Frequency Response (6.97) 
How a media player performs in terms of audio quality is an important consideration for many, and we test multiple aspects of audio performance to give you this information before you spend your hard-earned money. The first test we do evaluates the media player's frequency response, measuring how accurately it plays back frequencies relative to their actual volume. We test this by loading a specific test file containing sounds at a variety of known frequencies and playing it back while it's connected to our testing system. The testing software analyzes the resulting output from the media player and displays results on a graph. Perfect performance would manifest as a smooth straight line, showing that all frequencies were played back at an equal volume. No player is perfect, so we usually see some variation in this graph showing that some frequencies are played more loudly than others.
The 3rd-generation Shuffle performs fairly well here, its performance on both channels making relatively straight lines up until the very high frequencies where they begin to play back more loudly than they should. Relative to the previous Shuffle model that scored 8.17 points in this area, the new Shuffle's performance isn't quite as good.
Distortion (7.38)
Media players are susceptible to distortion, which is when sounds are distorted from their original wave form during playback. Distortion can be caused by poor internal processing in the media player's electronics or even cheap components that simply don't do a good job to begin with. Similar to the testing we do for frequency response, we load a test file with known sounds on it and play it back while the player is connected to our testing system. The testing system analyzes the output and graphs what the media player puts out compared to the known sounds of the test file.
Perfect performance would manifest as a perfectly straight line at the 0 value on the y-axis, showing that all sounds played showed no variation whatsoever from the known test file. We never see perfect performance, however, and don't expect it.
In this test, the Shuffle does well, showing minimal peaks above 0 along the y-axis, indicating that distortion is fairly low though it increases slightly at higher frequencies. With this performance, only keen-eared audiophiles will hear distortion and the rest of us won't notice anything wrong at all. The new Shuffle out-performs the previous Shuffle, which scored 6.30 points in this test.
Cross Talk (7.91)
Media players put out sound in stereo and should accurately play back audio in their respective correct channels for each of your ears. Not all media players do this well, of course, and sometimes make mistakes in playing back audio on the wrong channel. We test for this by feeding audio into each channel using a standard test file and then measure the media player's output to see if it plays back the audio on the correct channels. When an audio is played back on the wrong channel, this is called cross talk. Here, the Shuffle's cross talk was measured at -65.30 dB. This -65.3 dB is a relative number indicating the ratio of cross talk heard in the "off" channel relative to the level in the "correct" channel. In the end, this means that the Shuffle has little cross talk and performs well in this test, even beating out the previous Shuffle, which scored 7.53 points, by a wee bit.
Output Power (4.06)
The headphones that come with a media player don't usually have the best quality, but before you upgrade to a new pair, you should know whether or not the media player can put out enough power to drive them. Higher-quality headphones usually have higher impedance, meaning that they require more power to operate. We measure a media player's output power to give you an idea of its ability to drive more power-hungry headphones. The Shuffle puts out 16.24 milliwatts, which is low but not entirely surprising for such a small device. Unfortunately, this means the Shuffle won't be able to power headphones that have a high impedance, so consider the power requirements of any 3rd-party headphones you look to buy for use with the Shuffle in the future.
Noise (9.79)
Noise is a specific term in the audio world and indicates the level of other sounds made by the electronics of the media player that are not actually part of the audio it's playing back. To test the amount of noise a media player puts out, we measure the ratio between the audio it puts out using a known test file compared to the noise the player generates as it plays back that file. The lower the value, the less noise a media player puts out. Here, the Shuffle put out -98.80 dB. Like the Cross Talk test result, this is a relative number to show the amount of correct sound put out by a media player compared to the noise it puts out. The previous Shuffle put out -89.12 dB in this test, which is a poorer result since it is a larger relative number, and the new Shuffle beats it here.
Included Headphones (3.3)
As we've mentioned, the headphones included with a media player aren't usually of the highest quality, and we almost always recommend that you purchase a better pair to use with your new media player to get better audio quality. We do test the headphones that come with each media player to see how they perform since most people will use them at first or even for the entire time they own the media player. With the Shuffle, you're pretty restricted when it comes to better headphones at the moment since there isn't anything on the market at the time of this review not made by Apple that offers the in-line playback controls necessary to operate it. If you're looking to upgrade your headphones as soon as you get the Shuffle, you'll need to exhibit a little patience to wait for an adapter or for headphones from a 3rd-party manufacturer that include the controls needed.
As we find with most players, the Shuffle can put out sound better than the included headphones can play back, so you will be better served with higher-quality headphones, whenever this option becomes a possibility...
Wifi / Bluetooth (0.0)
The Shuffle has no wireless connectivity and earns no points in this area.
Music Store Client (0.0)
The Shuffle has no built-in music client through which you can download or purchase music directly on the device, so it earns no points here.
Streaming Audio / Video (0.0)
Without any wireless connectivity, the Shuffle cannot stream audio or video.
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