anyway I am sure Nintendo will make it "good enough" thats always what they seem to do best.

 

[DigitalDeviant]

The original ds had louder speakers not necessarily better than the ds lite however, most would like the loudness of the original.

 

[MADKATZ99]

The psp's speakers are ridiculously quiet. As long as they're as loud as DS phats I'll be happy. I even cut a big hole out of the front case where the speaker holes are... I don't think it made it any louder but it cured by boredom lol

 

[pachura]

"theatrical experience" ? Aren't you guys expecting too much from a handheld device ? Just use headphones when watching movies...

However, I am hoping that they will improve the sound chip ('codec') to at least match CD-quality (44 kHz, 16-bit). Currently, DS is unable to do so (if I recall, it uses 33 kHz, so even with the best Sennheisers connected it sounds rather mediocre).

 

[Painguy]

i hear the 3DS supports 5.1

 

[pachura]

i hear the 3DS supports 5.1

What's the point of 5.1 ? You want to attach a handheld to your home theater ?

 

[Rydian]

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/17840

Another feature that was updated was the quality of the handheld's sound. In the DSi the team upgraded the IC codec, which is responsible for amplifying sound and converting digital into analog signals. This upgrade allowed for a much louder and better quality sound. Developers, and Iwata himself, were very pleased that this aspect was improved.

And yeah, the DSi's speakers can get way louder than the PSP's at least. Haven't really tested it versus a DS/Lite.

 

[Painguy]

i hear the 3DS supports 5.1

What's the point of 5.1 ? You want to attach a handheld to your home theater ?

lol dont ask me. i just heard that it was capable haha. plus there are some headphones that support 7.1 surround sound.

 

[foob]

And yeah, the DSi's speakers can get way louder than the PSP's at least. Haven't really tested it versus a DS/Lite.

I just loaded some music on my DSi SD card and played the same tracks on the PSP 3000 back-to-back.
I chose the DSi over the DS Lite because the DSi has the better audio of the two (I have a DS Lite too so I have compared).
With that out of the way, the results:

The PSP 3000's speakers sound 'brighter' than the DSi (I ask anyone to do this if they have both units with them so they can prove I'm not talking out of my butt).

The PSP has a more up-front 'brighter' presentation while the DSi tends to emphasize the lower-end more (as much as can be emphasized with those small speakers). So they have taken two slightly different approaches here with the sonic signature. I would bet if anyone were to hear them back-to-back like this, more people would say the PSP was louder. I can guarantee that.

As for sound quality with headphones, Nintendo finally made a unit worth listening to with the DSi (and being able to load your own M4A (AAC) files on it). A nice touch I just discovered is if you disconnect the headphones while the cover is closed and you are playing audio, the unit goes to sleep. Very cool, Nintendo. I hadn't even bothered to play audio on the DS until now, btw

Own audio versus game audio
An important distinction must be made between audio you load yourself and in-game audio. In-game audio tends to be poorer simply 'cause Nintendo use cartridges that contain chips that store data and the more data they have to store, the more storage that must be supplied in each cartridge. The more solid-state storage they have to use, the higher the costs for them. Sony (in my opinion) made the right choice using optical discs which can be pressed very cheaply and there is less pressure on developers to cut corners with content to save costs.

Summary
So anyway, finally Nintendo has made a DS worth playing your music on with the DSi (and I assume the DSi XL, too, which is said to have even better speakers) but game audio will always be game audio: only as good as their encoding quality and sampling rate.

Speakers aren't so different between PSP and DSi, but I would definitely say the PSP is louder due to its 'bright' audio presentation.

 

[Rydian]

Hunh.

 

[foob]

Hunh.

Anyone who has both DSi and PSP 3000 (or others) in their possession, test them. I wanted to test with my PSP 2000 too but can't find it now.

1) He coudn't even cue up the same parts of the track back-to-back. Very hard to listen to.
2) I don't know what player he is using on the DSi (I am using DSi Sound). It's possible the tracks he's playing boosted things more in software.
3) He is recording with a camera with a mic that may or may not accentuate certain frequencies (ie. the frequency response). Use your ears. The Nintendo speakers are less tizzy than the Sony, so that could be translated differently by the cam's mic. More bass, for instance, can come across and be recorded "loud" by a mic.
4) He is using not using a PSP 3000 which I based my tests on.

As I say, test for yourself with your own ears.

I'm sure there are plenty of people here who have both DSi and PSP and who can load the same music on both and play them back-to-back like I did.

 

[Rydian]

That's my video.

At the beginning I played the same song. ABC's The Look of Live (Part I). After that I swapped around different ones to show that different types of music sound different on each system.

I'm using Moonshell2 (as it says in the description) on the DSi, no software boosting.

It's admittedly a shitty camera. XD

Yes, mine is a 2000, I posted it to show that's where I got my original conclusion from.

I said "hunh" because I couldn't get to a proper conclusion myself either.

 

[foob]

Oh it's your vid

I was watching the embedded video so I didn't click to go on YouTube and read the text.

After your response I went and tried things again and I would have to say that sometimes they can be close in perceived volume (depends on the content) but most of the time the PSP clearly sounds louder to me 'cause of the treble 'brightness'.

If I were to say which speakers are more well-balanced across the sonic spectrum...songs with bass sound more natural and accurate in the DSi (sounds funny to even mention bass or accuracy with speakers this small), but hi-hats and whatever can be sort of sound muffled...it's these top-endish bits of the PSP's sound (the tinniness, I guess) that make it sound louder - at least to my ears.

Nintendo wins for 'balance' though, I think.
Perceived volume: Sony.

 

[Midna]

I have a PSP 1000. It's impossible to hear in a noisy environment. But in such a place, when I hold it up to my ear, it sounds loud, but I still can't hear it very well. Does that make sense? Why is that?

 

[dekuleon]

Man, I don't know why, but my PHAT NDS have a very very good sound, better than my friend's PHAT DS, and ways better than any DSL, DSi...

It is very clear, very!

I was lucky!

 

[pachura]

I just want CD-quality output to my headphones (44 kHz, 16-bit), something DS was not capable of.