Database Users

Sound quality in speakerphone and headphone jack subpar.

Hi guys,
I recently purchased two G2's over the weekend for my wife and I and overall I am pretty impressed with it. We both unfortunately got loose hinges with ours that we may worry about getting fixed later but our big concerns are sound.
I used my speakerphone a lot and while I read the sound was tinny I was rather shocked once I used it. Not only is it tinny but the sound cuts in and out with the volume pegged. My CDMA Hero sounded much better and achieved a higher output.
Also the headphone jack seems overly bass filled and muffled. I used my pandora a lot played through my car stereo and this newer uber phone sounds worse than my hero. Have any of you experienced similar things? Are these problems a firmware update can fix or is it hardware related?
We love the G2 but the audio quality might be a deal breaker. Have 12 days to decide.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

EDIT: I guess I jumped the gun, should've guessed that there was more coming... my bad.
Revised! Reviews showed the same experience with the speakerphone; unfortunately it's something we'll all have to deal with. There might be apps made to adjust sound ouput, but I believe it's mainly the hardware.
As for the headphone jack, I can't speak from any personal experience, but my audiophile of a friend simply uses a more powerful music app to adjust the sound to very fine details. I can't recall the app, but give that a shot.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Finger hit submit button before I was even started lol.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

I agree with you on the speakerphone, but I was expecting this from experience with my N1.
As for the audio quality, I've found it to be much much better than my N1 as it was rather lacking in the bass department on the freq response graph and in the upper ends, though my headphones naturally make it flat. The G2 sounds much closer to a flat EQ, but it could be me and my headphones again.
Also, I believe the music app in question is MixZing as it is the only one out there with an EQ built in.

the speakerphone does leave something to be desired but it seems like after a week or so, it breaks into a more acceptable quality (not great but not terrible or a dealbreaker). As for the headphone jack, I've only used it with my grado sr80i so it sounds amazing as always =)

I read a few complaints about the speakers before I even recieved the phone. When I tried it out once I got it, I can't really hear a difference between the G2's speakerphone and the Slides. They both sound similar to me. I don't really have any complaints. Maybe I'm just getting old...

I had a BB9700 and all I have to say is that HTC speakerphones are HORRIBLE!
I love my new G2 but the speakers are probably one of the biggest turnoffs

I think I'm going to go back to my Samsung vibrant.
that phone was great.
I will miss the keyboard though

I'm not really one to use the speaker, but I did have some times having it on while listening to Pandora. I can't compare the quality to anything else, but I'm having no issues with it.
I just need another pair of Bose in-ear headphones and I'll be set! Last one, the wires toward the jack got loose and the sound is abysmal. Two years of service though.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

I love this phone but omg, the speaker does S U C K ! My tp2 had a rockin speaker. I was playing with it earlier and man the sound it put out while playing music. Wish phone makers would stay with what's good. Put that speaker hardware in here? That'll be somethin.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

scrizz said:
I think I'm going to go back to my Samsung vibrant.
that phone was great.
I will miss the keyboard though
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The speaker on the G2 is awful, might be a dealbreaker. I'm tempted to switch to the Vibrant as well. My husband has the Vibrant and his video and speaker playback is outstanding, makes my G2 speakers sound like a screech box

I gotta say I was disappointed with my speakers on the G1... I'm a little disappionted with the speakers on this phone too.

I'll have to say that I like the G2 sound quality allot better than the G1 for sure. I am hearing impaired (but not completely deaf). The default ringer is waay louder and I am impressed that I can hear my phone further than I could with the G1! Before, people would tell me my phone is ringing when when i don't feel the vibrations for some reason.
As for the phone jack. It did make me smile when using it with my FM modulator in my car. My car stock system isn't that great to begin with but at near max volume, my speakers sounded distorted with the G1 (thought it was the FM transition). But with the G2, I noticed that it seems to 'bump' allot better at near high volume.. it seems to rock for me
Now I am not saying that the G2 is all that as for sounds, just that it is noticeably better than the G1 as according to my ears. I have not tried it as a speaker phone but most phones seem to suck at that to me anyhow.

audioquality - really that bad? will 2.2 bring some improvements?

Hey Folks!!
I´ve read a lot about the very poor audio quality with the streak...what do you "initiated" guys can tell me about this (aside from the fact that they have positioned the audiojack on the SIDE of the device )? How would you rate the possibility to use this device as my no.1 mp3 player?
Will the update that everybody is waiting for compensate this issue?

Hi brooon
Well i don't know why you think the Streak has poor audio quality as that most certainly isn't my experience of using it to play my Music on and whilst i was on 1.6 i was more than happy using the Music player that was built into the Streak as i liked the Music Widget that came with it. Since moving to 2.1 and 2.2 Custom Roms i am using Lithium Player as like the Widget options it gives and i have no need for an EQ as have never used one on any device i use.
What is far more important IMO is how well you encode your Music as using low bit rates are never going to give you great results however good the hardware may be its restricted by to little information to work with when decoding it. All my Music is kept in iTunes although bought on Cd's and then transferred to it @256kbps AAC. The second most important factor is then your in ear phones as the supplied ones with any equipment are adequate at best IMO so dependant on your budget and the sound you like to hear upgrading your in ear or head phones is the other thing that will effect the quality of what you are listening to.
I listen to at least 2 hrs a day of Music either with my Shure EC2g's in ear phones plugged directly into my Streak or using my Nokia BH-500 and streaming the Stereo via Bluetooth to the same in ear phones and the sound is nothing short of stunning IMO. It produces a rich and full sound with good separation and sound stage with no need to use an EQ as IMO you shouldn't need to boost any frequencies as thats what a producer does when recording the Music for you to listen to in the recording studio.
So in answer to your question do nothing as I'm already running 2.2 and despite now using Lithium Player for the Widget options i have no issues with the sound quality my Streak delivers whilst listening to music or watching Videos.
Marc

brooon said:
I´ve read a lot about the very poor audio quality with the streak...[...]
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Where have you read it?
Streak has the best audio quality of all the devices I owned during last years. I was amazed when I first plugged the earphones and played some tunes.

Theres a lot of fud around.....
I'd agree with smoku it's the best (although the speaker isn't great maybe that's what he read)
I'm now using power amp for all my music needs, the eq in there really brings out the best of the sound quality on the streak... It even plays m4a and wma and can boost the sound level out of the rear speaker

This is a valid thread, thanks for starting it.
For my part I am interested in portable audiophile gear, Sennheiser IE8 with custom moulds, iBasso D10, iRiver H140, that sort of thing.
My music is encoded in FLAC and I haven’t yet tried the Streak as a music player. Possibly in part so as not to be disappointed and also I am waiting on final 2.2 or maybe even 2.3 so as to bring the platform to maturity and with it good quality media apps. The original 1.6 just seemed to be rough around the edges and with poor app support.
So the responses from Dogmann, smoku and fards are very encouraging and I shall give it go sooner rather than later.

i use the hf2,s from emotec and you need a diff player to play flac but the sound quality is ok just the standared head set that come with its pants

I think 2.2 has increased the sound quality for the speaker but still not good as HTC tilt2. The sound from earphone jack is good on both 1.6 and 2.2 for me.

im using a pair of klipsch images and the sound on my streak sounds horrible. I hear alot of popping and noise. You can even hear when the internal amp comes on when its about to start playing sound, and you can hear it turn off when sounds go off its rather noticable. I recently installed poweramp and the inbuilt eq does make the sound alot better. Maybe all our streaks aren't created equal id love to hear one that sounds good.

hi @all!!
Thanks for the comments and experiences, your impressions are really helping a lot here guys
shigga said:
I hear alot of popping and noise. You can even hear when the internal amp comes on when its about to start playing sound, and you can hear it turn off when sounds go off its rather noticable.
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That´s what i´ve read several times in reports that i´ve found during my googletrip ...it seems like you´re not the only one suffering under these (audio)circumstances. I must say, Im very surprised about the positive impressions here (although I´m happy to read such things )?!?
Don´t you guys hear those "poppings" and noises, too? What could be the reason for such a variety of impressions? Any idea?

This thread comes straight from the android knockers over at ilounge! i've owned both, there's no difference! i read the same stuff before i got android.
The only thing about the stereo system on the streak is the incredibly stupid placement of the headphone jack on the side of the device, meaning it sticks out sideways when in your pocket, the 'designers' even thought that you would carry the streak around in your pocket in landscape mode

tbh I'm not an audiophile, I've been a musician for way too long
never heard popping or buzz... except intentional as part of whatever I'm listening to..

My Streak does sound real good, even when listening to classical music. And I am using it straight out of the box.

Crap statement. It's not spectacular, but for a mobile phone device it's very satisfactory. I use it as a player both in my car and when I'm on the train and it sounds phenomenal.

Obviously it is not spectacular, lol. How could the sound on such a small device ever be spectacular? I was comparing it to other mobile devices (my wife's iPhone 3G, my old HTCs) and I am pleasantly surprised.

I switched to bluetooth headphones and they deliver much better sound quality, than the original streak's earplugs.

HansTWN said:
Obviously it is not spectacular, lol. How could the sound on such a small device ever be spectacular? I was comparing it to other mobile devices (my wife's iPhone 3G, my old HTCs) and I am pleasantly surprised.
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Didn't mean to directly attack your statement . I'm actually agreeing with you, I think the sound quality is good on the Streak, and I'm calling the "reviewers" who said that the sound is bad on the Streak crap.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Its weird there is such differing opinions on it.
I've owned two and returned both for bad audio. I even had an email from the executive support team saying they're aware of an audio issue!
I just wondered whether maybe, as mine were both from the very first Carphone Warehouse batch in Brighton that I got a bum lot!?

Just tried the demo display at my local best buy and brought my earbuds and it sounded equally as bad as mine. My captivate, aria and nexus sound so much better.

shigga said:
im using a pair of klipsch images and the sound on my streak sounds horrible. I hear alot of popping and noise. You can even hear when the internal amp comes on when its about to start playing sound, and you can hear it turn off when sounds go off its rather noticable. I recently installed poweramp and the inbuilt eq does make the sound alot better. Maybe all our streaks aren't created equal id love to hear one that sounds good.
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This is my only gripe with the audio quality. If you listen at low volumes, you can hear fuzz/hiss sounds. I also can hear the amp/DAC/whatever it is turning on and off when I start/stop my music. Course, you can crank up the music to drown out the noise, but I like to be able to hear what's going on around me when i listen to music (so the yard gnomes et al can't sneak up on me.)
If you're in a reasonably quiet room, try playing some music with headphones and the volume turned all the way down to 0 (yes, zero). I can hear audio noise over the sound of my apartment heater blowing air around.
side note: I've confirmed this with the earbuds that came with the streak, as well as a set that came with my old iphone. i'm guessing if you have less sensitive headphones, this will be less of a problem cause you'll be pushing the audio out at higher volume levels.

After the encouraging observations here I decided to finally check out the sound quality for myself. My reference portable rig is a pair of Sennheiser IE8’s with custom ear moulds, iBasso D10 Headphone amplifier with an optical digital interconnect to an iRiver H140.
The music I like tends to be recorded as low-fi, e.g. The National, Bon Iver, Cymbals Eat Guitars. Last night I loaded up a selection of Calexico on both the Streak and iRiver. While these are clean recordings they are certainly not Hi-Fi reference standard, you know, the sort of stuff that is used to demonstrate high end audiophile equipment.
Basically my subjective comparison is just me listening to the sort of music that appeals. The cognoscenti over at Head-Fi may well have finer tuned ears and a more analytical framework and disagree of course.
I approached this with some trepidation bracing myself for a degree of disappointment in the Streak as a music player. No way did I expect what I found.
To summarise, given the choice of listening to the iRiver/iBasso rig or the Streak I would probably select the former. However I would be hard pressed to actually explain why. Perhaps because it has the ability to go louder - though the Streak is quite loud enough.
TBH after a couple of hours listening to the same tracks back and forth on both devices, I couldn’t discern any difference. Dell has really come through on this device in so many ways.
Kudos also to PowerAmp which is a joy to use and a bargain at $5.
For reference, the last time I performed this exercise was to compare with my old iPhone 3GS and there was no doubt then that the iRiver/iBasso was superior. I can’t say the same with the Streak, the best I can manage is ‘neck and neck’.
I am sorry for those who are having audio problems but this shouldn’t be so and your device could be faulty.

Why do people complain about G2 Speakers?

I don't get it.
Try and follow the logic.
You want to hear some good quality music...
so you decide to use a cellphone's built in speaker instead of an audiophile headphone or portable speakers.
What is the point?
I mean, first of all, if you want to listen to HQ music on anything other than a dedicated mp3 player (iPod does NOT count, I'm talking about something like Samsung YP-P2 or YP-P3, or the Cowon S9), it is absolute redundant.
I can't even eloquently express my confusion at you people.
Like, obviously the cell phone speakers are naturally gonna be shiet compared to real ones, or even small little portable ones for that matter.
So if you use them, of course it is gonna be ****ty, so why complain?
And if you really do want high quality music, then you wouldn't be using a cellphone for media playback nor using the built in speakers to do the job.
It's like saying, oh man, this Toyota Corolla does soooo bad on the racing track.

Lol. Because complaining is fun, I guess.
I remember the ads for the desire hd claiming that it had "quality stereo sound." Anybody taken a test listen?
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Ok. There's some of us that aren't audiophiles. So we resort to our phones speaker. Of course you can't expect great ear busting speakers but I mean CMON! Htcs giving us what seems like desire hds blown out garbage. Not cool bro
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

I wish they would start putting the speakers on the side, because its quite pointless to have the audio from a video or a game pointed away from you.

If you had a Touch Pro 2 before the Desire Z/ G2, you would understand the reason why I complain. I am not too fussed about the sound quality, It is the output that is too low both on the speaker and through the earphones.

lombardo8 said:
If you had a Touch Pro 2 before the Desire Z/ G2, you would understand the reason why I complain. I am not too fussed about the sound quality, It is the output that is too low both on the speaker and through the earphones.
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Aren't there kernels available for your phone that increase Max volume? And dsp manager works for eq. Dunno if dsp is in market, or just on the forum. Most roms I flash for my Evo come with it, and the kernels I flash come with audio gain.
Sorry, I haven't checked your guys forum, just accidentally stumbled across this thread.
sent from my EVOlving virus nugget

lombardo8 said:
If you had a Touch Pro 2 before the Desire Z/ G2, you would understand the reason why I complain. I am not too fussed about the sound quality, It is the output that is too low both on the speaker and through the earphones.
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I have to agree a bit here. I'm no audiophile, but enjoy listening to music. I don't expect any super high quality from a cell phone speaker. But you don't have to be an audiophile to notice the speaker quality is not great. And the main reason others complain is that other cell phones do it better. The HTC Touch Pro 2 is a very similar phone in many ways (same manufacturer, similar size, some of the same features like the landscape hardware keyboard) but has a somewhat better sounding speaker. So HTC did it better before. The Vision is a step forward in so many ways, but a slight step backward in terms of the speaker. And the sound quality applies to the speaker phone, not just playing music.
Although I would stop short of actually "complaining" about the speaker quality. Its still pretty adequate for the times I want to listen to music or use the speaker phone, and can't (or don't want to) connect to an external speaker or headphones. It doesn't really detract much at all from the fact that I absolutely love my Desire Z!

scottspa74 said:
Aren't there kernels available for your phone that increase Max volume? And dsp manager works for eq. Dunno if dsp is in market, or just on the forum. Most roms I flash for my Evo come with it, and the kernels I flash come with audio gain.
Sorry, I haven't checked your guys forum, just accidentally stumbled across this thread.
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The speaker already sounds pretty tinny when the volume is maxed out. I don't know if increasing the max volume would do much, but distort the sound even more. But a decent equalizer might make the speaker at least sound better. DSP Manager is not a market app, it needs to be flashed. And I've read posts that the flashable DSP Manager doesn't work on the Vision. You either have to flash a custom ROM that includes it, or possibly do some heavy tinkering to get DSP Manager to work.

Its not really a speaker to begin with.
ITS A RINGER!!!
Its purpose is to make a NOISE that you can identify as the PHONE RINGING. That is ALL.

dhkr123 said:
Its not really a speaker to begin with.
ITS A RINGER!!!
Its purpose is to make a NOISE that you can identify as the PHONE RINGING. That is ALL.
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Uh, no. Smartphones for years have had speakers designed for playing music and for use as a speakerphone. Even most dumbphones have a speaker for speakerphone use. Obviously the small size is not meant to replace larger speakers. But its decent to use for playing music. Just not as good as many other phones.

when i use speaker phone they arent loud enough sometimes
when i use the phone normally to my ear the speaker isnt loud enough sometimes
any other questions?
not everyone is complaining about the "playing music" aspect.

redpoint73 said:
Uh, no. Smartphones for years have had speakers designed for playing music and for use as a speakerphone. Even most dumbphones have a speaker for speakerphone use. Obviously the small size is not meant to replace larger speakers. But its decent to use for playing music. Just not as good as many other phones.
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No, it isn't. Its a RINGER. NOTHING MORE.

dhkr123 said:
No, it isn't. Its a RINGER. NOTHING MORE.
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You think just saying something in caps magically makes it fact?
The phone is equipped with a speakerphone, therefore its a speaker. You're the only one here that thinks its a "ringer".
You can call it whatever you want. Doesn't change the fact that other phones have better sounding "ringers" including the past generation of similar HTC phone.

dhkr123 said:
No, it isn't. Its a RINGER. NOTHING MORE.
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What exactly is a ringer? Is this another term for a buzzer (like a piezoelectric or magnetic) that I'm not familiar with?
The last time I heard the term ringer as it applied to a design component was for the old mechanical bell ringers used in landline phones (a long time ago). And as far as I know, landline phones nowadays all use tone ringer circuitry connected to either a buzzer or a speaker. Also, buzzers cannot be used to produce music (they require a square wave to produce noise as opposed to the sine waves used by speakers).
I was also under the impression that all modern cell phones used a speaker (just with varying degrees of cost/quality of the speaker itself and the type of amplification circuitry used, if any at all).

For me, I'm complaining about the lack of volume when using the speakerphone in call. Music wise, it doesn't bother me, but phone call wise, it does.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

The speakers on the Galaxy S phones are actually good for audio/video playback.

They have to do something good....

I too noticed that my G1 had a far better loudspeaker, in both quality and volume once rooted and using Audiohack. The G2 speaker at about 3/4ths volume starts to sound like the speaker is blown. I tried everything and nothing seems to help this.
Try calling 611 for tmobile and put it on loudspeaker, I can almost guarantee it will be just about useless at anything over half. It is noticeably worse for actual conversation as opposed to music, but even music is far worse than the previous androids I've owned.
Any word on a physical mod to improve this?

Gigamaster89 said:
The speakers on the Galaxy S phones are actually good for audio/video playback.
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blunted09 said:
They have to do something good....
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They do. Hardware components. AMOLED Screens, decent speakers, Gorilla glass, great chips/GPUs. They just can't program for ****. Nor can they design an original looking phone - er, hello iPhone 3G/Samsung Galaxy S. Even their latest Galaxy Cooper is a blatant copy of the iPhone 4.

Gigamaster89 said:
The speakers on the Galaxy S phones are actually good for audio/video playback.
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Yes. Hardware wise you can't get anything better than a galaxy S. Software wise they suck If it wasn't for XDA they'd be worthless light bricks
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Poor Sound Myth on SGSII

I've noticed 1 or 2 posts relating to poor sound on the SGSII particularly when it comes to music, well for me the sound was absolutely fine actually it was excellent, i just used the Samsung earphones all the time, unfortunately the other day i lost them so before i get another good pair im just using cheap ones i had lying around the house and the sound is nowhere near as good as it was in fact it's pretty awful when your walking down the street you can hear the traffic more than you can the music, with the Samsung earphones it was mostly the music you could hear the sound was far far better,therefore ive come to the conclusion that there's nothing wrong with the sound on the SGSII, good pair of earphones = sound is great - cheap pair of earphones = sound is bad.

jonny68 said:
good pair of earphones = sound is great - cheap pair of earphones = sound is bad.
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Did you pay a lot of money for your Samsung earphones? Mine were pretty cheap...came free with the phone

TheSopranos16 said:
Did you pay a lot of money for your Samsung earphones? Mine were pretty cheap...came free with the phone
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No exactly the same ones i use Power Amp and Equalizer and since the 2.3.5 upgrade the sound has improved substantially.
I'm not one for spending a lot on earphones as im prone to losing them id say max id spend would be about €20 but for that you will get pretty decent earphones.

I agree, the supplied Samsung earbuds are superb, since i changed from the medium bud size to the small size they stay in my ears better, they cut most of the worldside sounds out and allow for pure music listening, the use of equalizer is also superb, although can create a little background noise when songs go quiet if not setup correctly, compared to the lousy iphone earphones and some others you get supplied with phones, these are very good, I am more than happy with the sound from my SGS2, bluetooth sound is superb also.

I actually think those Samsung earphones were that good ill buy them again, was there a specific model number i need to search for/any recommendations as to where i can purchase these?

Ok i'm getting pissed now. You guys seriously have to pull your head out of your ass. Obviously you have never listened to music on a Cowon or some other *decent* music player if you come here and state such bull****. The SGS2 has a mid-to-low audio quality (for a phone, which means very low for a dedicated media player), period. Sure it sounds a little bit better when i plug my Shure SE425 into it, but i shouldn't need a pair of 300€ earbuds to make a 600€ device sound decent at most. The output is totally FLAT, heading slightly towards the low tone, so that it sounds muffled and dirty, plus the stereo crosstalk is quite insane. This is a fact, i'm not pulling this out of my ass, read the Anandtech review about this device (focus on audio) if you don't believe me, they say pretty much what i said here.
Quit calling bs what you can't understand because you don't have a clue. Noobs.
/endrant

vnvman said:
Ok i'm getting pissed now. You guys seriously have to pull your head out of your ass. Obviously you have never listened to music on a Cowon or some other *decent* music player if you come here and state such bull****. The SGS2 has a mid-to-low audio quality (for a phone, which means very low for a dedicated media player), period. Sure it sounds a little bit better when i plug my Shure SE425 into it, but i shouldn't need a pair of 300€ earbuds to make a 600€ device sound decent at most. The output is totally FLAT, heading slightly towards the low tone, so that it sounds muffled and dirty, plus the stereo crosstalk is quite insane. This is a fact, i'm not pulling this out of my ass, read the Anandtech review about this device (focus on audio) if you don't believe me, they say pretty much what i said here.
Quit calling bs what you can't understand because you don't have a clue. Noobs.
/endrant
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This post is harsh, but I have to agree with it completely. The samsung earphones are awesome? Wow. Now that's the joke of the year.

I apologize for the harshness, i also had quite a bad day lol...but seriously, there's too much fanboyism going on about this phone. I love my phone, but i have no problem admitting its flaws. This forum is for developers, people here should at least try to cope with reality

Fanboyism you nutter no mate im telling it as it is actually and it's true, because i might not have listened to music on a "cowon" means jack **** i know good sound when i hear it and the facts are with the Samsung earphones using Power Amp and Equalizer the sound is actually excellent and that's all there is to it, and i highly doubt the Sammy earphones cost mega bucks either.

m2smoe said:
This post is harsh, but I have to agree with it completely. The samsung earphones are awesome? Wow. Now that's the joke of the year.
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Your post is joke of the year, simple facts are the sound is awesome with the Sammy earphones coupled with Power Amp and Equalizer with everything correctly set, maybe your going deaf or something

You're joking me? The Samsung earphones are abysmal. I use a $50 pair of Sony in-ears and they sounds about a million times better. Invest in a good pair of earphones and then you'll see what we mean.

I also had a pair of Sennheiser CX300(which i also lost) for another MP3 player i have and used them on the SGSII and while they were good i still thought the Sammy headphones were better overall.
Also i credit the 2.3.5 upgrade with a substantial improvement in sound.

MistaBishi said:
You're joking me? The Samsung earphones are abysmal. I use a $50 pair of Sony in-ears and they sounds about a million times better. Invest in a good pair of earphones and then you'll see what we mean.
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I'm not joking you at all there is absolutely nothing wrong with them whatsoever, they are excellent, fu*k me you people must be right snobs when it comes to "absolute perfect sound"
go buy yourself a paid of Bose speakers while your at it eh

I have to agree with vnvman, i hear the same music with GS2 and with my PC using the same earbuds, i can't say they are superb but they isn't bad also, at least for me.
The phone, on the other hand, is impossible to find an equalizer that makes the music clear, it's not about loudness, bass or treble, is about the sound being "weird" compared to other devices.

As i said the Sennheiser earphones i had which were not particularly cheap STILL didn't sound as good as the Sammy ones and Sennheiser are renowned for quality earphones so anyone saying to me "invest in a good pair of earphones" i already did.

Heh, each to their own.
Replacement buds would be hard to source, I don't reckon they sell them separate from the GSII. Unless someone on the forum here had a pair they didn't want, I reckon you're out of luck.

jonny68 said:
Your post is joke of the year, simple facts are the sound is awesome with the Sammy earphones coupled with Power Amp and Equalizer with everything correctly set, maybe your going deaf or something
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Read the 10000 posts about them on XDA and find out why you're the one who's going deaf.

im not sure if you read this
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4686/samsung-galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined
but on the hardware level the sound chip is bad
but with my experience i used an Audio Technica ATH-A700 Headphones with my phone and it was amazing (played making of a cyborg (high bitrate))
then used the headphones on my yamaha 671 reciever amp playing it through a high end media player
and i really cant tell the difference

m2smoe said:
Read the 10000 posts about them on XDA and find out why you're the one who's going deaf.
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read 10000 posts i think your losing your marbles mate

jonny68 said:
Fanboyism you nutter no mate im telling it as it is actually and it's true, because i might not have listened to music on a "cowon" means jack **** i know good sound when i hear it and the facts are with the Samsung earphones using Power Amp and Equalizer the sound is actually excellent and that's all there is to it, and i highly doubt the Sammy earphones cost mega bucks either.
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Idk what you're listening to but Samsung earbuds are a piece of crap. Lol you think you can get a good sound out of bad hardware with an equalizer and some earbus worth 8€..gotta be kidding me...

Musical quality using headphones

Here's a question. Currently I am on an iPhone 5, and it looks like I'll be making the switch to the S4. But before I do, I need to be reassured of one thing.
I use my iPhone 5 as my main and only music player. I have a pair of $150 Monster Turbines, and I take my musical quality very seriously relative to the iPhone 5. My question is, does the S4 have ATLEAST the same or better SQ in all ranges?
Is this app dependent? ROM dependent? I'm new to Android, but not technically unsavvy by ANY means..
Just need to know..

I had the same worries as you did. I came from the iPhone 4, running an ATH-m50 setup up with a fiio e5 amp and switched over to the HTC one x+and have transitioned very smoothly. I recommend finding a player per your taste though.
Take a look at power amp and neuron player! I hope this helps.
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda app-developers app

Well there is a feature called 'adapt sound' you go through a hearing test. After the test is done it auto EQ's the EQ's in the music player. I have monster inspirations (noise cancelling) and beyerdynamic T1. With adapt sound on in both cans there's better upper range clarity when differentiating between instruments. I like having the feature on. Makes the music more enjoyable of sorts.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

There seems to be a lot of mixed opinions. It's not that the Qualcomm audio chipset is bad, it's actually quite good, but it up samples audio from 24bit/44khz to 48khz if I'm correct, which kind of degrades the quality a little. I doubt a $150 pair of headphones is gonna be affected by this though. Now if you were rocking some real hardcore audio equipment like $500+ custom monitors, then this might be noticeable.

Apple products still are on top when it comes to audio player quality. I doubt it'll be noticeable with your headphones
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337

Don't even think a second about sound quality. It's awesome with S4. I use shure se530 head phones. You want to tweak the sound you may use Power Amp. That is what i use. I tried Iphone (3/4/4S/5) several times and sound is better with Power Amp in Galaxy S3/S4(Snapdragon also). Without Power Amp you may not like the sound that much.

varunkumars said:
Don't even think a second about sound quality. It's awesome with S4. I use shure se530 head phones. You want to tweak the sound you may use Power Amp. That is what i use. I tried Iphone (3/4/4S/5) several times and sound is better with Power Amp in Galaxy S3/S4(Snapdragon also). Without Power Amp you may not like the sound that much.
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Actually I recommend trying Gone Mad Music Player, so much better then Power Amp in my opinion

As many have said. Power amp is worth the purchase.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

iphone 5 is a good music player of course.
in android some app can improve the SQ for us. such as poweramp and more.

If you can score an international version, it was supposed to get the much higher quality Wolfson audio chips:
http://www.sammobile.com/2013/04/18...-for-galaxy-range-of-smartphones-and-tablets/
I think the t-mobile version might also have the same hardware as the international version...?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

I'm using Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro Earphones with Westone cables. I find the S4 sound quality pleasing, but lacking in bass.

Screams from
d1esel daddy said:
I'm using Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro Earphones with Westone cables. I find the S4 sound quality pleasing, but lacking in bass.
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This is a major problem for me, as 90% of my music is hip hop.
My monster turbines were designed to accentuate bass
I have a 15' sub in my car, that I LOVE to flex, and if it gonna be as bassy and clean as it is like my iPhone (on hip hop EQ) then we've got problems...

EpicMango said:
This is a major problem for me, as 90% of my music is hip hop.
My monster turbines were designed to accentuate bass
I have a 15' sub in my car, that I LOVE to flex, and if it gonna be as bassy and clean as it is like my iPhone (on hip hop EQ) then we've got problems...
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The S4 isnt lacking in bass at all. It has more bass than my HTC Vivid did...and that was a "Beats"-advertised phone. The S4 has terrific sound quality for a phone. And if you want a nice EQ, get Poweramp. It is well worth the purchase. And if you enjoy bass, don't worry - you can crank the bass up insanely high with Poweramp.
I was very worried about audio quality before getting the S4. And I am absolutely satisfied.
Oh and before you go looking at the HTC One, there have been reports of bluetooth audio streaming distorting the high frequency sounds. The S4 doesnt have this problem.
Sent from my Galaxy S4.

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bobgodd said:
If you can score an international version, it was supposed to get the much higher quality Wolfson audio chips:
http://www.sammobile.com/2013/04/18...-for-galaxy-range-of-smartphones-and-tablets/
I think the t-mobile version might also have the same hardware as the international version...?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
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Tmobile has exact same hardware as att...has been discussed in one of the official bootloader unlock threads
slapdaddy said:
The S4 isnt lacking in bass at all. It has more bass than my HTC Vivid did...and that was a "Beats"-advertised phone. The S4 has terrific sound quality for a phone. And if you want a nice EQ, get Poweramp. It is well worth the purchase. And if you enjoy bass, don't worry - you can crank the bass up insanely high with Poweramp.
I was very worried about audio quality before getting the S4. And I am absolutely satisfied.
Oh and before you go looking at the HTC One, there have been reports of bluetooth audio streaming distorting the high frequency sounds. The S4 doesnt have this problem.
Sent from my Galaxy S4.
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I would definitely not say the s4 has terrific sound quality....you can't base it off the fact your vivid had beats as that's just a software eq...you've obviously never had a phone with a Wolfson dac....those phones have the best sound quality of every phone-,and with voodoo sound you can tweak it at the hardware level
When it comes to portable music....my infuse is my main player...it blows the s4 and HTC vivid sound quality out of the water
Now the s4 sound quality is acceptable and not bad in any way...just wouldn't say its terrific...this is coming from an audiophile with studio monitors and studio monitor headphones
BTW, I had a vivid too...think I remember your name
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

d1esel daddy said:
I'm using Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro Earphones with Westone cables. I find the S4 sound quality pleasing, but lacking in bass.
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I am running the same setup (stock cables) and previously used a FiiO E6 amp when I had these with my Galaxy S 2... With the S4, I don't need the portable amp and like others stated, PowerAMP is my recommended player - well worth the purchase. I jumped onto PowerAMP right as soon as I found out that it does both FLAC and Gapless, and the interface is beautiful and easily links to the lockscreen (not rooted).
As far as audio quality, I love the V shape audio that PowerAMP(Techno preset) produces onto my IEM's and I also have an iPad Mini (I think Wolfsons audio chip) and yet still prefer the audio from the S4...
Audio becomes very subjective at this point, but I have NOT been disappointed with my S4 and audio quality - especially comparing it to my old Galaxy S II...

mg2195 said:
Tmobile has exact same hardware as att...has been discussed in one of the official bootloader unlock threads
I would definitely not say the s4 has terrific sound quality....you can't base it off the fact your vivid had beats as that's just a software eq...you've obviously never had a phone with a Wolfson dac....those phones have the best sound quality of every phone-,and with voodoo sound you can tweak it at the hardware level
When it comes to portable music....my infuse is my main player...it blows the s4 and HTC vivid sound quality out of the water
Now the s4 sound quality is acceptable and not bad in any way...just wouldn't say its terrific...this is coming from an audiophile with studio monitors and studio monitor headphones
BTW, I had a vivid too...think I remember your name
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
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Nope never had a Wolfson unfortunately. And I said terrific...for a phone lol. I have never had a phone with sound quality this good. And it will only get better with newer Sammy phones because of their deal with Wolfson. As for the Vivid, I remember reading your name a few times over there and yeah Beats is a software adjustment on the Vivid, but the sound quality was better on the Vivid than it was on my Inspire...and now better on my S4 than on my Vivid.
And yes I am an audiophile as well...I have studio cans and when it comes to absolute pure music quality, I use my desktop comouter as the setup is fantastic for a quality listening experience. But for a modern phone on the market. ..well I dont know of any quadcore phones that have a Wolfson chip...not yet anyway that is. I'm very sure this will change soon though...and its about time manufacturers started to pay more attention to the audio quality in their phones. There are those of us who need it...to basically survive lmao.
Bottom line for me is that there may be better phones out there for music quality, but they lack the horsepower of the S4. And there is a lot more that I do with this phone than just listen to music. The sound quality may not be Wolfson good, but it's definitely good enough and gets the job done very well as far as I'm concerned.
Oh and if someone is very concerned about music quality, there are external DACs that can be attached to the phone's micro USB port which are phenomenal. Though they are as big as the phone is, they work well lol.
Sent from my Galaxy S4.

slapdaddy said:
Nope never had a Wolfson unfortunately. And I said terrific...for a phone lol. I have never had a phone with sound quality this good. And it will only get better with newer Sammy phones because of their deal with Wolfson. As for the Vivid, I remember reading your name a few times over there and yeah Beats is a software adjustment on the Vivid, but the sound quality was better on the Vivid than it was on my Inspire...and now better on my S4 than on my Vivid.
And yes I am an audiophile as well...I have studio cans and when it comes to absolute pure music quality, I use my desktop comouter as the setup is fantastic for a quality listening experience. But for a modern phone on the market. ..well I dont know of any quadcore phones that have a Wolfson chip...not yet anyway that is. I'm very sure this will change soon though...and its about time manufacturers started to pay more attention to the audio quality in their phones. There are those of us who need it...to basically survive lmao.
Bottom line for me is that there may be better phones out there for music quality, but they lack the horsepower of the S4. And there is a lot more that I do with this phone than just listen to music. The sound quality may not be Wolfson good, but it's definitely good enough and gets the job done very well as far as I'm concerned.
Oh and if someone is very concerned about music quality, there are external DACs that can be attached to the phone's micro USB port which are phenomenal. Though they are as big as the phone is, they work well lol.
Sent from my Galaxy S4.
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Couldn't agree with your post more
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2