Anyone else notice the sound is really good on Nook HD?

[sflawguy1]

I've noticed the sound is really good on my Nook HD.  In particular, I stream Pandora and have noticed that the lows come through clearly and the highs are nice and sharp.

Anyone else notice this?

[cindylee60]

I've seen posts that say the sound is awful, but I agree with you. I watch movies all the time on my HD+ and the sound is great! I even have to turn it down a click. With my NC, earbuds were a must, but not with the HD+

[Sandan53]

I agree my sound is great.

[5ivedom]

I think it's better than Color and Tablet.

I've seen mixed results. Some music sounds very good and some only sounds decent.

[patgolfneb]

I think the early negative responses were from those for whom sound, especially music is a top priority. With limited power, no speaker enclosure, rear close together placement, high quality music is almost impossible without add on speakers. 

My expectations were more modest. After the updates movies, especially the spoken parts are good,  and movie background music better than I expected, certainly better than my Xoom was. Volume on netflix is still a bit low but fine everywhere else so I believe this is a Netflix issue.

[sflawguy1]

I should have mentioned that I use headphones.  The built-in speakers are fine, but I typically use some Jabra Bluetooth headphones.

[5ivedom]

Interesting. Sflawguy1. I just bought a new pair of headphones that can be used with Nook HD+ (hopefully). I'll try those and report back.

I think the bar has shifted a bit because Amazon put a lot of focus into speakers with the new Kindle Fire HD.

However, what you point out is key i.e. it's pretty important to see if sound quality is very good with headphones.

We almost have two sets of use cases -

1) Those who'll be using it around the house with speakers only.

2) Those who'll use either headphones or external speakers (whether at home or when out and about).

I find the Kindle Fire HD is very good, HD 8.9" is good but not great, Nook HD+ and HD are also good but not great.

I'm not an audiophile so I can't quantify it. However, it's pretty clear that Fire HD has far better speakers than any other Tablet (iPad included). It's the first time I've seen anyone put a lot of focus on speakers. Makes you wonder what percentage of people buying Tablets care about speaker quality to that extent.

[sflawguy1]

I guess I don't expect much from a portable device's speakers.  Through Bluetooth the Nook sounds great over headphones and speakers.

[Wulfraed]

Expecting good /stereo/ from a device that has both landscape and portrait modes would require at least three speakers, and switching between two pairs depending on orientation (and the landscape orientation would even have to switch between deosil and widdershins rotations to handle the common changes for left-handed vs right-handed users).

Otherwise you end up with a pair of speakers located on opposite corners, and an effect in which one side will always be lower (altitude, not pitch) than the other side. Would you set up a stereo system with one speaker on the ceiling and the other on the floor?

[patgolfneb]

So we should bring back quadraphone?