Be one with your music through a discount noise canceling headphones available at The Speaker Company!

The legendary N91 and N91 8GB are known for their impressive audio quality through their 3.5mm audio jack. The N91 has impressed many with its audio quality that is said to rival any standalone audio players and is also said to belong to one of the best on the market, even after2-3 years after its launch. Yet it manages to do all of this, despite the fact that it’s not just a dedicated audio player. Over the years the N91 and N91 8GB have made way for a smaller device that this time is not only positioned as the best in music, but also the best in gaming: the N81 and N81 8GB. Armed with the equally impressive Shure SE530 In-Ear Monitors I wanted put a question that is asked a lot to rest: what is truly the best sounding Nseries device? The N91 (8GB) or the N81 (8GB)?For reference the N95 8GB was also used.
When I started listening to all three devices one thing became quite obvious: the N95 8GB was definitely not in the same league as the two others. The audio quality was not only lower, but there wasn’t enough volume headroom like on the N91 8GB and N81 8GB. The original N95 would score even lower due to some audio hiss, that isn’t present on the N95 8GB. To put things into perspective, the N95 8GB was quite an improvement when it comes to audio over the classic N95, yet both the N91 8GB and N81 8GB leave the N95 8GB FAR behind in the audio department. The N82 on the other hand slots in nicely between the N95 8GB and N91 8GB/N81 8GB.

I must say that the audio quality on both the N91 8GB and N81 GB is extremely impressive and will easily get the best out of any headphones, earphones or IEM and could easily rival any dedicated audio player on the market. With ample storage capacity, all-in-one functionality and the fact that they could be considered “smart and connected” music players, I personally don’t see any reason to buy a dedicated music player. But which one is the best? First thing worth mentioning is that the N91 8GB and N81 8GB are awfully close when it comes to audio quality and the difference will most likely only be heard on high-end earphones like the Shure SE530. The N91 8GB does however have more audio volume headroom and overall produces a much clearer and dynamic sound. The N91 has an extremely clean output and overall produces the sound as intended, while N81 slightly colors the sound produced. There you have it! When it comes to audio quality, even after 2-3 years on the market, the N91 and N91 8GB are still the best when it comes to audio quality through the 3.5mm audio jack. The N81 and N81 8GB came just slightly below the N91 in terms of audio quality, but we can’t forget that the N81 does present a more convincing and overall smaller package.

I don’t know what Nokia used in the N91, but they should quickly apply that to newer devices as the N81 doesn’t seem to be quite there yet. With the announcement of the N79, N85 and soon-to-be-released N96 I’m wondering (and hoping) that the N91 will finally be dethroned, but honestly I do not expect this to happen. For me, if the N91 had removable storage, I would stick to it and use it as my dedicated music player, until something equal or truly better comes along when it comes to audio quality.